New Toolkit Puts Municipal ID Within Reach of Legislators Across Country
New Toolkit Puts Municipal ID Within Reach of Legislators Across Country
Today, Center for Popular Democracy is releasing a new guide to setting up municipal ID Building...
Today, Center for Popular Democracy is releasing a new guide to setting up municipal ID Building Identity: A Toolkit for Designing and Implementing a Successful Municipal ID Program, to take the fight for immigrant dignity to cities across the country.
Municipal IDs allow all residents, regardless of immigration status, gender identity, or other characteristics, to open a bank account or cash a check, see a doctor at a hospital, register their child for school, apply for public benefits, file a complaint with the police department, borrow a book from a library, vote in an election, or even collect a package from the post office. Municipal ID removes all of these barriers with a single stroke.
To mark the release of the toolkit, immigrant New Yorkers who have benefited from the municipal ID program will gather on the front steps of City Hall, NYC, at 11am to call for other cities across the country to adopt similar programs.
In addition to New York City, grassroots organization have successfully passed municipal ID programs in major cities like Newark and Hartford, improving the lives of immigrant communities and underserved populations. Center for Popular Democracy’s new toolkit will help like-minded leaders in other parts of the country create similar programs.
Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of Center for Popular Democracy, stated: “In each city we pass municipal ID, the immediate outpouring of immigrant families eager to cement their status as members of communities is heartening. Immigrants’ history and contributions make them central parts of our communities across the country. This toolkit symbolizes the effort, partnerships, and strong bonds that will take the fight for immigrant justice to the next level in cities across the country.”
Ruth Pacheco, Make the Road New York member and Queens resident, who has two school-age children, said: “My municipal ID has opened many important doors for me, whether at my children’s school, the bank, or the library. Before, when I had to meet with my children’s teachers, they wouldn’t let me in without ID. Now the IDNYC solves that problem. Before, to open a bank account or present myself at the bank, I had to bring my passport, which was risky. Now the IDNYC solves that problem.”
“The municipal identification program—now IDNYC—is a hallmark of our City and a testament to how robustly we want to engage with New Yorkers of all experiences. This program, as we anticipated, has been particularly helpful to those who have a historic disconnect with governments of all levels. For those people, this municipal identification ogram has changed the game. The level at which people are engaging with government, and with one another in their communities is something that should be modeled and I am heartened that now, with this announcement from the Center for Popular Democracy, other cities will be able to do just that,” said Council Member Carlos Menchaca.
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www.populardemocracy.org
The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.
Five takeaways from Colorado's campaign finance reports
Five takeaways from Colorado's campaign finance reports
KUSA - Candidates and campaigns had to file their latest round of finance reports to the Secretary of State’s office Monday.
Here’s what we learned from reading those reports.
1)...
KUSA - Candidates and campaigns had to file their latest round of finance reports to the Secretary of State’s office Monday.
Here’s what we learned from reading those reports.
1) Tobacco companies have deep pockets.
The No Blank Checks in the Constitution committee has raised about $5 million to keep the tobacco tax in Amendment 72 from passing.
That’s more money than any other campaign has raised so far this cycle, and it all comes from one source: Altria Client Services.
The company is a subsidiary of Altria (formerly Phillip Morris) -- one of the world’s largest tobacco companies.
2) ColoradoCareYES is struggling.
The group pushing universal health care through Amendment 69 raised just $10,000 during the last filing period.
That brings their total to about $320,000. In contrast, Coloradans for Coloradans, has raised nearly $4 million this cycle.
In addition to its fundraising woes, the campaign has also suffered from some surprising opposition. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Sen. Michael Bennet both oppose the amendment. And so does the liberal group Progress Now.
3) Most of the minimum wage money is coming from out of state.
The group Colorado Families for a Fair Wage wants you to vote to raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 an hour.
But the majority of the $2.3 million it's raised comes from groups in New York and California.
The campaigns biggest donors are Civic Participation Action Fund, The Fairness Project and The Center for Popular Democracy Action Fund.
The campaign against raising the minimum wage is called Keep Colorado Working.
Most of its money comes from industry groups like the Hospitality Issue PAC, which had a Denver address.
That might make you think it’s local money fighting the minimum wage campaign, but the PAC’s funded by national companies like McDonald’s and the National Restaurant Association.
4) The physician assisted suicide campaign is raising and spending some serious cash
Yes on Colorado End of Life Options has raised about $4.8 million to pass Proposition 106, which would let terminally ill patients purchase medications to end their lives.
The campaign’s biggest expenditure is $2.9 million to Blue West Media for advertising. That means we’re likely to see a lot of ads about the proposition between now and Nov. 8.
5) Democrats are outraising Republicans in three key Colorado Senate races.
The winners of Colorado Senate districts 19, 25 and 26 will determine whether Republicans retain control of the chamber.
If Republicans lose all three races, the Democrats will likely gain control of the entire legislature.
All the Democratic candidates are ahead of their opponents when it comes to dollars raised so far.
The biggest gap is in Senate District 19. Incumbent Republican Sen. Laura Woods is $70,000 behind her challenger, Rachel Zenzinger.
We will have to wait and see whether more money translates into more votes
By 2016 KUSA
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Fed Up group claims Fed behind loss of reservation
Fed Up group claims Fed behind loss of reservation
A group critical of Federal Reserve policy is crying foul after their reservations for an upcoming meeting of central bankers at the Jackson Lake Lodge were revoked.
The hotel is claiming a...
A group critical of Federal Reserve policy is crying foul after their reservations for an upcoming meeting of central bankers at the Jackson Lake Lodge were revoked.
The hotel is claiming a booking error is responsible. The group of labor unions and community organizations isn’t buying it.
The annual Economic Policy Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, held in Grand Teton National Park, is one of the most high-profile meetings of the country’s central bankers. This year, they are set to discuss frameworks for raising and lowering interest rates. Rates are currently low, and the debate in the Fed is how soon they should rise.
Fed Up is a coalition which argues that Federal Reserve interest rate policy is geared toward corporate and banking interests, leaving out the interests of workers and minorities.
“The impact of higher interest rates is to slow the economy down,” said Jordan Haedtler, Fed Up’s campaign manager. Raising rates pushes down inflation, which is good for lenders, but it does that by increasing unemployment and making it harder for workers to get raises, he said.
At the last two conferences in Jackson Hole, Fed Up has staged protests and an alternative conference focused on the impact that Federal Reserve policy has on wages and unemployment. The group plans a similar event at the meeting this year, despite the loss of their reservations, Haedtler said.
The lodge, which has 385 rooms, revoked 18 reservations in July. Those included all 13 rooms the Fed Up coalition had booked.
The Grand Teton Lodge Company is the National Park Service-authorized concessionaire which operates the Jackson Lake Lodge. Vice president and general manager Alex Klein said in a statement: “This summer we encountered an error with our booking system that resulted in our Jackson Lake Lodge property being oversold by 18 rooms for three peak nights in August.”
Klein said the company worked to move those who lost rooms to Flagg Ranch, 20 miles to the north.
Haedtler thinks his group was specifically targeted.
“We think that the computer glitch strains credulity,” he said “It’s pretty well known that the Kansas City Fed in particular doesn’t welcome our presence, but we think it’s important for the voices of working families and communities of color … to be included.”
Haedtler said his group made its reservations in May, and he was told by hotel officials that some guests who had made their reservations later in the year hadn’t lost their rooms. He said because the lodge is owned by the National Park Service, it has an obligation to protect free speech.
“The National Park Service, more than any other institution, is supposed to be a place of public accommodation,” he said. “We have secured a free speech permit, and we will be at the lodge during the Fed summit.”
The group filed an official complaint with the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice on Tuesday.
“What happened here is that, once again, the voices and faces of working class people of color have been marginalized; they have been treated disrespectfully; their opportunity to enjoy our country’s national parks has been subordinated to that of wealthy white guests,” the group wrote.
By Bryan Clark
Source
"Give Them Hell": Exposing the Corporate Backers of Anti-Immigrant Hate
"Give Them Hell": Exposing the Corporate Backers of Anti-Immigrant Hate
Since election night 2016, the streets of the US have rung with resistance. People all over the country have woken up with the conviction that they must do something to fight inequality in all its...
Since election night 2016, the streets of the US have rung with resistance. People all over the country have woken up with the conviction that they must do something to fight inequality in all its forms. But many are wondering what it is they can do. In this ongoing "Interviews for Resistance" series, experienced organizers, troublemakers and thinkers share their insights on what works, what doesn't, what has changed and what is still the same. Today's interview is the 61st in the series.
Today we bring you a conversation with José Lopez, one of the co-organizing directors at Make the Road New York, and Daniel Altschuler, the director of civic engagement and research at Make the Road New York.
Read the full article here.
“These Disasters Aren’t Natural Anymore”: A Dispatch from Puerto Rico After Maria
“These Disasters Aren’t Natural Anymore”: A Dispatch from Puerto Rico After Maria
Several weeks ago, Puerto Rico avoided a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, which shifted north at the last minute. But Hurricane Maria hit head on, and has left a humanitarian crisis in its wake....
Several weeks ago, Puerto Rico avoided a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, which shifted north at the last minute. But Hurricane Maria hit head on, and has left a humanitarian crisis in its wake. Power on the island could be out for as long as six months, and many parts of the island have yet to be contacted.
Read the full article here.
Accountability of Charter Schools in Illinois Raises Questions
WTAX News Radio - February 2, 2015 - Charter schools in Illinois are in the cross hairs of a new report alleging a lack of accountability leading to between $13 million and $27 million in fraud....
WTAX News Radio - February 2, 2015 - Charter schools in Illinois are in the cross hairs of a new report alleging a lack of accountability leading to between $13 million and $27 million in fraud.“At a time when (Chicago Public Schools are) crying broke, and public schools are grossly under-resourced, and there’s a public demand for transparency and accountability around every corner,” says Action Now executive director Katelyn Johnson, “it seems unconscionable that CPS and the state of Illinois would not invest in rigid financial oversight of charter schools.”Johnson’s group is supporting the Center for Popular Democracy in the report, “Risking Public Money.”Andrew Broy has a differing viewpoint. He’s the president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and dismisses the other two groups as union-funded and anti-charter to begin with.“The question” about accountability, he says, “is if there are challenges with an internal governing board, how do we uncover that and make sure it’s taken care of, and the current law equips districts with all the tools they need to make sure that happens.”Source
“Shamelessness Is All The Rage”
“Shamelessness Is All The Rage”
Trump’s own lawyer compares him to a mob boss, McConnell helps open the door for Trump to fire Mueller, Beto O’Rourke closes in on Ted Cruz, and Mike Pompeo meets Kim Jong Un. Then activist Ady...
Trump’s own lawyer compares him to a mob boss, McConnell helps open the door for Trump to fire Mueller, Beto O’Rourke closes in on Ted Cruz, and Mike Pompeo meets Kim Jong Un. Then activist Ady Barkan joins Jon and Dan to talk about the special election in Arizona and his new project, beaherofund.com.
Listen to the conversation here.
Maria Gallagher, Ana Maria Archila and the amazing power of everyday people raising their voice
Maria Gallagher, Ana Maria Archila and the amazing power of everyday people raising their voice
Maria Gallagher, a 23-year-old woman from New York, had never told anyone about the time she was sexually assaulted before she blurted it out to a United States senator, Republican Jeff Flake of...
Maria Gallagher, a 23-year-old woman from New York, had never told anyone about the time she was sexually assaulted before she blurted it out to a United States senator, Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona, with millions watching on live national television.
Read the full article here.
Fed Up with the Economy?
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With few other takers, the government has to sell its distressed mortgages to Wall Street
With few other takers, the government has to sell its distressed mortgages to Wall Street
Nearly a decade after the housing bubble burst, one grim legacy endures.
Far too many homeowners are still struggling to make mortgage payments, or have quit paying altogether. But one of...
Nearly a decade after the housing bubble burst, one grim legacy endures.
Far too many homeowners are still struggling to make mortgage payments, or have quit paying altogether. But one of the most robust attempts to address the overhang of delinquent loans is bumping up against an uncomfortable reality.
Since 2010, government entities like the Department for Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have auctioned off thousands of delinquent mortgages. The auctions should be a win-win: they take those problem loans off the government’s books so taxpayer dollars aren’t strained. They also offer homeowners the possibility of a fresh start: investors who pay far less than the loan is worth are able to cut the borrowers a better deal than the government can.
But there’s been some pushback. Groups like the Center for Popular Democracy and progressives like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the government for enabling what they called a “land grab” by the same Wall Street investors whom many saw as responsible for faulty lending in the first place.
The government responded by encouraging nonprofit organizations to compete alongside financial institutions. Groups focused on helping homeowners, rather than realizing a bottom line, would do good and do well, the agencies reasoned.
But there’s a catch.
The scale of the auctions is so big — some are measured in the billions of dollars — and the scope of what’s being asked so vast that only two nonprofits have successfully purchased mortgages. What’s more, that doesn’t seem likely to change soon.
There are plenty of nonprofits with ample experience in community development and helping homeowners, said Julia Gordon, executive vice president of the National Community Stabilization Trust, a nonprofit focused on the blight left behind by vacant properties.
What nonprofits lack is access to capital, particularly equity funding, Gordon told MarketWatch. While there are plenty of investors interested in the distressed mortgage space, the yields such investors want may not be compatible with the mission focus of a nonprofit.
“Some nonprofits are realizing that the returns private investors are demanding can’t be achieved if you also want to achieve good neighborhood outcomes,” Gordon said.
Of the two nonprofits that have successfully bid in the government auctions, one, New Jersey Community Capital, dominates. They’ve won about $290 million of loans so far. The sole other nonprofit, Hogar Hispano, has won $16 million. Hogar did not respond to a request for comment.
NJCC is a community development organization whose mission is helping New Jersey cities and towns. But as one of the best-established nonprofits in the country in this space, they’ve been asked to work more broadly than that since the early days of the government auctions.
From the beginning, NJCC understood the tension between returns for investors and results for communities, said Peter Grof, deputy to the president of the organization. But NJCC believed that it was not only possible to strike that balance, but also that it could chart a course that other nonprofits could follow.
NJCC funds its purchases with a ratio of about 50% to 60% debt to equity, Grof said. The equity investors are often private-equity firms, while the debt piece comes from what Grof calls “socially-motivated investors” or major financial institutions like Prudential Financial PRU, +3.94% and MetLife MET, +3.81% .
Grof says NJCC is uncomfortable with the “Wall Street vs. Main Street” concept that surrounds discussions about how to handle the delinquency overhang. “We understand and appreciate housing advocates. We couldn’t do a lot of our work if not for them,” he said. “They make it simple, beat up on the banks and Wall Street. That’s fine, there has been some bad behavior. But we don’t see it as us vs. them, ‘property investors are evil.’”
Instead, Grof said, NJCC focuses on achieving appropriate outcomes for troubled homeowners and for their neighborhoods. Sometimes that means fighting the natural urge to want to keep borrowers in their homes, and realizing it’s best to let them walk away.
“We’re about trying to bring back normal real estate market dynamics to these communities,” he said. “We understand communities have a normal ebb and flow. It’s not just about creating opportunities for people to stay, it’s about creating opportunities for people to leave, if that’s appropriate.”
To some extent, some of those advocates would agree. “What’s most important is outcomes not ownership,” Julia Gordon said. “The government agencies have a responsibility to have an idea of what they want to have happen with these notes once they sell them. It’s their responsibility to communities and the housing market. Bad outcomes weaken housing markets.”
Amy Schur, a campaign coordinator for the Center for Popular Democracy, agrees. “We believe that both HUD and FHFA should set much higher standards for all notes sales around the commitment to and quality of modifications, and around affordable housing and meeting community needs,” she said.
Schur and her group believe that if the government set more stringent requirements, it would prompt for-profit investors to partner with local community organizations. She believes such partnerships would produce the yields institutional investors are seeking while enabling the mission-driven groups to do their work. Schur also believes that while many smaller nonprofits would prefer to buy smaller tranches of mortgages, many of the investors who provide equity to more established organizations would like bigger pools.
NJCC is “on course” to achieve more than the government’s “neighborhood stabilization outcome” goals, Grof said. He stresses that it’s still too early to total up the final outcomes for all loans. In New Jersey, where NJCC focuses on principal reduction mortgage modifications and developing affordable rentals out of homes where modifications aren’t possible, the NSO rate should be about 85%. In Florida, he estimates it will be about 65% to 70%.
Government agency spokesmen speak carefully about the note sales. “We believe the program is doing what it was designed to do,” said a spokesman for HUD. He answered a question about how the nonprofit portion of the sales were going by ticking off a list of ways the government has tried to improve the program to benefit nonprofits: lengthening the amount of time between a sale announcement and when it takes place, making smaller pools of loans, and concentrating them by geography.
A spokesman for Freddie Mac said it’s “certainly an objective” to encourage more nonprofit participation. Asked about whether the type of investor is as important as making sure good outcomes are achieved, he said only that “the winning bidder is determined on the basis of economics.”
Fannie Mae did not respond to a request for comment.
As of January, in all of HUD’s sales, foreclosure had been avoided in 27.9% of the homes, 34.3% had been foreclosed on, and 35.5% had no resolution. Fannie and Freddie have not yet reported on the outcomes of their sales, although such a report was expected by the end of the first quarter, as previously reported.
Despite the government’s efforts, “the appetite isn’t there,” Grof said. “The risks and the challenges turn off our competitors.”
By Andrea Riquier
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2 days ago
2 days ago