Reactions to my call for community engagement

Last week The Dallas Morning News published an essay that I wrote on "asset poverty" and "asset wealth."  You can read it here.

As a change of pace, I thought I'd share readers' responses to my column.  Here they are:
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I read with concern your article about asset poverty as it is the second article I’ve read In the newspaper recently about asset poverty, and I’m guessing that is the new term to push these days.  I’m glad you defined it for me, as I wasn’t sure what the term means.  But according to your definition, asset poverty has been around since the beginning of humans and I don’t think it will end regardless of what the asset-rich folks do.

To understand where I’m coming from, my grandparents (both sides) were poor and never had any cash reserves, much less 3 months’ worth. This was at a time when there were no welfare, Medicare and Medicaid, social security benefits.   Neither of my parents were high school graduates, and they each worked two jobs to send four of us to Baylor.  They never had any cash reserves.  If the hot water heater broke, we did without hot water for several months until the money could be found to pay for the repair.  But they felt they had a much better life than their parents, and they wanted us to have a better life than they had.  To me, that’s the key to surviving and having a decent life in  this country…working to better yourself and your children, no matter if you have to live paycheck to paycheck.  We all worked to get an education, and it paid off.  There were no scholarships for women, no government student loans, no nothing.  My parents borrowed money and paid it back—borrowed money and paid it back.  They did without a lot of things to do this—and they had no one or no government to help them do it.

For years after my husband and I got married (and we were both university graduates), we never had cash reserves…I guess we were living in asset poverty.  We made such low salaries as a high school teacher and a high school track coach that we had to live month to month for years—especially after our two sons were born.  If either of us had lost our job, we would have had a hard time—BUT we worked hard, continued to get more education (which we paid for—and borrowed the money to pay for it if we didn’t have it).    Our assets were our house and our cars, but we didn’t own them for decades.

The housekeeper who worked for me when I returned to teaching, worked for me 47 years and I paid her social security and paid her an above-average salary.  She is retired and her social security isn’t enough for her to live comfortably, so I pay her a monthly sum to help, and she gets free medical care and food stamps.  People like her deserve to be helped because she worked all those years and was an honest, hard worker.  My mother always told us that we (and the government) should help those who cannot help themselves and those who temporarily need help, but she was not in favor of taking money from workers and giving it to those who won’t work.  I believe a lot of people who live in poverty today won’t work, or they have come here illegally and can’t speak English, or they have low-paying jobs because they are undereducated as a result of choosing to drop out of school.  They get government aid in several forms, but that’s not enough to have 3 month’s cash on hand.

Now that I’m 79 and my husband is 80, we have assets.  I taught 39 years and he has been coaching 57 years and is still coaching.  We have lived within our means all of lives.  We are where we are because we had parents who taught us the value of education and hard work.  A lot of people in poverty didn’t or don’t have parents like that, and they drop out of school, have numerous children (many times without the benefit of marriage), and they want to have the same standards of living as people who have gotten an education and a job.  And many people like you seem to think that those living in asset poverty will be okay if they just have 3 months’ cash on hand.  How long do you think that cash would remain in savings?  Are we who have worked for our assets to continually give to these people so they can have cash on hand?  It seems to me that it’s not a matter of giving people money but of trying to help them make wise decisions even if they didn’t have parents who did.  Otherwise, we are just enabling these people to continue generation after generation in poverty when there are opportunities in this country for them to get an education and to provide for themselves and their families.

We support our church and  numerous charities every year because as Christians we feel concern for the less fortunate.  If you are encouraging people to give about 2 years’ salaries to the less fortunate, we’ve done that if you give us credit for all the years we have contributed.  And we have many relatives and friends who have done the same thing—BUT, as you say, we still have people who are living in asset poverty.

How do you know what the asset-rich families are contributing and that they need to do more?  How do you know the percentage of the asset-rich families who aren’t acting responsibly, and—for heaven’s sake-- what are “scalable” solutions you mention?  You mentioned more philanthropy and the coordinating function of public policy reform-- is this supposed to explain what you recommend?  I know what more philanthropy is (and I think more of us could give more) but I’m vague on the coordinating function of public policy reform.  By public policy, do you mean laws, regulations—or what?  You barely mention that asset-poor families need to do their part?  What is their part, as you envision it?  Do they stay in school and get a job?  Do they have only the number of children they can afford?  Do they live responsibly, within their means and spend their money wisely?  If they do, then I’m in favor of helping them out of asset-poverty.  But how do we get them to do these things?  I don’t think it’s by giving them money that other people worked to earn.

You probably think I am hard-hearted, but I think I am a realist.  I think some of the people in poverty are bettering themselves, but I think the irresponsible, lazy, takers will always take from the responsible workers if they can, and will even expect it’s their right to take it.  I think many people today are creating even more problems by suggesting that people who work should support those who won’t work and to make those of us who live responsibly and contribute to society feel guilty because we now have (after many years of struggling) assets that some people don’t.  When you come up with a way to get people who live in poverty to pull themselves up, with help then please write another column with how to do it.

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Hi!  

     I appreciated your column.  My modest property tax was about $2800.00 last year.  Could I pay one percent more?  $28.00?  Of course I could.  Even ten percent more, $280.00 would't hurt us.  We would never miss it.  I don't understand why people complain that they can't afford small  tax increases.  My wife and I are not great income/financial managers, mainly because of our children, however even WE can afford to pay a few cents more on the dollar in taxes.

     I have thought for a long time that we needed a half penny,  penny more in Medicare, Social Security taxes,  whatever is needed to balance the cost of those excellent and necessary programs.  Perhaps it is the well-to-do who need life style counseling?

Peace!

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Asset rich families already do their part in helping those less fortunate by paying taxes.  And then paying more taxes.  And then actually being philanthropic. 

I wonder if you have ever actually owned a business in a predominately minority part of town and seen live the effects of your money being siphoned off by lousy government, crooked officials and thieving neighbors. 

In your liberal mind the successful method of dealing with poverty in America is to blame the successful people that work for a living and to dream up new ways to tax those people out of their money while you hand it to those that have never accomplished anything except learning how to vote and signing up for entitlements.

Personal responsibility goes a long way but you claim that only the successful should shoulder the blame.

I have owned businesses in Oak Cliff, I served in the Marines, I even spent a brief  time as a police officer.  The one constant I found is that people like you don't have a clue in the world except to confiscate my money. 

America is collapsing under the weight of the federal debt and really bad government.  You are part and parcel of that collapse.

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Your suppositions about the wealthy having to provide more in order to balance the scales of opportunity and poverty to wealth is purely analytical and fails to consider the people that have those assets and the promise they were asked to keep 60 years ago.

The leaders of this country asked us to save and invest for our retirement and to take responsibility for securing our families future. That was our first responsiubility.

We were told we could retire and live our lives in luxury.

Many of us, using some luck and with disciplined saving and investment and occasional risk taking, actually made it. That is quite evident by the fact that over 60% of all personal wealth is in the hands of those 60 years of age and older.

We paid the majority of taxes in to support our government, at least if you accept that the government actually followed the guidance of their accounting offices and actually kept our taxes at rates that were needed to support the programs that enrich us even further in our retirement, (which they did not).

Sure we are well above those poverty figures, but are still (most of us) in a mode where we want a big comfort zone so that we can fulfill our greatest fear of asset preservation looking at never being a burden upon our children.

We do all of this while trying to be of service in our communities, and trying to help at the food banks, and ETC.

You are asking those that face potential 7-8000 a month in old age living costs to potentially give that earned income over to whom.

The same government that put their SS fund and spent it while putting IOUs in the fund, the same government that did not adequately fund their Medicare health system, the same government that rushed off hell bent for leather to avenge the deaths of 3000 of its citizens against not a government but against a loosely knit widespread theocratic band of extremists, created a health plan to cover 30m uninsured in this country that through 6 months covers only 1m that were previously uninsured.

We planned for our future and earned every dollar we have and with what we see from the way our government has responded feel pretty lucky to actually have succeeded to the point where our reliance on those programs and that government in general will not destroy us they eventually scale back on the promises they failed   to keep up with.

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just read your article on the asset rich doing their part.  I completely agree that we are all in this together, but I struggle every time I hear someone say that the answer lies in taking more from those who have earned more.  Our tax system is a progressive one that does that already.  We now have an government insurance program that will do the same.  Some say it is Socialism, I call it Robinhoodism.  Absolute redistribution of wealth.  I tell my children that much of what we have is due to hard work, education and taking advantage of opportunities.  However, we also have had our share of “luck”.  Some say you make your own luck, but I also believe we get some opportunities that are just plain “luck” - be it good or bad.  Thus,  I do feel I have a responsibility to help those less fortunate than me.  However, where does it stop?   There is a difference between “helping” and “subsidizing”.   The “asset rich”  do DO their part.  Would if be enough if they gave 75% of their income to the state?  That is how Texas “helps” those districts that are less fortunate.  The “property rich” districts send an “unfair” ratio of money to the “poor” districts so they can have awesome football stadiums.  This approach doesn’t seem to have done much for improving the quality of Texas education K-12.  I don’t really view 46 out of 50 as a very good report card.   We need to focus on setting up programs & processes that help people help themselves.  This “entitlement” mentality is growing and not changing behavior.    We, as a whole, need to take responsibility for our decisions and actions.  Not everyone is the same.  We should be promised to have the same opportunities - not the same of everything. Thanks

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Thanks for the article in this morning DMN. .  

My agenda, as it were, is to get you to change your appeal from an ethical argument, to one based on fundamental roles of government proposed by Thomas Hobbes in the Leviathan, (Chapter 30: Of the Office of the Sovereign Representative).

1) Take care of those that cannot take care of themselves

2) Provide work for all those that can work

3) Provide Law and Order. 

While Hobbes designed these roles that some call Contractualism, to avoid the evils of civil war, John Locke went further and argued that the denial of liberty would be sufficient cause to bring down the government.  Since, without liberty society can't advance.   

Our government therefore has the obligation to assure "liberty and justice for all" which incidentally we often pledge our allegiance.  Liberty, by definition has two components: freedom of arbitrary authority, and having the means to exercise free will.   

I understand that CitySquare serves many that do not have jobs or cannot take care of themselves and therefore do not have the means to exercise free will.  I believe it is the privilege and obligations of both those that have liberty as well as those that have been denied, to remove from government those that restrict government in performing these fundamental duties and divert public resources to the false goal of growing private economic gains. 

I would very much like to discuss this further with you over lunch or coffee.  As I am retired from an engineering career, with pensions from Raytheon and Lockheed I hope we can work together to realize this common agenda.
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  I wanted to thank you for your article of March 18 and thank you for your work on the Poverty Task Force.  I retired just over 10 years ago and realized that I had the time to "give back" and possibly be able to make at least a small positive difference in my community.  One of the things I did was to become a volunteer in Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  After just a couple of years I noticed a pattern that existed with the kids I mentored; they were poor, lived with their mom and a couple of siblings, their dad was in prison, and their mom was a teenager when they were born.  Plus, I discovered that their grandmother was a teen when their mom was born.  This set me off doing some serious research on the problem of teen pregnancies and I learned, among other things, that the U.S. has the highest teen birth rate of all the 28 developed nations in the world and Texas leads the nation in teen births. 

  Most teen moms never finish high school, only 3 percent get a college degree by the time they are 30.  Their offspring are 9 times more likely to live in poverty, are twice as likely to go to prison and are most likely to become teen parents themselves.  Being a teen mom leads to depression and a high percentage tend to use drugs and abuse their children.  Teen births are clearly a root cause of poverty in Texas and Dallas specifically.

  There is a way to reduce our teen birth rate. Other states with similar demographics to Texas have done it.  We can do it too!  We as a society, particularly here in Texas, concentrate more on the consequences of poverty rather than dealing with the causes, we need to change that.

  If there is anything I can do to help, let me know.
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Charity usually misses the most in need of it

The essay below appeared in the July 20, 2010 edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.  After you've read it, let me know what you think.

The Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge Won’t Do Much Good Unless It Changes Philanthropy
By Pablo Eisenberg

Most of the nonprofit world seems to be agog over the news that Bill and Melinda Gates, along with their friend Warren Buffett, are joining together to ask fellow billionaires to sign a pledge to give at least one-half of their fortunes to charity.

That could lead to an enormous increase in the amount of money available to nonprofit organizations. Fortune magazine estimates that if the people on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans all made the pledge, an additional $600-billion could flow to nonprofit groups—twice the amount Americans gave last year.

When will this money be distributed to charities? Mr. Buffett has said that he plans to give away 99 percent of his fortune while he is alive or at his death, and he has made clear in his gifts to the Gates Foundation that he wants the money to be distributed quickly rather than left to sit in the foundation’s coffers. But will other donors do the same, or will they put their money into foundations that give only a small percentage of their assets every year?

Who will provide the leadership to increase the quality of philanthropy, not just the amount of money given? So much of the giving wealthy donors and foundations now do is lackluster and does not involve risk taking or innovation. Nor does it seek to solve urgent public needs. Will the new pledges mean more of the same?

What steps will be taken to ensure public accountability? Will the funds that are steered into new or existing foundations follow the Gateses’ approach, namely grant-making institutions governed by a very few family members that, in a real sense, are not really publicly accountable? Do we want an explosion of these tax-exempt oligarchic entities with huge assets that can help set public priorities without public discussion or a political process? Would this be a healthy development for democracy? If not, what can be done to mitigate the potential undemocratic nature of these new mega-foundations?

Perhaps the most troubling issues posed by the Gates-Buffett crusade is its potential to intensify the inequities that exist both in the nonprofit world and in the rest of society.

Foundations, corporations, and other forms of institutional philanthropy tend to favor the nation’s most-privileged citizens and neglect the neediest people and organizations. An outsize share of the money from those institutions goes to established colleges, hospitals, and arts and cultural organizations. Only a small amount finds its way to organizations that serve vulnerable children, low-income people, minorities, women, the disabled, and other disadvantaged constituencies. A tiny portion of philanthropic money is channeled to groups that seek to influence public policies.

To read the entire article click here.

Advocacy and Non-Proifts

Interesting report from Philanthropy News Digest and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy on non-profit organizations and advocacy in the public sector.  Important topic. 

For sure, business as usual approaches no longer work. 

As always, I'd love your feedback.

LA Nonprofits Involved in Advocacy Provide Significant Community Benefits, Report Finds

Between 2004 and 2008, Los Angeles County nonprofits engaged in advocacy and organizing generated nearly $7 billion in benefits for local residents, a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy finds.

Based on a study of fifteen nonprofits in the county, the report, Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in Los Angeles County (76 pages, PDF), found that every dollar foundations and other donors provided to community organizations engaged in advocacy and organizing generated $91 in benefits for the communities they serve. Over the five-year study period, those benefits included $2.6 billion in higher wages, $2.2 billion in healthcare savings, and more than $2 billion from the increased use of public transit, construction of new schools, and expanded affordable housing. The report also looked at non-monetized benefits provided by the groups, including the protection of voting rights, improved working conditions, and expanded service delivery to marginalized populations.

Based on the findings, the report recommends that foundations increase their support for advocacy and organizing, help educate donors about the benefits of advocacy funding, support effective collaboration among community organizations, collaborate with other grantmakers to leverage resources, and invest in the infrastructure and organizational capacity of grassroots organizations over sustained periods of time.

"While high-profile commentators decry 'community organizing,' this report clearly demonstrates that such activity delivers enormous benefits to communities," said NCRP executive director Aaron Dorfman. "On every issue of concern to residents of Los Angeles County, from clean air to immigration, from equality to education, foundation support for community-based activist organizations yields positive results. Foundation support turns indifference into democracy, and the benefits of a thriving democracy are indeed substantial."

“Nonprofits Bring Tremendous Benefits to Communities Through Citizen Involvement in Politics.” National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy Press Release 3/02/10.

Live United. . .worth watching

The United Way of Metropolitan Dallas (UWMD) is moving through a complete organizational "re-invention" with the objective to provide higher impact services, advocacy and community engagement than ever before in its history. 

I can say this with great confidence because I've been in on some of the work that has been going on now for about three years. 

UWMD holds up a brilliant new model in its simple, but profound call to "Live United!"

Inviting donors to donate, advocate and volunteer, UWMD throws down a comprehensive challenge to corporations and their employees to get involved as never before in the life of our region. 

Turning to service providers and community organizations like Central Dallas Ministries, UWMD challenges us to refine our focus to concentrate on three major areas of concern as we do our work:  Education, Income and Health.  In addition, UWMD has set aside funding for "basic human needs" that arise from the current economic realities of our area and from emergency situations. 

One more major policy shift that marks a sea change at Untied Way is the fact that next year any non-profit organization in the community can submit a grant for funding.  The process will be wide open to any group with a great idea and the ability to drive positive, measureable outcomes. 

Working with Gary Godsey, President/CEO of UWMD, his team and all of our colleagues is a real privilege.  But, the best days remain ahead of us. 

So today, I applaud the work of our United Way! 

To gain more insight into the new world of UWMD click here.

Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009)

News this morning of the death of Senator Edward Kennedy instantly brought tears to my eyes.

The reasons behind my emotional reaction are complicated, I know.

Living through the assassination of President John F. Kennedy here in Dallas affected my view of the entire Kennedy family.

Then, the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, when I was 18-years-old, moved me and my family deeply.

The passing last evening of Senator Kennedy completes a cycle of emotion, loss and celebration. His death is strangely personal for me and for millions of others, I expect.

I remember, as a young man, watching Ted Kennedy walking behind the funeral hearse that carried the body of his brother, Robert. I remember a much younger man standing with his older brother at the funeral of their brother, John. I remember the tears of my parents at the deaths of both of these American leaders.

Beyond those memories though, I'm moved by what Ted Kennedy worked so hard to accomplish and by the manner in which he worked.

My daughters and my granddaughter did and will benefit from the Title IX civil rights legislation that he worked hard to pass into law that equalized female participation in sports.

He passionately worked for the extension of civil rights in every direction--race, gender, sexual orientation, mental illness, special needs, immigrants and immigration.

His dying commitment envisioned health care benefits for every American.

Often referred to as the "Lion of the Senate," Ted Kennedy endeared himself to everyone by being a bridge builder and a masterful craftsman of workable coalitions. Even his most vociferous opponents regarded him with great respect and even love, as we are hearing now that he is gone. Senator John McCain's thoughts and recollections that I heard earlier this morning, exemplify the bi-partisan admiration that so many shared when it came to the Senator.

The closest I ever came to Senator Kennedy occurred here at Central Dallas Ministries. During a meeting of a national organization of foundations here in Dallas, the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, his sister, visited our Food Pantry. Her interest in the people of the community, in our work and in every individual she met amazed us all.

Her ability to focus on each person is something I'll not forget. I remember when the tour bus had to wait on her because she hadn't completed a conversation with a woman who had come seeking assistance for her family. I've thought of her and her visit since learning of her brother's death.

Beyond all of our political differences, Senator Kennedy's death, like that of his brothers and his sisters who preceded him, was a loss to us all.

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A public prayer. . .

The following prayer opened today's meeting of the Dallas County Commissioners' Court.

God of many names and of all people, we approach you this morning with gratitude, humility and a sense of genuine privilege.

Thank you for hearing our petitions.

We honor you as the Creator and Sustainer of our lives in this community. We know that you have shaped and informed every positive human value—the values that make life work in the manner that you intended for every single person in a world that continues to grow smaller and smaller, though tragically divided by conflict and war.

Forgive us, O God, for our rejection of your values. Heal us from the disease, the illness of substituting counterfeit, comfortable, anemic values of our own making for those values that flow from your strong heart and your lively Spirit.

We know you are a God who honors freedom. Forgive us for the ways we have worked to limit the freedom that you want to give to everyone in equal measure. Make us champions of true liberty in this community.

We acknowledge that you are a God committed to justice, equity and fairness. Forgive us for all the ways we find to practice injustice and oppression, while building systems that are anything but inclusive and equal. Make us a people sold out to justice.

We honor you today as a God who works to deliver hope to your world. Forgive us for too often dashing the hopes of the precious people around us. Equip us with new resolve and extraordinary energy to offer ourselves as channels of hope and compassion to those who see no hope and feel no compassion this morning.

Open our eyes and our hearts to those who know poverty in this community of amazing abundance. Quicken our memory this morning that we might not forget our brothers and sisters—young and old—who have no place to call “home” in this city of mansions. Lead us so that we will not forget the prisoners, or those who are ill and unstable, or the unemployed, or those who are desperate in their loneliness.

Now O God, bless our leaders convened in this sacred place of decision making.

Pour out your wisdom upon each of these servants of yours that they might promote those things closest to your heart, while standing against those forces that limit and deny your people freedom, justice and the hope that’s born of compassion and genuine community.

We pray together with boldness this morning, knowing that you have brought us to this moment by your sustaining love and your amazing grace.

Amen.

Mother's Choice

Several months ago a bright, young marketing guy produced and gave us this video. "Mother's Choice" gets at the choices facing low-income parents who struggle to make a positive life for themselves and their children.

The spot has aired several times thanks to WFAA TV Channel 8 here in Dallas.

Our work is all about engaging people like the mom behind the sounds you will hear as you read of her dilemma.

Remember her today.