Reflections on "As Goes Janesville"

[I prepared the following paper for The Christian Scholars' Conference convened at David Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN, June 5-8, 2013.  This particular panel (including a representative from the United Auto Workers, GM, academics and the film maker himself) discussed Brad Lichtenstein's film, "As Goes Janesville."]

As Goes Janesville”—Reflections on the erosion of the American Middle Class

            Brad Lichtenstein’s powerful film, “As Goes Janesville,” displays the most recent results of an American economic policy now over 30 years old and continuing to evolve with devastating effect on our shrinking middle class.  By focusing on a group of select and representative persons, the film teases out the attitudes, struggles, losses, uprootedness, philosophies and policy agenda of those spotlighted. 

After 85 years of operations, at the close of the last Bush Administration and in the throes of the economic meltdown of 2008, the closing of the Janesville General Motors plant signaled a major shift in middle class options and opportunities previously afforded by employment in jobs that paid living wages.  Eleven thousand jobs were lost to a city of about 63,000 persons. 

The impact of the film emerges from the personal stories of laboring people and their families on the one hand, and business and political leaders on the other who see in the community and economic implosion “an opportunity” to reign in out-of-control labor costs, while attracting new companies and new jobs.  Ironically, but predictably, the group charged with "re-inventing" a local economy does not include representatives from the local workforce. 

The role of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the citizens’ recall movement sparked by his policies and attitude toward organized public employees, especially teachers, plays an important part in the story line.  The juxtaposition of the opposing sides, interests and voices seem to confirm the opinion of one of the unemployed who concludes that “we are two different countries now.” 

The route to sustainable recovery in a city like Janesville is not self-evident and the journey promises to be difficult, and one filled with danger and surprise.  It does seem very clear that three decades shaped by the promotion and pursuit of “supply side” economic theory, with its attendant “trickle down” tax policy, in the face of an rapidly expanding underclass and the rise of an under-educated, younger workforce presents a rather daunting list of social and economic challenges. 

Driven by an investor culture in which more people than ever before find themselves financially entangled in the stock market via 401 k and mutual fund accounts, the primacy of “bottom line” corporate considerations tends to devour the expectations of working people.  The weakening influence and outright decline of organized labor and collective bargaining drive both membership and wages down below acceptable levels.  Hard-nosed labor negotiations between management and workers usually end with labor in a compromised or weakened position.  Out-sourcing and off-shoring jobs to serve the ever-present bottom line work against American workers. 

Tax policy, offered up with the promise of attracting new companies and new employment opportunities, has not worked well in Janesville.  According to the film, Governor Walker’s claim that “Wisconsin is open for business” has remained just that, a claim with few substantive results, except possibly a more favorable tax policy benefiting existing corporate interests in the beleaguered state.  The latest job creation numbers rank Wisconsin 47th in the nation.   

So, what may we conclude or suggest in view of the message of this provocative film? 

First, the loci of public and private investment need to shift.  Rather than continuing in our current default position when it comes to where we choose to invest capital, i. e. failing financial institutions and investment banks; the time has arrived where we might reasonably expect a larger ROI by investing in our people and their inherent wealth potential. 

For example, home foreclosures in the aftermath of the plant closing in Janesville reached into the thousands.  More aggressive investment in those homeowners, rather than in their bankers, seems indicated to this observer.  Rather than pouring capital in at the top, it needs to be worked into the soil of the local community.  Rather than cutting funding for public education, pre-school to higher education, as well as trades training and skill set retooling; our leaders should find creative ways to invest in our people, our greatest asset as a nation. 

Second, the nation needs to revitalize a public movement to recover and expand the middle class.  Already I am redundant, but the point here is to reimagine the purpose of collective efficacy and political functionality.  Tax policy must change.  At even the mention of progressive tax reform critics begin to decry the folly, read “horror” just here, of the “redistribution of wealth,” as if the recent, historic redistribution of wealth upward should not call for a countervailing point of view complete with its own version of horror! 

Existing tax loop holes, including off-shore, tax shelters and asset relocation strategies, must be closed and the newly captured funds re-directed to strategic initiatives to benefit middle income Americans, including our social and material infrastructure. 

For instance, funding community-based, public health initiatives that deliver better national wellness outcomes will open more options for employment in the allied health care industry for even unskilled workers while enabling the nation to consume a smaller percentage of GNP on illness care.  This is just one area in which useful and productive synergies could be achieved. 

Public school facilities should be re-purposed after hours for adult education and small business incubation.  Extension courses from local community colleges could be brought nearer consumers by locating in public school buildings after normal hours.  College and skills re-training classes should be matched with a new college/education loan and grant program to assist students in their efforts to re-tool for the current and coming American economy.  Grants for education should be devised, especially for hardest hit areas of economic decline. 

Companies employing unemployed or underemployed workers should be rewarded with larger hiring stipends or royalties. These rewards should be lengthened over 3-5 years to encourage employee stability and increased tenure.   

Local public works projects, such as the S. M. Wright Freeway redesign project, should include requirements to train and hire unemployed persons from the neighborhoods and communities benefiting from such projects, as is the case with this urban renewal effort in Dallas, Texas.

Third, financial incentives need to be deepened as part of a national recovery campaign that rewards producers and consumers of American goods.  American companies need to be assisted in their desire to locate production facilities in places like Janesville.  Giving American companies a leg up in targeted “hot spots” or national enterprise zones for economic investment and innovation should become a part of our recovery strategy. 

In the same manner that large agri-business companies are hedged in every farm bill by federally funded insurance programs against crop loss, so should struggling communities be hedged against the departure of companies.  Or, just as research and development funds are provided to large Pharm companies, so R/D funding should be made available to communities and small entrepreneurs.  Further, small business creation should be assisted, nurtured and funded more adequately and with more creativity. 

Finally, our nation’s safety net programs, designed to assist low moderate and very low-income folks avoid a complete collapse into poverty, must be strengthened.  Utilizing the capacity of current and emerging technologies, persons at the bottom of the nation’s socio-economic continuum should be able to receive an integrated, coordinated map out of poverty and into the possibilities of self-sufficiency, adequate education and full employment.  An honest assessment of the impact of these invested funds on local, state and national economies should be developed and appreciated.  In short, every dollar invested at or near the bottom of the economy is a dollar that is spent quickly and results in an important “churn” in the local economy. 

The complexity and the pain of our current situation require new solutions and the reworking of older, tired, worn remedies and responses.  Sadly, scalable solutions continue to elude us and may be nearly impossible to catch hold of given the public policy and political divide at work in Wisconsin, and not just in Wisconsin, but across the nation. 

Here's how to fix the economy

This is really on target!

How To Fix The Economy... In One Simple Chart

Henry Blodget | Aug. 22, 2012, 8:39 AM 

Henry Blodget is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider.

 To read the article click here.

Debt increases by Presidential Administrations

Just for the record:

Reagan 186%,

Bush 54%

Clinton 41%

Bush II 72%

Obama 23%.

Source Congressional Budget Office.

Struggling economy, struggle at the bottom

The New York Times published data from the Pew Research Center last Saturday (June 25, 2011, A17, "Polling Poverty and Pessimism").  The graph linked opinions about our struggling economy to household income.  Here's what the report revealed:

"You have had trouble getting or paying for medical care for yourself or your family in the last year."  Nine percent of those earning more than $75,000 said yes; 28% of those earning $30,000 to $75,000 said yes; and 51% of those earning less than $30,000 answered in the affirmative.

"You have had problems paying your rent or mortgage in the past year."  Eleven percent of those in the top income bracket said yes; 25% in the mid-bracket said yes; 45% in the lower bracket replied yes.

"It is very or somewhat likely that you may be laid off over the next year."  Of those in the top income range 12% said yes; in the middle 20% said yes; while 36% at the bottom answered yes.

"It is very or somewhat likely that you may be asked to take a pay cut over the next year."  Twenty percent of the top; 26% of the middle and 37% at the bottom income range answered yes.

"You have gotten a pay raise at your current job or gotten a better job in the past year."  Top:  48%; Middle:  44%;  Bottom:  30%.

"Rate the economic condition in the country today as poor."  Top:  41%; middle:  46% and bottom:  50%.

Deep cuts in food programs harmful, unnecessary

Our ongoing national budget crisis jeopardizes the health, nutrition and overall well-being of the poorest and weakest Americans.  As Congress considers, debates and proposes various plans to slash spending, it appears that more and more life-sustaining options will be taken from the poor. 

Furthermore, a common notion (read just here "myth") is that private non-profits, churches and other NGOs will be able to "pick up the slack" or close the gap in providing needed benefits and services.  Of course, anyone who works in the sector and understands the magnitude of the problems facing poor folks also knows that such a suggestion is simply not feasible.  While non-profit groups have a role to play, often in administering public funds via grants and/or contracts, they can't be expected to manage the problems created by massive cutbacks.  The scale of the need and the challenges facing our low-income neighbors are simply too large to effectively address without adequate, realistic public funding.  

A factor few people bent on budget cuts often overlook is the high return on investment achieved by the strategic use of public benefits to help lift people from poverty.  Each dollar spent to help improve the lives of low-income persons and families is immediately injected into our economy.  Poor people don't leave their funds unspent on any sideline! 

In addition, effective programs for the poor prevent costly problems down the road.  For example, funds invested in infant and childhood nutrition reduce health care costs later in life among this population.  

As the following report makes clear, our times call for thoughtful leaders, not knee jerk reactions.  These tough times for so many also call for fairness and equity in policy matters.  Let me know what you think after you've read the report. 

Bait and Switch


Congress Chooses One Week’s Worth of Tax Cuts for Millionaires over Nutrition Assistance for Families that Need It

By Melissa Boteach, Seth Hanlon
June 2, 2011

If House Republicans get their way in the federal budget for fiscal year 2012 beginning in October, nearly 500,000 women, infants, and children could be deprived of basic nutritional assistance. Though Republican leaders justify this decision on the grounds that budget deficits require "shared sacrifice," the tax cuts they recently fought to extend will give away more money to America’s 300,000 millionaires this week than it will cost to adequately fund nutrition programs for all of next year.

That’s the story and the math behind the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee decision to slash the budget for the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, by $833 million in FY 2012. WIC provides nutritious foods to low-income pregnant women, new moms, babies, and children under 5 who have been identified as nutritionally at risk. The program has done this successfully for nearly 40 years at a relatively modest cost to the federal government, which is why the program has traditionally enjoyed strong bipartisan support.

The bill approved this week by Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee upends that bipartisan commitment, imposing deep and harmful cuts to WIC and denying assistance to 325,000 to 475,000 eligible mothers, infants, and children. In fact, not content with cutting WIC, the House Republicans also placed on the chopping block the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which delivers nutritionally appropriate meals to low-income, often homebound seniors. Tens of thousands of vulnerable seniors would lose access to these meals if these cuts totaling $38 million are ultimately signed into law.

Conservatives often claim that private charities and faith-based organizations will simply pick up the slack. Yet the funding bill for agriculture and nutrition programs also slashes the very funding that supports emergency food bank networks, through both food commodities and storage and distribution. The bill cuts $63 million from The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a decision that would significantly impede the ability of private food banks, shelters, and pantries to meet the rising need.

All told, the bill cuts $934 million out of these three federal nutrition programs. House Republicans say that given our nation’s fiscal challenges, these draconian cuts are unavoidable. Indeed, when announcing the cuts to nutrition services, Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston patted himself on the back for “making some of the tough choices necessary to right the ship.”

But slashing federal nutrition assistance won’t right the ship. It would steer us in the wrong direction. The WIC program represents about two-tenths of 1 percent of the federal budget. Even if one disregards the negative consequences on family budgets and the overall economy, the proposed cuts would reduce this year’s federal deficit by less than one-tenth of a percent.

In all likelihood, these cuts would leave the country and the federal budget in worse shape. Investing in the nutrition of pregnant women, infants, and young children is often credited with saving federal dollars in the short term and long run. By ensuring vulnerable children have access to adequate nutrition, WIC often prevents more costly health problems down the line and improves children’s school performance. According to researchers at Children’s HealthWatch, children’s brain size more than doubles in their first year of life when they are provided with appropriate nutrition. By ensuring moms and new babies have the nutritional supports they need to thrive during this critical time, WIC decreases the risk of developmental delays and promotes school readiness.

The program’s biggest cost-savings, however, often come before the child has even turned 1 year old. Economists estimate that every $1 invested in WIC saves between $1.77 and $3.13 in health care costs in the first 60 days after an infant’s birth by reducing the instance of low-birth-weight babies and improving child immunization rates. In fact, it is estimated that the program has saved more than 200,000 babies from dying at birth.

Read the entire report here.

Economic fragility...financial stress expands

My friend, Jeremy Gregg, Executive Director of the PLAN Fund here in Dallas, reminded me of a Dallas Morning News report that the "average Dallas poor family" spends $800 annually on check cashing and payday lending.  Based on the report below, I expect many other families are forced to use the incredibly expensive financial services as well.  It was a big win on Wednesday when, thanks to the efforts of CitySquare and our partners, the Dallas City Council approved new zoning regulations as a means of beginning to regulate payday lending operations in Dallas.  Read the report and tell me what you think.

Nearly Half of Americans Are ‘Financially Fragile’
May 23, 2011, 2:22 PM ET

Nearly half of Americans say that they definitely or probably couldn’t come up with $2,000 in 30 days, according to new research, raising concerns about the financial fragility of many households.

Many Americans aren’t able to cope with an unexpected bill.  In a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business, Daniel J. Schneider of Princeton University and Peter Tufano of Harvard Business School used data from the 2009 TNS Global Economic Crisis survey to document widespread financial weakness in the U.S. and other countries.

The survey asked a simple question, “If you were to face a $2,000 unexpected expense in the next month, how would you get the funds you need?” In the U.S., 24.9% of respondents reported being certainly able, 25.1% probably able, 22.2% probably unable and 27.9% certainly unable. The $2,000 figure “reflects the order of magnitude of the cost of an unanticipated major car repair, a large copayment on a medical expense, legal expenses, or a home repair,” the authors write. On a more concrete basis, the authors cite $2,000 as the cost of an auto transmission replacement and research that reported low-income families claim to need about $1500 in savings for emergencies.

Financial fragility isn’t limited to low-income groups. “Households with socioeconomic markers of vulnerability (income, wealth, wealth losses, education, women, families with children) are more likely to be financially fragile, and substantially more so,” the authors write. “The more surprising finding is that a material fraction of seemingly ‘middle class’ Americans also judge themselves to be financially fragile, reflecting either a substantially weaker financial position than one would expect, or a very high level of anxiety or pessimism. Both are important in terms of behavior and for public policy.”

Lusardi, Schneider and Tufano also looked at the ways in which people coped with an unexpected expense. Most would use multiple methods ranging from dipping into savings, asking for help from family and friends, using loans or credits cards, taking out payday loans or selling possessions. “Taken together with those who would pawn their possessions, sell their home, or take out a payday loan, 25.7% of respondents who were asked about coping methods (equal to 18.6% of all respondents) would come up with the funds for an emergency by resorting to what might be seen as extreme measures,” the authors write. “Along with the 27.9% of respondents who report that they could certainly not cope with an emergency, this suggests that approximately 46.5% of all respondents are living very close to the financial edge.”

Meanwhile, Lusardi, Schneider and Tufano also looked at how different countries compare. They consulted with local partners to set the number used in local currency at a comparable level. “Perceived capacity to cope with an emergency is lowest in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, all countries in which 50% of households or more would probably or certainly be unable to come up with the emergency funds,” the authors wrote. “France and Portugal occupy an intermediate position; 46% of respondents in Portugal would certainly or probably be unable to come up with the funds as would 37% of those in France. The highest levels of coping capacity are found in Canada (28% certainly or probably unable), Netherlands (27.9%), and Italy (20%).”

Donations down. . .challenging times. . .

Almost everyone who works in the non-profit sector knows the times are very, very tough.  While our donations are actually up from a year ago at this time, we are well under budget in terms of what we expected and planned as we looked to 2010.  As a result, we are in a scramble to cut expenses and trim programming costs as we move into the end of the year. 

But the extent of the downturn was driven home Monday by a report made public by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  A concise report on the story appeared on The Huffington Post over the weekend: 

WASHINGTON — A new ranking of the nation's 400 biggest charities shows donations dropped by 11 percent overall last year as the Great Recession ended - the worst decline in 20 years since the Chronicle of Philanthropy began keeping a tally.


The Philanthropy 400 report to be released Monday shows such familiar names as the United Way and the Salvation Army, both based near Washington, continue to dominate the ranking, despite the 2009 declines. The survey accounts for $68.6 billion in charitable contributions.

An earlier report by the Giving USA Foundation found overall charitable giving declined 3.6 percent last year. That report included giving to private foundations and to smaller charities, while the Chronicle's survey only includes top charities raising money from the public.

"It shows that charities are really having a tough time, and this is some of the most successful charities in the United States," Chronicle Editor Stacy Palmer said. "Usually bigger charities are more resilient, so that's the part that is still surprising."

Read the entire story here.

A picture is worth a thousand words. . .

Economy forces families to streets

Sunday, September 12, 2010, The New York Times reported on what we are seeing every day here in Dallas and across the nation.  Times are tough for families.  Central Dallas Ministries (CDM) has been involved in engaging an increasing number of families in danger of becoming homeless, more families this year than any year in our history. 

The City of Dallas received funding from the federal stimulus program to bring the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program to the community.  CDM, thanks to our effectiveness in getting the housing dollars out, recently received a second allocation of funds to help pay rent and utilities for families in distress. 

Here's the Times report: 

Number of Families in Shelters Rises

PROVI-
DENCE, R.I. — For a few hours at the mall here this month, Nick Griffith, his wife, Lacey Lennon, and their two young children got to feel like a regular family again.


Never mind that they were just killing time away from the homeless shelter where they are staying, or that they had to take two city buses to get to the shopping center because they pawned one car earlier this year and had another repossessed, or that the debit card Ms. Lennon inserted into the A.T.M. was courtesy of the state’s welfare program.

They ate lunch at the food court, browsed for clothes and just strolled, blending in with everyone else out on a scorching hot summer day. “It’s exactly why we come here,” Ms. Lennon said. “It reminds us of our old life.”

For millions who have lost jobs or faced eviction in the economic downturn, homelessness is perhaps the darkest fear of all. In the end, though, for all the devastation wrought by the recession, a vast majority of people who have faced the possibility have somehow managed to avoid it.

Nevertheless, from 2007 through 2009, the number of families in homeless shelters — households with at least one adult and one minor child — leapt to 170,000 from 131,000, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

With long-term unemployment ballooning, those numbers could easily climb this year. Late in 2009, however, states began distributing $1.5 billion that has been made available over three years by the federal government as part of the stimulus package for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, which provides financial assistance to keep people in their homes or get them back in one quickly if they lose them.

More than 550,000 people have received aid, including more than 1,800 in Rhode Island, with just over a quarter of the money for the program spent so far nationally, state and federal officials said.

To read the entire report click here.

Unemployed Executives Working Among Non-Profits

My good friend and former teammate, Jeremy Gregg left Central Dallas Ministries almost two years ago to help create Executives in Action.

Great concept for high level leaders caught between their last opportunity and their next one.

Great for our community.

Great organization!

Way to go, Jermey!

Col K

Profits, Wages and Unemployment

Figures that surprise
Mar 22nd 2010, 14:25 by Buttonwood

IF YOU need an explanation as to why political discontent is so widespread on both sides of the Atlantic, take a look at figures compiled by Dhaval Joshi of the hedge fund RAB Capital. This recovery has benefited companies a lot and workers not at all.

In the US, Joshi calculates that, in cash terms, national income has risen $200 billion since the depths of the recession in March 2009. But corporate profits have risen by $280 billion over that period, while wages are down by $90 billion. One would have to go back to the 1950s to find profits outperforming wages in absolute (cash) terms, and even then it was on a much smaller scale. In Britain, national income rose $27 billion in the last two quarters of last year. Profits were up £24 billion and wages just £2 billion.

The latest issue has a piece on this puzzle; US productivity has outpaced European largely because the US has been quicker to sack workers. This is a decidedly mixed blessing. In theory, it is good for resources (including labour) to be relloacted to more productive use. Thus it would be OK if the workers were quickly rehired by new, growing industries or if they were at least retrained, but there is little sign of such a positive development.

Continue reading here.

Reactions?

Pegasus Thanksgiving Report: Hungry North Texans

This report appeared in Pegasus News, a Dallas on-line news service:

Traditional Thanksgiving dinner too costly for some North Texans


by Lena Dirbashi

A few Thanksgivings ago, Andre Alston worked as a permanent substitute teacher at Dallas ISD. For years, he taught English, math, science, and reading. But four years ago, the school district decided that his college degree, a two-year associates degree, wasn't enough and laid him off.

It didn't take him long to find another job -- but not without compromise. Alston's new job at Macy's department store was paying him a fraction of how much he got paid as a teacher. Soon, he found himself caught between paying the bills and buying food. "When you get to that point," he said. "You just feel really bad." With no immediate family close by and nobody to turn to, Alston felt weak, overwhelmed, and sad. One day, he was standing at the unemployment office and noticed a flier for the Central Dallas Ministries (CDM). He paid them a visit that changed everything. Alston was finally able to enjoy a happy Thanksgiving.

Central Dallas Ministries, one of more than 300 food pantries in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, is overwhelmed in the weeks leading up to the holidays. The average number of food recipients for 2009 was 4,575 individuals per month at the Ministries, and that number is expected to double during the holidays. The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), which distributes food to the Ministries and 291 member agencies, doubled its staff and trucks to confront the drastic increase in need.

To read the entire story click here.
 
To learn more about Central Dallas Ministries go to http://www.centraldallasministries.org/.

Wealth and spending in 2009

The Dallas Morning News published a story yesterday lifted from the Chicago Tribune entitled, "Rich hold tight to money" (Thursday, July 9, 2009, 13A).

As a result of the current economic crisis, "luxury spending" is down by 10% so far this year. Evidently, a proven indicator of our economy's resurgence can be found in the spending habits of our wealthy neighbors. According to the report, businesses selling luxury items shouldn't expect a "full recovery until 2012."

Here's an interesting fact: the richest 10% of us in this country account for 50% of all consumer spending. And, according to the Federal Reserve, consumer spending fuels 70% of the nation's GDP.

The report includes a brief analysis of the losses incurred by the mega-wealthy since the collapse of 2008. But then, it adds, "One school of thought is that the well-heeled shoppers are holding back because they are self-conscious about their wealth."

That's interesting, don't you think?

I know at CDM we continue to be grateful for our more affluent donors who continue to support our work. In a number of cases these donors have stepped forward to do even more than normal to help those who are hurting due to the faltering economy.

Other donors have disappeared.

Our mission and purpose leads us to work on poverty every day, regardless the state of the economy.

We don't talk much about wealth here.

The complexities of both poverty and wealth are clear to me.

One thing I know for certain, as different as rich and poor may be on the surface, we are all neighbors and our community will work best when we regard one another as such.

What are you ideas about wealth?
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Tough Times

The harshness of the economic meltdown crushes new families.

More of us are closer to the edge than we want to admit.

Take a look here.

Or, read this report.

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Nonsense: Lost retail dollars in the midst of our economic crisis

Getting purchasing power into the hands of the residents of Dallas County sounds like a fairly good thing to do these days. It sure seems that way to me.

This fact led me to check in on my friends at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to gather some financial data on the state's adminisitration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) here in Dallas County. (Brief aside: it is interesting that the State of Texas doesn't use the program's correct name in reporting its own numbers in administering the benefit to Texans--evidently in Texas we call it "Food Stamps").

Here's what I found.

For March 2009. Dallas County reported out 105,691 SNAP households representing 258,122 individuals. The average benefit per month turned out to be $277. Assuming that the program will function at about this level for the year, Dallas County participants will receive $351,316,884 to spend on groceries at local grocery markets across the county.

Officials estimate that only 67% of eligible Texans receive the SNAP benefit to which they are entitled. If you apply this estimate to Dallas County (an extremely conservative approach to this research question), it means that 157,748 households are eligible for the benefit, but 52,056 households are not taking advantage of the opportunity.

Put in retail buying power terms, Dallas County will miss out on $173,036,674 that could flow through our depressed economy at a time when every dollar counts.

The manner in which the Texas Health and Human Services Commission administers the SNAP initiative should be brought under review by the Texas Legislature.

Leave the poor aside for a moment.

Thanks right!

Forget the poor children (all 153,510 of them who were served in March 2009).

Forget the senior citizens (all 16,543 of them served this month).

Just think of the loss to area food retail and wholesale stores this month and over the course of the year!

Afterall, $173,036,674 is not "chump change." Just ask the manager at your grocery store next time you are there.

How foolish can we be?

(To check out the data, go here.)

Credit where credit is due: thanks to my friends in Austin at the Center for Public Policy Priorities and to Senior Policy Analyst, Celia Hagert in particular for this post.

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So, where's the pork?

Talk radio and political pundits continue to fill the airwaves with talk about all of the "pork" in the President's economic stimulus package that he is urging Congress to enact.

I'll be the first to fess-up: I haven't read the 600+ page document. [Note: I'm trying to get a copy for further review.]

What I have seen relates to Dallas, Texas and it comes from a listing of "shovel-ready"projects that the City of Dallas has requested be included in the funding measure. The total tab on these projects: $1,235,145,000.00.

So, how would our fair city spend over $1.2 billion?

Mainly on infrastructure improvement. You know roads, bridges, public safety, water and drainage, sanitation and transportation matters, including airport improvements.

There are also provisions for energy conservation, creation of "green" jobs, and additional police officers (20).

Closer to my world, there is funding to cover demolition of two public housing developments, Turner Courts (where we've been working since 2000) and Rhodes Terrace, just up the street from Turner. Big, big neighborhood improvement here.

Then I found funding to build 55 additional dwellings at Roseland Homes, another public housing development where we have worked since 1996. Again, major improvement for the community.

I suppose one of the largest and most controversial projects involves $386,000,000 for a new convention center hotel, a major community endeavor being pushed forward by our Mayor, Tom Leppert.

Of course, this list is not just about money. It is about jobs and jobs in the short term. If my math is correct, we are talking about the creation of almost 12,000 new jobs that pay a livable wage.

For the life of me, I can't find any pork, not even an "oink," at least not in the portion of the bill that has to do with Dallas, Texas.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting with one of the chief assistants to a member of the U. S. House of Representatives. He informed us that President Obama had called a meeting of Democratic leaders last week to chastise them for including items in the legislation that did not relate directly to stimulating the economy. According to this source, the meeting was very direct and challenging. That sounds like good news to me.

The situation we face today cannot be about politics. Far too much is at stake. It is time for a renewal of community spirit in this city and nation.

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KERA asks good question. . .

KERA's Krys Boyd, host of the television weekly Think, interviewed my friend Mike Doyle, Cornerstone Assistance Network in Tarrant County, and me last week. The topic: how are things going and how are people coping in view of the dramatic economic downturn.

If you're interested, you can view the program here.

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