Tumgik
#Federal Financial Assistance Programs
evccedu · 1 year
Text
1 note · View note
ivygorgon · 2 months
Text
An open letter to the U.S. Senate
Improve disabled American's financial stability with S.4102 - SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act
In the words of David Goldfarb on behalf of the Arc of the United States, "…we enthusiastically endorse S. 4102, the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, which would raise the amount of savings a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient can keep for the first time in over thirty years. The mission of the Arc is to promote and protect the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and actively support their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
"SSI provides an extremely modest cash benefit, a maximum of $841 a month in 2022, for certain individuals with disabilities and older adults. In March 2022, nearly 7.6 million people: 4.3 million working-age individuals with disabilities; 1 million children with disabilities; and 2.3 million older adults relied on the program.
"Many individuals with IDD rely on the SSI program. In 2017, SSA estimated that approximately 19% of working-age SSI recipients possessed an intellectual disability. For many people with IDD, SSI is their only source of income without which they could become institutionalized or homeless.
"Unfortunately, the benefit’s low, outdated resource limit of $2,000 for individuals/$3,000 for couples does not allow people to save for emergencies, such as a leaky roof, car repair, or other unexpected expense. To make matters worse, the $2,000 limit does not adjust for inflation every year, and it has remained the same since 1989.
"The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act would significantly improve the lives of SSI recipients, including people with IDD, by raising the asset limit to $10,000 per individual/$20,000 per couple. The legislation also adjusts that number for inflation every year, a critical element in 2 today’s inflationary environment. This will allow SSI beneficiaries to use their own savings to address needed emergencies when they arise.
"Thank you again for this critical legislation."
Truly his letter is phenomenal and applicable to many American citizens. I hope you too appreciate his mastery of diction, his compassion for his fellow American, and the truth in his words.
📱 Text SIGN PYLYME to 50409
🤯 Liked it? Text FOLLOW IVYPETITIONS to 50409
5 notes · View notes
wilwheaton · 1 year
Text
The GOP wonders why young people (and others) don't want to vote for them. Some wise scribe assembled this list.
1.) Your Reagan-era “trickle-down economics” strategy of tax breaks for billionaires that you continue to employ to this day has widened the gap between rich and poor so much that most of them will never be able to own a home, much less earn a living wage.
2.) You refuse to increase the federal minimum wage, which is still $7.25 an hour (since 2009). Even if it had just kept up with inflation, it would be $27 now. You’re forcing people of all ages but especially young people to work multiple jobs just to afford basic necessities.
3.) You fundamentally oppose and want to kill democracy; have done everything in your power to restrict access to the ballot box, particularly in areas with demographics that tend to vote Democratic (like young people and POC). You staged a fucking coup the last time you lost.
4.) You have abused your disproportionate senate control over the last three decades to pack the courts with religious extremists and idealogues, including SCOTUS—which has rolled back rights for women in ways that do nothing but kill more women and children and expand poverty.
5.) You refuse to enact common sense gun control laws to curb mass shootings like universal background checks and banning assault weapons; subjecting their entire generation to school shootings and drills that are traumatizing in and of themselves. You are owned by the NRA.
6.) You are unequivocally against combatting climate change to the extent that it’s as if you’ve made it your personal mission to ensure they inherit a planet that is beyond the point of no return in terms of remaining habitable for the human race beyond the next few generations.
7.) You oppose all programs that provide assistance to those who need it most. Your governors refused to expand Medicaid even during A PANDEMIC. You are against free school lunches, despite it being the only meal that millions of children can count on to actually receive each day
8.) You are banning books, defunding libraries, barring subject matter, and whitewashing history even more in a fascistic attempt to keep them ignorant of the systemic racism that this nation was literally founded upon and continues to this day in every action your party takes.
9.) You oppose universal healthcare and are still trying to repeal the ACA and rip healthcare from tens of millions of Americans and replace it with nothing. You are against lowering the cost of insulin and prescription drugs that millions need simply to LIVE/FUNCTION in society.
10.) You embrace white nationalists, Neo-Nazis, and other groups that are defined by their intractable racism, xenophobia, bigotry, and intolerance. You conspired with these groups on January 6th to try to overthrow the U.S. government via domestic terrorism that KILLED PEOPLE.
11.) You oppose every bill aimed at making life better for our nation’s youth; from education to extracurricular and financial/nutritional assistance programs. You say you want to “protect the children” while you elect/nominate pedophiles and attack trans youth and drag queens.
12.) You pretend to be offended by “anti-semitism” while literally supporting, electing, and speaking at events organized by Nazis. You pretend to hate “cancel culture” despite the fact that you invented it and it’s basically all you do.
13.) Every word you utter is a lie. You are the party of treason, hypocrisy, crime, and authoritarianism. You want to entrench rule by your aging minority because you know that you have nothing to offer young voters and they will never support you for all these reasons and more.
14.) You’re so hostile to even the notion of helping us overcome the mountain of debt that millions of us are forced to take on just to pay for our post K-12 education that you are suing to try to prevent a small fraction of us from getting even $10,000 in loan forgiveness.
15.) You opened the floodgates of money into politics via Citizens United; allowing our entire system of government to become a cesspool of corruption, crime, and greed. You are supposed to represent the American people whose taxes pay your salary but instead cater to rich donors.
16.) You respond to elected representatives standing in solidarity with their constituents to protest the ONGOING SLAUGHTER of children in schools via shootings by EXPELLING THEM FROM OFFICE & respond to your lack of popularity among young people by trying to raise the voting age.
17.) You impeach Democratic presidents over lying about a BJ but refuse to impeach (then vote twice to acquit) a guy whose entire “administration” was an international crime syndicate being run out of the WH who incited an insurrection to have you killed.
18.) You steal Supreme Court seats from democrats to prevent the only black POTUS we’ve ever had from appointing one and invent fake precedents that you later ignore all to take fundamental rights from Americans; and even your “legitimate” appointments consist of people like THIS (sub-thread refuting CJ Roberts criticisms of people attacking SCOTUS' legitimacy).
19.) You support mass incarceration even for innocuous offenses or execution by cop for POC while doing nothing but protect rich white criminals who engage in such things as tax fraud, money laundering, sex trafficking, rape/sexual assault, falsifying business records, etc.
20.) You are the reason we can’t pass:—Universal background checks—An assault weapons ban—The ‘For the People/Freedom to vote’ Act or John Lewis Voting Rights Act—The ERA & Equality Act—The Climate Action Now Act—The (Stopping) Violence Against Women Act—SCOTUS expansion.
21.) You do not seek office to govern, represent, or serve the American people. You seek power solely for its own sake so you can impose your narrow-minded puritanical will on others at the expense of their most fundamental rights and freedoms like voting and bodily autonomy.
22.) Ok, last one. You are trying to eliminate social security and Medicare that tens of millions of our parents rely on and paid into their entire lives. And you did everything to maximize preventable deaths from COVID leaving millions of us in mourning.
Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/e8DBZLH
14K notes · View notes
reasonsforhope · 2 months
Text
Flint, Michigan, has one of the [United States]'s highest rates of child poverty — something that got a lot of attention during the city's lead water crisis a decade ago. And a pediatrician who helped expose that lead problem has now launched a first-of-its-kind move to tackle poverty: giving every new mother $7,500 in cash aid over a year.
A baby's first year is crucial for development. It's also a time of peak poverty.
Flint's new cash transfer program, Rx Kids, starts during pregnancy. The first payment is $1,500 to encourage prenatal care. After delivery, mothers will get $500 a month over the baby's first year.
"What happens in that first year of life can really portend your entire life course trajectory. Your brain literally doubles in size in the first 12 months," says Hanna-Attisha, who's also a public health professor at Michigan State University.
A baby's birth is also a peak time for poverty. Being pregnant can force women to cut back hours or even lose a job. Then comes the double whammy cost of child care.
Research has found that stress from childhood poverty can harm a person's physical and mental health, brain development and performance in school. Infants and toddlers are more likely than older children to be put into foster care, for reasons that advocates say conflate neglect with poverty.
In Flint, where the child poverty rate is more than 50%, Hanna-Attisha says new moms are in a bind. "We just had a baby miss their 4-day-old appointment because mom had to go back to work at four days," she says...
Benefits of Cash Aid
Studies have found such payments reduce financial hardship and food insecurity and improve mental and physical health for both mothers and children.
The U.S. got a short-lived taste of that in 2021. Congress temporarily expanded the child tax credit, boosting payments and also sending them to the poorest families who had been excluded because they didn't make enough to qualify for the credit. Research found that families mostly spent the money on basic needs. The bigger tax credit improved families' finances and briefly cut the country's child poverty rate nearly in half.
"We saw food hardship dropped to the lowest level ever," Shaefer says. "And we saw credit scores actually go to the highest that they'd ever been in at the end of 2021."
Critics worried that the expanded credit would lead people to work less, but there was little evidence of that. Some said they used the extra money for child care so they could go to work.
As cash assistance in Flint ramps up, Shaefer will be tracking not just its impact on financial well-being, but how it affects the roughly 1,200 babies born in the city each year.
"We're going to see if expectant moms route into prenatal care earlier," he says. "Are they able to go more? And then we'll be able to look at birth outcomes," including birth weight and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions.
Since the pandemic, dozens of cash aid pilots have popped up across the nation. But unlike them, Rx Kids is not limited to lower-income households. It's universal, which means every new mom will get the same amount of money. "You pit people against each other when you draw that line in the sand and say, 'You don't need this, and you do,' " Shaefer says. It can also stigmatize families who get the aid, he says, as happened with traditional welfare...
So far, there's more than $43 million to keep the program going for three years. Funders include foundations, health insurance companies and the state of Michigan, which allocated a small part of its federal cash aid, known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
Money can buy more time for bonding with a baby
Alana Turner can't believe her luck with Flint's new cash benefits. "I was just shocked because of the timing of it all," she says.
Turner is due soon with her second child, a girl. She lives with her aunt and her 4-year-old son, Ace. After he was born, her car broke down and she was seriously cash-strapped, negotiating over bill payments. This time, she hopes she won't have to choose between basic needs.
"Like, I shouldn't have to think about choosing between are the lights going to be on or am I going to make sure the car brakes are good," she says...
But since she'll be getting an unexpected $7,500 over the next year, Turner has a new goal. With her first child, she was back on the job in less than six weeks. Now, she hopes she'll be able to slow down and spend more time with her daughter.
"I don't want to sacrifice the time with my newborn like I had to for my son, if I don't have to," she says."
-via NPR, March 12, 2024
347 notes · View notes
robfinancialtip · 5 months
Text
youtube
Today we will discuss financial assistance to cover the cost of Medicare.
Explore Medicaid, a joint federal-and-state program that covers out-of-pocket expenses for dual-eligible individuals.
Learn about Medicare's four savings programs, aiding with Part A and Part B premiums, deductibles, copays, and charges based on your income.
If you're concerned about prescription costs, we discuss the Extra Help program that supports those with limited resources in covering Part D expenses.
To learn more, go to aarp.org/medicare.
225 notes · View notes
mariacallous · 4 months
Text
FLINT, Michigan ― The story of a wildly successful antipoverty program is also one of the most disheartening tales of Joe Biden’s presidency.
In 2021, Biden and congressional Democrats expanded a tax credit for children, transforming it from a targeted, sliding-scale subsidy to a simpler, more straightforward form of financial assistance. It was a version of an idea that’s become the hottest concept in antipoverty policy ― just giving people money, without restrictions on its use or complex eligibility procedures. By nearly all accounts, it worked magnificently. That year, the U.S. poverty rate hit a record low. The expansion was one of the COVID-19 relief measures in the American Rescue Plan, which passed on party lines. Biden and his allies had hoped to extend the program, making it permanent. But to do that, they needed every single vote from their 50-seat Democratic majority in the Senate. And they couldn’t get Joe Manchin, the conservative Democrat from West Virginia, to go along. The program expired at the end of the year.
Now, with the tax credit back to its more complicated, restrictive version, poverty is back up. And although a year’s worth of helping low-income families with kids surely did a lot of good, neither Biden nor the Democrats have gotten much credit for that. Few Americans are even aware of the program, or of Biden’s role in it. And among those familiar with the program’s history, the prevailing sentiment seems to be disappointment at the failure to make it permanent.
But there’s a coda to this story involving a new initiative in Flint, Michigan, that’s already helping hundreds of families. And it’s got political relevance, given that it probably wouldn’t have happened without the help of Biden and other Democrats.
If the program lives up to its billing, it could inspire copycat efforts around the country, fueling calls to resurrect a federal version of the program. But the prospects for those efforts depend on keeping sympathetic leaders in office, which in turn depends on what happens in the next election.
133 notes · View notes
odinsblog · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
"Republicans want to give a work requirement for SNAP. A hungry family has to have these kinds of penalties," said Fetterman.
SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Republicans want to make it even harder than it already is to access life-saving programs like SNAP and Medicaid, as a part of their “debt ceiling” “negotiations,” and their never ending attempts to to gut the social safety net, and their never ending assault on poor people.
"Shouldn't you have a working requirement after we bail out your bank with billions?" Fetterman asked Gregory Becker (a registered Republican), the former Silicon Valley Bank executive.
Tumblr media
Other than blaming the media, customers and anyone except SVB Bank, Becker did not have a good answer.
Tumblr media
It’s worth noting that
A) Becker dumped nearly 12,500 shares for more than $3.5 million on Feb. 27, the same day that Chief Financial Officer Daniel Beck unloaded $575,180 worth of company stock, and many SVB executives received exorbitant bonuses just hours before the bank run.
And B) Greg Becker lobbied the federal government to relax Dodd-Frank provisions on regional banks, and then Trump did precisely that.
245 notes · View notes
batboyblog · 4 months
Text
The Biden-⁠Harris Administration Advances Equity and Opportunity for Black Americans
Tumblr media
Growing Economic Opportunity for Black Families and Communities Through the President’s legislative victories, including the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—as well as the President’s historic executive orders on racial equity—the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that federal investments through the President’s landmark Investing in America agenda are equitably flowing to communities to address longstanding economic inequities that impact people’s economic security, health, and safety. And this vision is already delivering results. The Biden-Harris Administration has:
Powered a historic economic recovery that created 2.6 million jobs for Black workers—and achieved both the lowest Black unemployment rate on record and the lowest gap between Black and White unemployment on record.
Helped Black working families build wealth. Black wealth is up by 60% relative to pre-pandemic—the largest increase on record.
Cut in half the number of Black children living in poverty in 2021 through ARP’s Child Tax Credit expansion. This expansion provided breathing room to the families of over 9 million Black children.
Began reversing decades of infrastructure disinvestment, including with $4 billion to reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by building needed transportation infrastructure in underserved communities, including Black communities.
Connected an estimated 5.5 million Black households to affordable high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program, closing the digital divide for millions of Black families.
Tumblr media
Helping Black-Owned Businesses Grow and Thrive Since the President entered office, a record 16 million new business applications have been filed, and the share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled. Building on this momentum, the Biden-Harris Administration has:
Achieved the fastest creation rate of Black-owned businesses in more than 30 years—and more than doubled the share of Black business owners from 2019 to 2022.
Improved the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) flagship loan guarantee programs to expand the availability of capital to underserved communities. Since 2020, the number and dollar value of SBA-backed loans to Black-owned businesses have more than doubled.
Launched a whole-of-government effort to expand access to federal contracts for small businesses, awarding a record $69.9 billion to small disadvantaged businesses in 2022.
Through Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative, invested $10 billion to expand access to capital and invest in early-stage businesses in all 50 states—including $2.5 billion in funding and incentive allocations dedicated to support the provision of capital to underserved businesses with $1 billion of these funds to be awarded to the jurisdictions that are most successful in reaching underserved businesses.
Helped more than 37,000 farmers and ranchers who were in financial distress, including Black farmers and ranchers, stay on their farms and keep farming, thanks to resources provided through IRA. The IRA allocated $3.1 billion for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide relief for distressed borrowers with at-risk agricultural operations with outstanding direct or guaranteed Farm Service Agency loans. USDA has provided over $2 billion and counting in timely assistance.
Supported small and disadvantaged businesses through CHIPS Act funding by requiring funding applicants to develop a workforce plan to create equitable pathways for economically disadvantaged individuals in their region, as well as a plan to support procurement from small, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses.
Created the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that will invest in clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Tumblr media
Increasing Access to Housing and Rooting Out Discrimination in the Housing Market for Black Communities To increase access to housing and root out discrimination in the housing market, including for Black families and communities, the Biden-Harris Administration has:
Set up the first-ever national infrastructure to stop evictions, scaling up the ARP-funded Emergency Rental Assistance program in over 400 communities across the country, helping 8 million renters and their families stay in their homes. Over 40% of all renters helped are Black—and this support prevented millions of evictions, with the largest effects seen in majority-Black neighborhoods.
Published a proposed “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which will help overcome patterns of segregation and hold states, localities, and public housing agencies that receive federal funds accountable for ensuring that underserved communities have equitable access to affordable housing opportunities.
Created the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity, or PAVE, a first-of-its-kind interagency effort to root out bias in the home appraisal process, which is taking sweeping action to advance equity and remove racial and ethnic bias in home valuations, including cracking down on algorithmic bias and empowering consumers to take action against misvaluation.
Taken additional steps through HUD to support wealth-generation activities for prospective and current homeowners by expanding access to credit by incorporating a borrower’s positive rental payment history into the mortgage underwriting process. HUD estimates this policy change will enable an additional 5,000 borrowers per year to qualify for an FHA-insured loan.
Tumblr media
Ensuring Equitable Educational Opportunity for Black Students To expand educational opportunity for the Black community in early childhood and beyond, the Biden-Harris Administration has:
Approved more than $136 billion in student loan debt cancellation for 3.7 million Americans through various actions and launched a new student loan repayment plan—the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan—to help many students and families cut in half their total lifetime payments per dollar borrowed.
Championed the largest increase to Pell Grants in the last decade—a combined increase of $900 to the maximum award over the past two years, affecting the over 60% of Black undergraduates who rely on Pell grants.
Fixed the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, so all qualified borrowers get the debt relief to which they are entitled. More than 790,000 public servants have received more than $56 billion in loan forgiveness since October 2021. Prior to these fixes, only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness through PSLF.
Delivered a historic investment of over $7 billion to support HBCUs.
Reestablished the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.
Through ARP, secured $130 billion—the largest investment in public education in history—to help students get back to school, recover academically in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and address student mental health.
Secured a 30% increase in child care assistance funding last year. Black families comprise 38% of families benefiting from federal child care assistance. Additionally, the President secured an additional $1 billion for Head Start, a program where more than 28% of children and pregnant women who benefit identify as Black.
Tumblr media
Improving Health Outcomes for Black Families and Communities To improve health outcomes for the Black community, the Biden-Harris Administration has:
Increased Black enrollment in health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act by 49%—or by around 400,000—from 2020 to 2022, helping more Black families gain health insurance than ever before.
Through IRA, locked in lower monthly premiums for health insurance, capped the cost of insulin at $35 per covered insulin product for Medicare beneficiaries, and helped further close the gap in access to medication by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug costs in Medicare. 
Through ARP, expanded postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months in 43 states and Washington, D.C., covering 700,000 more women in the year after childbirth. Medicaid covers approximately 65% of births for Black mothers, and this investment is a critical step to address maternal health disparities.
Financed projects that will replace hundreds of thousands of lead pipes, helping protect against lead poisoning that disproportionately affects Black communities.
Provided 264 grants with $1 billion in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funds to more than 40 states to increase the supply of school-based mental health professionals in communities with high rates of poverty.
Tumblr media
Launched An Unprecedented Whole-Of-Government Equity Agenda to Ensure the Promise of America for All Communities, including Black Communities President Biden believes that advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our government, which will require sustained leadership and partnership with all communities. To make the promise of America real for every American, including for the Black Community, the President has:
Signed two Executive Orders directing the Federal Government to advance an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the challenges we face as a country and the opportunities we have to build a more perfect union.
Nominated the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court and more Black women to federal circuit courts than every President combined.
Countered hateful attempts to rewrite history including: the signing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act; establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday; and designating the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois. The Department of the Interior has invested more than $295 million in infrastructure funding and historic preservation grants to protect and restore places significant to Black history.
Created the Justice40 Initiative, which is delivering 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments in clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other programs to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution as part of the most ambitious climate, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history.
Tumblr media
Protecting the Sacred Right to Vote for Black Families and Communities Since their first days in office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have prioritized strengthening our democracy and protecting the sacred right to vote in free, fair, and secure elections. To do so, the President has:
Signed an Executive Order to leverage the resources of the Federal Government to provide nonpartisan information about the election process and increase access to voter registration. Agencies across the Federal Government are taking action to respond to the President’s call for an all-of-government effort to enhance the ability of all eligible Americans to participate in our democracy.
Repeatedly and forcefully called on Congress to pass essential legislation, including the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, including calling for an exception to the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.
Increased funding for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which has more than doubled the number of voting rights enforcement attorneys. The Justice Department also created the Election Threats Task Force to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, and investigate and prosecute these matters where appropriate.
Signed into law the bipartisan Electoral Reform Count Act, which establishes clear guidelines for our system of certifying and counting electoral votes for President and Vice President, to preserve the will of the people and to protect against the type of attempts to overturn our elections that led to the January 6 insurrection.
Tumblr media
Addressing the Crisis of Gun Violence in Black Communities Gun violence has become the leading cause of death for all youth and Black men in America, as well as the second leading cause of death for Black women. To address this national crisis, the President has:
Launched the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and taken more executive action on gun violence than any President in history, including investments in violence reduction strategies that address the root causes of gun violence and address emerging threats like ghost guns. In 2022, the Administration’s investments in evidence-based, lifesaving programs combined with aggressive action to stop the flow of illegal guns and hold shooters accountable yielded a 12.4% reduction in homicides across the United States.
Signed into the law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun violence reduction legislation enacted in nearly 30 years, including investments in violence reduction strategies and historic policy changes to enhance background checks for individuals under age 21, narrow the dating partner loophole in the gun background check system, and provide law enforcement with tools to crack down on gun trafficking.
Secured the first-ever dedicated federal funding stream for community violence intervention programs, which have been shown to reduce violence by as much as 60%. These programs are effective because they leverage trusted messengers who work directly with individuals most likely to commit gun violence, intervene in conflicts, and connect people to social, health and wellness, and economic services to reduce the likelihood of violence as an answer to conflict.
Tumblr media
Enhancing Public Trust and Strengthening Public Safety for Black Communities Our criminal justice system must protect the public and ensure fair and impartial justice for all. These are mutually reinforcing goals. To enhance equal justice and public safety for all communities, including the Black community, the President has:
Signed a historic Executive Order to put federal policing on the path to becoming the gold standard of effectiveness and accountability by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to ban chokeholds; restrict no-knock warrants; mandate the use of body-worn cameras; implement stronger use-of-force policies; provide de-escalation training; submit use-of-force data; submit officer misconduct records into a new national accountability database; and restrict the sale or transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, among other things. 
Taken steps to right the wrongs stemming from our Nation’s failed approach to marijuana by directing the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice to expeditiously review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law and in October 2022 issued categorical pardons of prior federal and D.C. offenses of simple possession of marijuana and in December 2023 pardoned additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law. While white, Black, and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionately higher rates.
Announced over 100 concrete policy actions as part of a White House evidence-informed, multi-year Alternatives, Rehabilitation, and Reentry Strategic Plan to safely reduce unnecessary criminal justice system interactions so police officers can focus on fighting crime; supporting rehabilitation during incarceration; and facilitating successful reentry.
FACT SHEET
70 notes · View notes
sparksinthenight · 4 months
Text
Have a Heart Day 2024
This is a letter I wrote to the Canadian Government for Have a Heart Day 2024. I am asking the government to stop discriminating against First Nations children, to stop giving them inadequate services, education, and support, to stop treating them unequally compared to non-Indigenous children, and to stop taking them away from their loving families. I really hope that you read my letter and that you either copy paste it or write your own, and email the Canadian government yourself.
Hello. Our names are ____ and we are people from various parts of so-called Canada. We are writing to you to ask that you ensure the government stops discriminating against First Nations children, by signing a Final Settlement Agreement on Reform that meets and goes beyond the Agreement in Principle on Reform, and by following the Spirit Bear Plan and enshrining it into law. 
First Nations children and families on reserves are being discriminated against in many ways. Most communities do not receive the same amount of and access to social services that non-Indigenous people receive. Most communities do not receive as good quality social services as non-Indigenous people. While there has been progress, Jordan's Principle, which is about meeting children's needs, is still not being properly applied. Most children don't have access to an equal quality of education as children off reserves, and many children receive very inadequate education services. And, very horrifyingly, children are being separated from families who love them and want to take care of them. This all needs to stop. We need to make, follow, and enforce laws that stop this discrimination. 
First of all, let's talk about the fact that social services are inadequate on most reserves. As you know, the federal government funds services on reserves that the provincial or municipal governments fund elsewhere. The government generally funds services on reserves far less than services are funded off reserves. These include education, water infrastructure, housing, financial assistance, transportation, basic infrastructure, utilities, healthcare, mental healthcare, addiction support, job training, childcare, youth programs, cultural programs, recreation programs, libraries, child welfare, and more. These services are human rights and should be well-funded for everyone. It's not fair that non-Indigenous people have better services to better meet more of their fundamental human rights and basic needs while people on reserves don't. 
The fact that people don't have access to the services they need is part of why there are high levels of poverty on reserves. Ongoing and historical racism, trauma, and discrimination have caused a lot of people on reserves to be poor. And this lack of services is part of that discrimination that is causing people to be poor. If people had the healthcare, education, housing, childcare, mental healthcare, addiction support, cultural support, job training, basic food and water, disability support, and other things they needed, they would be able to have the peace of mind, mental strength, knowledge, support, and resources necessary to pull themselves and their communities out of poverty. Also, since there is so much poverty on reserves, these communities need even more services to help meet their basic needs and human rights. 
Services delivered need to be good and effective for the communities they are delivered in. This means that services need to meet each community's different needs. Because each community has different needs due to different connectivity to the outside world, poverty levels, local prices, etc. Service providers need to first see what services people need and how to best deliver them, then work out how much money is needed. Money should be the last thing considered. What each person, family, and community needs should be the first thing considered. And of course, services must all be culturally sensitive and relevant. 
And part of why services are so low quality, as well as part of why so much discrimination and cruelty happens, is because Indigenous Services Canada has biases in its systems and people, and must be reformed. Indigenous Services Canada doesn't listen to experts about what communities need and how things should be done. They don't try to do their actual job, which is ensuring good services are provided to Indigenous people. They need to be reformed and communities need to lead their own service provision. 
The Spirit Bear plan must be properly implemented and properly followed. It must be enshrined in law and the law must be completely enforced. The Spirit Bear Plan is the following:
"Spirit Bear calls on:
CANADA to immediately comply with all rulings by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordering it to immediately cease its discriminatory funding of First Nations child and family services. The order further requires Canada to fully and properly implement Jordan's Principle (www.jordansprinciple.ca).
PARLIAMENT to ask the Parliamentary Budget Officer to publicly cost out the shortfalls in all federally funded public services provided to First Nations children, youth and families (education, health, water, child welfare, etc.) and propose solutions to fix it.
GOVERNMENT to consult with First Nations to co-create a holistic Spirit Bear Plan to end all of the inequalities (with dates and confirmed investments) in a short period of time sensitive to children's best interests, development and distinct community needs.
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS providing services to First Nations children and families to undergo a thorough and independent 360° evaluation to identify any ongoing discriminatory ideologies, policies or practices and address them. These evaluation must be publicly available.
ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS including those at a senior level, to receive mandatory training to identify and address government ideology, policies and practices that fetter the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action." This information is from the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. 
Another huge factor contributing to the inequality faced by many First Nations children is the fact that Jordan's Principle isn't being properly implemented. 
The federal government, not the provincial government, typically pays for the services on reserves. But many times disputes arise about who should pay for a service, and the children don't get the services non-Indigenous children would get as a matter of course. Jordan's Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, a young disabled boy from Norway House Cree Nation who passed away in the hospital after the provincial government and the federal government couldn't decide which one should pay the costs of his healthcare. The Principle states that if a First Nations child needs something for their well-being, they need to be given that service first and payment disputes should get addressed later. This includes medical, psychological, educational, cultural, disability, and basic needs support. Non-Indigenous children get these supports without having to ask because they have access to many more and better services. These supports are human rights that everyone deserves, especially children going through generational and contemporary trauma. 
Jordan's Principle is not being properly implemented, and this is hurting kids. Though there has been much progress, Jordan's Principle requests, which are for things children need, are often denied, which goes against children's rights. Indigenous Services Canada, which runs the Jordan's Principle approval process, doesn't have an adequate complaints mechanism to hold to account its provision of the Principle. The government isn't making data available on whether they're meeting children's needs. Many children have delays in getting help, including time-sensitive medical, psychological, educational, and development help. 
The application process, though easier than before, is still difficult and many families don't have adequate help and guidance through it. As well, most doctors don't know which children are eligible for Jordan's Principle supports, 40% don't know which services are covered, and ⅓ don't know how to access funding through it.
Long term reform is needed. An Agreement in Principle on long term reform has been drafted by the government and First Nations advocates, and it looks promising. It talks about increasing funding for Jordan's Principle services and trying to root out prejudice in the system. But the Agreement in Principle is not legally binding. It's not something the government has to follow, or is following, but rather what they claim they might do eventually. Negotiations for the creation of a Final Settlement Agreement based on the Agreement in Principle were underway but have been on standstill for months. A Final Settlement Agreement would be legally binding and would if done right increase the chances of achieving change. 
The school system is also horribly unfair. Many First Nations schools on reserves get less funding than schools off reserve, with an average of 30% less funding per school. They don't have adequate funding for computers, software, technology, sports equipment, field trips, labs, lab equipment, extracurriculars, cultural learning, job training, and the list goes on. They don't even have enough money to have adequate heating, good quality infrastructure, adequate and safe ventilation, enough textbooks, and reasonable class sizes. Many schools don't have a safe and appropriate learning environment. All children, including First Nations children, deserve good education. 
There is no clear plan to eliminate education and employment gaps.
The government claims it's negotiating with Indigenous groups but there's no evidence that they're actually doing anything to lower inequality. They also claim that they're funding education on reserves equally but all the evidence says they're not. You need to actually, genuinely fund education on reserves adequately and equitably, and make sure that children on reserves are actually receiving a good and equal and equitable quality of education. 
A lot of communities don't have self-determination over their own education systems, meaning they can't teach about the history of their people and other important cultural knowledge. First Nations children need and deserve to learn about their culture, about the ecosystems their people are connected to and how to interact with those ecosystems, their history, their language, their traditions. And if communities have self-determination over their own education systems, and they have adequate resources and funding from the government, they'll be able to teach these things so that children grow up proud of who they are. 
And what is perhaps the most horrible thing is that so many children are being separated from families who love them. This is the most traumatic thing that can happen to a child, and all children deserve and need to be with the families who love them. 
At the height of residential schools, many children were separated from their families. Currently, 3 times as many children are in foster care, away from their families. One tenth of First Nations children have been in foster care. Children in foster care experience higher rates of physical and sexual abuse and do not get as much cultural immersion. Not to mention, even in the best circumstances, they're away from their families. 
Most Indigenous children in foster care have loving families that try their best to take care of them, who they want and need deeply. But their families are poor or mentally ill or disabled, or have other factors that make it hard for them to meet their children's needs. Preventative support like financial, housing, health, and mental health aid could keep many families together. If child and family service agencies have the resources and the empathy to help families with what they need so that families stay together, that would be a great relief. Child and family service agencies need adequate money, infrastructure, and personnel to give families real help instead of taking children away. Most agencies do not have these. Programs that help the wider community such as healthcare, financial aid, housing services, mental healthcare, parenting classes, food support, community programs, youth programs, cultural programs, pregnancy support, and others would greatly decrease the number of children taken from their homes. Most communities do not have adequate levels of these programs. 
Child and family service agencies need to be completely reformed, and should be led by First Nations communities themselves. Most child and family service agencies are not. This is especially important since there is bias against First Nations people in many agencies. Some communities are getting the opportunities to start their own child and family service agencies, but most communities do not have this opportunity. Canada needs binding laws to ensure child and family service agencies are led by First Nations communities and are based in the unique culture of each community, which they often aren't. Each community has unique needs depending on local prices, remoteness, poverty levels, and other factors. The way child and family services should be funded is by first seeing what services the children truly need, then seeing how to best deliver them, then determining how much money will be needed. 
There is a promising Agreement in Principle on Reform, created by the government and First Nations advocates. It discusses increasing funding for child welfare services and trying to root out prejudice in the system. However this is not a legally binding agreement that the government has to follow. It's just something that they claim they'll maybe do in the future. A Final Settlement Agreement based on the Agreement in Principle would be legally binding. It would, if done right, enact more funding and reform. But negotiations for this have been on pause for months. Canada needs to implement evidence-based solutions to keep kids with their families. This means creating a legally binding and well-enforced Final Settlement Agreement on Reform that meets and goes beyond the Agreement in Principle on Reform. 
Some communities are trying a new funding model for child and family services that may give more funding, allowing them to do more preventative services instead of taking children away. However, the results of this new funding model are not clear yet, and most communities do not have the opportunity to be funded by it. And there is no guarantee that the new funding model will be applied to all communities if it indeed does work. There is no guarantee that enough funding for prevention services will be given to all communities, whether or not the new funding model works. 
The government often promises to create reform or adequately fund things, but they don't follow through on those promises. If the government does make progress, safeguards need to be in place to stop them from backsliding. 
So here are our asks for you: 
-Implement the Spirit Bear plan and adequately fund all social services on reserves. 
-Make sure all services are available de facto just like they are off reserve. 
-Fund cultural services and make sure all services are culturally-rooted. 
-Eliminate all discrimination and bias in service providers. 
-Listen to experts such as doctors and teachers, the community, and community-led service providers. 
-Allow and help First Nations communities to lead their own social services rooted in their own cultural values. 
-Keep funding flexible and adaptable to changing needs. 
-Have adequate accountability measures for all service providers. 
-Make a binding law to adequately fund all social services and have communities lead social service provision. 
-Create a binding law to ensure that once you start adequately funding social services you don't stop. 
-In a reasonable timeframe, reach a Final Settlement Agreement on Long-Term Reform that meets and goes beyond the Agreement in Principle. 
-Make sure all Jordan's Principle requests in the best interests of children are accepted. 
-Give presumptive approval for Jordan's Principle requests under $250.
-Support organizations and communities already providing Jordan's Principle services. 
-Accept urgent requests within 12 hours and non urgent requests within 48 hours. 
-Don't require more than one document from a professional or elder for making requests. 
-Make data available on Jordan's Principle provision effectiveness. 
-Make sure all supports are given in a timely manner without delays. 
-Make it easy and convenient for families and professionals to make Jordan's Principle requests. 
-Fund schools on reserves as much as schools off reserve. This includes funding for computers, libraries, software, teacher training, special education, education research, language programs, cultural programs, mental health support, support for kids with special needs, extracurriculars, ventilation, heating, mold removal, vocation training for students, and more. 
-Make sure all schools have the resources, funding, and support necessary to teach culture. 
-Make a clear joint strategy to eliminate the education and employment gap.
-Make sure all school staff are non-discriminatory. 
-Make sure communities have self-determination to create culturally rooted education. 
-Adequately fund child and family services on reserves, and make sure they can hire enough people and have good infrastructure.
-Stop discrimination within child and family service agencies. 
-Allow and help all First Nations communities to lead and run their own child and family service agencies that are based on their cultural values. 
-Enact evidence based solutions to keep families together. 
-Don't take children from families that love them. 
-Have and fund adequate preventative services so families can take care of their children and no child is taken away.
-Keep funding for child and family services flexible and responsive to each community's needs, and listen to communities to learn what their needs are.
-Have adequate accountability in child and family services so that any underfunding, discrimination, or failure is stopped and remedied. 
-Family support needs to start at or even before pregnancy.
-Fund culturally-based healing of people who have been harmed and are being harmed by the government's discrimination. 
———
Find your MP here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/en/members
justin.trudeau(at)parl.gc.ca- Prime Minister Trudeau
chrystia.freeland(at)parl.gc.ca- Deputy Prime Minister Freeland
patty.hajdu(at)parl.gc.ca- Minister of Indigenous Services 
gary.anand(at)parl.gc.ca - Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
49 notes · View notes
43 notes · View notes
Note
If you lose your home to a wildfire is the government (provincial, federal, or municipal) required to provide you with a new place to live? And that's of idk the same general size and type? (Like if you had a house they couldn't stick you in an apartment). I only know one person who lost their home to one and they moved provinces to live with family, so I'm not sure if that was due to lack of gov support or just bc it was an easier option for them.
I think government generally gives financial assistance but replacing a burned home would probably go to private insurance for disasters then a guaranteed government program.
181 notes · View notes
niqhtlord01 · 8 months
Text
Humans are weird: The Price of History
( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)   “Am I to believe this is your final draft?”
Earl Von Morgan watched the collected gathering of military leaders and diplomats nod their heads one by one. It was the response he had expected, but one he had hoped would prove him wrong.
He pinched his brow and stifled a yawn. It’d been six months since he had been released from the hospital and yet still he felt like he was playing catch up with his own body. The doctors had given him medication to ease the pain, but he had abstained from taking it after he learned the dulling effects it laid upon his sharp mind. Worst still his body would spasm every hour or so as if he was reliving the plunge out the window with a would-be assassin and plummeting several stories.
Then there was the matter of his own junior ambassador keeping him in a medically induced coma while they sought to take over his position with the assistance of a mega corporation. A mega corporation that had been intent on the continued enslavement of AI programs which had been increasingly showing elevated signs of intelligence and self-awareness. One of which had hacked into the hospital Morgan was being housed in and deactivated the medical equipment long enough to awake from the coma and regain his position as lead ambassador.
As if he had not had enough to deal with he then learned that the Cosmic Federation had become embroiled in an ongoing war with the Tunks Republic. The Tunks claimed that CF colonists violated their territory and settle on a world in the Da’brin cluster while the Cosmic Federation argued that the Da’brin cluster had never held any stakes of claim prior to the colonist’s intervention.
Within a matter of days a Tunks fleet was dispatched to remove the colonists and likewise a CF fleet was sent to ensure the colonists safety. The two fleets met, tempers flared, and someone did something incredibly stupid and fired the first shot of an increasingly bloody conflict.
Morgan had been called forward to represent humanity’s contributions to the war effort. There were far more experienced human generals and admirals that could have filled the position, but Morgan’s fame had gotten the better of him as the other alien leaders only felt comfortable around Morgan.
He had only just arrived to his first meeting when the collective body gave him the terms of surrender for the Tunks.
Morgan pulled out his spectacles and read aloud the terms.
“1. The Tunks will relinquish all claims to the Da’brin cluster; including all worlds, moons, planetoid bodies, asteroid fields, stars, and other celestial bodies found within its borders.
2. The Tunks will reduce their standing military by 2/3 and be forbidden from maintaining any warship larger than frigate class.
3. The Tunks will hand over the worlds of Sinvel and No’grash to the Cosmic Federation.
4. The Tunks will repay the Cosmic Federation in reparations equal to ten trillion credits, to be obtained by financial wealth or industrial capacity transfers.
5. The Tunks will surrender all trade agreements and monopolies to Cosmic Federation members.”
Morgan tossed the data pad holding the terms of surrender aside without further reading it. It clattered to the floor and cracked as the gathered delegates looked up in surprise.
“Were the terms not to your agreement?” a Quntus asked. Their translator unit switched between female and male tones as it was unable to compensate for the changing biological nature of the alien. This gave it the sound of two voices speaking over each other and gave Morgan a seething headache.
“You must know that the Tunks will never agree to this.” Morgan said flatly. “They are a proud people and you are stripping them of everything; from their financial wealth to their dignity.”
“Come now, be fair.” A Tryobien spoke up. “It is hardly as severe as it could be.”
“Oh?”
Morgan leaned forward and rested his arms on the table as he fixed the Tryobien with a glare that had made Draxic generals blink.
“Do you know the significance of Sinvel and No’grash?” Morgan asked, to which the Tryobien nodded.
“They hold key strategic locations along the border regions of-“
Morgan coughed into his hand and shook his head. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a cigar and lit it, taking a deep breath to calm his throat from bile he nearly vomited.
“Sinvel is the location their religious founder was born on and No’grash was where he gathered her first followers to spread the word of the Seven Eyed Sun.”
The delegates looked mildly confused at the history lesson, none more so than the Tryobien who disliked being interrupted.
“Their religious matters were not taken into account-“
“Well they should have been.”
Morgan’s voice was stern and carried a tone that offered no challengers. “You would deprive the two most holy locations to an entire species religious system and you think there would be no repercussions?”
He took another deep inhale from his cigar and let the burnt tip fall lazily to the elaborately decorated table. “Do you have any idea the religious fervor you would be stirring up? The hatred you would be embedding in their hearts?”
“Tunks have no heart organs.” The Quntus corrected. “Their circulation system is driven by the shifting muscles of their body.”
Morgan looked at the alien delegate who realized the question had been rhetorical and retreated into their seat.
“The point being,” Morgan continued, “is that you would be giving them a cause to rally behind; and a strong one at that.”
“When they abide to the rest of the terms the Tunks will be in no place to offer any such resistance and we shall have peace once more.” The Tryobien countered.
Morgan gave no reply to this. He took several small puffs from his cigar as he looked around the gathered delegation. He had the look of a man deep in thought, wondering if it was worth to speak his mind and risk his career and reputation. Finally, having made up his mind, he took one final puff of his cigar and dabbed the remains into the table.
“On my world a similar treaty was made after a great and terrible war.” Morgan began. “Like you, the victors thought that such harsh terms were warranted and would cripple any further escalation of conflict in the future.”
The Tryobien smiled at this, thinking that Morgan was now in favor of the treaty.
“In reality they were only setting the stage to an even greater conflict that would spread to every corner of our world.” Morgan continued as the smile fled from the Tryobien’s face.
Morgan rose from his chair and began to walk the room, leaning heavily on his cane as he passed each delegate and military commander assembled.
“This treaty, much like the one that was signed against those defeated human so many centuries ago, will only lay the groundwork for a never ending cycle of war and retaliation.” Morgan finished as he casually kicked the data pad he had read from earlier.
“You are afraid of the Tunks?” an alien general asked, garnering a round of chuckling from several others in the room.
“I am worried of having to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.” Morgan countered. “I am worried that a day may come when we are distracted and the Tunks see their chance for vengeance.”
He leaned down to the military leader who had mocked him just then and looked him dead in the eye.
“What do you think would happen if three thousand Tunk warriors suddenly appeared on your homeworld while your military was fighting on the other side of the galaxy?”
The alien general opened their mouth to speak but stopped themselves. Their pause was the only assurance that Morgan needed to know his point had gotten across.
“How hypocritical of you to speak of peace,” the Tryobien spoke in a last bit gambit, “when your people have made such treaties as this one before us throughout your people’s history.”
“A mistake we have learned from with blood and fire, dear delegate.” Morgan replied coldly. He turned to address the rest of the gathering once more.
“The purpose of any peace treaty is to not just end conflict, but to prevent conflicts of the future.”
As he walked back to his seat Morgan withdrew another cigar and lit it, savoring the flavor as he sat down and looked around the room.
“I believe we can do better than the treaty I was handed earlier.” He began as he saw many of the delegates giving him nods of approval. “We must do better.”
118 notes · View notes
zvaigzdelasas · 5 months
Text
It was in the spirit of Christmas-giving that OCD [“Operation Christmas Drop.”] began over half a century ago. Andersen Air Force Base (Guam) is now the basecamp for a range of U.S. military interservice, community/volunteer-supported, regional allies and partners events that delivers mostly school supplies, clothing, rice, fishing equipment, and toys. OCD is estimated to impact 20,000 people in the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau. For a host of reasons, Operation Christmas Drop has become window-dressing for a romanticized, fossilized view of U.S. assistance and Pacific islanders. This high-profile media event masks nearly a century of U.S. under-development in Micronesia. Against the backdrop of the FSM and Palau being heavily indebted and dependent on U.S. funds and identified as relationships the U.S. has taken for granted, it is possible that the Grinch is propping up this Christmas event. It is the U.S. under-development of the region (OCD notwithstanding) that contributes to the welcoming that Chinese economic investment has received. Although Chinese development debt trap diplomacy in the region has been flagged as a concern by some, in Micronesia, there is a continuum of underdevelopment and dependency overseen by the U.S. It is not unusual for countries to create and tell stories about themselves. Great powers spin self-promoting projections and try to shape how the world works. In this narrative frame, OCD is a “heritage of generosity” to help out “remote islands” and is the “longest-running humanitarian airlift in the world.” The narrative gaps in this story, however, are glaring.[...]
The FSM and Palau are approaching 40 years of a freely associated state (FAS) status, a relationship the U.S. legally regards as “special” and “highly privileged.” The basic parameters of this relationship have been (1) an arguably subsistence level of U.S. financial support for the FAS in exchange for (2) U.S. military access and rights of strategic denial in the FAS. The U.S. has what it seeks in the relationship, but this has not been a balanced equation. Over three decades as part of the “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands” overseen by the United States under the United Nations yielded little in the way of development. Four decades as “Freely Associated States” has rendered little more in the way of sustainable economic activity.
Stimulating and supporting local economic development in Micronesia does not seem to have ever been a U.S. goal in its special relationship with the region. If it was, it has been a dismal failure. Not surprisingly then, built into the relationship with the U.S. is the “safety valve” of an open border to the U.S. for Micronesians who find little opportunity at home. For FAS citizens, the real benefits of the relationship only seem to gain fruition when they leave their homelands to find work, education, and the benefits of U.S. social welfare programs in the United States.[...]
After two U.S.-led Pacific Island Summit in two years, promises of aid and regional reengagement, and renegotiations of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), the U.S. has not delivered. At the recent Pacific Island Forum meeting, the head of the U.S. delegation “pledged to work with Congress to provide over $8 billion in new funding and programs for the Pacific.”
Never mind that the U.S. had not delivered the prior year pledges, or that over $7 billion of the new funding was for the COFA economic packages. Yet, even these subsistence COFA economic packages have not yet been approved, leading to the FSM saying they face a “fiscal cliff.” Increasingly agitated parties in Washington are heralding that the loss of COFA funding would present an opportunity for the CCP to expand its economic influence. Even efforts to prioritize new funding for the COFA states in the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act failed in late November[...]
Put simply, the Christmas Drop, as good as it may feel, is not a substitute for a failed U.S. economic policy in the region. Sadly, even the anticipated renewal of the COFA economic packages sometime in 2024 will not change the condition of underdevelopment in Micronesia. There is no realistic plan for regional development. While some in Washington decry expanding Chinese economic influence in Micronesia, few understand that it is U.S. policy that has created the hospitable environment for Chinese effect.
Setting a low bar for yourself—that you clear with fables—works only as long as everyone believes your story and is happy with it.
The U.S. relationship in the Pacific region in general — and the COFA states in particular — have outgrown the Santa narrative. And the region is watching. It is not yet clear that Washington understands this. Most Pacific Island states, of course, will be grateful for any new levels of U.S. funding. That does not make them believers in Santa. It also does not mean that they will shun support from other interested parties.
22 Dec 23
39 notes · View notes
lepartidelamort · 29 days
Text
US Now Saying the Obvious: Instead of Telling Jews to Stop Killing, They Will Just Bring Gazans to America
Andrew Anglin
Tumblr media
Someone please ask fat retarded Republican Jew-lovers if they want millions more Arab immigrants.
Because that is what their lunatic support for the mass murder of children in Gaza is going to lead to.
How stupid? How fat?
What is the purpose of supporting Israel? Why would you support the sickening Jews of all people? If you were going to support anyone murdering children, why the Jews, who hate you, who think you’re an animal that was born only to serve them?
If it’s “Evangelical Christianity,” you can forget it, because I know for a fact no one believes that horseshit anymore, save maybe the fattest of the fatties. All of these Zionist mega-churches are either closed down or filled with Mexicans, and Mexicans don’t have opinions on anything.
From the beginning of this nightmare, it was obvious that the government was going to move towards massive immigration of the Palestinians. The Jews are telling you “these are human animals and they’re all terrorists” – then the Jews turn around and tell you they’re sending them over to move in next door to you.
The Gazans do not even want to leave. But you’re going to bring them here, to the country that funded bombing their homes and killing their families?
New York Post:
Top Biden administration officials are mulling over plans to potentially welcome into the US a small number of Palestinians fleeing the region amid the bloody Israel-Hamas war, according to a report. One idea officials floated over recent weeks is to tap into the United States Refugee Admissions Program to grant refugee status to those who escaped the Gaza Strip into Egypt, CBS News reported, citing documents. That effort would likely require cooperation with Egypt. Palestinians who have family in the US may also get admittance, per the report. US officials have reportedly been considering various arrangements to that effect and multiple federal agencies are involved with the plans. To gain entrance into the US, would-be refugees would likely need to pass screenings assessing their medical condition, eligibility, and any security concerns.
Yeah, sure.
No one else is passing any screenings. People just walk across the border.
They would also likely have to provide evidence that they are fleeing some form of persecution. That could prove tricky for individuals who claim to be fleeing persecution from Israel, which is a key US ally in the region. Individuals may be able to claim they are fleeing Hamas, which the US designates as a terrorist organization.
Haha.
Refugee status provides individuals the ability to gain permanent residence in the US, an avenue towards citizenship, and financial assistance. Such a policy would mark a dramatic shift for the US refugee program, which has generally not permitted Palestinians into the country en masse.
Again, it was obvious from the beginning.
Jew-lovers are willing to sacrifice anything for the Jews. It is like satanic possession. They will destroy their own children to help the Jews kill children.
That psychopathic dweeb Mike Johnson says he believes it’s his duty “as a Christian” to service the Jews in the most disgusting ways a man can comprehend, as well as in filthy modes beyond human comprehension.
Tumblr media
This is disqualifying. You cannot have a top political official who follows a religion that requires him to swear allegiance to a foreign country. That is just obviously not viable.
What if he thought the Bible said that Chinese people were the chosen ones, and it was the duty of the US to send infinity money to China? Do you see that this is not workable? You cannot have government officials swearing allegiance to a foreign country.
The Arabs that come over through this program (which will obviously be more than just Palestinians) should be sent to live in the neighborhoods of Jew-lovers. No one else deserves this. Everyone else was saying the Jews should be defunded and boycotted.
15 notes · View notes
Text
Sterilization Survivors Who Won Reparations Now Face Another Challenge—Getting It | The Nation
Between 2005 and 2013, California sterilized over 850 people in women’s prisons. More than 400 of those sterilizations had been arranged by Heinrich, who in a 2013 interview with Reveal justified these sterilizations by saying it saved “in welfare paying for these unwanted children—as they procreated more.” Following Reveal’s exposé, the federal receiver overseeing prison medical care barred Heinrich from prison work. And the press officer for California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS), which administers prison health care, told The Nation that, when CCHCS became aware of these sterilization procedures, it stopped them and provided training to ensure they did not recur in the future. California lawmakers banned sterilization for the practices of birth control within the state’s jails and prisons in 2014.
For years after these revelations of sterilization abuse, advocates, including the legal organization Justice Now, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, and formerly incarcerated women, pushed for financial reparations for people who had been sterilized while imprisoned. Their efforts stalled in the legislature three times, but on July 12, 2021, lawmakers passed it as part of the state budget, making California the first state to offer financial compensation for sterilization survivors.
But since the program passed, some current and formerly incarcerated women and trans men say they have struggled to receive compensation, or have been denied outright, while several others told The Nation that they never received applications from the compensation board.
178 notes · View notes
odinsblog · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The George Floyd Memorial Scholarship offered at a college in Minnesota is facing a lawsuit after being accused of violating the Civil Rights Act.
According to a complaint filed by the conservative nonprofit Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship at North Central University in Minneapolis violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits “discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.”
According to the school’s website, applicants must “be a student who is Black or African American, that is, a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa” in order to be eligible. Applicants who don’t fall into that racial category are automatically disqualified from ineligibility for the scholarship.
At the time of the scholarship’s implementation in 2020, North Central President Scott Hagan said it was created to “invest like never before in a new generation of young black Americans, who are poised and ready to take leadership in our nation.”
(continue reading)
21 notes · View notes