Schwartzman -- Candidate for At-Large Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
“One City”, a pipe dream or is another DC possible?
October 12, 2010 (published at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2010/10-10-13.htm)
David Schwartzman
Our presumed Mayor Elect Vince Gray has inspired us with his vision of “One City” and his renewed commitment to fight for DC Statehood. As a DC Statehood Green Party candidate and long-term activist I was just as delighted with the defeat of Mayor Fenty as with my own Primary win. I look forward to an elected government which moves on from the policies rejected by a majority of Democratic voters. Vince Gray impresses me as someone who in his heart takes seriously what his Christian religious tradition preaches about social and economic justice. However, his best intentions may be frustrated by increasing signs that the regional corporate agenda will continue to be imposed on our elected government, unless a countervailing power from below is mobilized.
But how can we achieve “One City” while tolerating such high levels of income inequality and poverty, especially among children (40% of African American children), that persist in the District? Consider as well, the reality of socio-economic cleansing, as Sam Smith aptly described the ongoing process of gentrification, loss of affordable housing, and the impact of mass incarceration and continued discrimination against ex-offenders (see his incisive analysis at: http://prorevnews.blogspot.com/2010/10/school-reform-is-about-class-not....). HUD defines affordable housing as costing no more than 30% of household income, yet some 100,000 District households pay more than 30%, with 48,000 paying more than 50% (Bob Pohlman, Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development).
I note Vince Gray’s commitment to continuing educational reform. But given the ongoing glaring disparities between student performance in affluent versus low income communities under the Fenty/Rhee regime, are we going forward with the corporate-invented delusion that effective reform is possible with the mass unjustified firing of experienced teachers and staff and without sharply reducing poverty at the same time ? The removal of Rhee is a necessary first step, but not sufficient. Real bottom up governance by parents and teachers is imperative to insure effective educational reform.
Yes, we are facing a real fiscal challenge when Gray takes office, whether or not our CFO Gandhi’s projection of a $175 million shortfall for FY 2011 is correct or not (recall his continual bloated estimates of shortfall in the past). Our survival budget for child care, affordable housing, adult education and other programs serving low income residents is woefully underfunded, with new cuts in place, over and above the $50 million in cuts for last years budget. For example, the FY 2011 budget is one third ($41 million) lower than in FY 2008, before the effective depression for so many of our residents, especially in Wards 5, 7 and 8. Child care is 20% lower than in FY 2008, even though the need is greater than ever. Even staffing for social service centers has been reduced in spite of greater unemployment (DC Fiscal Policy Institute). And the shame is that at least the new cuts could have been avoided had not the Council rejected the Graham amendment for a very modest tax hike for the wealthy. This 8 to 5 vote, with my opponent David Catania voting as usual to protect the income of our top 5% bracket, his own bracket, translated into raising the misery index in our community.
So what will be our Mayor Elect’s plan? I am not particularly encouraged by his choice of the leadership of the financial transition team, namely former Mayor Anthony Williams and former Control Board member Alice Rivlin, key architects of the Urban Structural Adjustment Program that balanced our budget on the backs of our poor, while favoring the wealthy with tax cuts (Tax Parity Act). The Control Board regime closed DC General Hospital, privatized municipal functions, cut the so-called safety net and increased our income gap to record levels, while setting the course for Mayor Fenty’s agenda that brought this assault on our working and middle class majority to a new level..
Is there an alternative? The burden of balancing the budget should not be once again placed on those least able to bear it. I am campaigning on a platform to confront the crises of everyday living faced by a majority of our residents. At the highest priority is a determined and comprehensive program to eradicate child poverty. Let us begin with tapping into revenue sources that exist but have been protected heretofore: the real tax base of wealthy DC residents and curbs on corporate tax exemptions and abatements, especially for big developers who deliver little or no community benefits while disregarding First Source and Living Wage requirements. In the last twenty years, DC taxpayers in the greater than $100,000 bracket increased in number from 12,000 to over 48,000 (in 2007), in spite of a lower tax rate for those in this income bracket in suburban Virginia. In 2007, the year with the most recent data, DC taxpayers with incomes over $200,000 had a taxable income of $8.8 billion (IRS statistics). A recent survey revealed that DC ranks 10th in the nation in percentage of millionaire households, numbering 14,533, surging because of the stock market rebound (The Examiner, October 5, 2010, p.4). A modest tax hike on the top 5% bracket could deliver over a $100 million in additional revenue while still providing tax relief to working class residents and others in need.
The two main opponents of a progressive tax approach on the Council, Catania and Evans, have argued that wealthy DC residents will leave the District if they are required to pay slightly higher rates, thereby eroding our tax base. This claim is highly misleading, given the advantages that wealthy residents enjoy living here, especially the lower commuting costs and especially time. And who will buy their high-priced homes if they move? As a further step to help prevent a small fraction from moving as well as to fully capture the income tax owed by cheaters who pretend not to be DC residents, the Council should seriously consider hiking the property tax for homeowners who do not pay DC income tax. Reducing the income gap and "misery index" in the District would benefit the wealthy as well as everyone else by reducing crime, stimulating the neighborhood economy and reducing class/racial polarization.
And here is one legislative step that could make a big difference: our incoming Mayor and Council should act to establish a DC Municipal (state) Bank, that could leverage $ billions in DC taxes and fees for local green economic development, living wage jobs and truly affordable housing, instead of continuing depositing this revenue into Wall Street banks. The North Dakota State Bank shows this approach works to support its local economy. And additionally, our Mayor and City Council should lead a campaign to get PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) from the World Bank/IMF, Fannie Mae and other tax-exempt institutions who should contribute hundreds of $millions just like in other cities. Revenue sources can be found if there is the political will to break with years of subsidizing the very wealthy and big corporate sector. Positive social investments are preventative medicine to avoid much greater costs in the future, the costs of more incarceration and needless suffering (see Money Well Spent, Justice Policy Institute, at http://www.justicepolicy.org/content-hmID=1811&smID=1581&ssmID=104.htm)
We should take a lesson from the outcome of the defeat of the criminal Bush regime just two years ago. There were great expectations following the historic election of Barack Obama. However, too many of the previous administration’s policies have been continued, especially what Harry Belafonte called the “immoral, unconscionable, and unwinnable” wars (his October 2, 2010 speech at the Jobs Rally at the Mall). What has been missing is a large enough mobilization of those most negatively affected by corporate-serving policies. Hopefully that is changing, but we need the same mobilization in the District to make Vince Gray’s inspiring vision of “One City”, with DC Statehood, a reality.
Once on the City Council, I pledge to use my energies and the resources of my office to support such a mobilization led by groups that have been fighting for your interests, DC Jobs with Justice, Empower DC, One DC, TENAC and others. I look forward to a more just DC working in collaboration with our new Mayor and City Council.
