It appears more and more that this anti-poverty initiative is not at all about ending poverty. In truth, it is about securing additional funds and power for the United Way. But there is good reason to very skeptical about the United Way's efforts and leadership in this endeavor. If that agency had been doing such a great job as the wealthy, central funding resource, how did we get so poor in the first place? Now we charge them to fix it? It is also very clear, that suburban elected officials in Monroe County want little to do with this project and that Maggie Brooks involvement, far from being a facilitator, is to block any metropolitan solutions what would require suburbs to actually have a role to play in ending poverty. How can we "cure" poverty without active participation from the suburbs? I will say it is almost impossible. Listening to the UW one would think the problem is just that the non-profits that serve poor people are not doing a good enough job, a variation of standard racist rhetoric to blame the victims and their representatives for their condition of poverty, not any systemic deficiencies. Right now, It is very important for all of us to be cynical of this process, in hopes that the initiative and United Way can restructure and make corrections, otherwise they truly stand to lose whatever tenuous support they currently have. I hope with all my heart that we improve conditions for children in our city, but I just can not yet jump on Weisberg's happy wagon without a better indication of exactly where this cart is going.
Re: “On my mind (still): poverty and the city”
It appears more and more that this anti-poverty initiative is not at all about ending poverty. In truth, it is about securing additional funds and power for the United Way. But there is good reason to very skeptical about the United Way's efforts and leadership in this endeavor. If that agency had been doing such a great job as the wealthy, central funding resource, how did we get so poor in the first place? Now we charge them to fix it? It is also very clear, that suburban elected officials in Monroe County want little to do with this project and that Maggie Brooks involvement, far from being a facilitator, is to block any metropolitan solutions what would require suburbs to actually have a role to play in ending poverty. How can we "cure" poverty without active participation from the suburbs? I will say it is almost impossible. Listening to the UW one would think the problem is just that the non-profits that serve poor people are not doing a good enough job, a variation of standard racist rhetoric to blame the victims and their representatives for their condition of poverty, not any systemic deficiencies. Right now, It is very important for all of us to be cynical of this process, in hopes that the initiative and United Way can restructure and make corrections, otherwise they truly stand to lose whatever tenuous support they currently have. I hope with all my heart that we improve conditions for children in our city, but I just can not yet jump on Weisberg's happy wagon without a better indication of exactly where this cart is going.