Did you watch the conventions? Did you read the policy booklets? Well, we did and want to share with you our insights with Kristin Powell. Hosted by Alphonso David and Ebony McMorris.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Well, we are moving on to another issue that affects us all, the economy.
00:06Kristen Powell is the principal of Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund,
00:13who recently released the Black Economic Agenda, informed by the Black Census Project,
00:19the largest survey of Black people in the U.S. since Reconstruction.
00:26Hey, Kristen!
00:27Hello, thank you for having me.
00:30Thank you so much, and thank you for the work that you absolutely do, the work that is being done.
00:36Start by telling us, though, about the background and the methodology
00:41of the Black Economic Agenda and some of the key findings.
00:47Yeah, so the Black Economic Agenda actually starts with the Black Census Project.
00:53What you'll learn about an organization is that we have a lot of acronyms all starting with Black.
00:57So the Black Census Project is the largest survey of Black people in American history that's known
01:04that we've conducted now twice, and the second time that we did it over the last 18 months,
01:11we spoke with 211,000 Black people across this country and really made sure to get a cross
01:18section of our people, because we're not a monolith, so we talk to folks that are incarcerated,
01:23people that are immigrant, Black people that are immigrants, trans community, rural communities,
01:29as well as folks in the city in all 50 states. And we wanted to understand, what do Black people want?
01:36What do they care about in their communities? What do they think about elections and politicians
01:42and institutions? And what we found, no surprise, is that we are most concerned about our pocketbook
01:50in this economy as a whole. And that is why we created the Black Economic Agenda, our C4
01:57organization, Black to the Future, and you can go to our website, blacktothefuture.org,
02:01and check it out. And that is a policy roadmap on how we can use policy to help Black communities
02:10thrive. And it has three parts. So the first is about wages and workers protections. There's a
02:16lot of conversations right now about more jobs being created. And that's great for the economy,
02:23but if you don't pay us what we're owed, that is not good for the economy. And so it's really
02:28important that along with adding jobs, we are also making sure that Black people make what we deserve
02:34and that we're protected and we get paid leave, sick leave, family leave. The second part of our
02:40agenda is about budget and taxes. So what we learned from the Black Census Project and what
02:46I know is that I'm paying into a system and I want my money back. I want to get all the different
02:53benefits that come from paying into the tax code. And so do Black people across this country,
03:00according to the Census Project. And what we want back is we want investments in small businesses,
03:06we want investments in housing, we want better schools for our communities, and we do not want
03:15most of our tax dollars going to war and policing. But the third thing for us is about what we're
03:22calling thriving communities. And that's cost of living, right? That's the bread and butter issues
03:26that we're talking about. And you're hearing a lot about the cost of food, and that's one part of it.
03:31But really, we're talking about the cost of housing. Childcare cost is really important
03:38to Black communities. And it keeps a lot of our folks who want to work out of the workplace.
03:44But then also the cost of healthcare, which if I can just say, I know someone else is speaking
03:49about this later, that it's a life and death decision when we have governors like Brian Kemp,
03:55who are not accepting extra money for Medicaid from the federal government. And what he's saying
04:02to his folks is, I don't care if you die or not. Because when you don't have access to healthcare,
04:07it is a life or death problem. And so we also see it as an economic one, if we can't afford
04:14healthcare, that we are setting ourselves up for a road to death. And we don't deserve that.
04:20And then lastly, we want that student loan debt gone. So we're also very interested in student
04:27loan debt disappearing. And so what we're asking is that folks go to blacktothefuture.org and check
04:35out that agenda. You can endorse it online. We already have 10,000 Black folks who have endorsed
04:41the agenda. So you can check it out there. And we also want you to make a plan to vote
04:47and to know that it's not just about the federal elections, but the local and state elections
04:53that really determine our economy. So I would like to spend a little bit of time talking about
05:01something that I think most folks would be interested in, of course, which is generational
05:05wealth, creating Black wealth. Certainly that starts with, to a large degree, when we talk
05:13about wages. The Congressional Black Office, as we mentioned earlier, this is CBC Week.
05:21They recently introduced legislation on the Black wealth agenda and really thinking about what are
05:26the pillars that we need to look at when we're talking about creating, through the legislative
05:31lens, through the policy lens, Black wealth. But nearly half of the Black workers are earning less
05:38than $15 an hour. So let's talk a little bit about how elected leaders could prioritize
05:44wage increases and what impact does that really have on economic security for Black families?
05:50Yeah. And in the Black economic agenda, I'm here at the CBC, see my hotel TV behind you,
05:58we're pushing for at least $17 an hour and that if we're going to get legislation passed that has a
06:04minimum wage, that legislation actually includes continuous increases so that we don't have to
06:09come back to this fight again in five years when cost of living has gone up, which is really
06:14important. And so what officials can do is they can act, right? There's a lot of power that we
06:21have by being brave if you're an elected official and organizing the folks, even at the federal
06:27level, but also states also enact minimum wages at the state level. So state assemblies and state
06:33legislatures to get a minimum wage passed. And it's also important that if you're a legislator
06:40or elected official, that you're also engaging corporations and holding them accountable for fair
06:46wages, because it's not just about the jobs that the government can have control over. It's also
06:51about all of these corporations that are making billions on the backs of Black people and not
06:57paying us what we're worth.
07:00Kristen, we know that when we talk about home ownership, that home ownership has always been
07:06a great vehicle to create Black wealth, but we are seeing home ownership gaps and also the rising
07:13cost of rent that's been affecting Black communities and hitting Black communities
07:18the hardest. How might voting for candidates who support housing reforms help close this gap?
07:26Yeah, it's still true that home ownership leads to lessening that wealth gap, right? All of that
07:33land and housing, I'm not an economist and I can't tell you the year, but all of the different
07:40incentives that white people got that we were locked out of in mid-century that got people
07:48into home ownership that they're now benefiting from decades and decades and decades later,
07:53we deserve that. And we need to be voting for people that are going to give incentives to
07:58home ownership. But also it's important that even if we can't own a home, that rent is not
08:04crippling us, that we actually are not pushed out of our neighborhoods because of gentrification.
08:11And so we do want to close that wealth gap, but also we need to make sure that folks that choose
08:16to rent or want to rent are not being crippled as well. So we're talking about this wealth gap,
08:23and I just want to make sure we're grounding people on what we're saying. And I often use
08:29this because I think it's a good framework for us to think about the wealth gap. So when Martin
08:34Luther King gave his speech, the I Have the Dream speech in the 1960s, the wealth gap was eight to
08:40one between Black and white people. Today, that gap is 12 to one. So that's what we're talking
08:46about when we talk about this wealth gap. And the wealth gap, of course, is informed by how much
08:52money you're making at your job, but it is not wages. It is assets. Like, do you own a home?
09:00Do you own an asset that you can turn over to a descendant when you pass away? And in many cases,
09:08Black people are falling into this wider gap where, you know, we have less assets. We have
09:15less resources to pass on to our families. So when we think about this wealth gap,
09:20Kristen, talk to us about taxation. If you are working for an employer or if you own your
09:28business, you're paying taxes, or you should be paying taxes. But there is racial disparities
09:34within the tax system. Talk to us about this policy issue and how it affects or is informed
09:41by voting in this election cycle. Yeah, it's really important. And one just quick point on
09:47the wealth gap and assets, back to wages, is that on top of having fair wages, we also need
09:54our folks to get fair benefits, which include 401ks and different ways to invest in the market
10:00in that way, too. So that's really important. But back to taxes. So there's a bunch of levels
10:08to this, right? Because we're paying, many of us, into local, state, and federal taxes,
10:13and we're not benefiting from that system the way that we should, and our communities aren't. I
10:20mean, in some communities, we're paying into taxes as a group, but yet the neighborhoods that get
10:28funding for better playgrounds or for some of the infrastructure aren't Black neighborhoods,
10:35right? So we're not even getting exactly back what we're putting in, and that's a local issue
10:40as well as a state issue. Also, our city and state budgets should be decided by the people.
10:47In many of our cities, 40% of the city budget is going to police and fire. And
10:58when we're asking for, as a community, more resources for housing, for different community
11:06services, the answer is always, no, we don't have enough money, yet there's more and more money being
11:12given to the police departments. And so taxes also means that we need participatory budgeting,
11:19where our people are a part of the process of what we're spending our city budgets on and our state
11:25budgets on. Because when we, we're not a selfish people, and when we win, everyone wins, and what
11:32we want is helpful for the entire country. And so taxes as well as budgeting is a really important
11:40part, and we need to be paying attention to what the folks that are running for office are saying
11:44about those things. I love that you talk about that. You know, earlier, just to go back, it was
11:49the GI Bill for veterans that really is what helped create this housing. Yeah, it was the GI Bill.
11:59And sometimes we just have to go back. I know you know, but a lot of times we have many in our
12:05community that are asking why things are the way that they are, and the issues that we have
12:09are truly systemic. They go back for decades. And so the GI Bill was something that all veterans
12:15couldn't participate in, and for Black veterans, that was a major issue. And so we didn't see that
12:20wealth transfer that other, that most of our white counterparts were able to have.
12:26I want to talk for a second about child affordability. We recently heard former President
12:33Donald Trump at a, during a policy conversation that he was having in New York, he was asked about
12:42a child care cost and what policy he wanted. And in his statement, he said that child care costs
12:48aren't that bad in America. But I want to ask you, what is your opinion on child care affordability?
12:56Why is this such an essential issue for Black communities? And how could this issue also affect
13:02voter priorities in the upcoming election?
13:06Yeah, I was at the CBC earlier, and one of the panelists talked about the rage that you
13:13sometimes get when you hear elected or public officials or candidates talk about issues in a
13:22way that's just so degrading. You know, I'm a mother of a four-year-old, and he is in
13:28half-day preschool, and I'm still spending over $1,000 a month in child care. And so many
13:38parents and families in this community, in this country, are paying more than what it costs for
13:44their housing for child care. And it is pushing more and more women out of the workforce that
13:51want to actually be in the workforce. And it is adding even more divide, or getting the wealth
13:59gap even more, because we're not able to contribute in a way that we want to, right, in our
14:07communities. Also, child care workers are grossly underpaid as well. And so we do have a problem
14:13that not just affordable child care, but safe child care with people that we can trust with
14:19our children. And so when you hear Donald Trump saying it's not that bad, that alone should
14:27disqualify him when he is also saying that we have to be forced to have children if we're not
14:38able to, forced to have life-threatening procedures when we might have had a miscarriage,
14:47when we're being told that IVF is something that we shouldn't even be considering,
14:52and then at the same time not having any sort of policy proposals for child care, it's maddening.
15:00I almost wish that they would have pushed back and said, do you know how much the average cost
15:05of child care is? Because if you're going to speak on something, you should know what the
15:09average cost of something is. But I digress. Oh, we got people in the comments,
15:13said the average American has three to five children. Someone said he's grossly out of touch.
15:21For folks who are just joining us, we are hosting Paint the Polls, which is a voter registration,
15:27voter mobilization, voter awareness initiative. We are being joined by Kristen Powell,
15:33who's the principal of Black Futures Lab, and we're talking about issues that affect the economy,
15:39or we should say we're talking about the economy and how it affects you.
15:43I think, Kristen, we're going to keep you just for a few more questions before we go on to the
15:47next topic. I want to talk about an issue that is in the headlines right now, diversity, equity,
15:53and inclusion, workplace protections. As many people know, I'm one of the lawyers representing
15:58the Fearless Fund. That case recently settled. We're seeing a lot of litigation around the
16:03country. We're seeing a lot of legislation around the country regarding diversity, equity,
16:09inclusion, and workplace protections. Talk to us a little bit about where we are as it relates to
16:15labor laws, improving economic outcomes for Black people and people of color and working people all
16:21across the country. Unfortunately, we are not very far, right? Especially Black people are so
16:31vulnerable to corporate greed. So many of us, especially care workers who are largely unseen,
16:47but are the backbones of this country, restaurant workers, folks that work in the healthcare system,
16:55many of them don't have the protections that they deserve. And it's also important that we
17:02fight for paid leave and family leave. Because going back to that healthcare conversation that
17:07when we have children or we have things happen in our life with our family in terms of healthcare
17:13concerns, we deserve a right to go back to work and not be punished for those things that happen
17:20in our life. And that's not happening across the board. And so it's really important that
17:26we focus on that issue. I wanted to talk for just a second also about
17:34loan forgiveness. I mean, we hear a lot, what happened? What was done? I haven't had this.
17:39I haven't had that. But when we talk about what happened under this Biden administration, as far
17:45as student loan forgiveness, it was millions of Americans that were able to get their loans
17:50forgiven. But we also saw a huge target, over 20 lawsuits that were targeted at the administration
17:57when it came to loan forgiveness. But we also know, and we talked earlier about home ownership,
18:04that many of those who had their loans forgiven, there were studies that show that they also took
18:09that money and put it towards buying and purchasing a home, not wasting the money,
18:15but using that. So with initiatives like loan forgiveness and targeted funding programs being
18:20crucial to reducing racial disparities in business ownership, how can voters support policies that
18:28ensure Black entrepreneurs receive financial support that is needed to succeed?
18:34Yeah. I mean, on that student loan, I mean, I'm one of those people who paid off the student
18:39loan. I did not get forgiveness, but I was able to pay mine off and then I bought a house. So
18:43I think it's very true how many people are using that in order to invest in businesses or invest
18:51in home ownership. And it's really important. And it's also important not just to forgive
18:56the loans, but also to make college affordable moving forward and to make sure that especially
19:04in your states, that they are passing laws that give funding for state schools, HBCUs as well,
19:13making sure that we make college affordable for everyone moving forward. And then can you
19:20repeat the second part of your last question? Because it wasn't about student loans.
19:24No, it was about the financial, letting people know, understand how important this is,
19:29because you just talked about earlier, I mean, just a second ago, about also using that money
19:34now that they've had their loans forgiven to go towards business. So how can basically voters
19:40support the policies that ensure Black entrepreneurs receive financial support that is
19:45needed to succeed? We were talking about the fearless fund earlier. When we talk about how
19:49much money that Black business owners actually see VC funding, it is, and correct me if I'm wrong,
19:57Alphonso, it's less than 2%? Less than 1%. Less than 1%. Yeah, so $288 billion is allocated
20:08through the venture capital space each year, $288 billion. And of the $288 billion, less than 1%
20:15goes to Black people. Less than 0.036% goes to Black women. So, and this, right, we're talking
20:23about investments in businesses. We're talking about the ability to grow your business, which
20:28is why the fearless fund is so important, which is why venture capitalism is so important. All
20:34of these entrepreneurs that are out there who are creating opportunities and making investments in
20:41other Black and Brown businesses so that they not only can sustain themselves, but that they can
20:46grow. I think people need to like, sometimes we know what we want to happen, but what are the
20:51questions that we need to be asking our policymakers in our communities to make sure
20:57that we're getting it? So when we're going to the polls, you may know which candidate you want,
21:02but even the person that you want, be engaged and ask certain questions about their policies
21:07concerning that. Kristen, what are some of the things that people need to be asking as they're
21:12going to the polls before they get to the polls, even from those who they think they may be in
21:16favor from, you still have to put an ask in. Yeah. I mean, the big question is how,
21:23like, so there's a lot of like big, I'm going to, you know, Donald Trump is great at this of saying
21:30like, I'm going to do the biggest thing ever. Right. And can't really say specifically how or
21:36what. And so we really need to be asking, do you have a plan for investing in small businesses?
21:41The person that's running says, yes. What is the plan? Where can I find it? How does it work? How
21:47will it impact me personally? If you're wanting to know about healthcare, right, or healthcare
21:53costs, do you have a plan for healthcare affordability? Have you, if this is a state,
22:00like, what are you doing about expanding Medicaid in your, in our state? If we're talking about
22:06housing, what is your plan to get more people in our community into home ownership? How is that
22:11going to work? Making sure that we are looking at each one of these things related to the economy
22:16and asking, what are you going to do? And then how are you going to do it? And if there is no plan,
22:22this is not someone that you want to be voting for. You know, on November 5th, it's really
22:25important that there's, there's stark choices here. We have one side of the aisle that is
22:32continuing to talk about the trickle down politics that doesn't work, right? Giving tax credits to
22:39the corporations and then saying it's going to come to the people. It never does. That is why
22:44the wage gap is so, so large, right? And then we have another side talking about an opportunity
22:49economy that is investing in people, having actual policy proposals, like giving cash payments to
22:57help with housing costs, like bringing down the price of prescriptions. But the only, the choice
23:04is not just about the top of the ticket. It's about state elections and local elections and
23:09really understanding what's at stake in those elections, who's running and what are their plans
23:15for the local and state economies, and making a plan yourself to vote, making sure that all
23:21the people in your family have a plan to vote on November 5th and then stay in the fight on
23:28November 6th and after, because that's really where we ensure that we're actually delivered for.
23:33Kristen Powell, Principal of Black Futures Lab, thank you so much for joining us. Again,
23:40for folks who have just joined us, please feel free to put into the comments questions and we'll
23:45have an opportunity to answer some of your questions.
23:48Thank you so much.
23:50You're very welcome.