Corvallis Oregon, to cut social safety net and criminalize the poor.
A few nights back I attended the local city council meeting. The topic was a local tax levy which would defund the local social safety net by 69.7%. That’s about $230,000 of the city’s annual budget of $330,000 which helps to fund food banks, winter shelters, homeless day centers, and addiction and recovery facilities, as well as shelters for people escaping abusive relationships. The city is choosing to cut the portion of the budget which represents almost 3% of the total budget. They need the money to fund additional police resources, to protect a park from the very people who they are taking aid from.
Think on that for a moment. The city is taking from the social safety net to fund law enforcement.
While listening to people testify to the need for continued funding from the city, many of those speaking were talking about the need to fund a theater. The theater is also on the chopping block. While I recognize the importance of arts in a city, funding a theater while failing your most vulnerable is a condemnation of your city’s values.
The city is asking voters to approve a new tax levy to fund certain aspects of the budget, while at the same time they are cutting so called entitlements. It’s a common situation across the country. People with money are being freed from their financial obligations, having their tax burden cut, while common middle class and poverty-stricken people are having the rug pulled from under them.
The tax levy drew dozens of people to city council. The room was physically packed, standing room only, with people sitting on the floor. Everyone speaking out for their budgetary needs, education, boys and girls clubs, swimming pool, business development, care for the less fortunate—everyone needing the city to spend money on their projects. Once the levy portion ended the room emptied out.
In the time after the levy portion, I had the opportunity to give public comment on any topic. I chose to speak about a law which was being read by the city attorney, the previous version of which violated federal law and was creating exposure to potential for class action lawsuits. The previous version of the law criminalized the act of sleeping. This city is hostile towards the homeless. Rather than addressing the inhuman nature of laws criminalizing homelessness, the city changed its wording to outlaw the act of owning bedding while in public.
This video is my testimony to the council on how their new law violates the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights.
More laws, so more law enforcement, so less money for that which is not law enforcement.
I can't cite jurisdictions, but in some places it is illegal to feed the poor, in some it is illegal to treat the poor. These and other laws make it illegal to help the poor, but no law is more despicable than one which makes being poor a crime.
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Tampa famously arrested a 93 year old pastor for feeding the poor.
A similar event of arresting the compassionate involed a 17 year old who was criminally helping those in need.
"Those who are trying to make the world worse aren't taking a day off, how can I?"
The Tampa pastor was one incident I was trying to remember.
I love your quote. Not seen it before, so I looked it up. A great man said it.
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Thanks for sharing this! Our rights are only as strong as the protections we give to those who have no voice, thank you for standing for them. You're not invisible, they saw you, you made them uncomfortable, that's why they attempt to marginalize you, they know it's not right.
I was able to speak after quite a bit of other testimony, so I know that the councilors were already tired of listening to people.
Our city is moving toward a dangerous form of neo-liberalism, which is much closer to fascism than may be comfortable.
SAD!
In the USA justice is only affordable for the ruling class.
Everyone else is subject to theft of liberty.
Thank you for being active and speaking for those who need their voices heard. So sad that this continues to happen, but this post is important and I'm glad you wrote it.
My emotions get involved. People who are otherwise well behaved deserve to sleep without fear of police.
@tawasi this post was presented at the evening session of Pimp Your Post Thursday on the Steemit Ramble Discord. It was given honourable mention as part of the report on the session. Just stopping back to let you know that you can see your name in lights right here. (Just kidding about the lights :)