AOC's townhall on her poverty legislation

Hey there! Tool checking in from the fighting 14th congressional district! My district is one of the most diverse places (literally) on the planet as it encompasses the southern Bronx and Northwestern Queens. About a month ago I called my congresswoman’s office in Jackson Heights and inquired if there would be any town-halls held in LIC, Sunnyside, Astoria, or Woodside about poverty since I had missed the previous two and had heard she was addressing new legislative efforts to combat poverty on the federal level. I was given the option to join the mailing list and about a month later I got an update for the next town-hall on poverty!

This time it meant traveling to the north end of my district and into the Bronx. I’ve lived everywhere in NYC except Staten Island and I was returning to a familiar portion since I used to work at a YMCA afterschool program by West farms SQ.

I arrived promptly at 5:50 as the invitation had said that the doors were at 6 and the town-hall would start at 7. Only a few people lingered outside the school and I politely asked a young man and his father if I was in the right place. They affirmed I was correct and I finished wolfing down the two slices of pizza I had grabbed for dinner (nobody wants to be hangry at a town-hall).

Waiting to get inside!

The crowd was cheerful and when a guy loudly asked “What are you all waiting here for, free stuff?” — a rye man quipped “I came for the refrigerators.” After a few more moments of waiting in line, we were directed to check in with our RSVP and find a seat. I eagerly found a way to the front of the auditorium and sat down when I was soon joined by a young college student who did not live in the district but wanted to know what AOC could do about ICE, immigration, and children in cages.

We had been given little slips of paper to submit questions to the staffers on hand.

After giving two interviews (hey they picked the former Occupier goth dude to interview) and helping the young man next to me formulate a direct question (we settled on “What can you do to repeal the Patriot Act if ICE was created from it.”) Given that this town-hall was on economics — I told him that his question might not be selected but that it was an important one to ask.

My own question (which I had written out in a paragraph form on my phone) was condensed into a single sentence on the slip of paper.

“Would you support a federal basic income program of at least 30k — 72k that could be applicable to NYC, NYS, or the national level?”

A few announcements were given by the staff indicating that the town-hall would be accessible to Spanish speakers and the deaf! Next, the staff was thanked (I cheered loudly for the janitorial staff) — and AOC came out to the stage to a great deal of applause.

First, she welcomed us and said that this was a continuation of her prior town hall and that she wanted to share some news with us.

First — to the thunderous applause of the room and mild ribbing of leadership AOC said (paraphrasing from memory) — “They don’t like us going home and celebrating (meaning Dem leadership) but this past week I got to vote on the impeachment resolution and we are going forward with it.” (Entire room breaks out into massive applause).

A minute passes as the clapping dies down and she continues talking about why she gathered us.

Congresswoman AOC has been working on five major poverty intitives under the theme of a just society. She began by playing a video outlining some emotional appeals as to what a just society means to every day people.

There are six pieces to this legislation.

ocasio-cortez.house.gov/...

*The Recognizing Poverty Act:

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Bureau of Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics, to adjust the federal poverty line to account for geographic cost variation, costs related to health insurance, work expenses for the family, child care needs, and new necessities, like internet access.

*The Embrace Our Immigrants Act:

Our nation must recognize that our history--immigrants, enslaved peoples, and refugees built this country. We all do better when we create a just society that embraces our most vulnerable populations and paves a path to prosperity for all. This bill would ensure that all persons in need are eligible for the largest programs of the social safety net, regardless of their immigration status.

*The Mercy-In-Re-Entry Act:

People formerly involved in the criminal justice system face discrimination, often inhibiting their ability to support themselves, their families and their communities. Instead of investing in mass incarceration, we need to invest in the most vulnerable members of our society. This bill ensures that all persons in need are eligible for the social safety net, regardless of prior involvement with the criminal justice system.

*The Uplift Our Workers Act:

The purchasing power of the federal government should be used to improve the quality of life for workers rather than accelerate a race to the bottom. This bill directs the Department of Labor, in collaboration with the office of Management and Budget, to create a "worker-friendly score" for federal contracts. This score would consider factors such as paid-family leave, scheduling predictability, a $15 minimum wage or otherwise prevailing wage, and union membership to ensure that all federal agencies prioritize contractors that are "worker-friendly" when deciding what entities deserve public funds.

Guarantee the Economic, Social, Cultural, Rights for All:

As the richest nation in the history of the world, we should be setting the standards for economic and social rights globally. Not only are we failing to lead, we are falling behind as one of the few countries that have not confirmed our commitment to economic, social and cultural rights. It is time that we join 170 nations and ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This bill instructs the executive branch to re-initiate ratification processes for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The ICESCR states that all persons have the right to work, fair and just conditions of work, social security, an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing, housing, and healthcare.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez went through each one of the proposals for the federal levels and I want to learn more specifically about the legislation. Like, for instance, does The Mercy-In-Re-Entry Act ban the box on employment forms or if felons can be paid a living wage for their prison labor?

The presentation of ideas was inspiring as I was hoping for a large path forward in terms of ideas as Ocasio-Cortez has already gone big with attempting to tackle climate change. Indeed, her own assessment of the Green New Deal was that it met the bare minimum to meet the challenge of extinction. She leveled some scathing language at centrists (extremists in my eyes) who think that reaching 2050 with a mild reduction in CO2 emissions will save us from displacement, food shortages, and societal breakdown in the face of rising sea levels.

Regardless, she was passionate and spoke with the urgency I have been waiting to hear about climate change from our elected representatives since I was a child.

After a 30 minute presentation about the federal poverty legislation she was introducing — the questions portion was due to begin. I was mildly shocked when my question was selected for the second one.

One of the rules was to stay under two minutes and I took a deep breath. The kid next time me clapped me on the shoulder when my name was called to ask a question and I lamely smiled. Part of my life is being an extroverted introvert — but I was charged up with the energy of the room and would work the nerve to ask my question.

I didn't read it (as I think I should of) — because the college kid offered to film my question!

I’m a district 14 resident for 7 years and my wife has taught in the Bronx for 10 years as a new york city public school teacher. Myself, I have worked as a Medicaid service provider working with children with autisim. My question specifically refers to economics. Basic Income and a federal jobs program. Martin Luther King Jr wrote in 1967" I’m now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income." or what it means to live in a just society. In 1968 he was assassinated. Since then that idea has disappeared from our collective conscience. Of a guaranteed right to have an income. My wife and I are about to be priced out of our district. We are really just one household and I take care of the cat. My question is: If you are talking about five programs — and you are talking about the federal poverty line is 38k — why are we not talking about Basic Income? Why are we not discussing Basic Income far beyond what Andrew Yang is proposing (with his libertarian bullshit) (excuse me) Would you be on the board with putting UBI on the map within our society?

AOC respond:

My congresswoman responded by agreeing with me that any UBI that is some sort of backdoor for cutting the social safety net is unacceptable and that a federal jobs program should be able to work in conjunction with UBI — not as a replacement for benefits. The exchange finished with her directing me to follow up with her policy director and that she appreciated the question.

Some of the topics that were brought up by participates focused on state issues and local issues rather than the federal level where AOC works. They ranged from how to improve community safety, to how can we reign in abuses of technology and the NYPD. I do feel she could have answered that question better — highing that on a federal level we need to de-militarize the policy and repeal aspects of the Patriot Act that (founded ICE, & gave the NYPD) all the domestic spying stuff of their dreams.

She fielded questions for over an hour and then to thunderous applause announced she’d be doing selfies! I hopping line and we a huge smile waited (I was like the fourth) — and grabbed a card from her legislative director.

Tool snagging a selfie.

Overall — I thought the town-hall was a complete success! After leaving empowered I ran into perhaps one of the only Trump supporters in the room (wearing an Apprentice shirt) was the tell and she told me “I liked your question and she’s got a lot of ideas — but how are we going to pay for it? I just don’t know.” Without missing a beat I replied “We spent several trillion dollars on Iraq & Afganastan and never once did we ask how are we going to pay for it. Trump’s tax cuts just cost us 1.4 trillion dollars (all of our collective student debt) — and nobody ever asked how we gonna pay for it.” We parted ways shortly after she declared “They just have better lawyers (when I pointed out the rich take almost 90% of all new income generated.” and the next guy I ran into was a great kindred spirit who recommended a book on economics (that I wrote down and will maybe read).

I’m happy to have been able to attend the town-hall (my wife & I (got married last month finally wooo) will be priced out of our district soon) and I’m excited about the anti-poverty legislation that AOC is working on. Do I want to see more? Certainly. Do I want it approached from a more collectivist and socialist perspective? Most definitely. But, for now, I’m content that I got to ask a meaningful question about economics (one of the only ones) during a forum about economics & that UBI is at least an idea that is making its way into the hearts and minds of congress (at least my rep).