Category Archives: Viva!

Julián Castro on reparations for slavery

If elected president, 2020 Democratic contender Julián Castro said he would create a commission to explore the possibility of reparations for slavery.

During a stop Sunday at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Castro did not commit to paying reparations but said it should be part of a topic of conversation for a commission or task force that could explore that and other issues surrounding the nation’s history with slavery.

“I’ve long believed the country should consider reparations because of the atrocity of slavery,” said Castro, a former San Antonio mayor who was President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. “I also believe that we’re never going to fully heal as a country from the racial divide until we’ve addressed the tremendous wrong that was done with slavery.”

Former Obama cabinet official and current Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro crushed rival Bernie Sanders‘ argument against “writing a check” for reparations, noting that Sanders’ solution to a host of other issues is to do just that.

On Sunday morning’s edition of CNN’s State of the Union, host Jake Tapper asked Castro for his reaction to a clip of Sanders responding to a question about support for slavery reparations by asking what his rivals mean by reparations.

Castro noted that he has promised a “task force” to explore reparations, but zeroed in on a different Sanders remark on reparations. In a recent appearance on The View, Sanders said that “our job is to address the crises facing the American people and our communities, and I think there are better ways to do that than just writing out a check.”

“To my mind, that may or may not be the best way to address it,” Castro said. “However, it’s interesting to me that when it comes to Medicare for all, health care, you know, the response there has been we need to write a big check, that when it comes to tuition-free or debt-free college, the answer has been we need to write a big check.”

“So if the issue is compensating descendants of slaves, I don’t think the argument about writing a big check ought to be the argument you make if you’re making the argument that a big check needs to be written for a whole bunch of other stuff,” Castro continued. “If, under the Constitution, we compensate people because we take their property, why wouldn’t you compensate people who actually were property.”

Planting 1 trillion trees could stop climate change, argues study

Not so true – think about it. If 1 trillion palm oil trees were planted, new diseases would develop to deal with the imbalance. If current industrialized areas were simply allowed to return to nature that would enable 1 trillion trees to plant themselves, it would help. Man deciding to plant trees liked by humans will more than likely make things worse. Forests depend on natural diversity, not man-made interventions. Planting a massive number of trees is the most effective way to combat global warming, scientists have said. Reforesting an area the size of the United States could capture two-thirds of manmade carbon emissions.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY – Jane Fonda

Here’s what I believe is the best way forward: Regardless of where we come from and what our color is or how we worship, every family wants the best for themselves and their children. But today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists are putting all our families at risk. They rig the rules to enrich themselves and avoid paying their fair share of taxes, while they defund our schools and threaten seniors with cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Then they turn around and point the finger for our hard times at people of color and new immigrants . . . even tearing families apart and losing children. When we reject their scapegoating and come together across racial differences we can make this a nation we’re proud to leave all of our children . . . Whether we are Democrat or Republican, white, black or brown from down the street or across the globe. We need to recognize our linked fate across race and class in order to sweep away the politicians’ dog-whistling on behalf of rule and for the rich.

Source: HAPPY 4TH OF JULY – Jane Fonda

Julian Castro’s Housing Reform policy

White House hopeful Julián Castro on Monday released a portion of his latest “People First” policy proposal focused on affordable housing and homelessness.

The “People First Housing” plan will be released in three segments, starting on Monday.

“Housing is a human right. But for too many people, affordable, safe, and healthy housing is out of reach—forcing them to pay 40, 50, or even 60 percent of their income in rent, and forcing others on the streets,” Castro, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary under former President Obama, said in a statement.

“I understand the challenges that Americans face in housing—from rising rents, to gentrification, to housing discrimination, to homelessness. We need a president who will match the urgency of this issue with concrete, bold plans. That’s why I’m proud to release my People First Housing plan to ensure every American can access safe, affordable housing for them and their families.”

Castro, who has struggled to gain any traction in early primary polling, proposes a four-pronged approach to strengthen affordable housing by expanding the housing choice voucher program, creating a renters’ tax credit for those not eligible for vouchers, investing in new affordable housing units and reforming local zonings which restrict efficient buildings.

Many of these would expand on the National Housing Trust Fund, which provided $173 million in grants to create affordable housing, that Castro established while leading HUD.

Castro says he would reduce America’s homelessness epidemic by setting new government housing targets, increasing assistance grants, establishing consistent government homelessness definitions and investing in a wide variety of programs designed to help individuals who are homeless or housing insecure.

The plan would also decriminalize homelessness and end laws that discriminate against those without homes.

The housing initiative ties in Castro’s other platform positions, including expanding Pell Grants and expanding Medicare, to address housing issues.

Homelessness has been a steadily growing issue for years. According to HUD’s most recent Annual Homeless Assessment Report, each night of 2018 roughly 553,000 people were experiencing homelessness.

Homeownership is often cited as a key component to wealth-building for American families.

Data shows that obstacles, both economic and social, have especially left minorities lagging behind in homeownership.

A recent report by the Urban Institute shows that black homeownership has declined 5 percent since 2011, compared to a 1 percent decline for white families.

The same report showed an increase in Hispanic homeownership during that period, though it came at a time when Hispanic families were digging out after being particularly affected by the Great Recession, with Latino households losing 66 percent of their overall wealth from 2005-2009, according to the Pew Research Center.

Castro’s policy platforms tackling issues including immigration, policing and the cost of college have so far not resulted in an uptick in polling, with the former San Antonio mayor frequently polling near 1 or 2 percent.

North Korea says US ‘hell-bent’ on sanctions despite Trump-Kim talks

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Mission to the UN complains after US sent letter urging other countries to send back its North Korean workers

North Korea has complained after the United States sent a letter urging countries to send back workers from the Stalinist state as President Donald Trump was inviting Kim Jong-un to hold talks.

The North Korean mission to the United Nations said on Wednesday that the letter sent to all UN member-states showed that Washington was “practically more and more hell-bent on the hostile acts” against Pyongyang, even though it is seeking dialogue.

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