Theresa Funiciello

@markmobility @MSFreePress The Brett Favre shame belongs as much to Bill Clinton as to him. ‘Welfare reform”of the nineties removed all protections for cash assistance to poor families and left in its place a loosely drawn set of provisions that I argued one could drive a truck through. Favre did.

While Brett Favre was getting Mississippi to spend over $5 million of federal welfare funds in a new volleyball stadium (and receiving $1.1 million himself), the state approved just 1.42% of the poor people who applied for assistance. | @MSFreePress mississippifreepress.org/27903/mississi…

Child tax credit alert!! The poorest children (on welfare) will not be covered unless you contact the feds and your governors to set up a system for covering them automatically. As it is you have to file tax returns to get it. Most welfare mothers don't: no income to report.

@AmericnDreaming 100% correct!

Religious institutions should not be tax-exempt. We're probably a decade away from being able to have a serious campaign to change this, imo.

@StaffsUniSWLaw Food poverty is an advertising ploy of the food bank industry which has substituted their interests for that of poor people. If poor people had cash they would buy food. It’s not a mystery. My book Tyranny of Kindness explains it. Stop perpetuating the myth of “Food” poverty.

Debate on child food poverty ongoing now 👇

I’ve noticed a lot of praise for the impending child tax credit. Does anyone know if there’s a hold harmless clause that prevents states from taking the money away from welfare recipients if they actually get it?

@scottsantens That’s an interesting approach.

Denver will be the first city to test basic income specifically on the unhoused. It will also compare monthly $1000 payments to a combo of a one-time $6500 + $500/mo payments instead. Which would you prefer? thedenverchannel.com/news/local-new…

Women are the backbone of our society and economy. Join us tonight with @RashidaTlaib @azelleke @SatyaForMadison @MayorCarter @PassiSonya and @TFuniciello as they discuss women & guaranteed income. RSVP for film: ow.ly/4Kzf50EDHjR RSVP for panel: ow.ly/mhdW50EDHjU

@silverpillow @HelenMcClory @scottsantens Hi, As bad as Amazon is to its employees, people like me labor for years without pay should also have a claim to some of the benefits of our work. Thank you for understanding.

@silverpillow @HelenMcClory @scottsantens I have worked hard since I was about 12, but have received little to no compensation. The used books for sale on eBay etc cost considerably more in general. I receive not one penny for sales outside of Amazon at this time.

20 years ago, we fought to make the Child Tax Credit fully refundable for the poorest families. Thanks to last ditch efforts by Rep. Rosa DeLauro et al. to get it into the covid bill it may be done. If States can, they'll take it away. We'll see. See Tyranny of Kindness for info

@HelenMcClory @scottsantens There will be but it was the first platform I was able to get it on since I added the new material. But it will be a while before I make final decisions as to where else to put it.

Sure enough, there's lots of $$ in the covid bill for food banks to distribute food-like goods like fan favorite, diet soda. Tho expect more actual foods while the media is watching. When there are only persistently poor people left they'll revert to form.

The only people I know of who executed direct actions on Guaranteed Income were welfare mothers. Alone we were like the tree falling in the dark. Talk can be good, but like they say, it is also cheap. Think-organize-act. It's your turn.

Correction: it's not necessary...

It's necessary to re-invent the wheel. Guaranteed [basic] income experiments went on throughout the 1960's and 70s. Even at considerably higher payment levels they showed the same things. For that matter, studies of lottery winners did too. Action is the only real path left.

@DanPriceSeattle The point of view of those who live with the consequences of the tall tales about "job creation" is that jobs don't come with them. Rather, they are code for distributing tens of millions each to corporations promising to "create or RETAIN" a couple of jobs.

We need to stop glamorizing "job creators." They allow companies to get away with a lot, like massive tax breaks. Amazon and Walmart, the top two employers, offer low pay and destroyed millions of small businesses. They're job shifters, not creators. It's a race to the bottom.

Or ask me why I was distressed to see Prez. Biden praising a distribution site in Texas, as if stores had no food.

Just realized I could ask you all to say no to the expansion of secondary "food" (tax giveaways to agribusiness) market. Demand income assistance to the poorest families to use grocery stores. See Tyranny of Kindness if you don't understand.

@diane_pagen Hey, Diane. I couldn't be prouder. By the way, did you notice where Prez Biden went in Texas? -- to a "food" distribution site! As if to say poor folks shouldn't be able to choose and buy food. It means more $$ for garbage market; not for people to buy food. BI folks, HELP! NOW

Thanks, @TFuniciello. You were the best boss I ever had. You helped me understand what I was upset about. I'm lucky to have worked with you #UBI