Massive corporate welfare package in Michigan, supported by both Republicans and Democrats
Last week, the Michigan Legislature voted to approve $846.1 Million to “attract new business.”
The Strategic Outreach and Attraction (SOAR) Fund passed in the Michigan Senate by a vote of 25 – 8 and in the House 76 – 28, thus demonstrating once again that when it comes to economic policies both the Republicans and Democrats embrace NeoLiberal Capitalism (Gov. Whitmer signed off on these funds on October 4th). To be more specific, in this case, the majority of the $846.1 Million will go to a number of corporations, which means that the State of Michigan voted to give massive subsidies/welfare to corporations.
Maybe the best story written about this vote, came from The Bridge Magazine. When I say the best, I mean that The Bridge did publish how the Michigan Legislature voted, along with some information about which corporations will benefit from the $846.1 Million of public money.
The Bridge article cites a few politicians, but they primarily cite Business Associations, such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Citizen Research Council of Michigan (which is essentially made up of corporate representation who are technically citizens), and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (also dominated by representatives of political and economic systems of power).
There was one dissenting voice from the non-corporate world, Fund MI Future, which is a coalition of labor, environmental and social justice groups. The Fund MI Future spokesperson was quoted as saying, “Lawmakers continue to send hundreds of millions of dollars to wealthy corporations without ensuring layoffs aren’t right around the corner.”
This comment from Fund MI Future, while important in a reformist way, essentially condones and embraces this form of State Capitalism, which essentially turns public money over to the corporate world. The problem with this position, is that it doesn’t address a more fundamental dynamic of why the public should be providing massive subsidies to corporations in the first place. In addition, it ignores the fact that the public had no say in how their money is being spent. However, the previous quote from the Fund MI Future coalition is not that surprising, considering that it is really made up of mainstream NGOs, who rarely, if ever, question the function of Capitalism in Michigan.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that the bi-partisan support from the $846.1 Million package – mostly corporate welfare – was supported by Democrats from West Michigan, including Senator Winnie Brinks and Representatives David LaGrand and Rachel Hood.
A critical look at the DeVos Family Foundation $1 Million contribution for hurricane relief: What the MLive story doesn’t tell you
On Friday, MLive posted a story with the headline, DeVos Family Foundation donates $1 million to Florida hurricane relief.
The article is based solely on a Press Release from the DeVos Family Foundation, with talking points about the amount of money being donated and how it will be spent. According to the MLive article/DeVos Family Foundation Press Release, $500,00 will be donated to the United Way Hurricane Relief Fund, another $250,000 will go to the statewide Florida Disaster Fund touted by Casey DeSantis, wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and the remaining $250,000 will be reserved for future rebuilding efforts as needs come to light.
It is rather unfortunate, although completely expected, that MLive (and most commercial media sources) do not provide additional information, sources or a critical examination when the most powerful family in West Michigan makes a charitable contribution. There are several angels to this story, beyond acting as a stenographer for the DeVos family, where any serious journalist might take this story. First, there could have been a more serious look at the Florida connection for the DeVos family. Second, MLive, or any other news source that relied on the DeVos Family Foundation Press Release, could have provided a link to the entire Press Release, then look at how other news sources used the talking points provided in the Press Release. Third, there could have been a more critical look at how the $1 million contribution was being spent. Lastly, why are journalists not asking the question, why is this even a news story?
The DeVos/Florida connection
The DeVos family doesn’t make philanthropic contributions for no good reason. The most powerful family in West Michigan always uses their money in very calculated ways, even strategic. It is no surprise that the family would contribute $1 million to the Florida for post-hurricane needs. The DeVos family owns numerous homes in Florida and spends a great deal of time there. They fly to Florida on a regular basis in their private planes when staying at their Florida homes. In addition, the DeVos family has owned the Orlando Magic for several decades now, which means they also have a major financial interest in Florida, particularly in Orlando. Then there is the issue of influencing political outcomes in Florida. For example, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation donated $100,000 to the Florida4Marriage campaign in 2008, to defeat a campaign to get marriage equality in Florida. A more recent example has to do with the fact that the DeVos family has collectively contributed nearly a half a million to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, beginning in the 2018 campaign and in the current election cycle.
DeVos Family Foundation Press Release talking points
There are no online links to the Press Release that the DeVos family sent out to generate the hoped for positive news coverage they expected, but in looking at other news sources, we can find additional talking points.
The online site for the National Basketball Association, nba.com, also posted a story about the DeVos Family Foundation’s $1 million contribution. Some of the same talking points are used in their story as compared to the MLive article. However, there were some additional talking points worth including here from the NBA’s website:
The DeVos family has a long history of helping out in times of need in Central Florida.
- In 2004, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Charley, Richard and Helen DeVos donated $1 million to relief efforts in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia and Polk Counties.
- In 2020, they backed a $2 million compensation fund for hourly employees of the Magic, Amway Center, Lakeland Magic and Solar Bears while their seasons were suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, assisting approximately 1,800 part-time employees.
- In 2016, they contributed $400,000 to the One Orlando Fund following the tragedy at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
Naturally, the DeVos family wants to demonstrate their generosity with such Press Releases, as is evidenced in the information included in the NBA.com article. Again, there is no critical assessment of these charitable contributions. For instance, there is another way of looking at the $400,000 contribution in the aftermath of the 2016 Pulse Night Club shooting. GRIID wrote a piece after that anti-LGBTQ shooting took place, making the point that the DeVos family had fostered an anti-LGBTQ climate in Florida for decades, working with groups like Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and Dr. James Kennedy.
How the $1 million DeVos donation will be spent?
A third direction the reporting could have gone, would have been to look more critically at where the $1 million from the DeVos Family Foundation was being used. As was already mentioned, $500,000 was going to the United Way, but the other funds are less clear. $250,000 will go to the Florida Disaster Fund touted by Casey DeSantis, wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. It is less clear how that $250,000 will be spent, plus it should be noted that the organizational chart for this fund is under the control of Governor DeSantis.
The other $250,000 will be reserved for future rebuilding efforts as needs come to light. Also, a rather vague statement. However, it is possible to think about how those funds might be used, based on the actions of various DeVos family members have used disaster relief funds over the years, in what Naomi Klein refers to as Disaster Capitalism.
Disaster Capitalism is a way for members of the Capitalist Class to use disasters to re-direct funding, often public funding, to support projects that ultimately benefit the bottom line of families like the DeVos family. In a 2017 article for The Guardian Naomi Klein wrote about Disaster Capitalism and Hurricane Katrina:
What I saw during the flooding shocked me. But what I saw in the aftermath of Katrina shocked me even more. With the city reeling, and with its residents dispersed across the country and unable to protect their own interests, a plan emerged to ram through a pro-corporate wishlist with maximum velocity. The famed free-market economist Milton Friedman, then 93 years old, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal stating, “Most New Orleans schools are in ruins, as are the homes of the children who have attended them. The children are now scattered all over the country. This is a tragedy. It is also an opportunity to radically reform the educational system.”
We know that the DeVos family, particularly Betsy DeVos, has made it a mission to undermine the Public Education system in the US. Using disasters is an effective way to push this agenda. Betsy DeVos did the same thing while she was Secretary of Education, during the 2017 Hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico. GRIID wrote about the role that Betsy DeVos played in that catastrophe and how she used it to push her privatized education agenda.
Why is the DeVos Family Foundation contribution even news?
We know that there are lots of people who have donated to the Florida hurricane relief, even some from West Michigan who have traveled there to assist those most impacted. So, why does $1 million from the DeVos Family Foundation merit news coverage? $1 million is no small amount, at least to most of us, but it is a drop in the bucket for the DeVos family. The DeVos family is collectively worth billions, so making a $1 million dollar donation is like most people contributing $20, especially when we consider what percent $20 is to the total income of say someone who makes $40,000 a year. In addition, while a $20 contribution is also tax deductible, it is different than the $1 million contribution from the DeVos Family Foundation. Wealthy people who have created foundations, create them in order to avoid paying taxes on large sums of money that are put into the foundation’s coffers.
Lastly, it is news precisely because the DeVos Family Foundation and all of their other foundations are a well oiled public relations machine, which makes it a point to tell the rest of the world how “generous” they are. As we mentioned earlier, these donations or contributions from the DeVos family are strategic and calculated, specifically to make them look good, but also because if they control the narrative through their Press Releases, then they can avoid or minimize public scrutiny.
Grand Rapids City Commission Candidates: Business as usual or collective action to radically transform this community?
Like we did for the State Senate, State House and Kent County Commission races in the August Primary Election, we want to look at the candidates for the 3 wards in Grand Rapids.
In those previous races, I made it clear that as someone who embraces an anarchist politics, I believe that elected officials need to respond to the current social movements in Grand Rapids and not allow those with deep pockets or those who are part of the Grand Rapids Power Structure and dictate the future of this city.
In recent years there have been numerous social movements that have made known their demands and have been doing their own autonomous organizing work, along with participating in Mutual Aid projects. Some of the social movements are well known, working on issues that challenge systems of power and oppression, such as the Justice4Patrick Movement, which has been connected to Defund the GRPD, which is made up of a coalition of groups – the Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network, Together We Are Safe, Movimiento Cosecha GR, GR Rapid Response to ICE and the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union.
These social movements have been working on challenging structural racism in Grand Rapids, such as the disproportionate number of GRPD cops who patrol, surveil, harass and intimidate BIPOC communities in this city. There are also groups working on fighting for housing justice, the lack of truly affordable housing in Grand Rapids, the role of gentrification throughout the city, and how the City of Grand Rapids, using the GRPD, deals with the unhoused population. The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union is one resource that works with tenants to fight for housing justice.
There are also groups/movements working on immigrant justice, confronting the cops and other state violence actors in targeting undocumented immigrants and the intense monitoring by the GRPD of immigrant led groups.
The Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network (GRAMAN) has been an amazing response to providing mutual aid to people most impacted by the COVID pandemic, redistributing wealth and centering the needs of BIPOC residents. There are also lots of more informal mutual aid work being done in Grand Rapids, which operates outside of the non-profit industrial complex, which often polices those seeking support.
These are only some of the movements that have caught the attention of those in power, which have regularly engaged in efforts to discredit these autonomous groups, along with using state violence workers (cops) to undermine, threaten and repress those working for structural change.
It is in this context that we encourage people to look at the six candidates running for the three ward seats. There are two incumbents, Kurt Reppart and Joe Jones, plus four new candidates. Below are links to their campaign websites, along with Facebook pages. Check out where they stand on issues, their list of endorsements and how much they center those who are most marginalized in Grand Rapids. Here are questions that we would ask.
- Do these candidates support the demands to defund the GRPD, to redistribute funds that would normally go to the cops and make sure it gets into the hands of families and communities that are the most marginalized
- According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, people in Grand Rapids need to earn a minimum of $20.02 an hour to afford a two bedroom apartment in this city. Do candidates support a baseline income of $25 an hour, which would be more of a living wage for people.
- While the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) is presented as an experiment, do candidates support allowing residents to have an ongoing say in the way that their tax dollars are used in the city. The current PBP funds allocated are $2 million, which are funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The 2023 Grand Rapids City Budget is $598 Million, thus $2 million is really next to nothing. Imagine how residents might prioritize how their tax dollars get spent, especially if there was a much larger percentage of the budget allocated for participatory budgeting?
- Where do candidates stand on matters of those with deep pockets dictating development projects in Grand Rapids? Do we really need a soccer stadium, which will use considerable public funds, and end up increasing the profits of those in the private sector? Do candidates support creating committees that are made up of those most marginalized, instead of always appointing the so-called stakeholders to influence outcomes?
- Do candidates support real climate justice policies and practices, like limiting the use of fossil fuels, make mass transit the primary source of transportation, make food growing central to land use, or see water as sacred and not a resource?
- Do candidates support the dismantling of Structural Racism, which currently means that BIPOC people disproportionately experience poverty, mass incarceration, unemployment/underemployment? Do candidates support reparations, non-cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in this city, and and end to Settler Colonial practices against the Anishinaabe/Indigenous people?
These are just a few of the larger issues that this city is confronted with, issues that have been made public by various groups and social movements in recent years. In the last week before the election, we will be posting information based on campaign finances, to see which organizations and which members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure will influence the outcome.
1st Ward
Kurt Reppart
https://www.facebook.com/Kurt1stWard
Drew Robbins
https://www.drewrobbinsforgr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/drewrobbinsforgr/
GRPOA and GR Chamber endorsements
2nd Ward
Lisa Knight
https://www.facebook.com/Committeetoelectlisaknight
Joe Jones
https://www.facebook.com/KeepJoeJones
https://keepjoejones.com/endorsements
3rd Ward
Kenneth Hoskins
https://www.facebook.com/electrevken
Kelsey Perdue
Wanted for funding the criminalization of Abortion: The Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese
This is the firth in a series of WANTED posters, looking at individuals, families and organizations in West Michigan that have contributed significantly to the criminalization of abortion and the undermining of reproductive justice.
Today’s focus is on the Catholic Church, specifically the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese. The Catholic Church universally condemns abortion, but since we are looking at entities in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese makes the most sense.
The Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, like all Catholic Churches, relies on a hierarchy, which dictates church beliefs and church policy. The Catholic Church has long insisted that having an abortion is a sin. The Catholic Church uses the institutional structure to also communicate messaging around abortion, whether that is from the pulpit, in newsletters of public statements. In a statement after the US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the head of the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese, Bishop Walkowiak wrote:
“The United States Supreme Court’s decision moves America one step closer to protecting human life from its earliest stages of existence. The Catholic Church remains committed to helping women and couples who are facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies. For every pregnant woman who may be unsure of what is next, the Catholic Church is here. We will continue to accompany and care for women in need of emotional, spiritual, or physical support and their child(ren), born and unborn. Support is available through Catholic Churches as well as other local organizations.”
In the November Elections, people will be able to vote on the issue of abortion, with Proposal 3. In response to this, Bishop Walkowiak wrote a column in the Catholic Diocese magazine Faith, stating:
All people should oppose this proposed amendment. I urge you to go to the polls to vote “NO” on the “Reproductive Freedom for All” constitutional ballot proposal in November.
Such advocacy is nothing new. In 2019, the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese worked with the Michigan Catholic Conference, in order to provide information on HB 4320. The Grand Rapids Catholic Church provided opportunities for parishioners to sign petitions in support of what they referred to as “partial-birth abortion and dismemberment abortion ban act,” in July of 2019. You can read a letter that Bishop Walkowiak wrote, a letter that appeared in Church bulletin all across the Diocese.
In addition, the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese has a Respect Life Ministry, which provides education, resources and other support systems to promote an anti-abortion agenda.
The Catholic Church is arguably the most powerful religious institution on the planet, so we should not be surprised that Roe v. Wade was overturned and that the Catholic Church played a major role in the criminalization of abortion. The Catholic Church can encourage their members on how to vote and to make campaign contributions to candidates that take an anti-abortion stance, thus wielding tremendous influence over public policy.
We encourage you to share this poster and consider directing some of your rage at the recent US Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v Wade towards the Grand Rapids Catholic Dioceses. Their headquarters are located on the corner of Wealthy and Division in Grand Rapids, which could be one of the stops on the march for reproductive freedom.
No Detention Centers in Michigan demands that the Biden Administration not allow a Michigan prison to be used as an ICE Detention Center
There has been an interesting dynamic happening around immigration issues in the US, especially since the transition from the Trump administration to the Biden administration. While there was a great deal of public outcry during the Trump years, immigration justice organizing has faded so far into the second year of the Biden administration.
Despite this trend, there is plenty of evidence that many of the same anti-immigrant policies that was zealously embraced during the Trump years, are being continued during the Biden administration. The main difference seems to be in the rhetoric, but not the actual policy. Here are a few examples of how the Biden administration has continued Trump’s immigration policies:
- Continuing to build the US/Mexican border wall
- US Border Patrol numbers are still high and their influence is expanding.
- Immigrants are dying at a high rate when crossing the US/Mexican Border.
- The Biden 2023 Budget maintains the same funding levels as the Trump administration for ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
- Over 1 Million Asylum seekers have been removed during the Biden administration.
- The Biden administration is using private detention centers for undocumented immigrants.
This last issue, the use of ICE Detention Centers, is making the news in Michigan again. According to a Press Release, “The No Detention Centers in Michigan coalition has recently sent a letter to President Biden, Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Senator Gary Peters calling for an end to the expansion of immigration detention and for the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin to remain closed. This letter follows a recent proposal from Michigan Representatives Bill Huizenga and John Moolenaar to repurpose the facility as an ICE detention center.”
The No Detention Centers in Michigan coalition letter has over 50 groups that have signed on to the letter, which you can read at this link.
The letter seeks to pressure the Biden Administration to keep its promise not to renew contracts with private prisons. Executive Order 14006 instructed the Department of Justice not to renew contracts with private prisons. This is a central part of the No Detention Centers in Michigan coalition’s Press Release, which states:
North Lake, a private prison owned and managed by the Florida-based GEO Group, has closed and reopened multiple times since its construction in 1999. In its most recent incarnation, from October 2019 through September 2022, the facility contracted with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to hold non-U.S. citizens convicted of federal crimes.
In keeping with the history of immigrant-only prisons run by the GEO Group, this period of less than two years has seen numerous accounts of inhumane conditions, medical neglect, and violent mistreatment endemic to the immigration detention system. Six documented hunger strikes took place at North Lake over the course of 2020, primarily led by Black immigrants demanding medical care, better food, and an end to discriminatory confinement in the Restricted Housing Unit. In May 2020, more than 45 relatives and loved ones of people incarcerated at North Lake signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons, demanding increased transparency and a recognition of the GEO Group’s mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Biden administration issued an executive order in January 2021 purporting to end the federal government’s use of private prisons, setting the stage for the facility’s closure later this month. But immigrant advocates have pointed to a pattern of similar facilities ending their BOP contracts only to reopen as detention centers, while the number of immigrants held in ICE custody has continued to rise since President Biden took office, despite campaign promises to curtail detention. Eighty percent of the immigrants detained by ICE are held at facilities run by private companies. In June, Michigan Representatives Bill Huizenga and John Moolenaar publicly requested that North Lake be converted into a detention center.
“In calling for an ICE contract to bail out the GEO Group in Michigan yet again,” the letter from NDCM affirms, “Huizenga and Moolenaar seek to capitalize on the human misery caused by the organized abandonment and exploitation of working people both within the United States and beyond its borders. […] We refuse to let ICE and GEO expand their violence further into Michigan, and we call on the Biden administration to extend Executive Order 14006 to explicitly prohibit the use of private facilities for immigration detention as a first step toward phasing out all ICE detention.”
“This prison has already caused enormous suffering and has never fulfilled GEO’s promises to the people of Lake County,” said Oscar Castañeda, a member of No Detention Centers in Michigan. “Now the federal prison contract is finally ending, but we’ve seen that GEO will exploit any opportunity to make a profit. When it comes to the immigrant detention system, the Biden administration has not kept its word. We’re not going to let ICE expand here without a fight. We want to make sure that the loopholes allowing for the expansion of detention are closed and that this time, North Lake stays shut down for good.”
Pressuring the Biden administration on this matter is critical, especially since there has been less mainstream attention to immigration issues over the past two years. Just because a Democrat occupies the White House, it doesn’t mean that immigrant justice is being fulfilled.
If you want to communicate with No Detention Centers in Michigan, you can contact them via their Facebook page, which posts regular updates.
Political Ads are designed to be vague, deceptive and to misinform the public: Part III
In Part I, we discussed some of the larger reasons why political ads are so offensive. We talked about how journalism has failed us on election coverage and how candidates center themselves instead of the community or issues that people care about.
In Part II, we looked at an attack ad that was paid for by the Congressional Leadership Fund, which was attacked the 3rd Congressional District Democratic Party candidate, Hillary Scholten. This video ad use deceptive images and a misleading narrative, most of which was not based in fact.
In today’s post, we want to look at print ads, specifically ads one would receive at their homes, like the ones pictured here below.
First, it is worth pointing out, that when you contribute to political candidates, particularly at the State and Federal level, most of their campaign funds are spent on advertising. Political ads, as we have pointed out in the first two parts of this series, are inherently misleading and they often utilize deceptive imagery and narratives. Political advertising should be abolished, then we could allow every candidate the same amount of time to present their platform and voting record on broadcast TV and radio. This, of course, is unlikely to happen, since radio and TV stations rely heavily on political ads for revenue.
Now, lets look at some of the vague language used in a few of the ads I received at home in the mail, specifically ads from candidates David LaGrand and Mark Huizenga, who are running against each other for a State Senate seat, and Rachel Hood and Lynn Afendoulis, who are running for a State Representative seat.
In the two ads I received having to do with LaGrand and Huizenga, the Huizenga ad was paid for by the Michigan Republican Party and the LaGrand ad was paid for by the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee. The LaGrand ad is focused on public safety, with the tag line being, For David LaGrand, keeping us safe is never a partisan issue. Here the Democrats want to present LaGrand as someone who “reaches across the isle,” always wanting to be bipartisan.
When it comes to public safety, the ad provides 3 talking points – more funding for police, eliminating the cash bail system and rehabilitating low-level offenders to reenter the workforce. The first talking point is misleading, since there is no evidence that more funding/more hiring of cops leads to greater public safety. We encourage readers to check out a recent report from the group Interrupting Criminalization, entitled, Cops Don’t Stop Violence. Getting rid of the cash bail system is certainly a positive step, but there is a great deal more to be done to dismantle the Prison Industrial Complex. On the matter of getting ex-offenders back to work, this is an issue the Capitalists like the Koch brothers to the DeVos family salute, because they are in need a workers, particularly low wage workers. In fact, the West Michigan Policy Forum held a conference last year on this very topic. Lastly, it is important to point out that the LaGrand ad had no souring on it, so people would have a hard time verifying the claims made on the print ad.
The Huizenga ad, chose to go the route of comparing Huizenga to LaGrand, with the claim that LaGrand has voted on his that negatively impact Michigan families. The images used are also unflattering to LaGrand, using a black background, whereas the Huizenga images are in color and much brighter. This technique is pretty common, but it should be offensive to any free thinking person.
The three talking points for the Huizenga print ad are – income taxes, American energy independence and property and other taxes. Huizenga clearly is trying to present himself as being better on economic issues that LaGrand, but these are only a few economic issues and one cannot make an informed decision on such a narrow spectrum. One could easily argue that both Huizenga and LaGrand to not support working families, since neither of them is advocating for a $20 – $25 an hour minimum wage in Michigan. This would be more of a living wage for people/families, but such political ads avoid discussing things like a living wage or narrowing the wealth gap. One positive note on the Huizenga ad was that the talking points are sources, so at least people could verify the claims.
The other two print political ads were about Rachel Hood and Lynn Afendoulis. The ad from Hood was paid for by the Michigan Democratic Party and was a 4 sided fold-over ad. The front cover had a large beer glass on it, highlighting the restaurant bar that Hood owns with her husband. On the inside pages the tag line is, State Rep. Rachel Hood is a brewery owner who understands what matters to Kent County families. There are three major themes included in the content: helping families and small businesses deal with rising costs, Supporting men and women in uniform, and keep the water safe and clean. There are no sources to substantiate the claims about Hood.
The ad for Afendoulis, which is paid for by the Committee to Elect Lynn Afendoulis, is similar to the Huizenga ad, where Afendoulis juxtaposes her policies with Hood, primarily economic policies – income taxes and gas taxes. The ad has a darker image of Hood with a Black background and a color image of Afendoulis with a white background.
In the end, none of these ads provide much substantive information on voting records or campaign platforms. Both of the Democratic candidate ads have no sourcing for their claims, but the Republicans do. The Democrat ads we looked at only talk about their candidates, whereas the GOP ads made comparisons to their opponent. All of these ads used vague language and campaign buzzwords like family, high prices, taxes and public safety, yet offered little on what those things mean in the real world, especially to families that are struggling to survive.
Do we really want immigrants as neighbors? Misleading memes, bipartisan realities and immigrant justice
I have been seeing a meme on social media recently, which is completely in response to recent ridiculous and abusive actions towards immigrants in the US.
The meme I am referring to originated on the site Occupy Democrats, which states: I would much rather see immigrants being sent to my state than MAGA Republicans. And, the is #TheTruth!
Someone I know reposted the meme, then included the following comment under the meme:
For me a choice between a family of Central American immigrants fleeing violence and persecution or some right wing xenophobic saga nutcases as neighbors would be an extremely easy one……
Now, I get the sentiment of both the meme, and the above comment about preferring Central Americans fleeing violence and persecution over Trump supporters. I too would prefer the former over the later. However, sentiment is not enough, especially since US policy towards immigrants has a dark history, particularly if those immigrants are not from Europeans countries or countries that the US identifies as client states. This is a topic that I am very familiar with, as I have taught classes on the history of US Immigration policy. Check out this popular education tool on this topic.
Even if people in the US would rather have Central Americans fleeing violence and persecution over Trump supporters as neighbors, it doesn’t mean much if, 1) those same people keep voting for political parties that perpetuate a very exclusionary and racialized immigration policies, and 2) those same people are not part of grassroots movements like the Sanctuary Movement.
The reality is, when it comes to anti-immigration policy, both Republicans and Democrats have consistently not supported truly progressive policies that both welcome any and all refugees/immigrants since the country was founded or change foreign policy towards counties that immigrants flee from, in part, because US policy in those countries is a major factor that contributes to people fleeing their homelands. For details on this bipartisan anti-immigrant policy, check out the following books – All-American Nativism: How the Bipartisan War on immigrants Explains Politics as We Know It, by Daniel Denvir and Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security, by Todd Miller.
The second critique I have of the Occupy Democrats meme is that it is not reflective of the Democratic Party’s position towards grassroots movements that are centered around immigration justice. For example, in the US during the Reagan Administration’s obsession with Central America in the 1980s, there was a lively Central American Solidarity Movement and a Sanctuary Movement. However, both of those movements did not receive significant support from the Democratic Party. The Central American Solidarity Movements saw thousands of US citizens go to Central American and stand against the US-backed death squad governments in El Salvador and Guatemala, in addition to people going to Nicaragua to oppose the US-trained and financed Contra forces, which were really a terrorist group. On the domestic end, you have over 400 faith-based groups and other community groups offering sanctuary to refugees who actually fled violence and persecution in El Salvador and Guatemala, even though the Reagan Administration was actively persecuting some of the more visible sanctuaries at that time. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party did virtually nothing to oppose this persecution, nor did they publicly support the Sanctuary Movement. See the Grand Rapids People History Project information on the Central American Solidarity Movement in Grand Rapids and the Central American Sanctuary Movement as well.
More recently, especially after Trump was elected in 2016, there was somewhat of a revival in the immigrant justice movement, a movement that has been led by immigrants. The Trump administration made no bones about going after immigrants who were undocumented, which led to lots of organizing across the country and in Grand Rapids. From 2017 through 2021, there was an urgent need for sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. The group GR Rapid Response to ICE has been speaking with numerous faith-based entities to declare themselves a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants, over the past several years only one church has been willing to take on this responsibility. Grand Rapids boasts of having some 800 churches, yet only one has been willing to truly welcome all immigrants, particularly those most vulnerable, to safe from persecution in Grand Rapids. Lastly, the Democratic Party in the Grand Rapids area never took a public position in support of the immigrant justice movement, nor the efforts to find more groups willing to become immigrant sanctuaries.
In the end, the meme from Occupy Democrats is just plain misleading. Personally, I don’t expect either political party in the US to become a champion for immigrants and refugees. I do however, have a great deal of hope in social movements that are rooted in immigrant justice and movements that are willing to take risks to defend and support immigrants who come to the US, whether that have documentation or not. If we want to have immigrants as neighbors, then we need to actively support immigrant justice and join groups like Movimiento Cosecha, which is an immigrant-led movement fighting for the rights of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrations currently living in this country.
The ongoing court case and Grand Rapids news media coverage of the ex-cop who murdered Patrick Lyoya
On Friday, there was a meeting between the Kent County Prosecutor and the legal team representing Christopher Schurr, the ex-GRPD cop who was charged with 2nd degree murder in the killing of Patrick Lyoya.
I, along with several other Justice4Patrick activists, were present in the courtroom on Friday, although most of the meeting between the lawyers and the judge, took place in the judge’s chambers.
Twenty minutes after the scheduled court hearing, lawyers from both sides came out, but 5 minutes later they left. Eventually the legal teams returned, along with the judge, to talk a bit about whether or not the lawyers representing Schurr had all of the documentation necessary to move forward. The lawyers representing Schurr said they now had all the documents they requested in order to move forward. The judge then set October 27 as the next court date for a hearing on this case. October 27 is a Thursday, but the judge made it clear that they were also reserving October 28th as well, in case the hearing would spill over into a second day.
Local News Media Coverage
Also present in the courtroom were several local commercial news media agencies – MLive, WOOD TV8, WZZM 13 and Fox 17. I found stories from all of the news agencies, except from Fox 17. What follows is a brief deconstruction of the local news coverage.
The MLive story, ran as its headline, Key hearing date set for former Grand Rapids officer accused in Lyoya’s shooting death. As the headline suggests the story was mostly about the date that the judge set for the next hearing in this case, plus the MLive story did acknowledge that the lawyers from both sides did meet in the judge’s chambers. In addition, the MLive story had one paragraph about what happened on April 4th, when Christopher Schurr shot and killed Patrick Lyoya. There was also a paragraph about legal proceedings leading up to now. MLive also included 8 photos, all of which were of the legal teams and the judge, plus one picture of Christopher Schurr sitting on top of Patrick Lyoya, just before he was shot in the back of the head.
The WOOD TV8 story had some of the same information, but also included a comment made by Patrick Lyoya’s father in August, regarding the the court delays were affecting their family. In addition, channel 8 included this:
Some anti-police activists attended the brief Friday court session at which the hearing date was decided. One posed a question to Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker as he prepared to leave the courtroom. “Why doesn’t Schurr have to appear for the court date like everyone else?” the activist inquired. Becker said, “It’s up to the judge,” to which the woman responded, “Preferential treatment.”
WOOD TV8 was the only commercial news agency to acknowledge that there were activists there, referring to them as “anti-police activists.” It is worth noting that this exchange between activists and the Kent County Prosecuting Attorney did take place after everyone left the court room, yet channel 8 felt it was content worthy to share. It was the only “drama” of the day, which is probably why WOOD TV8 included it.
The WZZM 13 story was the worst of the bunch, since it was written before the judge announced the October 27 hearing date. Not only did the story fail to provide information on the next court date, they included video of Schurr’s lawyer commenting on June 21st.
Omissions in the local news coverage
There were also a few critical omissions in the local commercial news media coverage of the court proceedings in the case involving Christopher Schurr, the ex-cop who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya.
The first omission has to do with the fact that one of Schurr’s legal team, Mark Dodge, had recently represented another GRPD cop who was found not guilty of intentionally discharging his firearm when approaching a Black man.
The second significant omission has to do with a comment from Mark Dodge, a comment the lawyer made on June 11th, after the initial court date, where Dodge was representing Schurr. The statement reads:
We were disappointed to learn that Officer Schurr has been charged with murder by the Kent County Prosecutor. Officer Schurr is a decorated member of law enforcement who has dedicated his career to helping others and protecting the citizens of Grand Rapids. The evidence in this case will show that the death of Patrick Lyoya was not murder but an unfortunate tragedy, resulting from a highly volatile situation. Mr. Lyoya continually refused to obey lawful commands and ultimately disarmed a police officer. Mr. Lyoya gained full control of a police officer’s weapon while resisting arrest, placing Officer Schurr in fear of great bodily harm or death. We are confident that after a jury hears all of the evidence, Officer Schurr will be exonerated.
This statement is important, since it not only suggests that Schurr was justified in shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head, it reflects the sentiment that the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association (GRPOA) has taken and many others in the community. On September 2, the GRPOA wrote on their Facebook page, “Never a doubt Officer Bauer would be acquitted. What a waste of tax payer dollars. Way to go Becker!! Officer Schurr will be the next to be acquitted.” We have also documented that numerous people have suggested that Patrick Lyoya was at fault and ultimately responsible for his own death, like the guy who spoke at a Grand Rapids City Commission meeting in August. Lastly, it is important to acknowledge that the Black community and the African immigrant community continue to be traumatized by what Christopher Schurr did to Patrick Lyoya. Unfortunately, none of the trauma experienced by these communities is reflected in the ongoing commercial news media coverage of this case.
We will continue to report on this case and the legal proceedings, as well as track the commercial news media coverage, which has been filled with misinformation at times and demonstrates a certain bias, particularly how they often frame their stories and which source they disproportionately use. This was particularly the case in the June court date coverage and the MLive story profiling Christopher Schurr, which perpetuated a form of White Saviorism and White Supremacy.
A few thoughts about the proposals submitted to Kent County for use of the American Rescue Plan Act funds: Funding business as usual
The Kent County Government recently posted all of the proposals submitted by organizations who are seeking to access some of the $127.6 million in COVID-19 stimulus funding that Kent County received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Remember, this is public money. You can go to this link https://kentcountyarpa.com/proposal-catalog/ to view the 319 different proposals.
The proposals have been broken down into categories, such as Affordable Housing, Art & Culture, Broadband, Business Grants, Community Center, DEI, Disability Services, Education, Energy & Environment, Food & Nutrition, Government Services, Homeless Support, Hospitality, Immigrant Services, Lead, Medical Care, Mental Health, Parks & Recreation, Public Safety, Roads and Transportation, Rockford Ice and Turf, Senior Citizen Support, Substance Abuse, Water and Sewer.
After reviewing all 319 proposals, here are 7 points I would like to make.
First, there are numerous proposals around issues like mental health, food & nutrition and housing that are from organizations that one would expect to submit ideas. Many of these proposals offer particular social services, services that are needed, but there are only a few proposals that address root causes of serious social problems – more on this at the end.
Second, then there are proposals that center workforce development. Most of these proposals are from the business community or business associations. For example, Experience GR submitted a proposal to expand the workforce in the hospitality industry. Part of this project would involve partnering with the GRPS, specifically Ottawa Hills High School to develop a hospitality academy. This would target students that are not college-ready and provide incentives for them to find work in the hospitality field. There is a second Experience GR proposal ($900,000), which would expand the marketing of Kent County as a tourist destination, particularly in cooperation with the Pure Michigan campaign.
Third, then there are several entities that are faith-based, which have submitted proposals to use public money. The very fact that this is public money should disqualify faith-based groups from receiving COVID-19 stimulus funding. Some of the faith-based groups that submitted proposals are Rise Up Church, David’s House Ministries, Mel Trotter Ministries and Catholic Charities, with proposals ranging from $750,000 up to $10 Million.
A fourth point worth noting, is that various departments within Kent County submitted proposals. It seems a bit disingenuous to ask the community for proposals and then include several local government proposals. Governments are already generating funding sources through taxes to fund the work that they do to serve the public interest, or at least that is how it is framed. Maybe two of the most offensive government proposal was submitted by the Kent County Sheriff’s Department ($2,837,500), for a Quality of Life Project, which would have the Sheriff’s Department do trainings for schools on shooter preparedness. The other offensive proposal was from the Kent County Jail ($2 Million), which was also a workforce development plan. Thus, they want to hire more guards for the jail, in order to perpetuate mass incarceration.
A fifth critical point to make about the 319 submitted proposals to use public money are much larger proposals that seems rather excessive. The John Ball Zoo submitted at $40 Million proposal to expand the zoo, while another proposal, from Grand River Inc., for $175 Million, would be to transform the Grand River area, primarily for development.
A sixth point worth noting is that there were four specific proposals submitted by entities that were started by and are part of the DeVos family – ArtPrize, Start Garden, AmplifyGR and Grand Rapids Initiative for Leaders. Look, the DeVos family has more than enough of their own money to fund any and all of these projects. They do not need to use, nor should they ever use public money.
The last point I wish to make in regards to the $127.6 million in COVID-19 stimulus funding that Kent County received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), is that instead of giving this money to agencies, businesses and government bodies, why not give the money directly to the residents of Kent County, particularly those most impacted by the pandemic? Those individuals and families that would share the $127.6 million in COVID-19 stimulus funding could use it for housing, food, utilities or whatever it is that they want to spend it on. If the people who have been most impacted by the pandemic are collectively spending $127.6 million, then that money will be injected back into the economy, which is what financial experts are always saying is a good thing. Why not bypass the agencies, businesses and government groups that claim to provide public services and just give the money directly to those most impact by the pandemic. Imagine how much relief it would be to the thousands of families to receive the Covid-19 stimulus funds, public funds, and how it will improve their quality of life.
Tenants fighting back against Landlords and Property Management Companies in Grand Rapids
(Editor’s note: I work as a volunteer organizer with the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union. The information included in this article is based upon concrete examples of tenants asking the Tenant Union for assistance to deal with exploitative landlords and Property Management Companies.)
Question, what happens when an apartment or an apartment complex becomes infested with bed bugs? Answer, more often than not in Michigan, tenants are 100% responsible for paying to have the bed bugs eradicated.
This is a harsh reality for hundreds of thousands of individuals and families who rent in Michigan. In fact, many landlords and Property Management Companies include, as part of their lease agreement, that tenants are responsible for covering the cost of eradicating bed bugs in their apartment.
Now, there are no concrete laws in Michigan that hold landlords and Property Management Companies responsible for the cost of bed bug infestation. The Michigan Tenant and Landlord Guide, has the following paragraph, which is rather vague language:
While current state law does not address bed bugs directly, there are a number of tools available to tenants with bed bug concerns. As discussed under Repair and Maintenance, a landowner has a statutory obligation under MCL 554.139 to repair defects about which he or she knows or should have known, but does not have a duty to regularly inspect the premises to search for defects. As such, a tenant who believes that bed bugs are present must notify the landlord that they believe a problem exists.
In October of 2021, there was proposed legislation that would regulate some of the issues around bed bugs. This piece of legislation, known as HB 5412, states that a landlord cannot enter into a lease agreement if they know that an apartment they are renting is already infested with bed bugs. To read the actual language of HB 5412, go to this link.
Based on how legislative politics works, it is highly unlikely that HB 5412 will be voted on before the November election. However, even after the upcoming election, it may never pass, precisely because the Rental Property Associations lobby is strong and makes significant campaign contributions to political candidates.
But let’s say that the bill will pass next year, what are tenants to do in the mean time? This is an important question and the answer that the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union gives to tenants who are dealing with bed bug infestation is this, “we can work with you to pressure the landlord/Property Management Company into incurring the cost of bed bug infestation and to put an end to this added burden on tenants.” In fact, any issue that tenants are faced with shouldn’t depend on what the law says, what what justice demands. For instance, Michigan does not rent control laws, so landlords/Property Management Companies can pretty much charge whatever they want for rent. However, that does mean that tenants have to just accept it. Tenant Unions all over the country have been organizing over the last decade to win rent control agreements from specific landlords/Property Management Companies, because those tenants got organized. For example, tenants in Oakland, California recently engaged in a rent strike and won. Not only did they win rent control, they actually were able to de-commodify their housing, where tenants are now in charge of making decisions about their housing.
Now, even if HB 5412 is voted on and passed in the Michigan House, it still does go far enough to prevent landlords/Property Management Companies from taking advantage of tenants. Many of the tenants that the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union hears from, are people who are on a fixed income, often senior citizens, people with disabilities and those that are military veterans. Having to pay the cost of bed bug extermination is really not an option, plus there are numerous other costs involved when someone’s apartment becomes infested with bed bugs.
Besides the cost of extermination, tenants have to deal with:
- The cost of deep cleaning or throwing away furniture and bedding that is infested.
- Purchasing new furniture and bedding.
- The psychological stress of living with bed bugs.
- Loss of sleep, since many people will sleep in chairs or in their car…..if they have one.
- The emotional cost of societal shame due to bed bug infestation.
This underscores the tactical and strategic difference from pursuing legal changes that would benefit tenants, as opposed to engaging in direct action, where tenants organize to make demands.
In addition, since more and more of rental properties are owned by larger Housing Development Corporations and Property Management Companies, which have deep pockets, it is not unreasonable for them to incur the costs of extermination of bed bugs. One Property Management Company that the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union is currently dealing with, regarding the bed bug issue, is KMG Prestige. KMG Prestige owns numerous rental properties in this area and in other communities. Interestingly enough, KMG Prestige applied for a PPP loan during the COVID pandemic and was given $7,845,514, which was forgiven. If a company that makes money from tenants can receive nearly $8 million of public money, they can surely incur the costs of exterminating bed bugs, especially for tenants who are financially struggling.
If you are a tenant or you know someone in the Grand Rapids area that is a tenant and is confronted with a landlord or Property Management Company that is charging too much rent, threatening eviction, not making repairs in a timely fashion or any other issue, please contact the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union who will help you get organized to fight for housing justice. You can contact them via their Facebook page or send them an e-mail gratunion@gmail.com.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 