Over the years one of the major points we have been making about how the DeVos family uses their money, is that while their foundations provide funding to social service and charity organizations, the amount of money they give to political candidates with the Republican Party is to push policies that actually create the social, political and economic conditions that results in people having to utilize social service & charity-based resources.
The most recent election cycle demonstrates not only how much money the DeVos family contributes to the GOP, but what their money is buying in terms of policy.
In doing a search on the site OpenSecrets.org, I found 39 entries for DeVos family members just in the first quarter of 2020. The family members listed are Dick DeVos, Doug DeVos, Dan DeVos, Maria DeVos, Pamela DeVos and Cheri DeVos.
The total amount contributed by these members of the DeVos family in the first quarter of 2020 to Republican candidates and a Republican committee was $130,800. Of course, this amount doesn’t include money the contributes to PACs, Dark money groups like Donor’s Trust or funds to candidates running for state and local offices. Here is a breakdown of the candidates and committees that the DeVos family members contributed to just in the first quarter of 2020:
- Great American Committee $30,000
- Peter Meijer $22,400
- Randy Feenstra $16,800
- Jessica Taylor $14,000
- Esther Joy King $16,800
- Genevieve Collins $16,800
- Beth Van Duyne $14,000
Looking at where the members of the DeVos family contributed their political money certainly reveals a great deal to confirm the point made at the beginning of this article. The Great American Committee, “supports candidates and elected officials who fight with the President in making America Great again, and is led by our Chairman, Vice President Mike Pence.”
There is a place on the Great American Committee site to make contributions and only links to the twitter account of President Trump and Vice President Pence. The Trump administration has made it a point to increase the gap between the very rich and everyone else, thus pushing more families into poverty. In addition to the economic harm, his administration has openly promoted White Supremacy, misogyny, ablism, homophobia/transphobia and contempt for immigrants. The amount of harm this administration has done is hard to quantify, but this is exactly what the DeVos family is paying for – violence, harm, hatred and suffering.
We could stop there to make our point about how the DeVos family finances candidates that once elected push policies that hurt working people, immigrants and the black community, but lets at least look at the candidates they contributed to in the first quarter of 2020.
Peter Meijer is running for the 3rd Congressional District in Michigan. If you look at his issues page, you can see clearly what the DeVos family members are paying for – anti-abortion, merit-based immigration policies, defense of gun owners, small government, deregulation of the economy, a tax system that benefits the super rich, school choice, militarized border and emphatic support for Israel.
Randy Feenstra is running for the 4th Congressional District of Iowa. Randy says he is a champion of taxpayers, wants to stop illegal immigration, protect Christian values and protect gun owners.
Jessica Taylor was running for a Congressional seat in Alabama, but lost in the primary. Taylor hates Socialism and regularly used a flamethrower in her videos, with a Trump sticker prominently displayed. This is what members of the DeVos family were endorsing with their money.
Esther Joy King is running for the 17th Congressional District of Illinois. Her priorities are supporting agribusiness, supporting a market-based health care system, continuing the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration, for the US to be the world’s military leader, the system of capitalism, opposing women’s reproductive rights and supporting gun owners. This is what the DeVos family members are endorsing with their money.
Genevieve Collins is running for the 32nd Congressional District of Texas. Her website features Genevieve exercising. On the issues, Genevieve is committed to the economic system of capitalism, school choice, a strong military, a market-based health care system, defense of Israel, a continuation of Trumps immigration policies, opposes women’s reproductive rights and supporting the fossil fuel industry, particularly in Texas.
Beth Van Duyne is running for the 24th Congressional District of Texas. Her website says she is a Christian, Conservative, Mother. Beth doesn’t have issues listed, but writes:
I’ve been asked what prompted me to run for public office; the answer is simple – my children. We live in a very fragile time for our nation, our families, and the future of the American Dream. Socialism is on the rise, our border crisis has never been worse, and we face constant threats from hostile nations willing to use cyber-attacks, nuclear weapons, and terrorist jihad. When I think about my two children, I want them to have the same opportunities in life that I did; I want them to be able to grow up safe and proud of our country.
This is also what the members of the DeVos family are buying with their money, which is to say they are buying hatred of immigrants, hatred of the LGBTQ community, white supremacy, capitalism, US imperialism and an end to women’s reproductive rights.
No amount of money that the DeVos family contributes to charity groups through their foundations can undo the harm that their political funding creates.
The West Michigan Policy Forum (WMPF), an entity that came out of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce in 2008, is an organization that creates and then lobbies for public policy that benefits the capitalist class. The WMPF’s leadership is also made up of members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
Yesterday, the WMPF paid for space on MLive’s digital platform, with the headline, Michigan’s slow pandemic response: Sacrificing livelihoods without saving lives.
The paid content from the WMPF presents the standard message about how businesses know what they are doing and can keep their employees safe, since their employees are their most important “assets.”
The WMPF’s paid content is critical of Gov. Whitmer and praises Senate Majority Leader’s Mike Shirkey, who, “announced a well-conceived, risk-based plan to reopen Michigan way back on April 16.” The same Mike Shirkey who was texting with organizers of the anti-lockdown protests on April 30th in Lansing.
There are two main WMPF spokespersons that are cited in the paid content piece, John Kennedy and Jase Bolger. Kennedy, who is the CEO of Autocam, has been the number campaign contributor to Sen. Mike Shirkey, so it’s no surprise that the WMPF article gushes over Shirkey’s plan.
The paid content also presents data on on COVID 19 cases and deaths, but the graphic they use is a bit misleading. They present a graph that has southeast Michigan, Michigan and West Michigan. A more honest and less confusing representation of the COVID 19 data is the interactive map, which shows cases and deaths per county across the state. The data also shows that in Michigan there are 4,674 daily cases confirmed. This is an unacceptably large number of new COVID 19 cases on a daily basis. How can the WMPF guarantee that opening more businesses won’t push those numbers higher?
Lastly, the paid for content attempts to provide other examples of states or countries that have opened their economies sooner than Michigan. The article refers to adjacent states, Ohio and Indiana, both of which have opened their economies sooner. Ohio, for example, will be opening bars and restaurants later this month. How is opening space where people gather, especially with alcohol as part of the equation?
The paid content piece also uses Germany as a model that Michigan can learn from. This is a ridiculous comparison for many reasons. First, Germany doesn’t have a deeply divided political class, like Michigan does and German politics is not dominated by an unlimited amount of money that the business class can contribute to those running for office, unlike Michigan. Second, Germany has far superior social policies, from mass transit, to wages to a socialized health care system that doesn’t put profits before people. Germany takes care of its people better than the US and Michigan.
Lastly, the fact that the West Michigan Policy Forum is buying space on MLive’s digital platform, demonstrates how committed they are to pushing their capitalist messaging to the general public. We shouldn’t buy it, since the WMPF is fundamentally only interested in re-opening Michigan’s economy for the benefit of its members.
Graphic credit: Brett Colley
Holy Shit: Thoughts on the Ionia County Commission meeting about the proposed ICE Detention facility
Yesterday, I was on the zoom meeting with the Ionia County Commissioners as they were set to vote on the proposal for a ICE detention facility, a facility that would be run by the group Immigration Centers of America (ICA).
Everyone who spoke during the public comment that I heard was emphatically opposed to the ICE detention center. There was a wide range of objections and talking points against the ICE detention center, most of which were arguments that the immigrant justice movement has been making for years. All of these comments were fabulous!
But……..Holy Shit! Every time one of the commissioners spoke, it was like watching a really bad b-movie. I don’t mean a really bad, it’s so good b-movie, but a really bad, awful b-movie.
The commission chair said that they had received 30 – 40 e-mails, with 5 major themes/questions. One had to do with the conditions of the facility, to which the commission chair simply read the ICA response.
The Commission chair then made the claim that 20% in the federal prison system are “illegals”, most of who are murderers and rapists. Now, this commissioner offer no sources on this claim, but he did say he heard this information after visiting some friends in San Diego. He then acknowledged that the number of undocumented immigrants who commit serious crimes was a small percent, but “we need to protect ourselves from them.” Holy Shit!
Another Commissioner then jumped in to say that, “people should come here with proper documentation and a green card. If people are coming here illegally, they shouldn’t be afforded all the rights that people are talking about.” He then went on to say that the commission should talk with ICE officials to get “good information.” Holy Shit!
Yet another commissioner stated that this detention center will be built within a 180 mile radius of Detroit and someone will get the taxes from this, so this is something to consider. Holy shit!
The level of misinformation was astounding and it seemed clear that these commissioners had already made up their minds about this, despite the fact that the opposition to this, at least from those who participated in the zoom call that I heard, were clearly opposed to a new, privately run detention facility.
Their understanding of what ICE does and the realities of what undocumented immigrants face was virtually non-existent. The majority of people who come to the US without documentation do so out of economic and political desperation. In fact, most people who enter the US without documentation at the US/Mexican border, are coming to the US because of the long standing economic and military policies that the US has imposed on Mexico and Central America. I have first hand experience of that reality, with several years of accompaniment work in Mexico and Central America, plus I have a long-standing relationship with many of the undocumented who have come to Grand Rapids over the past 35 years.
Fortunately, the Ionia County Commission did not make a final decision about the proposed ICE detention facility. In light of this, I would be willing to offer my time to provide a larger historical context of US immigration policy, which have been teaching over the past two years – using this popular education tool and all of the reading that comes with it – to the members of the Ionia County Commission. And yes, Holy Shit, I’m serious about this offer.
Another round of protests against Gov. Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, are being planned for this Thursday, May 14. There are two scheduled protest, one in Lansing at the State Capitol from 9am – 1pm, and one in Grand Rapids, from 5:30 – 8:30pm. Update: the protest in Grand Rapids has been changed from the 14th to Monday, May 18.
The protest that will take place in Lansing this Thursday, is being promoted by the group, Michigan United for Liberty, which is calling the protest Judgement Day. The protest planned for Thursday in Lansing states:
The legislators continue to play scheduling games with us, so we will be there whether they are or not, in large numbers. We will gather to raise awareness of the many hypocrisies of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and to give a voice to the voiceless.
We The People are done with the unfair coverage by the media, claiming we are racist right-wing extremists. We The People come from diverse backgrounds and political affiliations. We know our rights, and we stand for liberty.
The protest in Grand Rapids, which will take place at Rosa Parks Circle, is being hosted by four names, according to the Facebook event post. However, it is worth noting that both Ryan D. Kelley and Jason Howland were part of the April protests that took place in Lansing. In fact, based on a blog post from AmericanPatriotRally.com, both Kelley and Howland were referred to as organizers of the April 30 protest in Lansing.
“We received several death threats,” said organizer Ryan Kelley, “and the second amendment was designed to protect the first.”
“We organized the rally with the constitution in mind,” said Jason Howland, “and this is the way it was designed to work. The guys from the militia are always portrayed by the media in a negative light, and they are genuinely necessary. They did a great job at the event.”
According to the Facebook profiles of both Kelley and Howland, they reside in Grand Rapids. The rally they are organizing in Grand Rapids for this Thursday, states:
Join some of our distinguished Sheriffs as we encourage peace officers across the state to uphold the constitution and refuse to enforce illegal executive orders. Come dressed for a special event and we ask that, if possible, you exercise your 2nd amendment right as a show of support to law enforcement in their fight against tyranny.
One of the reasons the rally in Grand Rapids is hosting Sheriff’s is that those organizing the event believe that law enforcement officials have a constitutional obligation to not listen to politicians who support the COVID-19 lockdown. The American Patriot Rally even has letters that people can send to law enforcement officials, urging them to not support the lockdown. Here is an excerpt from that letter:
“Now, there are many who are saying that this current Covid-19 crisis makes it necessary to suspend the exercise of God-given, constitutionally protected rights; including the freedom to practice religion, freedom of assembly and association as well as the freedom to move about without molestation.
However, no governor, in any state, has the authority to suspend the Constitution. And no pretended “Emergency Powers” legislation can give it to him/her because the legislature cannot give the Governor an authority that they, themselves, do not have.
And any attempt for a Governor to suspend Constitutional rights is an act of lawlessness and a violation of his/her oath of office.
When you took your oath of office, as a Sheriff, police, or other law enforcement official, you swore obedience and fidelity to the United States Constitution and the Constitution of your state, Michigan. You solemnly declared THAT YOU WOULD ALWAYS FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION. You did not swear allegiance to a mayor or a governor or a judge or a president.”
Another interesting statement from Ryan D. Kelley, is that he admits that the primary function of the April 30th protest in Lansing was to get members of the legislature to vote against Whitmer’s Stay-at-Home order. In fact, Kelley said that he received a text from Sen. Mike Shirkey, one of the main anti-lockdown spokespersons in Michigan. Shirkey told Kelley in the text message that, “he was standing up to the Governor,” which meant he and his colleagues would be voting against an extension of the stay-at-home order.
The fact that the anti-lockdown protestors we working in tandem with Sen. Mike Shirkey is confirmed in one of their blog posts, where it states:
“The irony is that the American Patriot Rally was organized with one thin in mind: to encourage the senate to vote no on extending Whitmer’s emergency declaration, which they did. It was a victory. If Sean had taken the time to be a journalist, he’d have known that we got exactly what we came for,” Kelley said.
The fact that the Senate Majority Leader in Michigan is in direct contact with the anti-lockdown protest confirms that there is a connection between those organizing these protests and Republican members of the Michigan legislature. Although, Sen. Shirkey would likely deny such a connection, it is clear that his opposition to Gov. Whitmer’s stay-at-home order has created a political opening for the anti-lockdown protesters.
The Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation is one of the largest foundations in West Michigan. Edgar and Elsa Prince, who are the parents of Erik Prince and Betsy DeVos, have made it a point to use their foundation to provide contributions to primarily faith-based organizations or organizations that advocate for what are often referred to as “American values”……..nationalism, capitalism and xenophobia.
The Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation used to have Betsy DeVos as their director, but ever since Betsy was nominated as Secretary of Education, the position of Director has been taken over by her brother Erik.
Erik Prince, the former Navy Seal, was the founder of Blackwater, the private mercenary group that made millions after the the US decided to use private military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq beginning in the early 2000’s. In Jeremy Scahill’s book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, the author argues that Erick Prince embrace a far right religious viewpoint, seeing the US military as contemporary Crusaders, fighting infidels around the world.
After numerous scandals, where Blackwater was being accused of murdering Iraqi civilians, Prince left Blackwater. Prince ended up doing private security for the United Arab Emirates, which also meant that the US could not extradite Prince for war crimes.
More recently, Prince became the chairman of Frontier Services Group Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company that advises Chinese investors on gas and oil in Africa. In addition, Erik Prince has had an inside track in the Trump administration, often acting as an advisor. The latest example of Prince engaging in reprehensible acts, was when numerous media sources reported on Prince’s role in recruiting spies to infiltrate progressive organizations.
Now, Erik Prince is the Director of the Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation, which means he is part of the group that makes decisions about where his parent’s foundation will contribute their money. We looked at the most recent 990s (2018) for the Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation and here are some notable contributions that Erik Prince and the other members of the foundation made.
As we noted earlier, there are two main groups that the Edgar & Elsa Prince have made contributions to, Christian organizations and secular groups that promote capitalism, privatized education and nationalistic interests. Some of the Christian organizations they have funded are:
- Haggai Institute $600,000
- Potter’s House Christian School $180,000
- Family Research Council $135,000
- Prison Fellowship Ministries $105,000
- Christian Leaders Institute $50,000
- Acton Institute $30,000
- Right to Life of Michigan $20,000
- Pregnancy Resource Center $5,000
Some of the secular groups that have been recipients of funds from the Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation are:
- American Values $30,000
- Freedom Alliance $30,000
- Gateways to Better Education $30,000
- American Federation for Children’s Education $25,000
- Council for National Policy $20,000
- Center for Military Readiness $10,000
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy $10,000
- West Michigan Aviation Academy $10,000
- Hillsdale College $5,000
Certainly one question that would be interesting to ask these organizations is, do they have a moral problem with having Erik Prince, a known war criminal, making decisions that results in their organization receiving funds from the Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation? Based on our investigation of these organization, it would seem that they would not have a problem with Erik Prince’s involvement in the foundation, nor his personal history, since many of these groups embrace a version of Christianity that believes in Christian supremacy, even if that means imposing the faith on other people.
The secular groups also seem to embrace the same kind of pro-capitalist, pro-America, pro-private education values that sit well with both the Prince and DeVos families. Even if the groups that are recipients of Prince Foundation money are facing a moral dilemma, it’s not preventing them from taking the money, nor is it causing them to be critical of the foundation.
On Saturday, the City of Grand Rapids posted a video, which attempted to speak to the COVID-19 crisis. On first look, the video seems to be well intentioned, even attempting to inspire.
You can watch the video at this link, but here is the narrative that accompanies the images.
It’s a strange time we live in. We are part of a millenary history, made of dark times and the unknown. And together we face a common enemy, an enemy that does not discriminate, an enemy that threatens our home.
Home is not four walls and a roof over head. Home is everything we experience. Home is where family and friends gather. Home is where the heart is. Grand Rapids, our home. Our home was invaded by an intruder. Our lives were disrupted. Our way of life altered, and we were forced to close our home. But this is our home. We love our home. And now, we must protect our home. We are a family of Grand Rapidians. A diverse family made up of businesses, neighborhoods and residents, all sharing a common bond. With the will to fight, to live, to win. And the strength and resiliency to move forward.
No intruder is too powerful for us. No challenge is too big for us. We don’t, we won’t back down. No, instead, we focus on our recovery. Our home, our city will recover and come back stronger. Our enduring family bonds will not relent. The intruder may have disrupted our lives, may have forced us to dig deep. And we did. We will be back from this disruption. There is an other side to this. The ding will soon return to our neighborhoods. We’ll support our businesses and help them get started again. We will re-open our home. We are in this together. And we will rise together.
After watching the video several times, I came to see the video not as well intentioned, but a very deliberate attempt to use the COVID 19 crisis as a way to present Grand Rapids as a city that is a wonderful place to live. It is true that Grand Rapids is a wonderful place to live…….for some.
The video footage used is dominated by scenes of downtown Grand Rapids, with landmark places such as DeVos Hall, the Van Andel Arena, Calder Plaza and the Grand Rapids Police Department. There are fewer images of residential neighborhoods. When it comes to people, we see a nurse, some volunteers, people being helped and several images of either people from the fire department or police officers.
However, the narrative is what is particularly problematic. First, the narrative wants viewers to think that Grand Rapids is a home, which has been invaded by an intruder. The use of the word intruder is hear more than once, along with the word disrupted. The narrator also implores the viewer to help in protecting this home, because we all have a common bond.
I’m sorry, but using the term intruder, with several images of cops and a line that says we need to protect our home, just ends up using a crime narrative, with good guys and bad guys. A virus is not an intruder and a virus does not have ill intent. A virus just is. More importantly, this video exposes some of the major problems of the city, even if it is intended to make us feel that we can defeat the intruder together.
In many ways the video produced by the City of Grand Rapids reveals what the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed about much of the world. What it reveals is that the ways we have been doing things – our economic system, our health care system, even the notion of labor and business are being exposed as inadequate, even fraudulent.
The video wants us to feel as though we are can get back to business as usual. However, the way things were in Grand Rapids before the COVID-19 pandemic was not so wonderful for everyone. Grand Rapids is:
- A city that has deep rooted and institutionalized racism & White Supremacy
- A city with thousands living in poverty
- A city with a lack or affordable housing
- A city where the GRPD disproportionately harasses and abuses black and latinx residents.
- A city with the largest wealth gap in the state.
- A city that practices a great deal of charity, but little justice.
- A city that values places value on businesses and entrepreneurs over human rights.
All of these things are intrusions and disruptions in the lives of people in Grand Rapids. If Grand Rapids wants to deal with real intrusions and disruptions, then Grand Rapids needs to dismantle White Supremacy, end poverty, make housing a right for everyone, stop criminalizing black and latinx people, dismantle capitalism, practice justice and make human rights central to the work of the city.
Watching this video demonstrated once again that Grand Rapids oooozes whiteness and strives be embrace normative politics and culture. In the end the video does not represent the reality of Grand Rapids, it merely wants us all to believe that we are a family that will once again get back to normal, without disruptions.
Earlier this week, GRIID was interviewed for the podcast Mutual Aid on Lockdown, which has been centering the importance of practicing mutual aid during the COVID-19 crisis.
However, the person who hosts the show thought it would be good to talk about how disaster capitalism is currently functioning in Michigan and specifically in Grand Rapids. During the interview we talk about:
- the Grand Rapids Power Structure
- the DeVos family and the Kent County Relief Fund
- who is really benefiting from the federal stimulus money
- statewide organizations that are pushing for Michigan’s economy to “re-open”
- the protests in Lansing against Gov. Whitmer’s Stay-at-Home order
- and how the COVID-19 crisis has created lots of political openings for people to radically re-imagine how we can move forward and not be content with getting back to normal.
You can listen to the interview by going to this link. The interview is just over an hour long.
Graphic credit – Brett Colley
Michigan Gov. Whitmer now has several lawsuits leveled against her by people and organizations that are not in favor of the Stay-at-Home order. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield submitted a lawsuit on Wednesday, which we just wrote about. In addition, a group of Christians have also submitted a lawsuit against Michigan’s Governor.
Earlier this week, several Christian churches, some pastors and a Christian law firm began a lawsuit against Gov. Whitmer, because they believe she is violating their right to religious assembly.
The Great Lakes Justice Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of the following plaintiffs:
Word of Faith Christian Center Church, a Southfield nonprofit that operates other churches and Bible training centers; Word of Faith Christian Center Church Bishop Keith Butler; Michigan Association of Christian Schools Director Timothy Schmig; Sturgis-based Whole Life Church; Whole Life Chirch Pastor Chuck Vizthum; and Northern Michigan Baptist Bible Church Pastor Stanley Chatfield III, who also served as am Emmett County Republican delegate in 2018.
These are the plaintiff’s listed, as was reported by MLive. Unfortunately, there were several important omissions from the MLive story.
First, there is no mention that the Great Lakes Justice Center, which filed the lawsuit, has a long history of defending religious groups that actively discriminate against the LGBTQ community. A Lansing-based news source, City Pulse, reported on one example and the ACLU has documented other cases against the Great Lakes Justice Center. The Great Lakes Justice Center is part of group Salt & Light Global, which was founded by William Wagner. Salt & Light Global embraces a far right political and religious worldview. The “Resources” section on their homepage is a who’s who of far right religious groups, including the Federalist Society, Hillsdale College, Wall Builders, the Discovery Institute and the Acton Institute.
The other major omission in the MLive article is the fact that the pastor of the Northern Michigan Baptists Church, pastor Chatfield, is actually the father of Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield. Rep. Lee Chatfield also filed a lawsuit against Gov. Whitmer, along with Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey.
These omissions from the MLive story are not marginal. The public has a right to know these basic facts about groups like the Great Lakes Justice Center and the churches that have filled a lawsuit that alleges the Governor is violating their right to religious assembly.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield are suing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her “abuse of power” with the Stay-at-Home orders.
MLive reported on the lawsuit, stating:
The debate boils down to the interpretation of two Michigan emergency powers laws, from 1945 and 1976.
The 1945 law allows a governor to extend a state of emergency indefinitely, while the 1976 law limits it to 28 days without further approval from the House and Senate.
To view the actual language of the lawsuit, click on this link.
However, one thing that was omitted from the news coverage about the lawsuit, is who have been the dominant campaign contributors to both Senator Mike Shirkey and Rep. Lee Chatfield.
According to data provided by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the top 5 campaign contributors to Senator Mike Shirkey are:
1. John Kennedy and family, Autocam Corporation, $200,000
2. Mike Shirkey, $145,010
3. DeVos family, Amway, $71,000
4. Michigan Bankers Association, $53,250
5. Cotton Family, Meridian Health, $50,000
Both John Kennedy and the DeVos family are members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure. Besides the Michigan Bankers Association the other contributor is the Cotton Family, which ranks in the top 20 for campaign contributions in Michigan in recent years.
The top 5 campaign contributors to Rep. Lee Chatfield are:
1. Republican State Leadership Committee, Washington D.C., $250,000
2. Ron and Eileen Weiser, McKinley, $113,000
3. Lee Chatfield, $78,000
4. DeVos family, Amway, Windquest, $67,500
5. Michigan Values Leadership Fund, Tom Leonard, $62,500
The DeVos family is the only member of the Grand Rapids Power Structure contributing to Rep. Lee Chatfield, but the amount provided, $67,500, is a bit misleading. The number one contributor to Rep. Lee Chatfield has been the Republican Senate Leadership Committee. According to Opensecrets.org, the DeVos family, through the company they co-founded Amway, had contributed $599,075 to the Republican Senate Leadership Committee in 2016 and $392,000 in 2018. Now, we don’t know how much of the money from the Republican Senate Leadership Committee that went to Chatfield was from the DeVos family, but the point is that the DeVos family’s political contributions to Rep. Lee Chatfield exceeds $67,500 and would likely make them the top contributor to the Speaker of the House in Michigan.
Thus, it seems clear that the two GOP members of the Michigan legislature that have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Whitmer, have been both been bankrolled by members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure – the DeVos family and John Kennedy.
Why we can’t go back to the way things were in Grand Rapids: Part II – Re-imagining a new food system
Last week, we posted an initial article about Grand Rapids can’t go back to normal after the COVID 19 crisis. We made the argument that the inequities that existed before the crisis which amplified with the crisis, but they would continue to exist long after COVID 19, unless we begin to radically re-image another way of organizing ourselves.
In Part II, we want to focus on food, the current food system and why we need to radically re-imagine a new food system in this community. Food insecurity has been amplified during the current crisis, with thousands of people in the Grand Rapids area not being able to access food or struggling to access food. There has been inspiring efforts to make sure that people are getting access to food, like food pantries changing how they distribute food, to people volunteering to bring food to families, to various groups making sure that children who relied on school meals could still get the food they needed. A great deal of food triage has been happening, work that is very important, but it does not address the larger issue of food insecurity in the Grand Rapids area.
Another thing we have seen in the past 6 weeks is, with the closing of restaurants and other sectors in society, many farmers have been forced to dump or destroy the food they have produced, because they could not get rid of it. This dynamic exposed the major flaws in the food supply chain. Essentially, the food supply chain is based on seeing food as a commodity, rather than seeing food as a human necessity.
Lastly, there has been a great deal of interest on social media about the interest of people to learn gardening skills, even calls for people to grow victory gardens. As a long-time gardener, I completely support people’s desire want to grow more of their own food, but individual responses will not be adequate and we need to come up with solutions that will be collective solutions, since virtually no one I am aware of can take care of all of the own food needs.
So, when the COVID 19 crisis is over, which doesn’t seem to be anytime soon, we will still need to address major flaws in the current food system. In fact, it is arguable that we need an entirely new food system, a system that is not driven by the profit motive, a system that exploits agricultural workers, a system that values and promotes highly processed food over fresh food and a food system that relies on fossil fuel-based transportation and food traveling thousands of miles while it is consumed.
So what might a radically re-imagined food system look like in the Grand Rapids area? Here, we offer 10 ideas about how to move in that direction.
- We do need more people to question the existing food system and learn food growing and food preserving skills. More people growing and preserving food is an important step, but it is only a first step and not the end goal.
- We need large, fully functional farmers markets in a sectors of the Grand Rapids area, which will make it easier for more people to access fresh food that is in their neighborhood.
- We need to guarantee that people have access to land to grow food, particularly to grow food collectively. I support people turing their lawns into spaces of food production, but this is often a privileged response, since many people do not have lawns. Vacant lots, church property, green space that exists at commercial facilities, all need to be made available for people to collectively grow food.
- Right now, a great deal of food that is grown in West Michigan, does not stay in West Michigan. Many of the area farms grow mono-crops, like corn and apples, which are either used for animal feed (in the case of corn) or the food is sent abroad to be used in the creation of highly processed foods. Current, the food system is not bio-regional and this also means that the average food item grown will travel 1,000 miles before it is consumed. This is not sustainable, nor should it be desirable. More farmers would use a CSA model (Community Supported Agriculture), but this requires that thousands more need to join a CSA.
- Food waste is built in to the current food system. Food that goes bad before it gets to consumers is expected and used as a write-off in the current food system. Then there is the amount of food that grocery stores throw away because it has expired and all the food that is thrown away by restaurants and other institutions that prepare thousands of pounds of food every day. So much food ends up in a landfill, food that could be used to meet the nutritional needs of so many people.
- We need to rethink how we access food and move beyond supporting the large grocery chains, moving to other food distribution models. We need more food coops, food buying clubs, more CSAs and more neighborhood-based farmers markets. 75% of the food sold in Grocery store chains is highly processed foods that we don’t need, and if fact, the highly processed foods is what has led to a major health crisis, especially for those experiencing poverty.
- The Slaughterhouse industry has also now being exposed to its brutal and dysfunctional nature. For years we have know that a meat-centric diet in the current food system is a major contributor to climate change. Moving forward we need to come to terms with the fact we need to significantly reduce animal consumption to truly have a just and sustainable food system.
- Right now it is apparent that agricultural workers/migrant workers are “essential workers.” However, agricultural workers/migrant workers have always been essential to the current food system, despite the fact that they are exploited on a massive scale. Food worker demands should be met, which includes a livable wage, safe working conditions, just housing conditions and the elimination of the threat of ICE arrest, detention and deportation, since many workers in the food system are undocumented. Farmworker unions should be a priority.
- Farmworker labor improvements are a good first step, but it would still not do much to challenge the existing food system. We need massive land reform, which includes a longstanding tradition, particularly in the Global South, where those who work the land should own the land.
- We also need to challenge the massive subsidization of the current food system, also known as the Farm Bill. Billions of dollars of taxpayer money is used to support a dysfunctional, exploitative and unjust food system.
Instead of ending the Farm Bill, maybe we need to radically re-imagine a new Farm Bill that would redistribute the billions going to support the agribusiness sector and redistribute that money to fund all of the other ideas listed above.
These 10 ideas are just the beginning of what a radically re-imagined food system might look like, but it is just that, a beginning. We need to have a collective conversation about how to move forward from here and take advantage of the opportunities that the COVID-19 crisis is providing us, in order to radically re-imagine a just food system. Ultimately, we need to practice food sovereignty, which essentially means that every community would have a direct say in the kind of food system we want. Let’s embrace the ideas that groups like Via Campesina have been giving us (the idea of food sovereignty originated with Via Campesina) and collectively practice the radically re-imagine new food system we want!
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 