councilor.org
| Source | D. Ohmans |
| Date | 19/04/08/00:34 |
| From currentaffairs.org/2019/03/all-about-pete by Nathan J. Robinson
IS ANOTHER TYPE OF municipal progressivism possible? Yes, it is. You may not be able to introduce Medicare For All as a small-city mayor (though some places are thinking about local Green New Deals), but there’s a lot you can do to expand democracy. How about these to start: Participatory budgeting. Citywide minimum wage. Municipal public banks. Social work/case management access in local libraries. Enforcing strict tenants’ rights. Lowering the voting age for city elections. Kicking out the charter schools. High-quality public toilets and napping benches. Safe injection sites and needle exchanges. Wage theft enforcement. Fighting state attempts to privatize public assets. The right to counsel in immigration and housing court. A co-op conversion fund to buy rentals and permanently convert them to affordable co-ops. A community land trust. Free public daycare and universal pre-K. Usury caps to keep aggressive lenders out of the city. Converting municipal utilities and vehicles to renewable energy. Requiring community benefits agreements for new developments. Diverting money from policing to mental health services and public housing, and reducing use of armed police officers to solve social problems. |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho