No One Should Be A Commodity To Profit Goldman Sachs: Testimony Opposing Pay For Success Finance For Housing
Philadelphia City Council created a “Special Committee on Poverty Reduction and Prevention” on March 28, 2019 (resolution here), and with it the machine of human capital impact investing in our city of deep, deep poverty roared to life.
The purported goal of the committee is to create an action plan to lift 100,000 Philadelphians out of poverty by 2024, though how that will happen given stagnant wages and rising cost of living is unclear. See dismal workforce projections and plans to harness our education system to deliver a ten-dollar-per hour workforce here.
City Council commissioned a white paper, Narrowing the Gap, from HR&A Advisors, a New York real estate and economic development consulting firm, to inform the work. Resolve Philly/Broke In Philly (Solutions Journalism) boosters NBC Philadelphia (Comcast), Billy Penn, Al Dia, and PlanPhilly /WHYY provided, as supportive impact media partners will, expansive coverage of the development.
Three subcommittees have been set up: social safety net, education and workforce, and housing. A kick-off gathering of the full committee was held in October and hearings for each subcommittee are scheduled for November.
Transcript of the October 10, 2019 full committee hearing here.
Transcript of the November 18, 2019 “Safety Net Subcommittee” hearing here.
Below is video of testimony I gave at the November 25, 2019 Housing CONTINUE READING: No One Should Be A Commodity To Profit Goldman Sachs: Testimony Opposing Pay For Success Finance For Housing – Wrench in the Gears