Lieber leads effort to end poverty Lieber leads effort to end poverty (January 16, 2004)

Proposed state budget won't help county's poor, conferees told

By Jon Wiener

On Jan. 8, 40 years to the day since President Lyndon Johnson announced the "War on Poverty," State Senator Richard Alarcon (D-Van Nuys) was standing in the St. Joseph the Worker Center in Mountain View, trying to understand why poverty still exists. The center sees more than 100 workers a day, a majority of them illegal immigrants, and only receives enough job requests for 20 to 25.

Along with state Assembly member and former Mountain View mayor Sally Lieber, Alarcon is co-chairing a joint legislative committee to develop a master plan to end poverty in California. On Jan. 9, they held a public hearing at San Jose City College to get comments from community leaders from throughout Silicon Valley. San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, Assembly member Manny Diaz and County Supervisor Jim Beall all joined Lieber and Alarcon for the hearing.

The legislators heard from panels with names such as "Faces of Poverty" and "The Unbearable Cost of Living." But throughout the day, Alarcon lightened the mood with a blend of optimism and politically-charged humor.

Keeping in front of him a list of cuts contained in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget, Alarcon delighted the small crowd by continually reminding people that it was simply a proposed budget.

To one member of the public, he said, "We have to deal with the reality that we're going to have to raise taxes in California among those who can afford it and industries that are creating health care needs," specifically referring to tobacco companies and major polluters that operate in the state.

He added, "The governor should be raising taxes on himself."

The budget proposal, announced just days earlier, was a frequent target, both for Alarcon and several speakers. Subjects of attacks ranged from the proposed state-of-the-art death row facility to a significant increase in community college tuition fees.

Diane Gamberg, workforce planning director for Kaiser Permanente, said that partnership between labor, industry and academia can help solve employment problems. She pointed to a growing shortage of nurses and other health care professionals as an opportunity to combat poverty through education.

"Our whole Valley has jobs. I have them right now," she said during a panel titled "False Prosperity: Economic Development, Widening Wage Gaps and Uncertain Employment."

The mean household income in Santa Clara County is nearly $60,000, or $20,000 above the state average. Yet the unemployment rate of 7.2 percent is above the state average and 126,000 of the county's 1.7 million residents live below the federal poverty line. The region's so-called self-sufficiency standard can be four times as high, according to figures cited at last Friday's hearing.

Sandy Perry, Outreach Director for the San Jose-based Community Homeless Alliance Ministry, attended the hearing and gave his thanks for the elected officials and community leaders present. "When you join the fight to end poverty, it's very lonely," he said. "When they put a sign up that says 'Become a Millionaire,' they fill the arena."

Alarcon and Lieber's committee will be drafting reports on its findings along with recommendations, to be followed by the formation of working groups across the state.

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