Then I heard it's not what you make, but how much you spent

This Friday marks the day that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce its host city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. In the Windy City, this day looms with much anticipation, as Chicago has been vying for the position against Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Madrid, Spain; and Tokyo, Japan for more than two years.

The eagerness surrounding the impending vote is not shared by all, however. For instance, President Obama's decision to visit Denmark to back the bid has been criticized as a frivolous distraction from more urgent domestic issues. In addition to the disapproval expressed on the national scale, there has also been a local tide of opposition to the games in Chicago for a multitude of reasons.

During the summer, the Evaluation Commission from the IOC spent four days in each candidate city compiling a report on each of the cities' bids. When the report was published in early September, Chicago was identified as lacking a "full [financial] guarantee," which could potentially result in losses for the Olympic committee. The report ultimately declared that the city's Olympic budget of 3.8 billion dollars was, "ambitious but achievable".

Many residents of the Second City have expressed their resistance to the bid for these very same financial reasons. Individuals and groups, like No Games Chicago, question how the city will cope with an influx of Olympic-directed funds when budget issues already plague Illinois and its capital. According to a compilation of news sources, there already exist inordinate deficits within the local and state administration, Chicago Transit Authority, and Chicago Public School System. Citizens ask, why should we devote billions of dollars to a transitory sporting event seven years in the future when so many of our local services are in dire need of assistance now?

In addition to the fiscal arguments, many contend that the Olympic Games in Chicago will displace residents adjacent to Olympic sites and that the present plans lack sustainability beyond the end of the Games.

While these claims carry significant weight and validity, the plans as presented in the IOC's evaluation of the four cities' bids seem to convey a different story.

According to the IOC's report, the Olympic Village—one of the structures that will be newly built—is planned to have 16,800 beds in a series of 21 residential buildings. Intended to house the Olympic and Paralympic athletes for the duration of the games, the Olympic Village will be converted to mixed-income housing afterwards, with "at least 20% of the residences [allocated to] senior citizens & students" as affordable housing. In light of these plans, it ostensibly appears that Chicago is committed to reusing some Olympic facilities.

Another issue that has raised eyebrows in the community is the degree of sustainability of the games. The present plans for the games, however, make use of many existing sports and convention venues around Chicago. For example, the McCormick Place convention facility—the largest of its kind in North America—is expected to serve as the location for 11 Olympic sports and 8 Paralympic sports. Out of the 31 total venues needed for the games, 15 of them already exist, 6 will need to be built but will remain permanently thereafter, while 9 will be temporary. These six structures, many of which will be park-side, will become a part of World Sport Chicago and the Urban Youth Sport Initiative, a collaborative effort with the Chicago Parks Department to foster sports participation among Chicago youth.

Although the report from the IOC lends a more substantive perspective of Chicago's proposals, the fact remains that many areas of the city will require extensive work that will necessitate large sums of money. As the Chicago Tribune reported two weeks ago, taxpayer funds are likely to support much of the construction efforts for the Games, despite Mayor Daley's promise that they will be primarily privately-funded. Below is a chart highlighting the expenses that the city will face, if given the opportunity to host the Olympics.


Photo credit to the Chicago Tribune
It should be noted, though, that many of these expenses are focused on public works projects that will improve the quality of life for the Chicagoland community, such as roadway improvements and enhanced city services. Additionally, the city's infrastructure and transport systems are likely to receive facelifts under Chicago's bid, such as the $8.3 billion renovation of O'Hare International Airport intended to increase the number of runways and gates. One advantage to these construction efforts is that we are likely to reap the benefits long after the Games have passed.

Although many valid points have been raised by those advocating and opposing Chicago's bid, the fate of the 2016 Olympic Games now rests in the hands of those in Copenhagen. As we await Friday's vote, I trust that the chosen host city will do its best to accommodate both residents and recreation.

You know the best medicine go to people that's paid

During his campaign, President Obama stressed that health care reform was one of our nation's top issues, pledging to create some form of universal coverage.

And it is no wonder that he identified health care as one of our most pressing issues. I read an article recently about the ridiculous costs of healthcare in Miami, my home city. Apparently, the costs of private-payer insurance there ranks as one of the nation's highest, with 40% of these costs coming out-of-pocket. The need for reform is undeniable.

Many claim, though, that Obama has yet to fulfill these campaign promises and that he is succumbing to playing by the rules of Washington and Congress by not suggesting a single-payer system, or by simply not being willing to reform enough.

This backlash was particularly evident to me in a recent entry on the Huffington Post about impending healthcare legislation (in which it is noted that healthcare premiums have risen 87% in the last six years alone). Although Borosage himself expresses indignation at the present state of affairs, I was mostly drawn to the remarks left by others. The majority of people griping in the comments section agree that something should be done about healthcare; yet it seems that they are only blaming those currently in power and suggesting few ideas for change.

Then, last Wednesday, one day after the above post was published, I received an email from President Obama regarding healthcare reform. (I am on the Democratic Party's mailing list because I signed up in hopes to receive tickets for his election night rally in Grant Park last November). In the email, he asked:

Brittany --

The chance to finally reform our nation's health care system is here. While Congress moves rapidly to produce a detailed plan, I have made it clear that real reform must uphold three core principles -- it must reduce costs, guarantee choice, and ensure quality care for every American.

As we know, challenging the status quo will not be easy. Its defenders will claim our goals are too big, that we should once again settle for half measures and empty talk. Left unanswered, these voices of doubt might yet again derail the comprehensive reform we so badly need. That's where you come in.

When our opponents spread fear and confusion about the changes we seek, your support for these core principles will show clarity and resolve. When the lobbyists for the status quo tell Congress to hold back, your personal story will give them the courage to press forward.

Join my call: Ask Congress to pass real health care reform in 2009.

After adding your name, please consider sharing your personal story about the importance of health care reform in your life and the lives of those you love.

I will be personally reviewing many of these signatures and stories. If you speak up now, your voice will make a difference.

http://my.barackobama.com/HealthCareOrganizing

American families are watching their premiums rise four times faster than their wages. Spiraling health care costs are shackling America's businesses, curtailing job growth and slowing the economy at the worst possible time. This has got to change.

I know personal stories can drive that change, because I know how my mother's experience continues to drive me. She passed away from ovarian cancer a little over a decade ago. And in the last weeks of her life, when she was coming to grips with her own mortality and showing extraordinary courage just to get through each day, she was spending too much time worrying about whether her health insurance would cover her bills. She deserved better. Every American deserves better. And that's why I will not rest until the dream of health care reform is finally achieved in the United States of America.

Please add your name to join my call. Then share your personal story about why you too will not rest until this job is done.

http://my.barackobama.com/HealthCareOrganizing

Last November, the American people sent Washington a clear mandate for change. But when the polls close, the true work of citizenship begins. That's what Organizing for America is all about. Now, in these crucial moments, your voice once again has extraordinary power. I'm counting on you to use it.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Speaking from the most optimistic of viewpoints, I would really like to believe Obama's statements. Reading another article that claims that Obama will attempt to stop filibustering of the healthcare bills drives this optimism. The assertions in his e-mail, coupled with the $128 million that health care has spent on lobbying in 2009 (more than any other sector, including finance, insurance, and real estate), lead me to believe that special interests are indeed playing a huge role in whether or not healthcare form will come to fruition.

If President Obama and the American public are so intent on reforming healthcare and subduing Congress, then they should take action to help in this plight, rather than complaining from the sidelines.

Obama recently asked Congress to draw up potential bills for a universal healthcare plan that he intends to sign before the end of the year. One of the bills that has been advocated by many is House Resolution 676 sponsored by John Conyers, Jr., a model closely resembling a single-payer system that claims to insure all citizens.

Many have evaluated the benefits of a model like this, including an economic analysis by the Institute for Health and Socio-Economic policy. These studies show that a single-payer universal system will end up being more beneficial to Americans than the currently instituted private insurance conglomeration.

For those who have been chastising Congress' or Obama's dilatory nature on this issue, as well as those who simply demand reasonable healthcare, I urge you to actually initiate calls, e-mails or letters to your representatives. There exists a plethora of options for communication with them, including:

▪ Obama's website
▪ Health Care for America Now's website
▪ Conyers' email address (sponsor of HR 676)
▪ Congress' website, where you can write to your state representative

Healthcare is an issue that touches every single person in the United States. If you truly desire reform then I suggest that you stop deploring the present situation from the sidelines and that you employ a democratic approach to change.

You can expect that I will be doing the same.

A circumstance between Cabrini and Love Jones

On a drive with friends Wednesday night, I randomly came across the few remaining buildings of Cabrini-Green Homes, a public housing project here in Chicago.


(Photo credit to flickr/reallyboring)
The dilapidated buildings, with majority of windows boarded up or scorched by arson, exuded an air of dereliction that immediately struck me as inhumane. It was not until further research at home, though, that I learned of the horrors that have happened at and to Cabrini-Green.

Built over the course of twenty years as a public housing project for Chicago's lower-income families, the complexes' demographics shifted from predominately blue-collar Italians to a majority of blacks on government assistance. At Cabrini-Green and similar Chicago projects, like the Robert Taylor Homes on the South Side, residency rates at their peaks toppled 15,000 and 27,000 respectively, with the proportion of families consisting of single mothers hovering around 90%.

These housing projects ended up serving as breeding grounds for brutal gang activity. Constructed in high-rise towers with as many as seventeen floors, the buildings' elevators were often defunct due to neglect. Those that were functioning put the residents in danger, as elevators acted as the ideal private venue in which to commit a crime. The stairwells became the primary means of travel throughout the building; however, the failure to maintain functioning lights within the stairwells resulted in threatening pitch black corridors. The "open galleries" of the homes used to be open walkways outside the rooms, but the rising numbers of children accidentally falling off the galleries resulted in mesh metal enclosures around all the open spaces of the buildings.


(Photo credit to flickr/metroblossom)
To best illustrate the ruinous efforts of Chicago public housing, I'll elaborate on a ghastly event that befell 9-year-old "Girl X," of Cabrini-Green Homes in 1997. A resident herself, she was lured into a stranger's apartment, where she was sexually assaulted, poisoned in the throat with roach spray, scrawled on in black graffiti, and left for dead in one of the stairwells.

Hearing a story of this nature, I frustratingly wonder how it is possible for heinous acts like these to occur, with efforts to inform the public and improve the state of affairs following at such a dilatory rate. As is frequently noted, the sensationalized media coverage on deaths of young, white middle- and upper-class girls has often outweighed that given to deaths stemming from problems needing solutions in our country.

And although I will concede that the majority of these buildings have been demolished under Chicago’s "Plan for Transformation"—there's only one high-rise remaining at Robert Taylor—the issue of cyclical poverty and vicious violence continues to plague the city of Chicago.

In a news piece I read earlier today, I learned that 36 teenagers and children have been murdered in Chicago this year alone, a rate yielding 2 murders weekly. Most of the deaths are gang-related and have caused alarm within communities. Numbers in other big cities, like Philadelphia, who reports four underage deaths this year, aren't even comparable.

So what does it take for those growing up in the toughest areas of Chicago to not succumb to the allure of gang life, but to seek an upwardly mobile trend leading to stable employment and housing?

The demolition of the Cabrini-Green Projects and other Chicago public housing has obviously caused the mass exodus of residents elsewhere. One aspect of the Plan for Transformation that attempts to accommodate (only a fraction of) those leaving the projects, are the "mixed-income developments" where anyone can purchase an apartment within the complex at market value while a portion of the units are allotted to those with affordable and public housing benefits. One example is the North Town Village Unit in Cabrini-Green, with 261 units sold at market value and 79 for those on public assistance.

Securing a spot in these mixed-income developments, however, is contingent on passing the “residency requirements”. These requirements include a review of one’s credit history and criminal background, drug testing, home visits, employment evaluations and their record of economic self-sufficiency.

And thus far, these efforts have been met with varying results. According to recent interviews with mixed-income housing residents, overall satisfaction is high amongst all income levels; however, the level of social integration—the ostensible objective behind mixed-income arrangements—is lagging. This approach, while helping eradicate the problems associated with homogenous high-rise public housing, does not attack the problem from where it stems.

A wise friend once told me, while on the topic of societal improvement, that education is the key to all. I was always cynical though, until reading recently about standardized testing improvements in students at the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York.

The holistic nature of the HCZ focuses not only on the child’s education at the Promise Academy charter schools in the program, but also on the parents’ education and that of the community through The Baby College and other initiatives. Also, HCZ stresses the importance of their continuous “pipeline” education—each student follows HCZ programs available from early childhood through to college.

A recent study conducted by Harvard’s economics department took an intensive look at HCZ students’ performances on the New York state math and English language arts as they progressed through middle school. The tables below illustrate achievement through deviation from the standard.

(Note: ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ refers to whether students in the community won or lost the lottery to join HCZ, as once HCZ reaches capacity, they admit on a lottery-basis.)



The white-black achievement gap on the math test is almost completely eliminated and although scores in English language arts still lag, the gains made through the HCZ are undeniable.

Other efforts to improve the state of affairs, such as decreasing class size, mandatory summer school, etc. yield only small advancements. The engaging community-school-family model of the Harlem Children’s Zone, however, seems to have drastically improved the performance of youngsters, all while instilling in them a drive for achievement.

With $90.9 billion (12%) of the recent bailout bill going to education, I hope that comprehensive programs like the Harlem Children’s Zone will spread. Tackling poverty through education coupled with community intervention will probably be our most beneficial approach. More comprehensive studies of the success of other efforts, such as mixed-income housing, are also underway. Hopefully we can see larger gains from these programs as well.

Although the remnants of Cabrini-Green will soon be no more, their legacy is one that will remain with us for years. My only hope is that we use this legacy constructively.

All the words pass the margin

"Thinking a word best describing my life,
to name my daughter my strength;
My son, the star, will be my resurrection;
Born in correction, all the wrong shit I did,
he'll lead a right direction."


An excerpt from my favorite song, "The World is Yours" by Nas. The first time I heard it, I was immediately struck by the fusion of the repeating piano riff in the background, his vivid canvas of New York City life, and his hopeful eye to the future. Contrary to the conventional rap approach of further degrading the community in which he lived, Nas exalted the different characters of his youth, giving them each a distinct identity, from "cruising in a Sikh's cab", to the "old folks pray[ing]" in his building. What struck me the most, though, was the way he looked to the future, disregarding the strife of street life and instead optimistically proclaiming that the world is yours, to whoever seeks it out.

The “The World is Yours” attitude was also a dominant theme in Al Pacino’s Scarface. Emigrating from Cuba with almost nothing, he manifested this principle and created a life for himself in Miami, complete with wife, friends, and booming business. I often liken his success to that of my family, who themselves came from Cuba but grew older to become successful lawyers, doctors, and realtors. But Montana, the mastermind behind a huge cocaine empire, was soon overtaken by greed and disregard. His life ends ironically in the same “The World is Yours” mindset that led to his downfall.



Nas' song struck such a chord with me that I chose to embrace his ideology and adopt it as my own. I have a mentality now that anything in this world is attainable so long as you will it so and work towards it. Yet learning from the ruinous self-indulgence of Scarface, I know that there are limits.

This blog, The World is Ours, is intended to connect people who share this mindset, and who are open to learning about enlightening stories.

"The World is Yours" is not bound by constraints set by race, salary, birthplace, or gender.
"The World is Yours" is not the past, nor is it the present.
"The World is Yours" is the future and it is what will happen because you willed it so.
"The World is Yours" is knowing that no matter where you came from and no matter who you were born, you can achieve what you want and change who you are.
"The World is Yours" is a lifestyle, a life-changer, a life-maker.