Rabbi Philip M. Posner, DD, DHL
2120 N. Pacific Ave, No.22
Santa Cruz, Ca. 95060 
Chatrabbi@aol.com, Rabbiposner.com
831- 332-2446, cell 831-331-1725

 

                    A National Resource Center for Federal Employees:

        Instead of A Wall - Reach Out To Our Nation's Federal Employees                 1/14/19

Democratic National Committee, attn. Thomas Perez, Richard Trumpka, President, AFL-CIO,

J David Cox, AFGE, National President.

Dear Thomas, Richard and David;

As you can see my proposal, suggests a way for our Government Employees to weather the Trump shutdown. In essence, the DNC would be a conduit of funds that government employees could borrow from. In order for the DNC to put the proposal into effect it would need to know based on the proposal below an approximate amount of dollars the AFL-CIO and the AFGE could contribute to the Resource Center?

Looking forward to your thoughts and suggestions as to how we can make this happen.

                                                    The Proposal:

Of course, no one except the man who presently occupies the White House can control how long the current government shutdown will last. What we all know is that beginning 1/12/19, 800,000 of our nation's dedicated federal employees will be without a pay check. Innocent individuals and families will suffer financially. Mortgages, food, rent, transportation, health necessities; all the basic necessities of life will have to be paid for.

But because President Trump prefers building a wall rather than treating federal employees with compassion and respect, they may suffer serious financial hardship, even possible debt, with the concomitant social consequences that come with such suffering.

This idea to help our nation's federal employees may appear unusual, even naive; but does not such an economic paralysis effecting our whole nation call for thinking “outside the box”? At such a time, can we rally wait until our government finds a political solution to the shutdown?

I am proposing that the DNC, representing we who place compassion over walls appeal to our nation's Banks, Credit Unions and well known philanthropic community minded progressives to contribute to a National Resource Center for Federal Employees ( NRCFFE) to lend at no interest amounts equivalent to their monthly pay check beginning on … to tide them over until the government shutdown comes to an end. The Resource Center would also offer loans to federal contractors who unlike most federal workers won't receive back pay for the period during which the government is shut down.

To facilitate the receipt and lending process, or an agency the DNC appoints to administer the Resource Center, it would open and manage an interest bearing account to receive and dispense funds, (including funds contributed to the account by the AFL-CIO and the AFGE.)

The cost to fund these loans would be borne by the participating financial institutions and individual philanthropic sponsors who agree to participate.

They will do so on the basis that after an appropriate period of time those institutions and individuals that helped fund the Resource Center will be paid back depending on the success of the program, all or part of what they contributed.

This resource center account could also possibly be augmented by Democratic Congressional and Senatorial campaign committees that may want to participate seeing it as reflective of the compassionate values, and also politically beneficial, to their congress person or senator's continuing success in office.

If and when a Federal Employee wants to receive financial help from the Resource Center, they will merely have to go to their local, participating bank or Credit Union, present identification as a federal employee and request a loan the way they would in normal circumstances, including their signing an agreement to pay back the loan within one month after the shutdown is over, or within a time agreeable to the parties. Further, if loans are charged to individual credit cards the lender must also sign in the agreement that the borrower can not deny the charge.

“Every day,” said one federal employee, “I worry about another shutdown.” Even if such a Resource Center may not have to be initiated, should this shutdown come to an end hopefully sooner than later, its development or the process for it that has been agreed upon and set in place could be available during other times of economic hardship.

By sponsoring and working to make this happen we, as seen by the DNC and our Democratic representatives, will not only be demonstrating our compassionate concern for those that work for us, we will be challenging the misguided and immoral policies of President Trump and his Republican colleagues in the House and the Senate.

Admittedly, this NRCFFE will cost, probably about a billion a month, but Trump's debacle in shutting down the government according to “the financial services company Standard & Poor's estimates the current shutdown (will continue) to cost the U.S. Economy

$ 1.2 billion a week.”

Publicizing such a project? Once the DNC agrees to the project, (with the participation of the AFL- CIO and the AFGE) they will initiate it in to action by calling a Press Conference to announce its purpose; inviting Banks, Credit Unions and philanthropic individuals to participate.

As with all good works, such a National Resource Center for Federal Employees will reflect both the ethical values we Democrats and independents choose to exemplify, and the pragmatic realities of being the political party that stands for helping our fellow Americans instead of wasting our resources on building a wall.

Unresolved issues:

  1. Campaign Committees of Congressman Jimmy Panetta; Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.

    Sincerely, Philip M. Posner