alternet--2020-10-24--All Native Hawaiians need to reclaim ancestral land is a $300,000 mortgage -- and to wait in line fo

All Native Hawaiians need to reclaim ancestral land is a $300,000 mortgage -- and to wait in line for decades

The professional ukulele player worked long hours entertaining tourists on Oahu and saved her tips in a cookie jar .
The money went into a modest house fund for her and her mother , but she knew that would n't be enough .
So in 1987 , Kamaile , then 35 , took the one step she considered her best shot at homeownership .
She applied to a homesteading program for Native Hawaiians .
Created by Congress in 1921 , the program had a singular goal : return Hawaiians — especially impoverished ones — to their native lands .
Over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than a dozen letters offering her an opportunity to get a homestead .
The land , part of a 203,000-acre trust , would be virtually free under a long-term lease .
But there was a catch : An applicant either had to build their own home or purchase one from a developer .
At least five of Kamaile 's offers were for new subdivisions in Kapolei , a growing bedroom community in West Oahu .
Amid a soaring real estate market , the homes were a bargain , costing about half the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that period , she lost her job , declared bankruptcy and spent two years homeless , part of it living in a tent on the beach .
Kamaile passed on each offering , tossing the letters in the garbage .
“ I cried an awful lot , '' she said .
Today , Kamaile , 68 , still does n't have a homestead .
She 's about 3,500 applicants deep on a waitlist , 33 years after she first applied .
She lives in a cramped rental apartment in a low-income housing project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family friend who lives with her .
Kamaile 's mother died last year , 10 days shy of her 91st birthday .
Kamaile still regrets not being able to provide her with a homestead .
“ That was my one wish for her . ''
The Honolulu woman 's story reflects what has been a decadeslong failure of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to fulfill its mission .
Under state law , anyone who is at least half Hawaiian and 18 or older is considered a beneficiary of the land trust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ prompt and efficient manner . ''
Qualifying for financing is not listed as a requirement , but that has essentially become one because of the way the program is run .
As a result , Hawaiians with the financial means and knowledge to navigate the complicated system are able to get homesteads with relative ease while thousands of others continue a generations-long wait for the land that is their birthright , an investigation by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica has found .
Over the past 25 years , the department , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in building sprawling subdivisions .
Intended to satisfy a crushing demand for housing , the remedy has exacerbated the problem , as the homes have proved too expensive for many applicants .
The result has been an ever-lengthening waitlist , now 23,000 people long , as Native Hawaiians struggle in one of the country 's most expensive housing markets .
At the average rate the department has developed residential lots since 1995 , it would take 182 years to meet demand — before figuring in expected waitlist growth .
State and federal watchdogs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failure to deliver homesteads in a timely fashion , and this year , the Hawaii Supreme Court concluded that “ the state of Hawaii has done little to address the ever-lengthening waitlist '' over the past 30 years .
Under the current model , the department often goes thousands deep to find interested and qualified buyers , effectively bypassing low-income Hawaiians who have been waiting longer .
Since 1995 , for example , DHHL has awarded about 2,200 residential leases to Oahu residents .
Sixty percent of them went to beneficiaries who came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher than $ 75,000 , the two news organizations found through an unprecedented analysis of tens of thousands of lease transactions , waitlist records and other documents .
Jade Miyazaki was one of them .
A hotel marketer , she already owned a small townhouse , but she applied for the homesteading program hoping to get more space for her family of five .
She got a home in 2010 in Kanehili , one of the subdivisions that Kamaile , the ukulele player , passed on .
Miyazaki had waited only a quarter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 2,000 places deeper on the waitlist .
But unlike Kamaile , Miyazaki could afford the mortgage .
She was among the last of the so-called waitlisters to be awarded land leases in the 375-home subdivision , where home prices at the time averaged about $ 345,000 in today 's dollars .
Today , the median household income for Kanehili and two other nearby homestead subdivisions is about $ 100,000 .
That is nearly double the approximately $ 55,000 median income for waitlister households , according to a 2017 federal study on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creates a division among Hawaiians , '' said Vanessa Garcia Phillips , a beneficiary leader who has been on the waitlist a relatively short three years .
“ You have the haves and the have-nots . ''
In the meantime , more Hawaiians will continue to die waiting .
Analyzing trust records , the Star-Advertiser and ProPublica found that more than 2,000 beneficiaries already have died while on the waitlist without receiving homesteads — a number that has not been previously reported but that many agree is a severe undercount .
The department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the family provides a death certificate .
The investigation by the news organizations marks the first time DHHL 's subdivision strategy has been extensively examined , and many of the findings are new — even to DHHL .
The agency said it did n't have the staff or tools to replicate the analysis , but it acknowledged its model produced housing prices beyond the reach of many waitlisters .
Read more about the analysis here .
Still , officials defended the approach , saying they were doing what they could to deliver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as their top choice : single-family homes .
When the department built duplexes about two decades ago , it got a lackluster response from beneficiaries , some of whom believe the law promises them land , not just housing .
About 8,400 residential leases have been awarded since 1921 , said William J. Aila Jr. , who serves as department director and chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission , which oversees the agency and the land trust .
To address the affordability problem , he said , the department has provided a greater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as empty lots where beneficiaries can build their own homes .
It also offers services like financial literacy classes to help low-income beneficiaries .
“ It 's not a complete success .
But it 's not a complete failure , '' said Aila , who lives on a homestead .
Many beneficiary advocates and political leaders disagree .
They say the agency needs to overhaul its approach and to focus more on housing that waitlisters actually can afford .
“ It 's not working for anybody , '' said former Gov .
John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serve in that office — his term ran from 1986 to 1994 — and whose father died while on the waitlist .
“ It 's not working for the community .
It 's not working for the state of Hawaii .
If the program were doing what it should , we would have less of a housing crisis than we have now . ''
In 1893 , the U.S. backed an illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy , partly to protect U.S. sugar interests in the islands .
A group representing U.S. and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ descendants , supported by U.S. naval forces , deposed the monarchy and proclaimed a provisional government .
Five years later , the U.S. annexed the island chain , obtaining roughly 1.8 million acres of former kingdom land without compensating the Hawaiians .
By then , the indigenous population was headed toward extinction as disease , poor living conditions and other factors contributed to their dwindling numbers .
Many impoverished Hawaiians , who had been displaced from their lands , lived in slum-like tenements in urban Honolulu .
Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole , considered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Hawaii 's then-nonvoting delegate to Congress , around 1918 envisioned using some of the former kingdom lands to create a land trust to uplift Native Hawaiians .
Kuhio 's idea was to return them to their native lands so they could become self-sufficient , maintain the culture and reverse the population decline .
“ This rehabilitation bill is the first opportunity given the poor man to go on the land with funds to help him make a living , '' Kuhio said in Honolulu in 1920 as he lobbied to build public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was signed into law in 1921 .
But the program , run by Hawaii 's territorial government under U.S. supervision , was seriously hampered from the start .
Much of the land was remote and ill suited for homesteading , lacking water and other basics .
And the federal government provided little funding and inadequate oversight .
In the first 38 years , only about 1,700 homesteads were awarded .
The poor conditions persisted after the state took over management as a requirement of statehood in 1959 .
State and federal reports going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including the state 's inability to deliver homesteads in a timely manner .
Stung by the decadeslong criticism over the waitlist problem , DHHL in the early 1990s switched from so-called pocket development — constructing homes in small numbers — to building large subdivisions .
The change enabled the agency to offer dozens and sometimes hundreds of so-called turnkey homes in batches .
The Waihee administration was instrumental in advancing that strategy .
The governor and his team secured from the state a $ 600 million settlement to compensate DHHL for misuse of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The state paid the agency $ 30 million annually for 20 years starting in 1995 , and much of that money went to infrastructure work for new subdivisions .
Some waitlisters were thrilled .
The benefits of getting a homestead are substantial in a state with soaring real estate markets ; the median price for a previously owned single-family home on Oahu , for instance , hit $ 789,000 in 2019 .
For turnkey houses , beneficiaries pay about half as much as they would for comparable homes off trust land .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ buyer , covers land and infrastructure costs , builders say .
In addition to the purchase price , beneficiaries pay only $ 1 annually for a land lease , which runs for 99 years .
Holding a lease comes with significant tax advantages .
Homesteaders pay no property taxes for the first seven years following a lease award .
After that , they still get a break , depending on location .
On Oahu , homesteaders pay $ 300 annually , regardless of the value of the residence , potentially saving thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department started construction on its first master-planned subdivision in 1994 , officials soon ran into a problem : a lack of qualified buyers .
Winona Kauhane , a former loan officer for a private lender working with DHHL on the project , recalled reviewing waitlist applications to fill the 271 new homes in Princess Kahanu Estates along Oahu 's Waianae Coast .
The development was aimed at providing housing for the working poor — typically two-income families who could n't afford to buy elsewhere .
Sifting through several thousand files , though , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ qualify for the mortgages needed to purchase the houses , which averaged about $ 208,000 in today 's dollars .
Motivated to get Hawaiians onto the land , Kauhane helped craft a legal workaround that involved recruiting a waitlister 's family member who could finance the deal .
The lease would be awarded to the applicant , who served as a pass-through and simultaneously transferred it to the family member bankrolling the purchase .
Depending on the circumstances , the applicant still could live in the home .
“ That was the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their families into a home , '' Kauhane said .
“ They deserved that opportunity . ''
There were more than 100 of these simultaneous transactions following lease awards in the past 25 years , according to the analysis .
Even with the workarounds , though , the department still had to go more than 4,000 deep into the waitlist to get enough buyers for the 271 homes in Princess Kahanu Estates — an indication to some critics that the subdivision model was problematic from the start .
Over the years , Native @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program for relief as Hawaii grapples with a severe shortage of affordable housing and the nation 's second-worst homelessness crisis .
The statewide residential waitlist has grown by over 50 % since 1995 .
While DHHL does not track income in a systematic way , there are indications that many applicants are struggling financially .
A federal study found that about 20 % of households on the waitlist received public cash assistance — nearly three times the rate of Native Hawaiians and more than six times that of the general population .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DHHL , only about a quarter of waitlisters said they could afford the 10 % down payment on a mortgage for a $ 150,000 home .
Many turnkey properties now cost at least double that .
In Kapolei on Oahu 's west side , where Kanehili was developed and where much of the island 's residential growth is happening , prices in new homestead neighborhoods are approaching $ 400,000 .
“ When you do all turnkey development , and the average price for a house is somewhere around $ 300,000 to $ 400,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cream of the waitlist , only those who can qualify for those homes , '' Aila , the DHHL director , acknowledged .
“ So you miss a lot of people . ''
Robin Danner , a beneficiary leader from Kauai , said DHHL needs to rethink its financial requirements and give beneficiaries more flexibility to build their own housing .
“ Their duty is not to check my credit , '' she said .
“ Their duty is to issue me my land . ''
Aila acknowledged that the law does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mortgage to get a homestead .
But any structure built on trust land must meet county building and zoning codes , according to the state administrative rules the department uses , and that prohibits substandard construction .
“ We ca n't let you live in a tent because that 's substandard living , '' Aila said .
Critics , however , say DHHL , with its focus on subdivisions , has strayed too far from the intent of the 1921 homesteading law .
“ The program is really turned on its head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who represents 2,700 plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against DHHL that received the favorable Supreme Court ruling this year .
“ It 's serving Native Hawaiians who are middle class or upper middle class .
It does nothing for Hawaiians who are working poor or homeless . ''
Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in the homeless population .
In a survey earlier this year of roughly 1,200 unsheltered homeless on Oahu , 1 in 5 was eligible for the homesteading program and 7 % were on the waitlist .
Louisa Keawe , 60 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Today , she lives in a tent at Waimanalo Beach Park on Oahu 's windward side .
The former janitor says she has been homeless off and on for about seven years and has n't worked for about a decade because of a disability .
She survives on about $ 800 in monthly Social Security benefits and food stamps , and she recently purchased a new tent with her federal stimulus check .
Keawe said she has received several offering notices but did n't pursue them , believing she was unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she lamented , favors those with wealth .
“ People doing well on the high level , the first level , they can pursue a place on Hawaiian Homes .
The second level ?
Average .
They will pursue .
But for my case , I can not pursue nothing , '' Keawe said .
“ They exclude people like myself . ''
Age can also be a limiting factor .
The Star-Advertiser and ProPublica found that more than half of all waitlisters are over 60 , an age when taking on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The news organizations interviewed more than a dozen people who applied decades ago and are now approaching retirement age .
Oahu resident Gregory Ah Yat has been a renter all his adult life .
He applied for the homesteading program 33 years ago but , like Keawe , passed on several lease offerings , either because he could n't afford them or he did n't like the location .
A longtime tour bus driver , he lost his job when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Hawaii 's tourism industry in March .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope of getting a homestead .
“ I 'm going to die before that happens , '' he said .
“ I 'll never be able to make the payments , not even in 30 years . ''
DHHL says it offers a variety of programs aimed at helping low-income beneficiaries become homesteaders .
The services range from homebuyer education classes and financial literacy training to more direct financial aid .
Much of the funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development , which has provided more than $ 150 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past two decades .
But that help has reached just a fraction of waitlisters .
Since 2002 , more than 2,000 individuals and families have received homebuyer training and other assistance , according to Ryan Okahara , director of HUD 's Honolulu field office .
In addition , about 600 waitlisters got financial aid to purchase — or build — homes on trust land .
Those making 80 % or less of an area 's median income are eligible to tap the federal funds to obtain a zero-interest loan or down-payment assistance .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to $ 67,500 for an individual and $ 96,400 for a family of four .
Shannon Chow applied for financial help several years ago .
As an airline employee supporting a family of four , she qualified for a zero-interest loan from DHHL .
The agency approved $ 267,000 , which the 49-year-old Chow used to build a home on a vacant lot in Waimanalo , a historically Native Hawaiian community .
But , in a sign of how slow the homesteading process works , she did n't get her lease based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was more than 4,500 from the top .
She inherited it in 2018 when her mother , Cecilia Chow , died at age 70 that year .
Cecilia had waited more than 30 years before getting her lease .
With the loan from DHHL , as well as assistance from Honolulu Habitat for Humanity , Shannon Chow constructed a 1,200-square-foot , four-bedroom , two-bathroom house on the site .
At the July ceremony in which she received the keys to her new residence , Habitat for Humanity placed an empty chair with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to her late mother .
Chow dabbed back tears as she glanced at the empty chair next to her , wishing her mother was there .
“ We 're always thinking of her , '' Chow said after the ceremony .
“ It 's because of her we got this house . ''
Blossom Feiteira , a Maui beneficiary who heads a waitlister group and used to teach financial literacy classes , said even homeless applicants can become homesteaders if they take advantage of the services and are willing to do what is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standing , to prepare for homeownership .
“ This is not supposed to be a handout , '' she said .
“ It 's supposed to be a hand up . ''
But other advocates say the programs are of little use to many struggling waitlisters .
For example , those who receive the opportunity to get a lease with a turnkey home typically have to prequalify for a mortgage within 45 days .
That is n't enough time for most low-income waitlisters to get their finances in order , said Jeff Gilbreath @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hawaii Community Lending , which serves beneficiaries .
Vacant lots that the beneficiary builds on — like Chow did — can be an alternative , but they come with their own challenges , including securing a construction loan and managing contractors , he said .
Gilbreath estimates that even with federal and state assistance , it can take up to a year and a half for low-income beneficiaries working with his nonprofit to address credit issues and build the savings necessary to buy a homestead .
And the assistance programs are severely underfunded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mortgage assistance from a federal program , known as the Section 502 Direct Loan program , but applicants are competing against other people every year .
In some cases , the program 's annual congressional allocation runs out before the end of the year , causing delays in aid .
Beneficiaries who attempt to navigate the convoluted system can get discouraged and give up , Gilbreath said .
Success stories , he added , are “ more the exception than the rule . ''
Aila acknowledged that his agency is not delivering homesteads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The fundamental reason , he said , is inadequate funding .
“ Everybody agrees that is the problem .
The Legislature agrees , the federal government agrees , we agree , the beneficiaries agree . ''
The pace of construction started to slow substantially in the late 2000s as the agency battled allegations of mismanagement and dealt with funding shortfalls .
To maintain operations , officials diverted money from construction to administrative costs .
That resulted in fewer new lots produced and awards offered .
In three of the past five years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to the news organizations ' analysis .
In 2018 , only six such leases were awarded .
While the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the state is constitutionally required to provide sufficient funding for the agency , the governor approved only about a fifth of the annual amounts DHHL has requested since then , department data shows .
Gov .
David Ige did not respond to interview requests for this story , but he provided a written statement .
While he did not directly address DHHL funding , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from state agencies are based on what they believe to be sufficient funding .
Still , they often “ are three to four times or more than the resources available to us .
As governor , I must prioritize and balance budget requests with available resources . ''
State Rep. Sylvia Luke , who heads the House Finance Committee , noted that the Legislature over the past eight years appropriated close to what the governor sought for the homesteading agency .
Even though the amounts were less than what the department requested , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it had received historically .
“ It 's so convenient just to blame it on funding , '' she said .
Construction has picked up in recent years , and DHHL expects to offer hundreds of residential leases in subdivisions across three islands over the next few years .
In December , the agency plans to hold a virtual meeting for 37 new turnkey homes in Kapolei .
Prices range between $ 246,000 and $ 384,000 .
But no subsidized assistance is available to help low-income waitlisters purchase the homes ; instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for home construction on vacant lots , an option typically more affordable to those with fewer resources .
Beneficiaries selected for the Kapolei houses would have to get financing through a conventional lender .
Some beneficiaries , advocates and political leaders say DHHL needs to scrap the subdivision model and craft a new one better in tune with the needs of waitlisters .
“ The situation with DHHL I do n't think is a consequence of incompetence or skullduggery or indifference or even mediocrity , '' said former Gov .
Neil Abercrombie , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ There 's elements of that in everything , no question .
But principally it is that the model simply does n't serve the purpose .
It was difficult right from the beginning , and it 's become impossible now . ''
The Star-Advertiser and ProPublica analysis found it would take DHHL nearly two centuries to meet existing demand if it continues to develop at the current rate .
“ Good grief , '' said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono , a Democrat from Hawaii , in response to the findings .
“ That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that model . ''
She believes state legislators should hold hearings to probe the homesteading program .
On Oahu , where residential demand is greatest , the focus should be more on condominiums and other housing more affordable to waitlisters , critics say .
“ Otherwise , the 100 years of failure will continue , '' said Iwalani Laybon-McBrayer , a Kapolei homesteader and chair of the beneficiary-owned Homestead Housing Authority , a nonprofit that advocates for construction projects on trust land .
But not all beneficiaries agree .
Homesteaders like Miyazaki are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marks the 10th anniversary of her lease award for a two-bedroom house in Kapolei .
“ I love it , considering my mortgage is less than most people 's rent , '' said Miyazaki , whose payments are $ 1,200 a month .
“ It feels really good to own a house . ''
Aila says DHHL is dedicated to its current housing model , particularly given the surveys conducted by the department showing most waitlisters still want single-family homes on standard lots , which are around 5,000 square feet .
When DHHL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Papakolea , a homestead community just minutes from downtown Oahu , it had to go deep into the waitlist to find 86 buyers , including some who had applied less than two years earlier .
The units sold for an average price , adjusted for inflation , of about $ 291,000 .
That said , DHHL officials say they are responding to the calls for more affordable options for waitlisters .
Since 2014 , in reaction to beneficiary demands , the agency has revised its rules to allow for a wider array of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multifamily dwellings .
Over the next five years , the department expects to develop a minimum of 1,300 lots — double the average rate over the past 25 years — for a variety of uses , including farming .
About half will be for single-family homes , with most of the offerings in new subdivisions .
The department also recently announced the selection of a developer for its first high-rise project , a 23-story building with 270 rental units in urban Honolulu .
The units are n't expected to come on line until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while welcomed , come too late for them .
And critics say the moves are not nearly enough for low-income Hawaiians because the agency still relies too much on single-family turnkey housing — a model that 's at odds with the intent of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act .
Carl Varady has seen the harm .
As an attorney , he has worked with Grande representing 2,700 plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit against DHHL .
After 21 years and a string of legal victories , the beneficiaries are still waiting for compensation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suit was filed in 1999 .
“ Without people really looking at the purpose of this statute and living up to the fiduciary obligation , '' Varady said , “ there will be another generation of Hawaiians marginalized , living on the beach , and waiting for something they should have gotten decades ago . ''

Zalei Kamaile dreamed of owning a home.
The professional ukulele player worked long hours entertaining tourists on Oahu and saved her tips in a cookie jar. The money went into a modest house fund for her and her mother, but she knew that wouldn't be enough. So in 1987, Kamaile, then 35, took the one step she considered her best shot at homeownership. She applied to a homesteading program for Native Hawaiians. Created by Congress in 1921, the program had a singular goal: return Hawaiians — especially impoverished ones — to their native lands.
Over the next two decades, Kamaile received more than a dozen letters offering her an opportunity to get a homestead. The land, part of a 203,000-acre trust, would be virtually free under a long-term lease. But there was a catch: An applicant either had to build their own home or purchase one from a developer. At least five of Kamaile's offers were for new subdivisions in Kapolei, a growing bedroom community in West Oahu. Amid a soaring real estate market, the homes were a bargain, costing about half the price of similar housing elsewhere.
Kamaile, however, couldn't qualify for a mortgage.
During that period, she lost her job, declared bankruptcy and spent two years homeless, part of it living in a tent on the beach. Kamaile passed on each offering, tossing the letters in the garbage. “I cried an awful lot," she said.
Today, Kamaile, 68, still doesn't have a homestead. She's about 3,500 applicants deep on a waitlist, 33 years after she first applied. She lives in a cramped rental apartment in a low-income housing project and serves as caregiver for a disabled family friend who lives with her. Kamaile's mother died last year, 10 days shy of her 91st birthday. Kamaile still regrets not being able to provide her with a homestead. “That was my one wish for her."
The Honolulu woman's story reflects what has been a decadeslong failure of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to fulfill its mission.
Under state law, anyone who is at least half Hawaiian and 18 or older is considered a beneficiary of the land trust and entitled to get a homestead in a “prompt and efficient manner." Qualifying for financing is not listed as a requirement, but that has essentially become one because of the way the program is run. As a result, Hawaiians with the financial means and knowledge to navigate the complicated system are able to get homesteads with relative ease while thousands of others continue a generations-long wait for the land that is their birthright, an investigation by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica has found.
Over the past 25 years, the department, known as DHHL, has largely invested in building sprawling subdivisions. Intended to satisfy a crushing demand for housing, the remedy has exacerbated the problem, as the homes have proved too expensive for many applicants.
The result has been an ever-lengthening waitlist, now 23,000 people long, as Native Hawaiians struggle in one of the country's most expensive housing markets. At the average rate the department has developed residential lots since 1995, it would take 182 years to meet demand — before figuring in expected waitlist growth.
State and federal watchdogs have long criticized the department for its failure to deliver homesteads in a timely fashion, and this year, the Hawaii Supreme Court concluded that “the state of Hawaii has done little to address the ever-lengthening waitlist" over the past 30 years.
Under the current model, the department often goes thousands deep to find interested and qualified buyers, effectively bypassing low-income Hawaiians who have been waiting longer.
Since 1995, for example, DHHL has awarded about 2,200 residential leases to Oahu residents. Sixty percent of them went to beneficiaries who came from census tracts with median household incomes higher than $75,000, the two news organizations found through an unprecedented analysis of tens of thousands of lease transactions, waitlist records and other documents.
Jade Miyazaki was one of them. A hotel marketer, she already owned a small townhouse, but she applied for the homesteading program hoping to get more space for her family of five.
She got a home in 2010 in Kanehili, one of the subdivisions that Kamaile, the ukulele player, passed on. Miyazaki had waited only a quarter of the time even though she was more than 2,000 places deeper on the waitlist. But unlike Kamaile, Miyazaki could afford the mortgage.
She was among the last of the so-called waitlisters to be awarded land leases in the 375-home subdivision, where home prices at the time averaged about $345,000 in today's dollars.
Today, the median household income for Kanehili and two other nearby homestead subdivisions is about $100,000. That is nearly double the approximately $55,000 median income for waitlister households, according to a 2017 federal study on Native Hawaiian housing.
“This program creates a division among Hawaiians," said Vanessa Garcia Phillips, a beneficiary leader who has been on the waitlist a relatively short three years. “You have the haves and the have-nots."
In the meantime, more Hawaiians will continue to die waiting. Analyzing trust records, the Star-Advertiser and ProPublica found that more than 2,000 beneficiaries already have died while on the waitlist without receiving homesteads — a number that has not been previously reported but that many agree is a severe undercount. The department records the death of a beneficiary only if the family provides a death certificate.
The investigation by the news organizations marks the first time DHHL's subdivision strategy has been extensively examined, and many of the findings are new — even to DHHL. The agency said it didn't have the staff or tools to replicate the analysis, but it acknowledged its model produced housing prices beyond the reach of many waitlisters. Read more about the analysis here.
Still, officials defended the approach, saying they were doing what they could to deliver on what waitlisters consistently rank in surveys as their top choice: single-family homes. When the department built duplexes about two decades ago, it got a lackluster response from beneficiaries, some of whom believe the law promises them land, not just housing.
About 8,400 residential leases have been awarded since 1921, said William J. Aila Jr., who serves as department director and chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, which oversees the agency and the land trust. To address the affordability problem, he said, the department has provided a greater number of less-costly lease options, such as empty lots where beneficiaries can build their own homes. It also offers services like financial literacy classes to help low-income beneficiaries.
“It's not a complete success. But it's not a complete failure," said Aila, who lives on a homestead.
Many beneficiary advocates and political leaders disagree. They say the agency needs to overhaul its approach and to focus more on housing that waitlisters actually can afford.
“It's not working for anybody," said former Gov. John Waihee, the only Native Hawaiian to serve in that office — his term ran from 1986 to 1994 — and whose father died while on the waitlist. “It's not working for the community. It's not working for the state of Hawaii. If the program were doing what it should, we would have less of a housing crisis than we have now."
A Prince's Vision
In 1893, the U.S. backed an illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, partly to protect U.S. sugar interests in the islands. A group representing U.S. and European sugar planters, financiers and missionary descendants, supported by U.S. naval forces, deposed the monarchy and proclaimed a provisional government. Five years later, the U.S. annexed the island chain, obtaining roughly 1.8 million acres of former kingdom land without compensating the Hawaiians. By then, the indigenous population was headed toward extinction as disease, poor living conditions and other factors contributed to their dwindling numbers. Many impoverished Hawaiians, who had been displaced from their lands, lived in slum-like tenements in urban Honolulu.
Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole, considered the father of the Hawaiian Homes program and Hawaii's then-nonvoting delegate to Congress, around 1918 envisioned using some of the former kingdom lands to create a land trust to uplift Native Hawaiians. Kuhio's idea was to return them to their native lands so they could become self-sufficient, maintain the culture and reverse the population decline. “This rehabilitation bill is the first opportunity given the poor man to go on the land with funds to help him make a living," Kuhio said in Honolulu in 1920 as he lobbied to build public support.
The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was signed into law in 1921. But the program, run by Hawaii's territorial government under U.S. supervision, was seriously hampered from the start.
Much of the land was remote and ill suited for homesteading, lacking water and other basics. And the federal government provided little funding and inadequate oversight. In the first 38 years, only about 1,700 homesteads were awarded. The poor conditions persisted after the state took over management as a requirement of statehood in 1959.
State and federal reports going back decades have identified many faults, including the state's inability to deliver homesteads in a timely manner.
Stung by the decadeslong criticism over the waitlist problem, DHHL in the early 1990s switched from so-called pocket development — constructing homes in small numbers — to building large subdivisions. The change enabled the agency to offer dozens and sometimes hundreds of so-called turnkey homes in batches.
The Waihee administration was instrumental in advancing that strategy. The governor and his team secured from the state a $600 million settlement to compensate DHHL for misuse of trust lands in the years following statehood. The state paid the agency $30 million annually for 20 years starting in 1995, and much of that money went to infrastructure work for new subdivisions.
Some waitlisters were thrilled. The benefits of getting a homestead are substantial in a state with soaring real estate markets; the median price for a previously owned single-family home on Oahu, for instance, hit $789,000 in 2019.
For turnkey houses, beneficiaries pay about half as much as they would for comparable homes off trust land. That's because DHHL, not the buyer, covers land and infrastructure costs, builders say. In addition to the purchase price, beneficiaries pay only $1 annually for a land lease, which runs for 99 years.
Holding a lease comes with significant tax advantages. Homesteaders pay no property taxes for the first seven years following a lease award. After that, they still get a break, depending on location. On Oahu, homesteaders pay $300 annually, regardless of the value of the residence, potentially saving thousands of dollars a year.
But when the department started construction on its first master-planned subdivision in 1994, officials soon ran into a problem: a lack of qualified buyers.
Winona Kauhane, a former loan officer for a private lender working with DHHL on the project, recalled reviewing waitlist applications to fill the 271 new homes in Princess Kahanu Estates along Oahu's Waianae Coast. The development was aimed at providing housing for the working poor — typically two-income families who couldn't afford to buy elsewhere. Sifting through several thousand files, though, Kauhane realized that most applicants couldn't qualify for the mortgages needed to purchase the houses, which averaged about $208,000 in today's dollars.
Motivated to get Hawaiians onto the land, Kauhane helped craft a legal workaround that involved recruiting a waitlister's family member who could finance the deal. The lease would be awarded to the applicant, who served as a pass-through and simultaneously transferred it to the family member bankrolling the purchase. Depending on the circumstances, the applicant still could live in the home. “That was the only way we could get these people or their families into a home," Kauhane said. “They deserved that opportunity."
There were more than 100 of these simultaneous transactions following lease awards in the past 25 years, according to the analysis. Even with the workarounds, though, the department still had to go more than 4,000 deep into the waitlist to get enough buyers for the 271 homes in Princess Kahanu Estates — an indication to some critics that the subdivision model was problematic from the start.
“They Exclude People Like Myself"
Over the years, Native Hawaiians have increasingly turned to the homesteading program for relief as Hawaii grapples with a severe shortage of affordable housing and the nation's second-worst homelessness crisis. The statewide residential waitlist has grown by over 50% since 1995.
While DHHL does not track income in a systematic way, there are indications that many applicants are struggling financially. A federal study found that about 20% of households on the waitlist received public cash assistance — nearly three times the rate of Native Hawaiians and more than six times that of the general population. According to a separate 2014 survey conducted by DHHL, only about a quarter of waitlisters said they could afford the 10% down payment on a mortgage for a $150,000 home. Many turnkey properties now cost at least double that. In Kapolei on Oahu's west side, where Kanehili was developed and where much of the island's residential growth is happening, prices in new homestead neighborhoods are approaching $400,000.
“When you do all turnkey development, and the average price for a house is somewhere around $300,000 to $400,000, what happens is you start skimming the cream of the waitlist, only those who can qualify for those homes," Aila, the DHHL director, acknowledged. “So you miss a lot of people."
Robin Danner, a beneficiary leader from Kauai, said DHHL needs to rethink its financial requirements and give beneficiaries more flexibility to build their own housing. “Their duty is not to check my credit," she said. “Their duty is to issue me my land."
Aila acknowledged that the law does not require a beneficiary to qualify for a mortgage to get a homestead. But any structure built on trust land must meet county building and zoning codes, according to the state administrative rules the department uses, and that prohibits substandard construction. “We can't let you live in a tent because that's substandard living," Aila said.
Critics, however, say DHHL, with its focus on subdivisions, has strayed too far from the intent of the 1921 homesteading law. “The program is really turned on its head," said attorney Tom Grande, who represents 2,700 plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against DHHL that received the favorable Supreme Court ruling this year. “It's serving Native Hawaiians who are middle class or upper middle class. It does nothing for Hawaiians who are working poor or homeless."
Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in the homeless population. In a survey earlier this year of roughly 1,200 unsheltered homeless on Oahu, 1 in 5 was eligible for the homesteading program and 7% were on the waitlist.
Louisa Keawe, 60, applied for the homesteading program in 2010. Today, she lives in a tent at Waimanalo Beach Park on Oahu's windward side. The former janitor says she has been homeless off and on for about seven years and hasn't worked for about a decade because of a disability. She survives on about $800 in monthly Social Security benefits and food stamps, and she recently purchased a new tent with her federal stimulus check.
Keawe said she has received several offering notices but didn't pursue them, believing she was unable to qualify for a mortgage. The system, she lamented, favors those with wealth.
“People doing well on the high level, the first level, they can pursue a place on Hawaiian Homes. The second level? Average. They will pursue. But for my case, I cannot pursue nothing," Keawe said. “They exclude people like myself."
Age can also be a limiting factor. The Star-Advertiser and ProPublica found that more than half of all waitlisters are over 60, an age when taking on a new mortgage could be a stretch. The news organizations interviewed more than a dozen people who applied decades ago and are now approaching retirement age.
Oahu resident Gregory Ah Yat has been a renter all his adult life. He applied for the homesteading program 33 years ago but, like Keawe, passed on several lease offerings, either because he couldn't afford them or he didn't like the location. A longtime tour bus driver, he lost his job when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Hawaii's tourism industry in March.
Now 68, Ah Yat has little hope of getting a homestead. “I'm going to die before that happens," he said. “I'll never be able to make the payments, not even in 30 years."
“Handout" or Hand Up?
DHHL says it offers a variety of programs aimed at helping low-income beneficiaries become homesteaders. The services range from homebuyer education classes and financial literacy training to more direct financial aid.
Much of the funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has provided more than $150 million to the state agency over the past two decades. But that help has reached just a fraction of waitlisters.
Since 2002, more than 2,000 individuals and families have received homebuyer training and other assistance, according to Ryan Okahara, director of HUD's Honolulu field office. In addition, about 600 waitlisters got financial aid to purchase — or build — homes on trust land.
Those making 80% or less of an area's median income are eligible to tap the federal funds to obtain a zero-interest loan or down-payment assistance. On Oahu, that income limit translates to $67,500 for an individual and $96,400 for a family of four.
Shannon Chow applied for financial help several years ago. As an airline employee supporting a family of four, she qualified for a zero-interest loan from DHHL. The agency approved $267,000, which the 49-year-old Chow used to build a home on a vacant lot in Waimanalo, a historically Native Hawaiian community.
But, in a sign of how slow the homesteading process works, she didn't get her lease based on her position on the waitlist, which was more than 4,500 from the top. She inherited it in 2018 when her mother, Cecilia Chow, died at age 70 that year. Cecilia had waited more than 30 years before getting her lease.
With the loan from DHHL, as well as assistance from Honolulu Habitat for Humanity, Shannon Chow constructed a 1,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bathroom house on the site.
At the July ceremony in which she received the keys to her new residence, Habitat for Humanity placed an empty chair with a lei draped over it as a tribute to her late mother. Chow dabbed back tears as she glanced at the empty chair next to her, wishing her mother was there. “We're always thinking of her," Chow said after the ceremony. “It's because of her we got this house."
Blossom Feiteira, a Maui beneficiary who heads a waitlister group and used to teach financial literacy classes, said even homeless applicants can become homesteaders if they take advantage of the services and are willing to do what is necessary, such as improve their credit standing, to prepare for homeownership. “This is not supposed to be a handout," she said. “It's supposed to be a hand up."
But other advocates say the programs are of little use to many struggling waitlisters. For example, those who receive the opportunity to get a lease with a turnkey home typically have to prequalify for a mortgage within 45 days. That isn't enough time for most low-income waitlisters to get their finances in order, said Jeff Gilbreath, director of lending for the nonprofit Hawaii Community Lending, which serves beneficiaries. Vacant lots that the beneficiary builds on — like Chow did — can be an alternative, but they come with their own challenges, including securing a construction loan and managing contractors, he said.
Gilbreath estimates that even with federal and state assistance, it can take up to a year and a half for low-income beneficiaries working with his nonprofit to address credit issues and build the savings necessary to buy a homestead. And the assistance programs are severely underfunded.
Gilbreath said low-income waitlisters can seek mortgage assistance from a federal program, known as the Section 502 Direct Loan program, but applicants are competing against other people every year. In some cases, the program's annual congressional allocation runs out before the end of the year, causing delays in aid. Beneficiaries who attempt to navigate the convoluted system can get discouraged and give up, Gilbreath said.
Success stories, he added, are “more the exception than the rule."
Funding Shortfalls, Slowed Construction
Aila acknowledged that his agency is not delivering homesteads in a prompt and efficient manner. The fundamental reason, he said, is inadequate funding. “Everybody agrees that is the problem. The Legislature agrees, the federal government agrees, we agree, the beneficiaries agree."
The pace of construction started to slow substantially in the late 2000s as the agency battled allegations of mismanagement and dealt with funding shortfalls. To maintain operations, officials diverted money from construction to administrative costs. That resulted in fewer new lots produced and awards offered. In three of the past five years, residential awards fell into the single digits, according to the news organizations' analysis. In 2018, only six such leases were awarded.
While the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the state is constitutionally required to provide sufficient funding for the agency, the governor approved only about a fifth of the annual amounts DHHL has requested since then, department data shows.
Gov. David Ige did not respond to interview requests for this story, but he provided a written statement. While he did not directly address DHHL funding, he said budget requests submitted to his office from state agencies are based on what they believe to be sufficient funding. Still, they often “are three to four times or more than the resources available to us. As governor, I must prioritize and balance budget requests with available resources."
State Rep. Sylvia Luke, who heads the House Finance Committee, noted that the Legislature over the past eight years appropriated close to what the governor sought for the homesteading agency. Even though the amounts were less than what the department requested, they still were substantially more than what it had received historically.
“It's so convenient just to blame it on funding," she said.
Construction has picked up in recent years, and DHHL expects to offer hundreds of residential leases in subdivisions across three islands over the next few years. In December, the agency plans to hold a virtual meeting for 37 new turnkey homes in Kapolei. Prices range between $246,000 and $384,000.
But no subsidized assistance is available to help low-income waitlisters purchase the homes; instead, the agency is focusing on providing assistance for home construction on vacant lots, an option typically more affordable to those with fewer resources. Beneficiaries selected for the Kapolei houses would have to get financing through a conventional lender.
Scrapping the Model
Some beneficiaries, advocates and political leaders say DHHL needs to scrap the subdivision model and craft a new one better in tune with the needs of waitlisters.
“The situation with DHHL I don't think is a consequence of incompetence or skullduggery or indifference or even mediocrity," said former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who served from 2010 to 2014. “There's elements of that in everything, no question. But principally it is that the model simply doesn't serve the purpose. It was difficult right from the beginning, and it's become impossible now."
The Star-Advertiser and ProPublica analysis found it would take DHHL nearly two centuries to meet existing demand if it continues to develop at the current rate. “Good grief," said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, in response to the findings. “That's why they can't keep using that model." She believes state legislators should hold hearings to probe the homesteading program.
On Oahu, where residential demand is greatest, the focus should be more on condominiums and other housing more affordable to waitlisters, critics say.
“Otherwise, the 100 years of failure will continue," said Iwalani Laybon-McBrayer, a Kapolei homesteader and chair of the beneficiary-owned Homestead Housing Authority, a nonprofit that advocates for construction projects on trust land.
But not all beneficiaries agree. Homesteaders like Miyazaki are happy with the program. This year marks the 10th anniversary of her lease award for a two-bedroom house in Kapolei. “I love it, considering my mortgage is less than most people's rent," said Miyazaki, whose payments are $1,200 a month. “It feels really good to own a house."
Aila says DHHL is dedicated to its current housing model, particularly given the surveys conducted by the department showing most waitlisters still want single-family homes on standard lots, which are around 5,000 square feet.
When DHHL developed duplexes in the early 2000s near Papakolea, a homestead community just minutes from downtown Oahu, it had to go deep into the waitlist to find 86 buyers, including some who had applied less than two years earlier. The units sold for an average price, adjusted for inflation, of about $291,000.
That said, DHHL officials say they are responding to the calls for more affordable options for waitlisters. Since 2014, in reaction to beneficiary demands, the agency has revised its rules to allow for a wider array of housing choices, including tiny homes and multifamily dwellings.
Over the next five years, the department expects to develop a minimum of 1,300 lots — double the average rate over the past 25 years — for a variety of uses, including farming. About half will be for single-family homes, with most of the offerings in new subdivisions. The department also recently announced the selection of a developer for its first high-rise project, a 23-story building with 270 rental units in urban Honolulu. The units aren't expected to come on line until mid-2024.
Older waitlisters say the changes, while welcomed, come too late for them. And critics say the moves are not nearly enough for low-income Hawaiians because the agency still relies too much on single-family turnkey housing — a model that's at odds with the intent of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
Carl Varady has seen the harm. As an attorney, he has worked with Grande representing 2,700 plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit against DHHL. After 21 years and a string of legal victories, the beneficiaries are still waiting for compensation. About 400 have died since the suit was filed in 1999.
“Without people really looking at the purpose of this statute and living up to the fiduciary obligation," Varady said, “there will be another generation of Hawaiians marginalized, living on the beach, and waiting for something they should have gotten decades ago."


alternet--2020-10-24--Mormons fed up with Trump's vulgar rhetoric and behavior are flocking to the Democratic Party

Los Angeles ( AFP ) - Mormons in the United States have traditionally been reliable Republican voters , but some @ @ @ @ @ put off by President Donald Trump are switching sides and backing veteran Democrat Joe Biden.Support @ @ @ @ @ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , which emphasizes family values and morals @ @ @ @ @ women.Experts say that could have a significant impact in some key battleground states -- notably @ @ @ @ @ Mormons represent six percent of the population .
`` There are things about Biden that @

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alternet--2020-10-25--Here's how Biden can win back Obama-Trump voters: analysis

With the election barely a week away—and the fate of our democracy hanging in the balance—it 's time for closing arguments .
Turning out the base is vitally important , and it 's right that most progressive attention is focused there .
But I would like to take a different tack , and make sure we collectively leave no stone unturned .
Although there are relatively few undecided voters , the ones who voted for President Obama and then for Trump—and , in some cases , for Democrats in the 2018 midterms—are numerous enough to make a difference in close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin .
It 's tempting to say : Who needs them ?
The answer ?
Joe Biden .
I want to reach out to Obama-Trump voters and convince them to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket , as well as Democrats straight down the line .
Of course , COVID-19 and Trump 's general unfitness are of primary importance for every type of voter , and Biden has to lead with those topics overall .
Nevertheless , there are other issues and themes that Democrats must emphasize as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know quite a bit about Obama-Trump voters thanks to survey data , which I summarized in my recent book .
Most of them `` expressed high levels of anger toward non-whites and foreigners , '' even though they voted to elect the first African American president .
This might seem counterintuitive , yet the data shows , for example , that a quarter of the white voters who disapproved of interracial couples nonetheless cast a ballot twice for Obama—whose own parents were an interracial couple .
Reaching out to Obama-Trump voters does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even worse , playing to any kind of racial resentment .
Barack Obama never did that .
Doing so would represent a clear violation of our most fundamental progressive values .
Nevertheless , we can and should try to win votes where we can while always remaining true to those values .
We can do what Obama did so well , namely get those voters to prioritize interests other than their perceived racial grievances .
That 's the opposite of what race-baiting demagogues like Trump do .
For example , we know that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` expressed varying degrees of white racial resentment while also overwhelmingly embracing liberal positions on issues such as taxation and the existence of climate change . ''
These are the Obama-Trump voters who are most likely to choose Joe Biden .
Likewise , the Obama-Trump-2018 Democratic voters held strongly progressive positions on health care , the environment , and gun control .
However , they took a somewhat less progressive stance on immigration—although a majority nonetheless supported DACA , and there was little daylight on that issue between them and the Obama-Trump voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressive still on a border , as well as race and gender issues .
On a related note , the graph below also shows those who voted for Obama in 2012 , then sat out 2016 , before coming back to the Democrats in 2018 .
Compared to Obama-Trump-2018 Democrats , those voters look more like the Democratic base , i.e.
, those who voted for Obama and Hillary Clinton , in particular on health care and the environment .
It 's worth noting that support for two economic issues garnered almost universal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the minimum wage to $ 12 an hour ( it does n't appear they asked about a higher level ) and raising taxes on millionaires .
Those two issues do n't appear in the graph , but were discussed in the article from which it came .
To be sure , Biden has been talking about health care , the minimum wage , millionaire 's taxes , and climate .
Now is the time for him to powerfully hammer home the differences on these vital issues between him and the Man Who Lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of early voters , especially among Democrats , actually makes such an approach even more strategically valuable now than even a couple of weeks ago .
To any undecided Obama-Trump voters reading this , I 'll say the following : Vice President Biden and Sen. Harris will enact economic policies to help the bottom line of middle- and working-class voters who are doing everything they can to make ends meet .
The Democrats will make the wealthiest—the richest of whom have increased their net worth by an obscene amount during the pandemic—pay their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House will raise the minimum wage so that a full-time job pays a living wage .
Trump 's policies , on the other hand , pad the bottom line of millionaires and billionaires , and do little to nothing for the vast majority of Americans .
Because he does n't want you to be thinking about that fact when you cast your ballot , he constantly spews lies aimed at scaring you about Black and brown people .
The Democrats will build on Obamacare , making it more affordable and accessible .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ return us to the days when having a preexisting condition—like , for example lung damage caused by COVID-19—makes it practically impossible to get health coverage .
Joe Biden will fight to protect our environment , to keep it clean , safe , healthy and , in a word , livable—creating huge numbers of jobs in the green industries of the future in the meantime , while also taking care of workers during the transition .
The Orange Julius Caesar stands instead with polluters who do n't care that their actions harm the health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mention their own employees .
Big picture : Trump and the Republicans will fight only for those at the top , while Biden and the Democrats will fight for every American .
That 's why you should vote Democratic .
In reaching out to these Obama-Trump voters , Biden can not ignore racism—either its prevalence in our society , in Trump 's policies , or in his rhetoric—when appealing to Obama-Trump or other undecided/persuadable voters who may not be , despite our fondest wishes , across-the-board progressives .
In fact , those voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economics , in particular when it comes to Trump 's campaign message , because explaining that will only further convince them to vote Democratic .
Prof. Ian Haney López has explored this issue in depth .
His research—which included extensive surveys designed to test various messages—is laid out in his recent book Merge Left : Fusing Race and Class , Winning Elections , and Saving America .
The book makes clear exactly what is the most effective way to talk about race and economic issues .
Since its publication , López has continued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of material as part of his Race-Class Academy , which seeks to explain `` how together we can beat dog whistle politics by building cross-racial and cross-class solidarity . ''
Here 's the guts of his message : A team led by López put together a series of 12 short videos that present the race-class message .
The videos were created recently enough to incorporate COVID-19 and its effects .
The first set examines how the economic elites use racism as a class weapon .
The next set demonstrates how more limited , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class-only approach , and the class-blind , `` call out racism '' approach—are not the most effective ways to gain widespread support for progressive candidates and policies .
The third set explains in depth the race-class message itself .
The final video argues that we now have the best opportunity in our history to create a sustained cross-racial alliance of voters—what López calls `` race-class solidarity '' —to not only defeat Trump and the economic elites he serves , but to create lasting change and achieve both racial and economic justice .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I encourage you to watch them all .
López tested the race-class message against the other progressive messages mentioned above , as well as the racial fear message used by those , like Trump , who practice dog whistle politics .
The race-class message proved to be the most appealing one not only to whites , but to Latino and Black voters as well .
Most recently , in a New York Times op-ed that focused on how to win over Latino voters , Prof. López argued : As for Biden making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago , in Manitowoc , Wisconsin , he specifically addressed Obama-Trump voters .
He acknowledged that `` an awful lot of people in this county '' voted for the Obama-Biden ticket and then voted for Trump in 2016 .
Biden continued : `` I know many of you were frustrated .
You were angry .
You believed you were n't being seen , represented or heard .
I get it .
It has to change .
And I promise you this , it will change with me .
You will be seen , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign is n't about just winning votes , it 's about restoring the basic dignity in this country that every worker deserves . ''
Elsewhere in the speech , Biden contrasted his support for raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour , as well as his plans on taxing the rich , health care , and more , with those of Trump : `` Trump 's tax cut for the wealthy is going to cost billions of dollars a year and whose hide does it come out ?
It comes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truth is that Donald Trump ran for office saying he would represent the forgotten man and women in this country .
And then once he got in office , he forgot us .
Not only did he forget them , the truth is that he never really respected us very much . ''
These are powerful words , and important sentiments .
Biden and Democrats need to keep on emphasizing their stark differences from Trump and the Republicans on these kinds of bread-and-butter economic and public health issues in order to identify exactly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about .
This is , as the former vice president has stated repeatedly , a campaign where one side represents Scranton and the other Park Avenue .
Biden must also highlight how Trump and his ilk use racist dog whistles to divide middle- and working-class voters along racial lines—and distract them from the reality that his real interest is helping those at the very top .
That 's how we bring those Obama-Trump voters and other undecideds—as well as the Latino voters whom we need to win overwhelmingly—into the Democratic column , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidency in our country 's history .
Ian Reifowitz is the author of The Tribalization of Politics : How Rush Limbaugh 's Race-Baiting Rhetoric on the Obama Presidency Paved the Way for Trump ( Foreword by Markos Moulitsas )

With the election barely a week away—and the fate of our democracy hanging in the balance—it's time for closing arguments. Turning out the base is vitally important, and it's right that most progressive attention is focused there. But I would like to take a different tack, and make sure we collectively leave no stone unturned.
Although there are relatively few undecided voters, the ones who voted for President Obama and then for Trump—and, in some cases, for Democrats in the 2018 midterms—are numerous enough to make a difference in close states that could swing the election: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
It's tempting to say: Who needs them? The answer? Joe Biden. I want to reach out to Obama-Trump voters and convince them to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket, as well as Democrats straight down the line.
Of course, COVID-19 and Trump's general unfitness are of primary importance for every type of voter, and Biden has to lead with those topics overall. Nevertheless, there are other issues and themes that Democrats must emphasize as well when targeting these voters specifically.
We know quite a bit about Obama-Trump voters thanks to survey data, which I summarized in my recent book. Most of them "expressed high levels of anger toward non-whites and foreigners," even though they voted to elect the first African American president. This might seem counterintuitive, yet the data shows, for example, that a quarter of the white voters who disapproved of interracial couples nonetheless cast a ballot twice for Obama—whose own parents were an interracial couple.
Reaching out to Obama-Trump voters does not in any way mean accepting or, even worse, playing to any kind of racial resentment. Barack Obama never did that. Doing so would represent a clear violation of our most fundamental progressive values. Nevertheless, we can and should try to win votes where we can while always remaining true to those values. We can do what Obama did so well, namely get those voters to prioritize interests other than their perceived racial grievances. That's the opposite of what race-baiting demagogues like Trump do.
For example, we know that a decent chunk of Obama voters overall "expressed varying degrees of white racial resentment while also overwhelmingly embracing liberal positions on issues such as taxation and the existence of climate change." These are the Obama-Trump voters who are most likely to choose Joe Biden.
Likewise, the Obama-Trump-2018 Democratic voters held strongly progressive positions on health care, the environment, and gun control. However, they took a somewhat less progressive stance on immigration—although a majority nonetheless supported DACA, and there was little daylight on that issue between them and the Obama-Trump voters who went Republican in 2018—and were less progressive still on a border, as well as race and gender issues.
On a related note, the graph below also shows those who voted for Obama in 2012, then sat out 2016, before coming back to the Democrats in 2018. Compared to Obama-Trump-2018 Democrats, those voters look more like the Democratic base, i.e., those who voted for Obama and Hillary Clinton, in particular on health care and the environment. It's worth noting that support for two economic issues garnered almost universal support among all three groups: raising the minimum wage to $12 an hour (it doesn't appear they asked about a higher level) and raising taxes on millionaires. Those two issues don't appear in the graph, but were discussed in the article from which it came.
To be sure, Biden has been talking about health care, the minimum wage, millionaire's taxes, and climate. Now is the time for him to powerfully hammer home the differences on these vital issues between him and the Man Who Lost The Popular Vote. The large numbers of early voters, especially among Democrats, actually makes such an approach even more strategically valuable now than even a couple of weeks ago.
To any undecided Obama-Trump voters reading this, I'll say the following: Vice President Biden and Sen. Harris will enact economic policies to help the bottom line of middle- and working-class voters who are doing everything they can to make ends meet. The Democrats will make the wealthiest—the richest of whom have increased their net worth by an obscene amount during the pandemic—pay their fair share. Furthermore, a Biden White House will raise the minimum wage so that a full-time job pays a living wage.
Trump's policies, on the other hand, pad the bottom line of millionaires and billionaires, and do little to nothing for the vast majority of Americans. Because he doesn't want you to be thinking about that fact when you cast your ballot, he constantly spews lies aimed at scaring you about Black and brown people.
The Democrats will build on Obamacare, making it more affordable and accessible. The Republicans want to destroy it and return us to the days when having a preexisting condition—like, for example lung damage caused by COVID-19—makes it practically impossible to get health coverage. Joe Biden will fight to protect our environment, to keep it clean, safe, healthy and, in a word, livable—creating huge numbers of jobs in the green industries of the future in the meantime, while also taking care of workers during the transition. The Orange Julius Caesar stands instead with polluters who don't care that their actions harm the health of the American people, not to mention their own employees. Big picture: Trump and the Republicans will fight only for those at the top, while Biden and the Democrats will fight for every American. That's why you should vote Democratic.
In reaching out to these Obama-Trump voters, Biden cannot ignore racism—either its prevalence in our society, in Trump's policies, or in his rhetoric—when appealing to Obama-Trump or other undecided/persuadable voters who may not be, despite our fondest wishes, across-the-board progressives. In fact, those voters need to hear how race intersects with economics, in particular when it comes to Trump's campaign message, because explaining that will only further convince them to vote Democratic.
Prof. Ian Haney López has explored this issue in depth. His research—which included extensive surveys designed to test various messages—is laid out in his recent bookMerge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America. The book makes clear exactly what is the most effective way to talk about race and economic issues. Since its publication, López has continued his work, creating a whole array of material as part of his Race-Class Academy, which seeks to explain "how together we can beat dog whistle politics by building cross-racial and cross-class solidarity." Here's the guts of his message:
Certain politicians exploit racist rhetoric to divide and distract, while they rig government and the economy for themselves and their big money donors. They get richer, we get poorer—and the power of government is turned against communities of color.
But we can fight back and win. Here's the most powerful movement-building message today:
When we come together to reject racism as a weapon of the rich, we can make sure that the government works for all of us, of every race and color.
A team led by López put together a series of 12 short videos that present the race-class message. The videos were created recently enough to incorporate COVID-19 and its effects. The first set examines how the economic elites use racism as a class weapon. The next set demonstrates how more limited, standard progressive messages—such as the race-blind, class-only approach, and the class-blind, "call out racism" approach—are not the most effective ways to gain widespread support for progressive candidates and policies. The third set explains in depth the race-class message itself. The final video argues that we now have the best opportunity in our history to create a sustained cross-racial alliance of voters—what López calls "race-class solidarity"—to not only defeat Trump and the economic elites he serves, but to create lasting change and achieve both racial and economic justice. The videos all together take 25 minutes, and I encourage you to watch them all.
Race-Class Academy 1.1 - Dog whistle politics youtu.be
López tested the race-class message against the other progressive messages mentioned above, as well as the racial fear message used by those, like Trump, who practice dog whistle politics. The race-class message proved to be the most appealing one not only to whites, but to Latino and Black voters as well. Most recently, in a New York Times op-ed that focused on how to win over Latino voters, Prof. López argued:
As Mr. Biden makes his own pitch, he should see Hispanics not as a monolith but as America in microcosm. Some Latinos view themselves as whites, others as people of color, and still others minimize the importance of race in their lives. Typically, this diversity among Hispanics — and in the multiracial Democratic coalition more generally — is seen as a major challenge for Democratic strategists. But our research suggests there's a way to build common cause that speaks persuasively across the spectrum of class and race. By pointing to Mr. Trump's strategic efforts to stoke division, Mr. Biden can better make the case that our best future depends upon joining together.
As for Biden making the case, just about a month ago, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, he specifically addressed Obama-Trump voters. He acknowledged that "an awful lot of people in this county" voted for the Obama-Biden ticket and then voted for Trump in 2016. Biden continued: "I know many of you were frustrated. You were angry. You believed you weren't being seen, represented or heard. I get it. It has to change. And I promise you this, it will change with me. You will be seen, heard and respected by me. This campaign isn't about just winning votes, it's about restoring the basic dignity in this country that every worker deserves."
Elsewhere in the speech, Biden contrasted his support for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, as well as his plans on taxing the rich, health care, and more, with those of Trump: "Trump's tax cut for the wealthy is going to cost billions of dollars a year and whose hide does it come out? It comes out of your hide. The simple truth is that Donald Trump ran for office saying he would represent the forgotten man and women in this country. And then once he got in office, he forgot us. Not only did he forget them, the truth is that he never really respected us very much."
These are powerful words, and important sentiments. Biden and Democrats need to keep on emphasizing their stark differences from Trump and the Republicans on these kinds of bread-and-butter economic and public health issues in order to identify exactly whom each candidate and party truly cares about. This is, as the former vice president has stated repeatedly, a campaign where one side represents Scranton and the other Park Avenue. Biden must also highlight how Trump and his ilk use racist dog whistles to divide middle- and working-class voters along racial lines—and distract them from the reality that his real interest is helping those at the very top.
That's how we bring those Obama-Trump voters and other undecideds—as well as the Latino voters whom we need to win overwhelmingly—into the Democratic column, and bring an end to the most destructive presidency in our country's history.
Ian Reifowitz is the author of The Tribalization of Politics: How Rush Limbaugh's Race-Baiting Rhetoric on the Obama Presidency Paved the Way for Trump (Foreword by Markos Moulitsas)


alternet--2020-10-25--'Unlawful abuse of power': These 3 cities just sued DOJ over 'anarchist' designation

When the U.S. Department of Justice declared New York City , Seattle , and Portland , Oregon `` anarchist jurisdictions '' last month and threatened to withhold federal funding , many progressive residents of the cities—especially New Yorkers—responded with derisive humor .
But to leaders in the three Democratic-run cities , the designation is no laughing matter , and on Thursday they sued the DOJ in a bid to thwart the Trump administration 's effort to hold back what could amount to billions of federal dollars .
The cities ' federal lawsuit ( pdf ) , in fact , calls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of critical funding during the coronavirus pandemic `` deadly serious , '' as well as `` offensive to both the Constitution and common sense '' and `` an oxymoronic designation without precedent in U.S .
history . ''
Leaders of the targeted cities condemned the administration 's efforts to punish their residents as the nation enters what one leading epidemiologist called the `` darkest days '' of the pandemic .
`` The Trump administration 's political threats against Seattle and other Democratic cities are unlawful and an abuse of federal power , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press release announcing the suit .
`` It 's immoral , unconstitutional , and shameful that we are forced to expend any resources on this political theater . ''
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was even more blunt .
`` The only anarchy in this country is coming from the White House , '' he told reporters Thursday .
The `` anarchist jurisdiction '' designation could cost New York City alone some $ 12 billion , the New York Times reports , public money that is desperately needed to fund life-saving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical transportation and other infrastructure .
That 's why city leaders—who were initially inclined to shrug off the defunding threat as just the latest inanity from President Donald Trump—decided to take action .
When the Federal Transit Administration earlier this month cited the `` anarchist '' designation when casting doubt on New York 's eligibility for a $ 10 million transit grant to fight the spread of Covid-19 , leaders in the three cities began preparing to sue .
On September 2 , Trump issued a memorandum accusing Democratic state and local leaders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their jurisdictions by failing to enforce the law , disempowering and significantly defunding their police departments , and refusing to accept offers of federal law enforcement assistance '' to police racial justice protests in the wake of officer killings of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor , and other Black and Latinx people .
In the memo Trump vows to `` not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones . ''
The DOJ designation followed on September 21 .
Critics say Trump 's attempt to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities as crime-ridden `` socialist hellholes '' belies the political motivation of his actions , with some observers noting that numerous Republican-run cities have much higher homicide and other violent crime rates than any of the municipalities targeted by the administration .

When the U.S. Department of Justice declared New York City, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon "anarchist jurisdictions" last month and threatened to withhold federal funding, many progressive residents of the cities—especially New Yorkers—responded with derisive humor. But to leaders in the three Democratic-run cities, the designation is no laughing matter, and on Thursday they sued the DOJ in a bid to thwart the Trump administration's effort to hold back what could amount to billions of federal dollars.
The cities' federal lawsuit (pdf), in fact, calls the prospect of the administration's withholding of critical funding during the coronavirus pandemic "deadly serious," as well as "offensive to both the Constitution and common sense" and "an oxymoronic designation without precedent in U.S. history."
Leaders of the targeted cities condemned the administration's efforts to punish their residents as the nation enters what one leading epidemiologist called the "darkest days" of the pandemic.
"The Trump administration's political threats against Seattle and other Democratic cities are unlawful and an abuse of federal power," Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a press release announcing the suit. "It's immoral, unconstitutional, and shameful that we are forced to expend any resources on this political theater."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was even more blunt. "The only anarchy in this country is coming from the White House," he told reporters Thursday.
The "anarchist jurisdiction" designation could cost New York City alone some $12 billion, the New York Timesreports, public money that is desperately needed to fund life-saving city services during the surging pandemic and critical transportation and other infrastructure. That's why city leaders—who were initially inclined to shrug off the defunding threat as just the latest inanity from President Donald Trump—decided to take action. When the Federal Transit Administration earlier this month cited the "anarchist" designation when casting doubt on New York's eligibility for a $10 million transit grant to fight the spread of Covid-19, leaders in the three cities began preparing to sue.
On September 2, Trump issued a memorandum accusing Democratic state and local leaders of contributing to "violence and destruction in their jurisdictions by failing to enforce the law, disempowering and significantly defunding their police departments, and refusing to accept offers of federal law enforcement assistance" to police racial justice protests in the wake of officer killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black and Latinx people.
In the memo Trump vows to "not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones." The DOJ designation followed on September 21.
Critics say Trump's attempt to paint some of America's most progressive cities as crime-ridden "socialist hellholes" belies the political motivation of his actions, with some observers noting that numerous Republican-run cities have much higher homicide and other violent crime rates than any of the municipalities targeted by the administration.


alternet--2020-10-25--USPS quietly awards $5 million contract to DeJoy's former company: 'Epic level of corruption'

The U.S .
Postal Service last month quietly awarded a $ 5 million contract to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy 's former company XPO Logistics , raising fresh allegations of unethical activity by the Trump megadonor as he continues to come under fire for causing nationwide mail delays that could impact next month 's election .
CBS News reported Friday that the Postal Service `` will pay XPO $ 3.3 million annually to manage its route between the two cities , which are roughly 700 miles apart . ''
`` The USPS database shows the contract has one of the highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contracts the Postal Service initiated with outside firms in its most recent quarter , which is the first full quarter DeJoy has served as head of the agency , '' according to CBS .
Under pressure from Democratic lawmakers and ethics groups , DeJoy—who was a top executive on XPO 's board before leaving the company in 2018—belatedly agreed last week to divest from XPO , in which he held between $ 30 and $ 75 million worth of stock .
As CBS noted , the logistics company `` still pays DeJoy about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and expenses for 220,000 square feet of office space he controls in his home state of North Carolina .
XPO 's lease agreements for DeJoy 's properties run through 2025 . ''
`` This epic level of corruption is hurting the seniors and disabled veterans who rely on medicines by mail , '' advocacy coalition Lower Drug Prices Now tweeted in response to news of the XPO contract , which was negotiated in August and disclosed by USPS earlier this month .
As Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ( CREW ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` DeJoy 's initial decision to retain his interest in [ XPO Logistics ] relied on an explanation from a USPS ethics official that divestiture was not necessary because DeJoy would not make decisions affecting the company 's contracts with USPS . ''
`` While it is undoubtedly a good thing that DeJoy has agreed to divest his stake in XPO , '' Lerner wrote , `` his delayed divestiture will not absolve him of possible conflict of interest violations related to the company that he may have committed in the months that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant interest in the company . ''

The U.S. Postal Service last month quietly awarded a $5 million contract to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's former company XPO Logistics, raising fresh allegations of unethical activity by the Trump megadonor as he continues to come under fire for causing nationwide mail delays that could impact next month's election.
CBS Newsreported Friday that the Postal Service "will pay XPO $3.3 million annually to manage its route between the two cities, which are roughly 700 miles apart."
"The USPS database shows the contract has one of the highest annual rates out of more than 1,600 contracts the Postal Service initiated with outside firms in its most recent quarter, which is the first full quarter DeJoy has served as head of the agency," according to CBS.
Under pressure from Democratic lawmakers and ethics groups, DeJoy—who was a top executive on XPO's board before leaving the company in 2018—belatedly agreed last week to divest from XPO, in which he held between $30 and $75 million worth of stock. As CBS noted, the logistics company "still pays DeJoy about $2.3 million a year in rent and expenses for 220,000 square feet of office space he controls in his home state of North Carolina. XPO's lease agreements for DeJoy's properties run through 2025."
"This epic level of corruption is hurting the seniors and disabled veterans who rely on medicines by mail," advocacy coalition Lower Drug Prices Now tweeted in response to news of the XPO contract, which was negotiated in August and disclosed by USPS earlier this month.
As Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) researcher Meredith Lerner wrote last week, "DeJoy's initial decision to retain his interest in [XPO Logistics] relied on an explanation from a USPS ethics official that divestiture was not necessary because DeJoy would not make decisions affecting the company's contracts with USPS."
"While it is undoubtedly a good thing that DeJoy has agreed to divest his stake in XPO," Lerner wrote, "his delayed divestiture will not absolve him of possible conflict of interest violations related to the company that he may have committed in the months that he worked at USPS while retaining a significant interest in the company."


alternet--2020-10-25--More than 2 dozen constitutional law experts endorsed a bill to create 18-year term limits for Supre

More than 2 dozen constitutional law experts endorsed a bill to create 18-year term limits for Supreme Court

Over two dozen constitutional law experts on Friday endorsed legislation recently introduced by a trio of House Democrats that would establish 18-year term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices .
The endorsement letter ( pdf ) signed by professors and scholars across the country , along with a former U.S. senator and a former chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court , comes as the Senate GOP is trying to confirm right-wing Judge Amy Coney Barrett , President Donald Trump 's third nominee to the high court , before the November general election .
The ongoing political battle over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ruth Bader Ginsburg 's death has elevated discussions and proposals to reform the high court .
The term limits bill ( pdf ) was unveiled last month by Reps. Khanna ( D-Calif. ) , Don Beyer ( D-Va. ) , and Joe Kennedy III ( D-Mass. )
.
`` We ca n't face a national crisis every time a vacancy occurs on the Supreme Court , '' Khanna said while announcing the Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act ( H.R .
8424 ) , which would allow presidents to nominate two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal experts said in their endorsement : Their support for the bill came just a day after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham ( R-S.C. ) and the rest of the panel 's Republicans flouted their own rules—in the face of a boycott by Democratic members—and voted to advance Barrett to the full chamber .
Senate Majority Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) said earlier this week that he expects Trump 's nominee to be confirmed on Monday , just over a week before Election Day , when Trump formally faces off against Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading in national polls .
Biden explained in a promotional clip of a forthcoming `` 60 Minutes '' interview released Thursday that if he is elected , he will form a bipartisan commission of constitutional scholars to offer recommendations for `` how to reform the court system , '' which he said is `` getting out of whack . ''
While the former vice president said the possible reforms would `` go well beyond packing '' the court , attorney and activist Miles Mogulescu declared in an opinion piece for Common Dreams last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden and the Dems to call bullshit !
It 's Republicans who are the true court-packers . ''
Mogulescu also detailed various ways that a victorious Biden and Democratic lawmakers could `` begin to unpack the courts , '' from increasing the number of Supreme Court justices to introducing term limits for those appointed to the nation 's highest court , noting Khanna 's bill .
`` A more indirect way would be to grant statehood to the District or Columbia and Puerto Rico , '' Mogulescu wrote .
`` This would represent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents of those jurisdictions are tax-paying American citizens without voting representation in Washington . ''
`` But it would also add four new senators , '' he explained , `` diminishing the impact of the current situation where the Republican Senate 'majority , ' which is about to confirm Barrett on a party-line votes , was elected by nearly 15 million fewer voters than the Democratic 'minority . '
''

Over two dozen constitutional law experts on Friday endorsed legislation recently introduced by a trio of House Democrats that would establish 18-year term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices.
The endorsement letter (pdf) signed by professors and scholars across the country, along with a former U.S. senator and a former chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, comes as the Senate GOP is trying to confirm right-wing Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's third nominee to the high court, before the November general election.
The ongoing political battle over the Supreme Court vacancy that resulted from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death has elevated discussions and proposals to reform the high court. The term limits bill (pdf) was unveiled last month by Reps. Khanna (D-Calif.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), and Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.).
"We can't face a national crisis every time a vacancy occurs on the Supreme Court," Khanna said while announcing the Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act (H.R. 8424), which would allow presidents to nominate two new appointees per four-year term.
The legal experts said in their endorsement:
We are pleased that a formal legislative proposal to limit future justices to 18 years of high court service has been introduced and is advancing public discourse on court reform.
Though the bill is not perfect, we believe it to be a critical piece in prescribing how our country's leaders can work to depoliticize the Supreme Court and its confirmation process.
Their support for the bill came just a day after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and the rest of the panel's Republicans flouted their own rules—in the face of a boycott by Democratic members—and voted to advance Barrett to the full chamber.
Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said earlier this week that he expects Trump's nominee to be confirmed on Monday, just over a week before Election Day, when Trump formally faces off against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who is leading in national polls.
Biden explained in a promotional clip of a forthcoming "60 Minutes" interview released Thursday that if he is elected, he will form a bipartisan commission of constitutional scholars to offer recommendations for "how to reform the court system," which he said is "getting out of whack."
While the former vice president said the possible reforms would "go well beyond packing" the court, attorney and activist Miles Mogulescu declared in an opinion piece for Common Dreams last week: "It's time for Biden and the Dems to call bullshit! It's Republicans who are the true court-packers."
Mogulescu also detailed various ways that a victorious Biden and Democratic lawmakers could "begin to unpack the courts," from increasing the number of Supreme Court justices to introducing term limits for those appointed to the nation's highest court, noting Khanna's bill.
"A more indirect way would be to grant statehood to the District or Columbia and Puerto Rico," Mogulescu wrote. "This would represent justice in its own right, since residents of those jurisdictions are tax-paying American citizens without voting representation in Washington."
"But it would also add four new senators," he explained, "diminishing the impact of the current situation where the Republican Senate 'majority,' which is about to confirm Barrett on a party-line votes, was elected by nearly 15 million fewer voters than the Democratic 'minority.'"