WEBVTT	#Elemental Media Engine(TM) 2.17.0.603328

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The coronavirus pandemic has

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financially impacted so

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many families here in Southern

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California, so the city of

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Compton is helping those

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in need by launching a project

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called the Compton Pledge.

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Compton Mayor Aja Brown joined

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us to talk about the project that

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will give 800 local

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residents free cash

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over a two-year period.

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Mayor Brown,

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so lovely to have you on the

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program.

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Thank you for having me.

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Tell us a little bit about the COVID

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impact on your community.

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COVID has obviously ravaged

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our entire nation, but in Compton

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we have seen a tremendous spike in

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unemployment and underemployment.

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We went from a rate of six percent

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to now twenty-one percent.

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So people are without

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income. And there's also

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a critical reliance on the city's

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Food Pantry network, which is

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really powered by local

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organizations and financial support

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by the city of Compton.

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We've seen families that have been

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impacted with either someone

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has had a positive case that

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ultimately impacted their ability to

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work or to be able to sustain

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themselves or their families.

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So there's just a tremendous

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pressure and also just

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illumination of just structural

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inequalities that have plagued

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communities of color for a

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very long time.

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Yeah, when the cash from the federal

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government ended back

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at the end of July, people

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found themselves really scrambling

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to come up with rent.

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They were facing food insecurity,

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many for the first time in their

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lives.

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Tell us who would qualify

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for this money, how it would work?

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Absolutely.

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We are going to be outreaching

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to the entire Compton community

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and providing a survey to

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provide a current snapshot

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of household composition and income.

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And so those individuals that

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qualify that are at, or beneath,

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or slightly above the poverty line

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then they will actually qualify to

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be included in a larger pool

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that will be randomly selected via a

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lottery system and conducted by

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our research partner to actually

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select program participants.

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And so who is going to actually

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administer it and go

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through all of these applications?

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Absolutely, we are, our Compton

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Pledge is comprised of a team of

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individuals and local organizations

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and national organizations

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from the Jain Family Foundation,

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their institute that

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is also providing research support.

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We also have the Fund for G.I.,

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which is guaranteed income, which is

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committed to actually

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utilizing the cash transfer program.

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They've also built a

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custom mainframe that will actually

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be the portal for recipients to

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actually get their cash directly to

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them via bank accounts.

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We also are working with partner

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organizations that are providing a

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free bank accounts, free savings

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accounts, and participants

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will be able to dictate exactly how

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they would like to access their

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cash.

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Yeah, it's it's going to be a way

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to give people some financial

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literacy, it sounds like, in the

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process, from what I've read.

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Where's the cash coming from?

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Private donors.

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We are raising completely

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private dollars.

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The city of Compton has not provided

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public funding at

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this time. So we are really focusing

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on utilizing partnerships with

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the private sector to be able to

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meet a very public need.

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And also financial literacy and

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wellness are key components of our

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particular pilot.

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There are other pilots across the

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nation that have launched a couple

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of years past, but we're

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specifically measuring well-being,

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how people feel when they are

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relieved of the burden of

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having to find out where

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this additional income will come

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from and then also will be focusing

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on providing financial literacy

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tools and teaching

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people the the basics

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on how to no

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longer rely on predatory lending

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institutions, how to access these

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savings accounts and checking

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accounts, and how to also

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just expand their financial acumen

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over the two-year period.

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And I do want to say Nika

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Soon-Shiong was the daughter of Los

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Angeles Times owner.

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Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong

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is is is heading this charity.

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And so far, private donations add

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up to about two and a half million.

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Is that the right number still?

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Actually, we are now at about four

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million dollars and still raising.

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Oh, wow, OK, so since this

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article was written, it's grown

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more. Listen, this used

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to be a really radical idea.

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And then people started talking

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about universal income when Andrew

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Yang in the Democratic presidential

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primaries talked about it.

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And then we started seeing pilot

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programs. You learned a lot from a

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pilot program up in Stockton.

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Tell us.

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Absolutely.

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Universal basic income was really

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a newer concept in

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the broader psyche, obviously

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started many decades ago, but

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rooted in addressing structural

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inequality. And so when Stockton

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Mayor Michael Tubbs piloted

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guaranteed income in his city, they

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were able to provide funding

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to about a 150

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Stocktonians with no strings

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attached. And the data actually

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confirmed what I know to be true, is

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that when you provide people with an

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opportunity, they choose what's best

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for them and their families and

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ultimately strengthen their

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community.

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So it was a wonderful display of

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just humanity and how people

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definitely are seizing opportunities

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to better themselves when given that

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opportunity.

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Well, right. Because critics in the

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past have said, oh, you know,

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if you give people money,

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then they're going to spend it on

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drink and drugs and you know,

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it's not going to be productive.

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But in fact, there's data now that

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proves that that's not true.

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Absolutely.

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And as someone that grew up

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underserved, I recognized

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firsthand that people

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in communities that are

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historically disadvantaged or

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impoverished is that people are

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fighting every single day to survive

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and that they are making the best

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choices that are before them.

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I mean, when given an opportunity,

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they definitely choose what's best

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for them and their families.

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Mayor Brown, in just the last few

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seconds we have left

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in your mind, why is

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it in everyone's interest

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that those most vulnerable

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do not fall through the cracks?

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Well, from an economic standpoint,

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everyone pays the high cost of

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poverty when we think about the

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impact on our health care system

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and our educational system

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and our justice system,

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there is a considerable cost

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for people that are living in the

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margins. And so it just makes sense

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to instead of paying on the back

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end, you can invest on the front end

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and help lift people out of poverty.

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And then in turn through reciprocal

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equity, those people can reinvest

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into their community and continue to

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lift our nation as a whole.

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Mayor Aja Brown, you are

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a wonderful guest.

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We thank you. We hope you'll come

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back often and fill us in on how the

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project's going.

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Thank you for having me.

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Take care.