by Tina Grazier
Morgan Freeman once said that the only way to get beyond racial divisions is to stop talking about it.
What an excellent idea! Too bad we havent followed this simple, logical and reasonable model, both personally and in government. Instead, since the civil rights laws passed in the sixties, we have taken the more is better” route and done just the opposite. Everything is about raceas well as every other divisive construct we can think of. The underlying basis of course is money. Who deserves it and who has it but doesnt and how it will be divided up in order to be fair…control being vested in government.
The latest example of this in California is AB 624 introduced by Joe Cotto, a democrat representative of the 23rd district and current Chair of the Latino Legislative Causus. The bill would regulate private foundations and charitable organizations by requiring those with “assets of more than $250 million to track and disclose the race, gender and sexual orientation of their trustees, staff, and even grantees.”
To date we have confiscated funds for redistribution through tax law and lawsuits. This may be the first bill to actually direct how private charitable organizations will spend their own resources. This is another absurd intrusion into the private affairs of American citizens and is a bold move against the Constitutional rights we all enjoy. The originating source for this intrusive legislation is an advocacy group according to the Wall Street Journal article, The Color of Charity:
A Berkeley-based advocacy group called the Greenlining Institute hatched this idea because, allegedly, racial minorities aren’t well enough represented in California policy debates. John Gamboa, Greenlining’s executive director, blames foundations for failing to donate enough money to “minority-led” think tanks and community groups and businesses, and he hopes this legislation will “shame” them into giving more. What counts as a minority-led organization? According to Greenlining, the board and staff should both be more than 50% minority.
WSJ also reports that the bill has the support of the Black Business Association and the Centro Legal de la Raza. Apparently the bill has a good chance of landing on the governors desk very soon. The idea has also been passed along to Charles Rangel, Chairman of the House Ways and means committee for possible Congressional hearings.
Ive said it beforethe left leadership never stops. They are dedicated to government control and intrusion into every aspect of our businesses and lives.
Please vote wisely in November.