California Budget Center’s “Policy Insights” Conference Brings Policy Community Together

On April 16th, the California Budget & Policy Center hosted their annual “Policy Insights” conference. From philanthropy to grassroots community-based organizations, stakeholders from across the state came together to brainstorm pathways towards inclusive policies that ensure access to food, shelter, and a stronger safety net to fall back on. California is the fourth largest economy in the world — instead balancing the budget on the backs of Black, Brown, Indigenous, AAPI, and immigrant communities, the state has the wealth and opportunity to lift millions of children and families out of poverty.

GRACE/End Child Poverty in California’s own Yesenia Jimenez spoke on the Baby Bonds panel about the state’s devastating racial wealth gap and stressed the need to invest in HOPE Accounts and the HOPE Act. “The program is designed for future expansion to ensure all infants born into poverty in California can access and participate in the state’s economy. The HOPE Act intends to create opportunity, economic autonomy, and inspire hope to reverse our state’s record level of inequality.” Amanda Feinstein, Director of the California Child Savings Account Coalition, also spoke on the panel and identified early wealth building investments such as Child Savings Accounts, Child Development Accounts, child trust funds as well as Baby Bonds and HOPE Accounts. The success of such investments, Feinstein shared, is based on targeted, funded and meaningful sums and long-term educational and economic success.

Powerful discussion on reparations from California Black Power Network Executive Director and co-founder James Woodson, (bio) Felicia Jones, and (bio) Don Tamaki, moderated by John Kim acknowledged the wealth stripped away from Black, Indigenous and other communities of color. Woodson states, “we still have slavery in the California Constitution. From a moral and practical standpoint, reparations requires a multiracial alliance to support Black led power building and liberation.” Additionally, Assemblymember Issac Bryan stressed that the California Budget can create a pathway to reparations by reinvesting money previous used to harm communities of color.

The California Budget Center’s Policy Insights Conference fostered collaboration, action and multiracial solidarity building to generating state revenues and provided valuable insight on how we can create systemic policy pathways and further empower our communities. We are encouraged that when faced with challenging budget decisions ahead, equitable policies that empower and support all Californians are possible.