ACTION: Anonymous and deadly

There are many reasons why we should ban the practice of anonymous shell companies — companies formed with no way of knowing who is in charge.

But here's one of the most compelling: They're being used to shield illegal opioid dealers. Most businesses have nothing to hide, but if you do have something to hide, it's easy: You just set up an anonymous shell company — which in America, requires less personal information than it takes to get a library card.

Since they're anonymous, shell companies are a favorite tool to hide all sorts of unsavory behaviors, from terrorism and drug cartels to tax dodging.

And our latest report "Anonymity Overdose," connects opioid trafficking with the activities of anonymous shell companies.

According to the CDC, opioid deaths in 2014 exceeded those from motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. They even refer to the opioid crisis as an epidemic.

It's clear we need to do more to solve this problem.

You can help to show our elected officials overwhelming support of this bipartisan bill, the Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act. If passed, law enforcement would have access to clear information about who owns the company and be able to hold them to the same rules as the rest of us.

The opioid crisis is taking an increasing toll on the nation, and this is one more reason we need to take action and end the use of anonymous shell companies.

Send a message to your represenatives: Anonymous shell companies help drug cartels and opioid trafficking. Help put a stop to this dangerous practice.

World’s largest banks support reforms to end anonymous companies

The Clearing House Association — representing the world’s largest commercial banks — sent a letter to Congressional lawmakers supporting strong measures to crack down on the abuse of anonymous companies. The group, which counts among its owners Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, explicitly endorses the bipartisan Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act (H.R.4450, S.2489). (Via the FACT Coalition)

Fair Share has been working to close loopholes that allow anonymous companies. Anonymous shell companies have been used to finance human trafficking rings, defraud local government, launder bribes, skirt international sanctions and fund super PACs. Even if we know there are crimes being committed, law enforcement has trouble figuring out who to arrest, as the identities of the criminals are shielded by layer after layer of anonymous companies.

Earlier this month, Fair Share Education Fund released a report detailing how these companies are used in opioid trafficking.

Banks, who see a lot of transactions involving shell companies, offered this in their letter: “We can see no justification for allowing corporations to shield their ownership.”

Anonymity Overdose: How our opioid crisis and shell companies are linked

Opioid deaths now exceed those from motor vehicle accidents. It's clear we need to do more. Fair Share Education Fund's latest report, “Anonymity Overdose,” connects opioid trafficking and the subsequent crisis with the activities of anonymous shell companies — companies formed with no way of knowing who is actually in charge. Because they shield the owners from accountability, anonymous shell companies are a common tool for disguising criminal activity and laundering money, and are also at heart of the Panama Papers.

“Anonymity Overdose” found 10 case studies that show the connection between the use of anonymous shell companies and opioid trafficking and related money laundering. In one such example, Kingsley Iyare Osemwengie and his associates were found to use call girls and couriers to transport oxycodone, and then move profits through an anonymous shell company aptly named High Profit Investments LLC.

Meanwhile, the crisis is taking an increasing toll on the nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2014 there were approximately one and a half times more drug overdose deaths in the United States than deaths from motor vehicle crashes. Since 2000, the rate of deaths from opioid related overdoses has increased 200%. The CDC refers to the opioid crisis as an epidemic.

“The opioid problem has been profoundly felt by our communities, health care workers and law enforcement officials,” said Nathan Proctor, co-author of the report and national campaign director with Fair Share Education Fund. “We should be doing everything in our power to address this crisis. We can add to those efforts by ending the use of anonymous shell companies.”

“Shell companies that can be formed in the shadows with little transparency have been used to promote drug trafficking, money laundering, and fraud against the United States government. This makes it difficult for law enforcement to determine the real person behind a company and its illegal activity. The Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Act would require companies to provide information on their beneficial owners, for use by law enforcement as they build a case against these bad actors. The bill would help ensure that criminals cannot hide behind shell companies to conduct illegal activities. So, this is yet another way to attack crises like the opioid epidemic that is taking root in communities across our country,” said Senator Chuck Grassley, a cosponsor of the bill and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chairman of the Senate Drug Caucus.

The report uses perspectives provided by law enforcement officials as well as federal court cases to highlight the role that ending anonymous shell companies could play in addressing the crisis.

“We know the drug cartels are in it for the money — and to stop them we need to go after their profits,” said John Cassara, former special agent in the U.S. Treasury with the Office of Terrorism Finance and Financial Intelligence, whose work helped inform the report. “Anonymous shell companies make that work much more difficult for law enforcement. We need to do more than just bust the street level distributors, we need to go after the real kingpins, and to do that we need better tools to follow the money.”

The report shows how ending the use of anonymous shell companies could make it significantly harder to keep drug profits safe from law enforcement. There is currently bipartisan legislation, the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, in both the House and Senate which would require the collection of information about the true owner of a company, and make sure law enforcement has access to that information.

“Drug traffickers regularly set up anonymous shell companies. In fact, the U.S. is one of the easiest places in the world to do so,” said Gary Kalman, executive director of the FACT Coalition, a non-partisan alliance of more than 100 state, national, and international organizations in support of shell company reform. “Congress should immediately pass bipartisan legislation to end the secrecy and give cops and prosecutors the tools they need to go after drug cartels and others who threaten the safety and security of our communities.”

“Anonymous shell companies are bad for America and the whole world for a number of reasons,” added Proctor. “They are used to defraud Medicare, conduct predatory scams on working class people and avoid taxes. But their role in drug trafficking is just another reason we need our lawmakers to take action and end anonymous shell companies.”

Cases in the report also include that of Owen Hanson, a former USC athlete who ran a complex drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal gambling ring. The Los Zetas cartel, who invested their drug profits in racehorses in Oklahoma, giving them names such as ‘Morning Cartel’. Fernando Zevallos, founder of an airline in his native Peru, and who is behind bars, yet his drug trafficking operation continues through his family ties.

[[To download the report, click here.]]

Panama Papers and the need for tax haven reform

In the Panama Papers, the unprecedented release of 11 million documents from a law firm in Panama, we see in great detail how the secret accounts of the global elite launder money and hide corruption.

After initial coverage focused on international figures like Vladimir Putin and Lionel Messi and their connections to secretive accounts, a June 5 New York Times article shed yet more light on how individual U.S. citizens are among those hiding their millions abroad.

The Times showed that over the past decade, the now famous Mossack Fonseca had at least 2,400 U.S. based clients, some with criminal records, for whom they set up over 2,800 (shell) companies.

Among their findings:

• Mossack Fonseca helped the manager of one of the biggest hedge funds in the world hide $134 million in six countries, through seven banks. If one bank asked too many questions, they used another.

• The firm set up an offshore account called April Fool for the then chief of Citigroup. It was for his yacht. 

• The firm helped the founder of Boston Capital Ventures falsely retain Guatemalan residency to evade U.S. taxes. The beneficial owners of all his accounts and trusts was his 100 year old mother.

There are many more examples.

As you look through the files, it is striking the plain language by which company executives discussed tax avoidance and evasion.  In an email to clients, Ramsés Owens, a partner in Mossack Fonseca, laid out the process of evading U.S. taxes, step by step.

First, set up a private offshore company using nominee directors. Then open a bank account using the new company. Finally, deposit money in these bank accounts, which are now private and act as a ‘black hole’. Easy.

“You can take the money in cash, you can do a bad investment; you can purchase something and not receive anything (an expensive piano, an expensive software),” Mr. Owens wrote. “You can receive an invoice from Panama or any other location and that would justify some of the outgoing moneys. You can also declare everything to the tax administration.”

Despite all this, it seems unclear what laws, if any, Mossack Fonseca has broken.

The elaborate shell games which both individuals and large multinational companies use to avoid taxes and accountability are not limited to Panama.

In fact, it’s just as easy to set up an anonymous shell company in America as it is in Panama.

That anonymous company could win a state contract, buy a farm or rent a store without anyone knowing who is behind it.

Anonymous shell companies have been used to finance human trafficking rings, defraud local government, launder bribes, skirt international sanctions and fund Super PACs. Even if we know there are crimes being committed, law enforcement has trouble figuring out who to arrest, as the identities of the criminals are shielded by layer after layer of anonymous companies.

Earlier this year, Congress introduced bipartisan legislation to end anonymous shell companies, requiring that the actual owner of a company be listed somewhere available to law enforcement. Fair Share is working to support this reform.

We’re also getting behind legislation to end the loopholes which allow companies to hide their profits in offshore tax havens like Panama and the Cayman Islands to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

136 local elected officials call for more early education investment

We delivered a letter signed by a bipartisan group of 136 local elected officials that call for increased state investment in early education and care. Citing dropping levels of state funding, and the importance of ensuring all children start on a level playing field, the letter calls for additional funding to improve and expand early learning programs for children ages 0-5.

We pride ourselves on education in Massachusetts, which is why we need to do better when it comes to early education. We know these earlier years can help set students up for a lifetime of success and have extremely high return on investment. If we are serious about reducing the academic achievement gap, we need to make sure that every child starts kindergarten ready by making sure they can access high-quality early learning programs.

Along with the 60 other groups in the Put MA Kids First coalition, we are calling for increased investments in early learning programs, anchored in a quality workforce. One of the top issues that the field of early education and care has identified is a dramatic drop in the number of early education programs, and alarmingly high turnover of the early educator workforce. Child Care Aware has tracked a 25% drop in the number of early education programs in Massachusetts since 2011. Wellesley College researchers point to a high early educator turnover rate of 30%. It’s clear that the field is suffering and in crisis.

The sign on letter is below.

Strong Start for Massachusetts Children

Every child deserves a fair chance in life, and this begins with quality early education and care. Massachusetts should lead on education, but when it comes to early education, we’re falling behind. While states like Oklahoma guarantee a year of public preschool for every child, Massachusetts state spending on early education and care has declined by 50% since 2001.

Providing all children access to a high-quality early education is essential to creating a level playing field, so that no child starts kindergarten already behind. Participation in high-quality early learning programs helps children better realize their full potential, reduces the achievement gap and provides a strong foundation for future success.

I support increasing state investment in early education and care, in order to improve and expand programs for children ages 0-5 so that every child can access a high-quality early learning program.

Sincerely, the undersigned:

1. Selectperson Janet K. Adachi, Acton

2. Councilor Joseph McMilleon, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

3. Councilor James Kelcourse, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

4. Councilor Donna McClure, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

5. Councilor Paul Sickorez, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

6. Councilor Mary Louise Bartley, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

7. Councilor F. David Moavenzadeh, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

8. Councilor Robert Lavoie, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

9. Councilor Anne Ferguson, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

10. Councilor Jonathan Sherwood, Amesbury (Via town resolution)

11. School Board Member Cindy Starks, Arlington

12. Councilor Jessica Rapp Grassetti, Barnstable

13. Councilor James H. Crocker, Barnstable

14. Councilor Estelle Rand, Beverly

15. Councilor Ayanna Pressley, Boston

16. Selectperson Donald Ellis, Bourne

17. Councilor Thomas Monahan, Brockton

18. Councilor Shaynah Barnes, Brockton

19. School Board Member Raymond Henningson, Brockton

20. School Board Member Thomas Minichiello, Brockton

21. School Board Member Helen Charlupski, Brookline

22. School Board Member Rebecca Stone, Brookline

23. Councilor Leland Cheung, Cambridge

24. Councilor Craig Kelley, Cambridge

25. Councilor Nadeem Mazen, Cambridge

26. Councilor Marc McGovern, Cambridge

27. Councilor E. Denise Simmons, Cambridge

28. Councilor Timothy Toomey, Jr., Cambridge

29. School Board Member Fran Cronin, Cambridge

30. Councilor Craig A. Kelley, Cambridge

31. Selectperson Pat Wojtas, Chelmsford

32. Councilor Leo Robinson, Chelsea

33. Councilor Luis Tejada, Chelsea

34. Councilor Enio Lopez, Chelsea

35. Councilor Yamir G. Rodriguez, Chelsea

36. Councilor Adam Lamontagne, Chicopee

37. School Board Member David Barsalou, Chicopee

38. Selectperson Diane Kennedy, Cohasset

39. Selectperson Daniel Bennett, Danvers

40. Councilor Rosa DiFlorio, Everett

41. Councilor Michael L. Miozza, Fall River

42. School Board Member Paul Hart, Fall River

43. School Board Member Joseph Martins, Fall River

44. Councilor Paul Beauchemin, Fitchburg

45. Selectperson Valerie Mulvey, Framingham

46. Councilor Matthew C. J. Vance, Gardner

47. Councilor Paul McGeary, Gloucester

48. Councilor Steven LeBlanc, Gloucester

49. Councilor William Fonvielle, Gloucester

50. Councilor Sefatia Romeo Theken, Gloucester

51. Councilor Robert Whynott, Gloucester

52. Councilor James W. O’Hara Jr., Gloucester

53. Councilor Norman Hirschfeld, Greenfield

54. Councilor Andres X. Vargas, Haverhill

55. Councilor Melinda Barrett, Haverhill

56. Councilor Daniel Bresnahan, Holyoke

57. Councilor Gordon Paul Alexander, Holyoke

58. Councilor Peter Tallman, Holyoke

59. Councilor Modesto Maldonado, Lawrence

60. Councilor Hong Net, Lynn

61. School Board Member John Ford, Lynn

62. School Board Member Maria Carrasco, Lynn

63. Councilor Daniel Cahill, Lynn

64. Councilor Wayne Lozzi, Lynn

65. Councilor Brian P. LaPierre, Lynn

66. Councilor Debbie DeMaria, Malden

67. Councilor Steven Ultrino, Malden

68. Councillor Ryan O’Malley, Malden

69. Councilor Peg Crowe, Malden (peronalized letter)

70. Councilor Neal Anderson, Malden (peronalized letter)

71. Councilor Michael Marks, Medford

72. Alderman Michael P. Zwirko, Melrose

73. Councilor Sean Fountain, Methuen

74. Councilor James Atkinson, Methuen

75. Councilor Thomas Ciulla, Methuen

76. Councilor Lisa Yarid-Ferry, Methuen

77. Board of Selectmen Chair Brian W. Murray, Milford

78. Selectperson Edward Harrison, Monson

79. Selectperson Gail Garrett, Mt. Washington

80. Councilor Brian K. Gomes, New Bedford

81. Councilor Kerry Winterson, New Bedford

82. Councilor Allison Heartquist, Newburyport

83. Councilor Ari Herzog, Newburyport

84. Councilor Edward Cameron, Newburyport

85. Councilor Jared Eigerman, Newburyport

86. Councilor Charles Tontar, Newburyport

87. Councilor Meghan Kinsey, Newburyport

88. Councilor Emily Norton, Newton

89. Selectperson Scott Bugbee, Norfolk

90. Councilor Benjamin Lamb, North Adams

91. Councilor Lisa Blackmer, North Adams

92. Councilor Nancy Bullett, North Adams

93. Councilor Joshua Moran, North Adams

94. Councilor Alisa Klein, Northampton

95. Councilor Gina-Louise Sciarra, Northampton

96. Selectperson Ellen Allen, Norwell

97. Councilor Mary Salzmann, Palmer

98. Councilor Donald Blais, Jr., Palmer

99. Councilor Lorinda Baker, Palmer

100. Councilor James Moutsoulas, Peabody

101. Councilor Thomas Walsh, Peabody

102. Councilor Robert Driscoll, Peabody

103. Councilor Lisa Tully, Pittsfield

104. Councilor Jonathan Lothrop, Pittsfield

105. Councilor Churchill Cotton, Pittsfield

106. Councilor John Krol, Pittsfield

107. Councilor Kathleen Amuso, Pittsfield

108. Councilor Douglas S. Gutro, Quincy

109. Councilor Paul J. Meoni, Randolph

110. Councilor Ira Novoselsky, Revere

111. Councilor Steven Morabito, Revere

112. Selectperson Marilyn Wilson, Rowe (via Town Resolution)

113. Selectperson Noel Abbott, Rowe (via Town Resolution)

114. Selectperson Susan Gleason, Rowe (via Town Resolution)

115. Councilor David Eppley, Salem

116. Councilor Stephen G. Dibble, Salem

117. Councilor William White, Jr., Somerville

118. Councilor Matthew McLaughlin, Somerville

119. Councilor Zaida Luna, Springfield

120. Councilor Adam Gomez, Springfield

121. Councilor Melvin Edwards, Springfield

122. Selectperson John Callahan, Swampscott

123. Councilor Gerald A. Croteau, Taunton

124. Councilor Daniel Romard, Waltham

125. Councilor Anthony Palomba, Watertown

126. Councilor Susan Falkoff, Watertown

127. Councilor Aaron Dushku, Watertown

128. Councilor Michael Dattoli, Watertown

129. Councilor Lisa Feltner, Watertown

130. Selectperson Dennis Murphy, Wellfleet

131. Selectperson Jerry Houk, Wellfleet

132. Selectperson Paul Pilcher, Wellfleet

133. Councilor Mary Ann Babinski, Westfield

134. Selectperson Anne O’Connor, Williamstown

135. Councilor Sarai Rivera, Worcester

136. School Board Member John F. Monfredo, Worcester

Fortune: It's Time for the U.S. to Deal With Tax Evaders

Column in Fortune by Scott Klinger and Clark Gascoigne.

America is the world’s newest tax haven.

If I asked you to name the world’s biggest tax haven, you might come up with the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, or Luxembourg. Those of you following the recent series of so-called “corporate tax inversions” might guess Ireland.

You probably wouldn’t think of the United States, but the latest edition of Bloomberg Businessweek points its finger squarely at Uncle Sam — and not without reason.

Indeed, the U.S. has passed the Caymans, Luxembourg, and Singapore on the list of the world’s leading secrecy jurisdictions, according to the Financial Secrecy Index, compiled by the Tax Justice Network. America now ranks third in the world, behind only Switzerland and Hong Kong, on the list of nation’s that promote and profit from secret accounts used by drug dealers, arms traders, tax evaders, and even terrorists to hide their money.

There is a sad irony here.

The United States has led the way in confronting other tax haven nations, by insisting that foreign countries that protect illicit assets with harmful secrecy laws share information with the U.S. Government on American citizens’ foreign assets. But when it comes to reciprocating by sharing information on the assets held in the U.S. by foreign nationals, the Obama administration has been dragging its feet.

The U.S. signed a few reciprocity agreements with a small number of mostly rich, Western European countries, but the poorest countries in the world—where tax dodging has the biggest impact on the lives of people — have been left out in the cold. Even the few reciprocity agreements that exist with the U.S. can be skirted by opening bank accounts in the name of an anonymous shell company instead of the actual person.

Read the full column.

Updates on our work on tax reform, hunger and more

We wanted to share some recent updates on our work over the last few months:

34,000 press Congress on corporate tax loopholes

More than 34,000 Fair Share supporters like you have petitioned Congress to end tax breaks for corporate executives, as part of Fair Share’s national effort to close corporate tax loopholes and make the nation’s largest companies pay their fair share of taxes, just like small- and mid-sized businesses do.

For several years now, Fair Share members have been calling on Congress to close a variety of corporate tax loopholes, including loopholes that reward companies for shipping jobs overseas, loopholes that allow companies to move their profits overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes, and even loopholes that allow companies — on paper — to move their headquarters overseas, a sham that will cost us $17 billion in lost revenue over the next 10 years.

“Small businesses don’t play these tax shell games to dodge taxes — they are paying what they owe,” said Nathan Proctor, national campaign director. “Everyone should play by the same rules. We need laws that will close the loopholes that let these big companies avoid paying their taxes so we can invest in an economy that works for everyone.”

Your stories are showing Congress the importance of hunger programs

We asked Fair Share members to share their stories about why hunger programs work—and they responded. Some of the stories were published in Community Voices: Why Nutrition Assistance Matters, a booklet that was distributed to every member of Congress as part of a special lobby day.

One Fair Share member who came to Washington to share her story was Sherry Brennan, now a senior vice president of Fox Cable, who told members of Congress, “I’m currently a senior vice president in Fox’s television networks group, and I’ve paid more in taxes over the past 25 years than my entire family received in government assistance, not to mention donating privately to families in need and charitable organizations. We needed the proverbial leg up. We used it, and today, my brothers and I are all fully-employed taxpayers who support ourselves and our families.” 

Fair Share Education Fund takes on childhood hunger in suburbs

Fair Share Education Fund’s updated report, Childhood Hunger in America’s Suburbs: The Changing Geography of Poverty, is changing the way Americans think about poverty. The main finding from the report, co-authored by Frontier Group, is that, contrary to our stereotypes about childhood hunger and where it exists, the risk of childhood hunger is growing much more quickly in the suburbs than in cities or rural areas.

The report was released in five states that are important to our campaign to end childhood hunger. Three news conferences were held simultaneously — in Phoenix, Ariz., Aurora, Colo., and Richmond, Va. We attracted the attention of four TV stations, four newspapers and three radio stations. Highlights of our coverage included full-length articles in the Arizona Republic and Richmond Times-Dispatch, which are the two largest-circulation newspapers in those two states. We also received coverage on Colorado Public Radio, and on NPR affiliates in Richmond and in Tempe, Ariz. Finally, our Arizona organizer, Chris Destiche, was interviewed in studio on KAET-TV in Phoenix, the local PBS affiliate. 

Colorado Fair Share defends your access to the voting booth

On the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, Colorado Fair Share served notice that it will not stand idly by while some attack our right to vote and access to the ballot. Colorado Fair Share joined U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette at a news conference marking the important anniversary and demanding that the Voting Rights Act be fully restored.

Joining Rep. DeGette and Colorado Fair Share were a number of allied groups, including CoPIRG.

“Even in the age of Citizens United and Super PACs, the most powerful political tool anyone has is their vote,” said Rep. DeGette. “50 years ago, the Voting Rights Act ensured that every American of every race, color and creed could exercise that right. I am working in Congress to put a stop to efforts that are undoing the 50 years of progress that the Voting Rights Act delivered, and I call on my colleagues and on all Americans to stand up and speak out for our right to vote.”

Column: Childhood Hunger: now in a suburb near you

This column was printed in the Glendale Star in Glendale Arizona, and can be found online here. 

Guest Commentary: Councilmember Jamie Aldama and Chris Destiche, Arizona Fair Share Education Fund

Almost one in every three children in Arizona — an estimated 454,000 — is at risk of food insecurity. For these children, life is a day-to-day challenge. Hunger impedes learning, can lead to depression and anxiety, and is a predictor of chronic illness.

That childhood hunger exists, in America and, particularly, in Arizona, is no surprise. But what might surprise you is where these children live. We have long assumed that childhood hunger is a condition of our urban areas, our inner cities, and perhaps also our rural areas — places like Appalachia or the Mississippi Delta.

In the wake of the 2008 economic crash, we now know we have assumed wrong. A new report released by Arizona Fair Share Education Fund finds that childhood hunger is growing much more quickly in America’s suburbs – not our inner cities or rural areas.

The report, Childhood Hunger in America’s Suburbs: The Changing Geography of Poverty, used eligibility for the National School Lunch Program, an indicator of both poverty and food insecurity, as a measuring stick. The report found that a strong plurality of students newly eligible for the free or reduced-cost school lunch program now lives in the suburbs: 48 percent. By comparison, 15 percent live in rural areas, 25 percent live in cities and 12 percent live in small- or mid-sized towns

Our research found that of public school children now eligible for the National School Lunch Program, nearly one-third now live in the suburbs. Nearly 6.5 million children were eligible for the school  program during the 2012-13 school year; that’s more than the number of eligible students from rural areas and small and mid-sized towns combined.

Why is this important to know? It is important because we must change how we think about childhood hunger. It is no longer an issue that happens “somewhere else.” We must come to understand that “somewhere else” now means “where we live.”

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin once said, “If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.”

And conquer hunger we must. Letting American children go hungry puts those children at great personal peril, and also puts at risk our education system, our economy and our country’s future. As America continues along the path of economic recovery, we must ensure that children at risk of hunger are not left behind.

Jamie Aldama is a city councilmember of the City of Glendale, and Chris Destiche is state organizer for Arizona Fair Share Education Fund, which works to make sure everyone gets, pays, and does their fair share; and plays by the same rules.

Our stories: Why nutrition assistance matters

As part of a national campaign to protect and defend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Congress, Fair Share collected stories from our members across the country about what SNAP has meant in their lives. We heard from veterans, teachers, single moms struggling to stave off homelessness and middle class families who were saved from poverty because of the nutrition assistance program. Here, in capsule form, are three of their stories.

We used food stamps to keep going

In 1970, Jack Duggan of Jacksonville, Ore., was returning from the war in Vietnam. He entered a forestry program at a local community college, but found himself having to turn to food stamps when his G.I. bill payments were running late. “Myself and dozens of other Vietnam vets at that community college used food stamps to keep going,” he recalls. “It was a bridge to completing an education and finding a place for ourselves in a world that had rejected us.”

Jack’s message to Congress? “I would ask every member of Congress to survive on food stamps for four months,” he says. “I would also tell them very strongly that food stamps, SNAP and other public support programs are only treating the symptoms of a dysfunctional society that fails to provide equal opportunity for all.”

$16 a month

Regina Purcell of Medford, Mass., is a disabled U.S. Navy veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. She receives $16 a month in SNAP benefits and ticks off what that pays for: $3 for a carton of eggs, $1.50 for a head of lettuce, $3 for milk, $6 for fruits and vegetables and $2.50 for bread. “Remember, this has to last me four weeks,” she said. “Luckily, that only goes for me. I know women with children who get the same amount.”

And what would she tell Congress if she could? “I’d tell the GOP they are crazy to stop these programs that do help so many, and that if there are still two million American children hungry every night, that is an indication the system is not working,” she said.

Improving mood and energy level

For teacher Susan Phillips of Fairfax County, Va., there is a point in every school year that she has come to dread: the time when students and their parents are reapplying for the free and reduced-cost breakfast and lunch program, which 95 percent of her students qualify for. “During this time, children bring food from home or pay by bringing money each day for lunch,” she explains. “It’s a very sad time. It’s obvious that the parents are really struggling to provide. Once they are on the meal programs their energy level and mood greatly improves.”

Her message to Congress? “I would ask them to imagine their own children, grandchildren, nieces and/or nephews going to school hungry while needing to compete on high stakes tests. I would remind them that these children live in poverty every day. There are so many struggles for them. Let’s alleviate one struggle.”

Report: Childhood hunger is growing in suburbs

Childhood hunger has changed. Hunger is no longer strictly an urban and rural phenomenon. It affects nearly every American community. This includes communities that might otherwise think child hunger is a problem that happens ‘somewhere else.’ Our perceptions have to change — and with our perceptions, our policies.

Fair Share Education Fund released “Childhood Hunger in America’s Suburbs: The Changing Geography of Poverty,” a new report detailing the changing geography of childhood hunger at a time of growing suburban poverty.

The report measured the number of students newly eligible for the National School Lunch Program — a leading indicator of poverty or food insecurity — between the years 2006-2007 and 2012-2013. It found that the 2008 Great Recession made the risk of childhood hunger significantly worse.

Of students newly eligible for the National School Lunch Program, 48% are from the suburbs, 25% are from the cities, 15% live in rural areas and 12% live in small- or mid-sized towns. Of public school students now eligible for free or reduced-price lunch nationwide, nearly one-third now live in the suburbs. Nearly 6.5 million children were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2012-2013, more than the number of children from rural areas and small- and mid-sized towns combined.

“Even though food insecurity in the aggregate is still greater in the cities than in the suburbs, the number of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch grew at a much faster rate in the suburbs than anywhere else,” said Gideon Weissman of the Frontier Group, who co-authored the report with Fair Share Education Fund's David Elliot. “The result is that the suburbs now look like the rest of America when it comes to issues such as hunger and poverty. Hunger and poverty in the suburbs is catching up to hunger and poverty in the cities, small- and mid-sized towns and rural areas.”

Head Start celebrates 50 years

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson first launched Head Start. Intended to be a cornerstone program of his War on Poverty, Johnson said, "Five- and 6-year-old children are inheritors of poverty's curse, and not its creators. Unless we act, these children will pass it on to the next generation, like a family birthmark. I believe that this is one of the constructive, and one of the most sensible, and also one of the most exciting programs that this nation has ever undertaken."

In the ensuing 50 years, more than 32 million children have benefited from Head Start. Head Start alumni have grown up and changed our country in countless ways — they’ve become teachers, mayors, Members of Congress, musicians, business owners, and everything in between. Head Start is more than just an early education classroom, it’s a social, educational and health support system that benefits the whole family.

President Obama added: "Supporting our children in their earliest years with high-quality care and education is one of the best investments we can make as a Nation — and for 50 years, Head Start has helped to lift up millions of America's children and their families in communities across our country. The oldest and largest Federal program to deliver high-quality early learning opportunities to low-income children, Head Start was founded on the idea that every child — no matter who they are, what they look like, or where they grow up — deserves the chance to reach their full potential. Since 1965, it has given meaning to the simple truth that in America, where you start should not determine how far you can go."

Fair Share applauds Obama action on inversions; calls on Congress to finish the job

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fair Share today applauded the Obama administration’s plans to discourage corporations abroad to avoid U.S. taxes, but noted that only comprehensive reform in Congress will stop the damaging of America’s corporate tax base and the loss of billions of dollars that could help rebuild the middle class and put the nation’s economy back on track.

In recent weeks, Fair Share has collected more than 8,000 petition signatures calling on Congress to act and taking corporations such as Burger King to task for not meeting their very American obligation to pay their fair share of taxes. Fair Share will continue to press Congress to act to close inversions and other corporate tax loopholes when it reconvenes in November.

“Both President Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has noted that these transactions may be legal but they are wrong,” said Sean Garren, Fair Share legislative director. “These tax dodges are costing women, children and the American middle class billions of dollars in revenue we need to make our economy and our country strong again. Although the Administration’s action announced this week is a great first step, only Congress can pass the comprehensive, lasting reform we need to put a stop to this madness.”

Since January 2013, 19 corporations have announced plans to reincorporate overseas for tax purposes — 14 of them having done so this year alone. Overall, 76 companies have inverted since 1983, according to the Congressional Research Service. A flood of corporate inversions are expected to take place in the next two months alone.

“We have to act quickly and decisively to stem this tide,” Garren said. “The Obama administration has taken a good first step. Now it’s time for Congress to finish the job.”