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Are corporations really committed to ending child hunger? Tesnim Zekeria
In 2021, childhood poverty in the United States dropped to 5.2%, the lowest recorded level since measuring began in 2009. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this historic low was chiefly driven by the federal government’s one-year expansion of the child tax credit (CTC).
But, in 2022, when the expanded CTC payments expired, childhood poverty more than doubled to 12.4%. Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy reports that had the payments continued into 2022 “much of the historic decline in child poverty of 2021 would have been preserved.” The group also estimates that “an additional 3 million children would have been kept above the poverty line in 2022.” Instead of this, however, 5.2 million additional children fell into poverty last year due to the policy’s lapse. Poverty-related issues, like hunger and housing, have also been on the rise.
As Popular Information reported last week, this crisis was completely avoidable. In 2021, the Biden administration proposed to extend the expanded CTC for one year in the Build Back Better (BBB) plan. (This was pared back from an initial proposal to extend the expanded CTC until 2025.) The tax credit expansion would cost about $100 billion per year but generate almost $1 trillion annually in benefits to society. Studies found that the payments, before they expired, served as a critical “buffer” against food insecurity and reduced food insufficiency by 19% among households with children.
The proposal, however, was defeated –- in large part by corporate lobbyists. Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) and the Business Roundtable, which represent the nation’s largest companies, spent millions of dollars successfully lobbying against the poverty measure.
Previously, expanding the CTC was not a strictly partisan issue, with many Republicans believing the tax credit promoted “family values.” Former President George W. Bush (R) counts expanding the CTC as one of his signature accomplishments. But the aggressive corporate lobbying campaign changed that and solidified Republican opposition.
Nevertheless, several companies that participated in the anti-CTC lobbying effort insist that they are committed to ending childhood poverty and often boast of the millions they contribute to the cause.
Citi, for example, says it cares “deeply about helping to end childhood hunger.” Since 2014, the bank has contributed millions to No Kid Hungry, a campaign seeking to end childhood hunger in the United States. Citi has been praised by No Kid Hungry for its “extraordinary generosity” and is recognized by the group as its “leading partner.” When the pandemic struck, for instance, “the Citi Foundation stepped up immediately with an additional $5 million donation.” Before that, in 2015 and 2016, the bank made donations to No Kid Hungry every time a Citi card member dined out. Citi also sponsors various national events for No Kid Hungry.
“The truth is no child should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from,” Citi’s Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs Edward Skyler wrote in 2022. The company says it is committed to helping end hunger “until the day no one has to worry about putting food on the table.”
Earlier this year, the bank shared that it has helped No Kid Hungry provide “300 million meals for kids facing hunger” since their partnership began. Citi also announced that it was creating a $25 million global fund to support organizations addressing food insecurity.
Citi’s CEO, Jane Fraser, however, is a Board Member of the Business Roundtable. A spokeswoman for the Business Roundtable told the Washington Post in 2021 that it had launched “a significant, multifaceted campaign” against Biden’s BBB agenda.
Citi is also a member of the Chamber. In 2021, the Chamber sent a letter to lawmakers criticizing the expanded CTC, saying that “transfer payments without requiring that recipients work will dampen participation.” This claim, however, turned out to be baseless. A 2022 study from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy found that “there is no evidence that the monthly payments reduced employment.”
In addition, Citi’s “multi-million” dollar donations to anti-hunger groups pale in comparison to the $100 billion dollars the government was set to invest in children across the country. To provide a sense of scale, the annual CTC investment would be 20,000 times more than Citi’s $5 million contribution during the pandemic. Asked by Popular Information if Citi had reconsidered its participation in both the Chamber and Business Roundtable’s lobbying efforts against the expanded CTC — Citi declined to respond.
Citi is not the only one. Other companies also claim to care about childhood hunger and poverty, yet were part of the lobbying blitz that killed federal investments in childhood poverty reduction.
Walmart’s commitment to “fighting hunger” has some exceptions
Walmart states that it has “long been committed to fighting food insecurity.” The company claims that, over the last 10 years, it has “generate[d] more than $165 million for Feeding America and local food banks across the country” through its “Fight Hunger. Spark Change” campaign. Since 2019, the Walmart Foundation has also “provided critical funding to support No Kid Hungry’s efforts.” The company says, in the 2023 fiscal year, it has awarded more than $13 million in grants to Feeding America.
The retailer acknowledges that its “scale puts us in a position to make a significant impact on the issues of food insecurity in the United States.”
That’s why the company says it’s “Fighting Hunger, Year Around” in multiple ways, including educating on nutrition, bringing together organizations that work on food access, and advocating “directly at the local and national level for positive change.”
But Walmart’s CEO, Doug McMillon, serves on the Business Roundtable’s Board of Directors and was part of the effort that killed the CTC expansion. Walmart is also a member of the Chamber. The company did not return a request for comment.
Kellogg’s lobbying has a much bigger impact than its charitable donations
Kellogg says it has “helped raise nearly $8 million to end childhood hunger in America” since 2013. In 2015, the company announced that it planned to feed “375 million people in need” by 2030.
In 2020, the company donated “$1 million to No Kid Hungry to improve and expand its school breakfast programs in the U.S.” Kellogg Marketing Director Sam Minardi said that the “donation alone can feed hungry kids 10 million healthy meals.”
“Kellogg is a company with a Heart and Soul, passionate about fighting hunger and feeding potential for people and communities,” Minardi wrote in a press release. “That means ensuring that there is enough food for everyone, especially for children who might not always have access to a good breakfast.”
This year, the company launched a breakfast fundraising campaign alongside actress Eva Longoria and announced it would donate up to $100,000 to No Kid Hungry. “We are committed to helping combat childhood hunger through our long-standing partnership with No Kid Hungry, and to date have reached 1.8 million kids and helped serve 194 million meals,” Kellogg’s Senior Director Zion Doran said.
But Kellogg is a member of the Chamber, which celebrated the defeat of the expanded CTC as one of its “accomplishments on behalf of business.” One year’s worth of the expanded CTC would have been equivalent to 12,500 times more than Kellogg has raised to help end childhood hunger since 2013.
Yesterday, U.S. officials arrested Ismael Zambada García, or “El Mayo,” cofounder of the violent and powerful drug trafficking organization the Sinaloa Cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of its other cofounder. That other cofounder, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, or “El Chapo,” is already incarcerated in the U.S., as are another of El Chapo’s sons, alleged cartel leader Ovidio Guzmán López, and the cartel’s alleged lead hitman, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, or “El Nini.”
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said: “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.” El Mayo has been charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.
U.S. officials exploited rifts in the cartel to get Guzmán López to bring El Mayo in. The successful and peaceful capture of the two Sinaloa Cartel leaders contrasts with Trump’s insistence that the U.S. must bomb or invade Mexico to damage the cartels, a position echoed by Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and increasingly popular in the Republican Party. Mexico, which is America’s biggest trade partner, staunchly opposes such an intervention. Opponents note that such military action would do nothing to decrease demand for illegal drugs in the U.S. and would increase the numbers of asylum-seekers at the border as their land became a battleground.
Trump seems to think that governance is about dominance, but that approach often runs afoul of the law. Today the Justice Department reached a $2 million settlement with former FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who became the butt of Trump’s attacks after their work on the FBI investigation into the ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian operatives. Trump’s Department of Justice released text messages between the two journalists. Today’s settlement appears to reflect that the release likely violated the Privacy Act, which bars the government from disclosing personal information.
Tonight, speaking to Christians at the Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump made his plans to become a strongman clear: “Get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what: it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians…. Get out, you’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”
This chilling statement comes after Trump praised autocratic Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in his speech at the Republican National Convention last week and then publicly praised China’s president Xi Jinping for being “brilliant” because he “controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.” It should also be read against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s decision in Donald J. Trump v. United States that a president cannot be prosecuted for crimes committed as part of his “official duties.”
The Harris campaign reacted to Trump’s dark statements by ridiculing them, and him: “Tonight, Donald Trump couldn’t pronounce words [he mispronounced “landslide” as “land slade], insulted the faith of Jewish and Catholic Americans, lied about the election (again), lied about other stuff, bragged about repealing Roe, proposed cutting billions in education funding, announced he would appoint more extremist judges, revealed he planned to fill a second Trump term with more criminals like himself, attacked lawful voting, went on and on and on, and generally sounded like someone you wouldn’t want to sit near at a restaurant—let alone be President of the United States.
“America can do better than the bitter, bizarre, and backward looking delusions of criminal Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris offers a vision for America’s future focused on freedom, opportunity, and security.”
Harris continually refers to Trump as a criminal in her speeches, but her campaign has taken the approach of referring to him and J.D. Vance as weirdos. On Tuesday, Minnesota governor Tim Walz said, “These guys are just weird.” Senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Brian Schatz of Hawaii recorded a video together about Vance’s “super weird,” “bananas,” and “offensive” idea that people with children should be assigned additional votes for each child, making their wishes count more than people without children.
As J.D. Vance continues to step on rakes, the “weird” label seems correctly to label the MAGAs as outside the mainstream of American thought. Today, Vance doubled down on his denigration of women who have not given birth as “childless cat ladies” but assured voters he has nothing against cats. In addition, a video surfaced of Vance calling for the federal government to stop women in Republican-dominated states from crossing state lines to obtain abortions.
Mychael Schnell of The Hill reported today that while MAGA Republican lawmakers like Vance, a number of House Republicans are bashing his selection as the vice presidential candidate. “He was the worst choice of all the options,” one said. “It was so bad I didn’t even think it was possible.”
“The prevailing sentiment is if Trump loses, [it’s] because of this pick,” another said, a sentiment that suggests Vance will be a scapegoat if Trump loses. Considering what happened to Trump’s last vice president after Trump blamed him for an election loss, Vance might have reason to be concerned.
Last night’s “Answer the Call” Zoom has now raised more than $8.5 million for Harris; the organizers thanked Win With Black Women “for showing us how it’s done.” Today the Future Forward PAC, which had threatened to hold back $90 million in spending if Biden stayed at the head of the ticket, began large advertising purchases in swing states for Harris.
Carl Quintanilla of CNBC reported that a week ago, those on a phone call of more than 400 people from Bank of America’s Federal Government Relations Team believed that a Trump victory was a “foregone conclusion.” Now that conviction is gone. “[T]here’s been a palpable sentiment reversal.”
The Harris campaign announced that it will launch 2,600 more volunteers into its ground game in Florida, a state where abortion rights will be on the ballot this fall, likely turning out voters for the Democratic ticket. The volunteers will write postcards, make phone calls, and knock on doors.
Today, Vice President Kamala Harris filled out the paperwork officially declaring her candidacy for president of the United States.
Notes:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/25/us/sinaloa-cartel-ismael-zambada-custody-report/index.html
https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/mexico-surpasses-china-us-biggest-trading-partner-exports/
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/10/gop-bomb-mexico-fentanyl-00091132
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/26/peter-strzok-lawsuit-settlement-00171498
https://www.vox.com/culture/363230/jd-vance-couch-sex-hillbilly-elegy-rumor-false
https://thehill.com/homenews/4793818-vance-vp-trump-house-republicans/
https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Amendment_4,_Right_to_Abortion_Initiative_(2024)
X:
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Oh, no, it’s the sister again, for another slow news week. Let’s get to it.
→ Biden dropped out: Six years ago emotionally, but technically this past Sunday, Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. He did it via X and promptly threw his support (and cash) behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Then he got Covid and hunkered down in Delaware—or depending on what hooch you’ve been drinking, died and was reanimated so he could appear before the cameras on Wednesday to address the nation. Joe’s family, including Hunter, sat along the wall of the Oval Office as he spoke. The president talked about the cancer moonshot, ending the war in Gaza, putting the party over himself, and Kamala’s tenacity, as Kamala’s pistol dug ever-so-slightly harder into his back. Right after, Jill, the First Lady of passive aggression, who apparently wanted to outdo her heart emoji, tweeted a handwritten note “to those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed.” I respect a First Lady who stands by her man and her energetic stepson. A First Lady who sees the high road way up there and says to herself, “If they want us out of here so bad, they can clean out the fridge and strip the beds themselves!”
→ Kamala is brat, Biden is boots, please God send the asteroid today: I’ve learned the hard way—and by that I mean my parents once asked me what “WAP” meant—that certain things should never be explained with words. It’s not that it’s impossible, it’s just that it embarrasses everyone.
That’s how I feel about the whole Kamala-is-brat thing. Brat is a good album about partying and getting older and having anxiety that was released earlier this summer by Charli XCX. But it’s since been adopted by too-online and very young people as a personality, and by Kamala Harris’s campaign as a mode to relate to those very young people. Her campaign is leaning into the whole green look of the album to try and win over Gen Z, and generally recasting her many viral moments—“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” “I love Venn diagrams” “What can be, unburdened but what has been”—as calling cards. It’s like when Hillary went on Broad City, only this time more cringe.
And now we have Jake Tapper and Greg Gutfeld grappling with the “essence” and the “aesthetic” and overall vibe of brat girl summer. We used to be a serious country. We used to make things.
Here’s the thing about Kamla: she is hilarious and campy, but unintentionally so. Any goodwill that her goofy dances or weird turns of phrase garner should be considered bonus points, not game play. Was there ever any doubt that Fire Island would go blue? We’ve been debating whether Kamala’s meme campaign is a good move for her prospects in the Free Press Slack, and here I’ll borrow from my older and wiser colleague Peter Savodnik: “There is nothing more pathetic than an older person who cares what a younger person thinks is cool.”
→ Boomer behavior: While Kamala’s campaign is being run by a 24-year-old twink with an Adderall prescription, J.D. Vance’s speechwriter seems to be a drunk Boomer who just got kicked out of a 7-11. Vance, appearing this week at a rally in Middletown, Ohio, riffed, “Democrats say that it is racist to believe. . . well, they say it’s racist to do anything. I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today, and I’m sure they’re going to call that racist too.” Crickets. Horror. Major “Thanks, Obama” energy. There was also a bit on fried bologna sandwiches and a lot of “lemme tell you another story.” The guy is 39 but sounds older than Biden.
Fresher, 35-to-60-year-old blood is exactly what we’ve been begging for. Let the Boomers boom, let the Zoomers zoom. Kamala and J.D.: act your age.
July 26, 2024 Heather Cox Richardson
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