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Silicon Valley’s narrative ~~~ On Black folks …ColorOfChange team


Silicon Valley has a problem.

Black Twitter

Tell Twitter to disclose its diversity data and host a public forum on making Silicon Valley more inclusive.

Take Action

 

Last year, when confronted with criticism about his appointment of an all-white, all-male Board of Directors, Dick Costolo – the CEO of Twitter – responded with a dismissive, joking tweet. 

“The whole thing has to be about more than checking a box & saying ‘we did it!’,” he later typed.1

It’s been months now since Costolo’s defensive response and although Twitter later added a white woman to its Board,2 the company has yet to publicly address the failure to appoint a single Black person despite data that confirms that Black folks make up a disproportionate share of Twitter’s user-base.

Much worse, in recent weeks as other Silicon Valley tech companies like Facebook, Yahoo, Google, and LinkedIn took the historic first step to release depressing data about the racial and gender composition of their staffs, Twitter has remained silent — refusing to jump on the data-release-bandwagon.3

That’s why we’re joining with Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Push Coalition to call on Twitter to do two things: 1) release its employee diversity numbers immediately and 2) signal its commitment to real inclusion by hosting a public community forum that addresses the company’s plan to recruit and retain more Black talent. Will you join us? It only takes a minute.

Twitter is unlikely to break any trends

To date, most of the data disclosures have confirmed that Silicon Valley prefers its workers to be male and either white or Asian.4, 5 And although Twitter is unlikely to break any diversity trends that have emerged, transparency and a public commitment to improving the recruitment and retention of Black employees are critical first steps.

Though its minority representation numbers may mirror other Silicon Valley tech companies, Twitter has a unique role to play in this national conversation about hiring discrimination. Via the cultural force known as “Black Twitter,” Twitter has been built off the creativity of Black people, though they’re not on the payroll. 6, 7, 8 As such, the company owes our community more — more transparency, and a more thoughtful, solutions-oriented approach that addresses its failure to be more inclusive without blaming Black people.

Shifting the blame

Unfortunately, many of the tech companies (and their pundits) have been quick to incorrectly blame a leaky “talent pipeline” for the extreme racial hiring disparities revealed by these disclosures; pointing to statistics about the dearth of computer science degrees awarded to Black men and women, and bragging about their own philanthropic-investments in tech education for minorities.  Silicon Valley apologists are working to divert blame. 

Completely ignoring the fact that Black people are also severely underrepresented in nontechnical Silicon Valley roles, these blame-shifting tactics are not only misleading, they also serve to reinforce the false and problematic narrative that Black people are simply “unqualified,” undeserving and not valuable — that Black-thought is unqualified, underserving, and not valuable.

We cannot allow a corporate culture that seems hell-bent on making excuses for its replication of tired “good ol’ boy” networks to malign the intellectual and creative capacities of Black people in the process. 

Will you join us in this fight?

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Aimee, Bhavik, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.
July 17, 2014
References

1.”Twitter CEO Takes Fire Over All Male Board”, ValleyWag, 2013-07-10

2. “Twitter appoints first woman, Marjorie Scardino, to board of directors“, The Washington Post, 2013-11-15

3. “Some in Silicon Valley Publicize Diversity, While Others Shy Away“, U.S. News, 2014-06-18 

4.”Silicon Valley Firms Are Even Whiter and More Male Than You Thought“, Mother Jones, 2014-05-29 

5. “Status Update: Facebook not so diverse“, USA Today, 2014-06-26 

6. “Black Twitter: A virtual community ready to hashtag out a response to cultural issues“, The Washington Post, 2014-01-20. 

7. “Mama I Made It: Pew Poll Study Confirms The Existence of Black Twitter“, okayplayer, 2014-01-01

8. “Black Twitter FINALLY Gets Recognized…so that Twitter can Sell Ads“, ValleyWag, 2014-21-01 

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In the news room with Gov. Inslee


  • TumblrOrcasIsland Orcas Island

07/11/2014 – Inslee departs for Farnborough International Air Show

 

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Make the pledge for Initiative 594 in Washington


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We’re gearing up for a fight this fall in Washington state.

Nine out of 10 Americans support expanding background checks. It’s the right thing to do. But because some members of Congress refuse to stand up to the gun lobby, OFA supporters are taking the fight to the state and local level wherever we can make real progress.

OFA-Washington volunteers are part of a progressive coalition that helped gather enough signatures to put Initiative 594 on the ballot this November, a common-sense gun violence prevention measure to expand background checks on gun sales.

Folks on the ground have been building momentum on this issue for months, and that’s huge — but it’s just the start.

Right now, we stand a real chance to make progress in Washington state, in spite of the powerful and well-funded special interests. The other side is banking on the hope that you won’t be coming out to support this, so we’re asking folks to simply make a pledge to vote for Initiative 594 this November to make sure this initiative passes.

Background checks save lives, plain and simple, so this is important — will you make the pledge to vote for Initiative 594?

We’re in for a showdown on this one — the gun lobby has introduced their own initiative that would roll back background checks to the federal minimum, reversing the progress we’ve already seen on this issue in Washington.

Let’s be clear: Initiative 594 shouldn’t be controversial — it’s a logical extension of the background check law currently in place. Right now, all retail gun dealers must run a simple background screening on folks looking to purchase guns.

But right now Washingtonians can buy guns at gun shows, online, or in private transactions with no background check of any kind.

Initiative 594 would close those loopholes and extend the same rule to all gun purchases. It’s common sense, and it’s something that most Washingtonians support.

You know as well as I do that we’re up against powerful, well-funded interests here. It’s going to take everyone who cares about this issue to do their part.

This is about keeping our families and communities safe — add your name today and pledge to vote for Initiative 594:

 

Thanks,

Kelly

Kelly Byrne
National Issues Campaign Manager
Organizing for Action

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Corporate Deserters?


By

Some Corporations Are Moving Addresses Overseas To Dodge Paying Fair Share Of U.S. Taxes

walgreens

We talk a lot about the grave problem of inequality and how our economy is not working for most Americans. One of the causes of this big problem is that corporations and the wealthiest are taking advantage of the system, exploiting tax loopholes, and rigging the game to benefit themselves, often at the expense of everyone else. The latest tax-dodging tactic that some corporations are considering using is a perfect example of this rigged system–and demonstrates why we need our legislators to take decisive action to stop it.

What Is The Problem?
A loophole in the tax code essentially allows a corporation to renounce its corporate citizenship in the United States, move its address overseas by merging with a foreign company, and dodge its U.S tax obligations by paying most of its taxes to a foreign government with lower tax rates than the U.S. The process takes place primarily on paper — most corporate operations remain here. The corporations that do this want all the benefits of being an American company without paying their fair share of taxes. That makes the rest of us pick up the tab.

The practice has become known as “inversion.” But what it really amounts to is desertion. And it could cost Americans tens of billions of dollars.

Who Is Taking Advantage?
There are 47 firms in the last decade that have exploited this loophole, according to new data compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. But it’s a hot topic again because at least a dozen U.S. firms are currently considering taking advantage of it.

One of those corporations is Walgreen. The company has always prided itself on being America’s go-to pharmacy: from 1993 to 2006, it had the slogans “The Pharmacy America Trusts” and “The Brand America Trusts.” A biography of the company is entitled, “America’s Corner Store: Walgreen’s Prescription For Success.” Walgreen chief executive Gregory D. Wasson has said the company is “proud of our Illinois heritage.”

At the same time, Walgreen is currently considering merging with European drugstore chain Alliance Boots and move to Switzerland as part of a plan to dodge up to $4 billion in U.S taxes. The company that gets almost a quarter of its $72 billion in revenue directly from the government through Medicare and Medicaid is trying to reap even more profits while leaving taxpayers holding the bag.

Walgreen isn’t the only one. Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, tried merging with the smaller U.K.-based AstraZeneca earlier this year and switch its address, where the tax rate is lower. It was estimated the move would save them at least $1 billion a year in tax obligations to the U.S. (the deal ultimately didn’t go through). Medtronic, a medical device company, plans to move its corporate address to Ireland, a tax haven, to avoid paying U.S. taxes on $14 billion. Chiquita, the banana distributor, is also heading to Ireland after acquiring Fyffes. These tax dodges, as Fortune magazine calls them in this week’s issue, are “positively un-American.”

What Can Be Done?
President Barack Obama’s 2015 budget proposes making these corporate desertions more difficult by raising the minimum levels of foreign ownership required to 50 percent (currently it is just 20 percent), which means that U.S. corporations could not move their address abroad unless they actually ceded a controlling interest to foreign owners. Congressional Democrats have made similar proposals. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew recently called for more “economic patriotism” and urged Congress to “enact legislation immediately” to close the loophole. Leaders on both sides of the aisle want comprehensive tax reform, but finding common ground in the current Congress could take a while. The simple fact is that as more and more companies exploit this loophole, a solution for this problem is needed right away–and Congress has the power the solve it.

BOTTOM LINE: More and more corporations are taking advantage of a tax loophole that helps their bottom line while costing American taxpayers billions every year. These companies want to continue to take advantage of the things that make the U.S. the best place in the world to do business, while at the same time pay less than their fair share by moving their corporate addresses overseas. That desertion is unfair, unpatriotic, and has got to change.

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Rebuilding America!


whitehousebannerWhat Rebuilding America Means for You

Our nation’s infrastructure has long been our economic backbone. A well-performing transportation network keeps jobs in America, allows businesses to expand, and lowers prices on household goods for American families.

But we’ve been investing in our infrastructure less and less — and, as a result, congestion and maintenance backlogs have gone up:

  • 65% of our roads are rated in less than good condition
  • 25% of our bridges require significant repair or can’t handle today’s traffic
  • 45% of Americans lack access to transit

It’s time to rebuild our roads and bridges in a smarter, more responsible way while supporting millions of jobs.

See how your state is affected, and learn how the President’s plan will rebuild America.

What's at stake if Congress doesn't act

Weekly Address: Expanding Opportunity — It’s Time for Congressional Republicans to Do Their Part

In this week’s address, the President recapped his visits with folks who have written him letters about their own American stories — their successes and struggles. While congressional Republicans are blocking meaningful measures that would strengthen the middle class, the President continues looking for ways to grow the economy and expand opportunity for more hardworking Americans.

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