Economic Stimulus from LBJ era

[BODY]SAN BERNARDINO — There’s something going on in this working class neighborhood north of downtown, and if it works, it just might be the economic tonic to power poor and working class residents through the tough times.
It’s called the “Free Tax and Benefit Access Center,” a collection of five computers outfitted with a special tax program and a handful of employees who specialize navigating the labyrinth of public assistance programs. Anyone can come in to the center, which operates inside the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now’s (ACORN) new D Street offices.
The center’s goal, according to ACORN officials, is to connect working and out-of-work families with the millions in federal and state resources for which they qualify but may not be collecting - a form of local, grassroots economic stimulus.
The center is the first of its kind in the county, ACORN leaders say.
“This is a way for fast, easy initial engagement with a bunch of resources that can be pretty daunting to people,” said Bobbi Jo Chavarriacq, ACORN’s head organizer at the San Bernardino office. “This can help to dramatically increase the resources coming into our community very quickly, and hopefully dramatically reduce the need for these resources long term.”
Since its Jan. 28 opening, more than 100 local residents have come in for the free tax and benefits consultation sessions, Chavarria said. The vast majority discovered they qualified for some public assistance programs, meaning more money into their already lean pockets. The most common programs people discovered they could tap into were Food Stamps and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, both resulting federal dollars infused into the local economy.
“People are usually surprised they qualify,” Chavarria said.
A host of soft barricades prevent a higher rate of eligible people from accessing the benefits, Chavarria said, from paperwork and lack of education to lackluster government marketing efforts.
San Bernardino County, through which the federal Food Stamp program is funneled, is working on putting its application online to save applicants multiple trips to government offices, Chavarria said.
With 56 percent of eligible county residents not collecting the food stamps for which they qualify, the county loses out on $203 million in federal funds, according to California Food Policy Advocates, a public policy research group.
Chavarria said studies indicate more than $700 million in unclaimed benefits from all welfare programs are never accessed by county residents.
Beyond low enrollment, which of the problem, say academics and local program leaders, is that public assistance programs are contingent on the recipient accumulating very little wealth, which creates a clear disincentive to save.
For instance, Food Stamps programs impose an asset limit on recipients of $2,000 in savings, California Hunger Action Coalition Director Frank Tamborellocq said in a meeting last week.
By having these limits, especially held so low, aid programs are less likely to boost families out of poverty than they are to create cultures of poverty.
Reforms that have been proposed include financial incentives not only to save, but to invest aid monies in education or other human capital investments.
Chavarria said growing wealth inequality and poor public services in the county have fed a new grassroots movement, culminating in center’s like hers. ACORN, a nationwide civic participation coalition, first sprung in this county in 2005, Chavarria said, with about a dozen pioneer members.
Today, the mailing list shows more than 2,000, with 50 to 80 being added daily.
“People here have felt frustrated for a long time,” she said. “Now, with the economy down and subprime mortgage mess, people are even more energized to push for the resources they need.”
Meanwhile, Chavarria and her staff of five full and part time community workers hope to help at least 500 people with free tax filings and benefit assessments by April 15.