[Comment] Where to spend the rebate? Don't. Just give it away

from the Seattle Post Intelligencer

By D. PARVAZ
P-I COLUMNIST

If you're in a certain income bracket, you will soon receive a tax rebate from the government. Maybe you already have. It's that $600 -- more if you have kids -- that President Bush hopes will shut us up about the economy and send us running to the malls to buy more stuff. Those who live paycheck to paycheck will understandably use the dough to keep the wolves at bay for another month. But there are some, myself included, who are fortunate enough to not count on this check from Bush to make ends meet.

This money could be put to better use, so I propose that those who can afford to do so donate their rebates -- or a portion thereof -- to a nonprofit, such as a food bank or a reputable microcredit organization dealing with needs here or overseas (where some resorted to eating fried mud). Shop on your salary, and yes, donate money at other times too, but use this check to help those who are routinely overlooked.

Think of it as a subversive act of charity.

We're experiencing a food and fuel crisis possibly created by some sort of commodities/speculation game. Prices of the basics continue to rise, leaving the poor in an ever more desperate state. Rick Jump, executive director of the White Center Food Bank, says gas and food prices are driving more people to food banks -- his location saw a 20-plus percent jump in the number of people it served in April.

"The cost of gas alone is really bringing more in here. Families have to choose between putting gas in their cars to go to work and buying groceries," said Jump. How much food could $600 buy a food bank?

"I can't tell you enough about what a difference that would make. For us, a pound of food on average is 21 cents," said Jump, who shops in bulk and frequently locks in prices months in advance -- which is why donating money is more effective than donating food. The average family of four tends to use the food bank twice a month, leaving with enough food for 11 meals. That's about 75 pounds every two weeks, for about $15.75. Jump hasn't heard of a movement to donate rebate checks to nonprofits, but mentioned several churches in the West Seattle area that are encouraging members to donate 10 percent of their tax rebates.

If you're inclined to focus on other types of community outreach, there are plenty of organizations that could make lemonade out of the lemons that constitute Bush's ridiculous "economic stimulus package." Solid Ground is cleverly using the administration's name for the rebates for its own "Economic Stimulus for ALL" campaign.

The organization helps those who are struggling with poverty-related issues, offering financial support and education. The funds Solid Ground hopes to raise will be used for housing counseling. Spokesman Mike Buchman said $600 would cover the staff expertise to take three families through the default process, helping them renegotiate the terms of their loans and maybe even save their homes.

Local microcredit outfit Washington Cash (which works on the Grameen Bank model) also would do wonders with your rebate check, turning it into a loan for a small struggling business or training for those trying to get back on their feet and into the work force, says Executive Director Cheryl Sesnon.

"So, $600 would pay the tuition for someone to go through our 10-week course," said Sesnon. The course trains people on the basics of starting their own small business, such as understanding cash flow, bookkeeping, legal issues and more. Washington Cash doesn't charge for the classes, but it still has costs associated with the courses, which, by the way, are quite effective. Sesnon said that two years after completing training with Washington Cash, "Sixty-seven percent of people who were in poverty have moved out of poverty." They do so by starting their own business or using what they learned to get (better paying) jobs.