If someone gave a grant
of nearly three quarters of a million dollars to a group of families in East
Palo Alto and east Menlo Park who are struggling the most financially, that
would be big news! What if those same families, instead of receiving a
grant, were empowered to claim over $700,000 that was rightfully theirs? I think that is even bigger news!
We are extremely proud
to announce the results of the hard work done by JobTrain's Tax-Aid staff and
volunteers. It is wonderful synergy that
these results, and an award from the IRS to JobTrain for completing
the most tax returns in San Mateo County, have come out just about
the same time as Warren Buffett's comments about the earned income tax credit
were published in the Wall Street Journal.
As Mr.
Buffett succinctly points out, the gap between rich and poor is growing
hopelessly wider as an unintended consequence of our market system, and he is
clear that it is "neither the fault of the market system nor the fault of
the disadvantaged individuals." So
the challenge is how do we continue to grow and develop our economy and build
in a course correction so that we don't unknowingly create such a big gap in the
standard of living that it undermines the success we are achieving?
For 50 years now,
JobTrain has been a pathway for what Mr. Buffett proposes as an achievable "American Promise:
America will deliver a decent life for anyone willing to work." Many thousands of people over the years have
come to JobTrain (formerly OICW) not just for free tax assistance but also
for learning a skill, acquiring a GED, learning English,
discovering how to more effectively market themselves – in short,
making themselves employable. Training and education must be the first
effort at breaking the cycle of poverty and JobTrain's free training programs – from construction to culinary, high tech to
entry level health and medical careers, and business administration – are able
to meet the interests of many people who have found the job market to be more
than challenging. Success truly does happen here as people with
significant barriers to employment are clearing those hurdles and moving into
the ranks of the gainfully employed. For many of our graduates, the
training they receive here at JobTrain is enough to command more than a minimum wage
job. Others who start at minimum wage often find themselves advancing
quickly because their JobTrain education taught them not only their new
specific trade or technical skill but also a host of soft skills,
from goal setting to problem solving, customer service, and improved
communication skills applicable in any work environment. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we all know it
is almost impossible to live on minimum wage, so the earned income tax credit
(EITC) is a great help as these newly employed workers move their way
up the ladder.
At JobTrain we believe
in the dignity and the potential of every human being, and we
have seen that applying our unique blend of training and services not
only benefits the individual participants, but also has a return
on investment back to society. In the 2013/2014 fiscal year,
with a budget of $6 Million dollars, JobTrain's Return on Investment to thecommunity was almost $13 Million dollars.
Steven Schmidbauer
Chief Operating Officer, JobTrain
