Us, the Public, the Evicted— the Displaced, the Poor, The Working Class, — Speak Back
To The Tech Billionaires as They Release Their IPO (Initial Public Offering)
(Co-Editors Note- WeSearch© is poor people-led research created by POOR Magazine)
(English Follows)
“Yo pienso que eso del Twitter es solo de los ricos. Dia a dia crecen mas en sus bolsillos y por eso se estan aduenando de las casas de los terrenos que los pobres y los indocumentados no podemos comprar por que cada dia nos cierran las puertas. Pues como dice un dicho, el dinero es raiz de los males. Twitter dice se va a habrir una oportunidad para que investe pero no es verdad para nosotros los pobres. “
“I believe that Twitter is only for the rich. Day by day the money grows in their pockets and because of that they are taking ownership of the homes, the lands that the poor and the undocumented can’t even buy because everyday they close the doors on our faces. It’s like the saying goes: money is from the roots of evil. Twitter suggests it’s an opportunity to invest but that is not true for us poor people.”
-Ingrid de Leon/Poverty Migrante/Mama Skola
“November 7th I went outside the Twitter office. They are starting to incorporate their thing. One of the lies that the public relations person said is, “we have helped this City. As a poverty scholar, I know personally, that is not true. For the next ten years Twitter will not have to pay property taxes and they have been given an exclusive bus line. At the same time they are cutting bus lines in my community and other poor and elder communities. ”
-Bruce Allison/Poverty. Elder Skola
“Twitter will be offering IPOS for $17-$20 when the bell rings on the stock exchange the morning of November 7th. I, Braden Johnson, houseless youth dealing with poverty in the streets of San Francisco would like to know— where’s my IPO?? Twitter should just keep the stock options but use their extensive wealth to provide resources for the people in the community who cannot afford an IPO no matter how reasonably priced.”
-Braden Johnson/Youth Poverty Skola
“As a current low-income student who relies on public transportation to commute to San Francisco State University, I am appalled at the idea of a guaranteed bus line that ensures that twitter employees have a route to work during a time where the combination of an underfunded public education system and Bart strikes make it so students can barely get to school. If Twitter has truly “given the community incredible gifts”, they could share the wealth and take some of the millions they saved in tax breaks to give back to our schools. “
-Corinne Stricker/Poverty Skola-Mentee
“The economic boom continues in San Francisco and may further destructive practices that put profit over people. Today Twitter announced their release of an IPO on the Stock Exchange November 7th.. As a Mentee at Poor Magazine, I am not alone in feeling a fresh wave of fear from this news. As a recent transplant to San Francisco I am experiencing the high cost of living and witnessing the displacement of elderly and poor peoples. Perhaps creating public forums to address concerns and challenges is trivial on this timeline but voicing public response is critical.”
-Sasha/Mentee
“I have just heard the news that Twitter has received a 34 million tax break. I sit in the Poor Magazine computer room, mulling over the news. As a native New Yorker and recent college student, Twitter was merely a part of my internet life and lexicon, but today, studying under the tutelage of the Poverty Scholaz at POOR Magazine in San Francisco, this announcement takes on a whole new meaning. As a billion dollar corporation, whose headquarters are on Market Street in the City of San Francisco, Twitter’s actions have a severe impact on the city’s inhabitants. Twitter has been a major cause of recent evictions and rent raises for people in San Francisco. And those hit the hardest are poor families, struggling to make ends meet.”
-Maia Nikitovich/Mentee