"Everything is on the line," said Kumar in answer to Rowe-Finkbeiner's first question: our democracy and standing in the world. The youth of our country "get it" and that's all that's needed.
Women are the educators, caregivers, and heads of families, said Richards. Covid19 has generated a crisis never imagined, one that Trump refuses to take seriously. Added Poo, the White House chief of staff is on vacation. They don't care.
Trans women are being murdered every day, said Garza. Everything is at stake. "Decisions about us without us are being made every day."
Politics cannot and must not happen without us. There's a mandate for change--for safety within the workplace and dignity for immigrants.
Said Rowe-Finkbeiner, Moms Rising has exceeded its goal of sending out 1.6 million postcards urging people to register and vote and letting them know how. Women's vote has incredible power.
Poo recalled that before covid hit women workers received no job benefits; now, on the frontlines everywhere, their kids are at home while as essential workers their conditions are untenable, without PPE or hazard pay. We must mobilize.
Said Richards, $50 billion was spent to bail out airlines, but nothing for childcare while millions of families struggle. Women hold a 30-point advantage as voters while men are neck-and-neck.
The vast majority of police violence is directed against people who suffer from disabilities, said Garza. There is overinvestment in policing as opposed to what is crucial to public safety and well being. And public safety increases when people are employed. We can fight for this! There is a window of opportunity amid the multiple crises of climate denial, pandemic, economic recession, democracy threatened. We can introduce new ways of investing in each other's well being.
The CARES Act neglected documented immigrants and especially those living with undocumented immigrants, said Kumar, as well as Asian Americans. McConnell has held up relevant legislation since May. We must work among the 40 percent of voters who stay away from the polls too often while Pence's stance as the moral American ignores the children caged at the border.
Rowe-Finkbeiner lamented the huge wage gap between men and women. Three-quarters of women are breadwinners, she said, and 70 percent of the economy is based on consumer decisions. Women are shaping our future.
Black Women Equal Pay Day was on August 13, said Richards. Will they earn what white men earned in 2019? We must apply more pressure on Congress. We need overwhelming election turnout and mandates. A Women's Recovery Act is needed, even more important than the exigency of our deteriorating infrastructure.
The Breath Act takes us from a punishing to a care economy, said Garza. We must invest in housing and jobs. We must reprioritize. We must do outreach training to write the legislation we need.
Latina voters didn't acquire the franchise until 1975, said Kumar. Eleven million immigrants need a path to citizenship. They are afraid to go outside because of ICE patrollers.
Quoting Naomi Klein, Poo said that our big and gig economy must become a care and repair economy. WE NEED A NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM. WE'RE IN AN ERA OF REIMAGINING. CHILDCARE IS NOT A WOMEN'S ISSUE, NOR IS ELDERCARE, BUT THEY CONCERN ALL OF US; WHAT'S GOOD FOR WOMEN IS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY.
Care jobs must become good jobs, a huge part of how we recover.
"How will we change the world?" asked Rowe-Finkbeiner. Answered Garza, black women vote at higher rates then women in general. BAD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN THEY STAY HOME. In 2016, 10 percent of them stayed home. IT WAS WOMEN WHO GOT KAMALA HARRIS AS VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. There is an unprecedented number of women in Congress. That's THE agenda, not a women's agenda. OUR ISSUES ARE EVERYONE'S ISSUES. WE MUST TURN OUT OR ELSE. WE'RE CLOSEST TO ALL THAT'S WRONG HERE.
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