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100 Billion Dollar Investment in the Inner Cities of America; President Trump Executive Order- Revitalization Council

There is a new White House council that has been launched. The Opportunity Revitalization council. This council is going to bring great opportunities to the communities that need it the most! President Donald Trump along with other leaders in America share some highlights on this new opportunity that is being brought to maybe even your community.

President Trump begins with his remarks. “I will sign an executive order launching a new White House Opportunity — this is a very big thing that Tim and I and everybody have been working on for a long time — a Revitalization Council.  This council will coordinate efforts across the entire federal government to deliver jobs, investment, and growth to the communities that need it the most.

“With the creation of today’s council, the resources of the whole federal government will be leveraged to rebuild low-income and impoverished neighborhoods that have been ignored by Washington in years past.  Our goal is to ensure that America’s great new prosperity is broadly shared by all of our citizens.  Our country is doing better than ever, economically, and were able to do that.

“I am thrilled to announce that our new council will be led by Secretary Ben Carson… Also, with us is Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary Wilbur Ross, who will both serve on the Council and play a critical role in its work. The Council will focus its efforts on Opportunity Zones, a crucial part of tax cuts that we passed last year.  Under our new tax cuts, any distressed area that is designated as an Opportunity Zone will receive massive incentives for private sector investment, including zero capital gains tax on any investment held for at least ten years…

“For decades, job growth and investment have been concentrated in a few major metropolitan areas.  This has created a geographic disparity — a very big one, in many cases — where some cities have thrived, while others have suffered chronic economic and social hardship. With Opportunity Zones, we are drawing investment into neglected and underserved communities of America so that all Americans, regardless of zip code, have access to the American Dream. Governors know their local needs best.  Following the enactment of our tax law, America’s governors designated nearly 9,000 neighborhoods as Opportunity Zones — from communities in the rural West Virginia, to suburban Arizona, to inner-city Chicago. The Treasury Department has estimated that, as a result of these tax incentives, private businesses will invest $100 billion in Opportunity Zones.  And that will be incredible.”

Dr. Donte’ Hickman Sr., Pastor of Southern Baptist Church, shares his remarks about this new opportunity. “I am here today, thanking you in advance for funding and resources that you will direct to the urban and distressed communities like Baltimore.  The executive order you signed today will make it possible for us to work with your administration on a common goal of investing to restore people as we rebuild properties in neglected communities…

“Our area has been federally designated an Opportunity Zone, and this bipartisan legislation can leverage public and private funding towards community revitalization.  Your influence on federal agencies and private entities through this executive order will enable distressed communities, like Broadway East in Baltimore, to obtain investments needed to capitalize and bridge funding gaps to create sustainable health, wealth, housing, educational, recreational, grocery, and employment opportunities. It will strengthen small, emerging, and other businesses, as well as enable financial support of Historically Black Colleges and Universities like Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, where I attended…

“We look forward to working with your administration on rebuilding opportunity in our urban communities that have suffered from disinvestment and dilapidation for decades.  And we welcome you to come to Baltimore to see the potential transformative impact of your leadership and investment through this executive order.”

The founder of B.E.T., Bob Johnson, speaks next on this great opportunity and how he was able to start his television network because he was given an opportunity. “I’m here to applaud you on two things.  One, you may not even know about… Just recently, your Department of Labor signed a historic document that created something called “auto portability.”  Auto portability is designed to reduce retirement leakage among low-income 401(k) account holders who tend to cash out.  And, Mr. President, you should know this: Sixty percent of African American and Hispanic Americans cash out of their 401(k) account. When this program — the policy that Secretary Acosta initiated along with my company — is implemented, along with the big financial record keepers — the Fidelities, the Vanguards — this program will put close to $800 billion back in the retirement pockets of minority Americans.  So, I just want to applaud you for that.

“Now, getting to the — getting to the most important thing, most of all — most of you probably know that I started BET on a half-a-million-dollar loan from a guy named John Malone.  That $500,000 in — that John Malone put into BET allowed me, along with a lot of other minority employees and others, to build a $4 billion business. What this proves is the efficacy, Mr. President, of a program that allows capital to flow to places where people are seeking out opportunity.  And I am convinced that this program, where the tax incentives flowing out of the Treasury Department to business people, will cause people to invest money where before they saw risk, now they will see opportunity.  And that combination of putting money into communities will allow for those communities to become vibrant, to become safe, to create ownership, and, most important, to contribute to the well being of this country. I’m a fundamental believer that there are business solutions to social problems.  The Opportunity Zone program is that.  And I applaud you and Tim Scott for taking the leadership on it.”

This executive order is preventing the cashing out of people’s 401k so that they can have money for retirement! God revealed prophetically to Brianna Bolender in a dream the impact that President Trump would have on the African American community. In this dream, she was walking with President Trump, one of his advisors, and a young African American man, in what appeared to be a large store, like a Sam’s Club. “As we’re going through the aisles, each aisle was an issue. Like taxes and poverty.” She continues to share how, what appeared to be a national poll on past presidents, was at the end of one aisle. “They had done this nationwide poll of something to the effect of ‘what administration did you [the African American Community] feel the most represented or edified.’” As she describes how she saw the results of the poll, she could see the name of Obama overwhelmingly circled. She continues, “you could tell that this poll had been done before because [Bill] Clinton’s name was there and those who had selected  Clinton before scratched that out and circled Obama.” It was then that the young, energetic African American man who had been walking and talking the entire time said this revealing statement. “You see, they felt they were edified or represented by this Administration. But the truth is, they lost their identity in that Administration.”

Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, speaks next and shares some more positive news concerning employment. “Today, the nation’s unemployment rate is at a 49-year low.  Jobless rates among African Americans down to a record low of 5.9 percent.  Wages on the rise. While we can all be proud of these achievements, one challenge has remained: There are still communities in our country that have seen little or no new investment in generations.

“During his inaugural address, President Trump declared that “the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.”  It is critical that every American shares in the gains of the past two years. Today, the President is establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council through an executive order.  I’m pleased to chair this council, consisting of members across 13 agencies whose mission is to jump start the development in urban and rural communities through the creation of Opportunity Zones. Located in economically distressed communities across this country, Opportunity Zones are home to approximately 35 million Americans.  The Department of Treasury estimates that the Opportunity Zone legislation could attract over $100 billion in private investment, which will go a long way to spur on jobs and economic development.

“This kind of medicine is precisely what a doctor would prescribe to heal communities where nearly 1 in 3 people live in poverty, and unemployment is nearly twice the national average. Too often, new investments into distressed communities are here today and gone tomorrow.  By offering incentives that encourage investors to think in terms of decades instead of days, Opportunity Zones ensure that development is here today and here to stay. This long-term approach means that new growth becomes consistent growth and new jobs become steady jobs.  The result is an innovative market and place-based approach that creates a win-win for investors and distressed communities alike.

“The Council will help improve the efficacy of this process and is ready to consider more than 150 actions to better target, streamline, and coordinate federal programs and Opportunity Zones. These are still the early days, in terms of the work of the Council and Opportunity Zones, but the groundwork has been laid.  The seeds the President has planted are growing, and the promise they hold to improve places long forgotten and the lives of those who call these places home.”

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina speaks more on this opportunity. “I just want to take the time to thank the President for his hard work and his dedication to people living in distressed communities.  As the kid who grew up in a single-parent household, mired in poverty, living in one of these distressed communities, I know firsthand the value of hope being brought into communities.

“Under this administration — Mr. President, under your leadership — what we’ve seen happen in the last several months is unprecedented.  You can think first about Opportunity Zones.  When you and I had a conversation about the Zones over a year and a half ago, you immediately jumped on board and took the lead.  And because of your leadership, Opportunity Zones that will help distressed communities — over 8,700 throughout this country — is a reality. The average poverty rate in those Zones are 31 percent.  Because of your leadership, because of your foresight and your vision, we now see hope descending on these Zones. Number two, when you think about what Bob Johnson spoke about, the ability to positively impact retirement security in communities of color has increased because of your proactive stance on keeping those dollars in retirement accounts. Number three, when you think about the power of education, the greatest chasm in this nation is caused by two primary issues: One is family formation; we can’t do much about that in government.  But number two is education. Your focus, sir, is changing lives that you may never meet.  But it’s happening every single day in America.”

As we can see from these many comments, this opportunity will change the lives of many Americans! It is exciting to see that all Americans will now have an opportunity to pursue the American dream! What do you think about this? We want to hear about it, write to us at Friends@VFNKB.com. Greg and John shared in this segment.

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