Bay Area
President Trump’s War on the Poor
Donald Trump is famed for his head-snapping reversals. One day he’s taking troops out of the Middle East; the next he’s sending more in. One day he’s on the verge of an agreement with China on trade; the next he’s tweeting about holding off until after the election.
On one thing, however, Trump and his administration have been clear, consistent, coordinated and relentless: waging a war on the poor. Not a war on poverty but a war on the most vulnerable themselves.
Despite low unemployment, millions of Americans — the Brookings Institution estimates an astounding 44 percent of all workers in the prime working ages of 18-64 — struggle to get by on median wages of little over $10 an hour or $18,000 a year. The working poor face soaring costs of housing, health care, transportation, utilities and, of course, debt — all rising faster than their wages.
The official “poverty rate” is far lower than any accounting of the true needs of a family. The National Center for Children in Poverty estimates that the average family needs about twice as much income as the poverty level to meet basic needs.
Cruelly, the Trump response to this is to make it worse. The administration and Republicans in Congress oppose raising the minimum wage and won’t even allow a vote on it in the Senate. Now the administration proposes lowering the poverty line over time by pegging the inflation adjustments lower than the actual increase in costs. All programs that help low-wage workers would be affected.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities projects that 250,000 seniors would get less help in purchasing prescription drugs, 300,000 children would lose health care under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This rule combined with others that the administration has imposed will cost literally millions of low-wage workers to face cutbacks in food assistance.
Student loan debt is now $1.5 trillion, primarily loans taken out by the children of middle- or low-income families trying to better themselves through education. Bernie Sanders, running for president, has pledged to eliminate all student debt, paying for it with taxes on the wealthy, and to make all public colleges tuition free. Elizabeth Warren has joined in a plan to eliminate the debt for most students and make colleges tuition free.
Trump is reportedly worried that these plans are very popular. His administration is scrambling to respond. One proposal, as the Washington Post reported, is to cap the loans a student could get in relation to their projected income. That’s right, the Trump plan may call for reducing student debt by cutting the availability of loans to students, effectively closing the doors to college to the children of middle- and low-income families.
Add to this Trump’s most recent plan to take $2 billion out of the Pell Grant program, which supports college grants to children from families with less than $50,000 in income — to pay for sending NASA back to the moon. The maximum Pell Grant once covered nearly 80 percent of the cost of tuition, fees, room and board at public four-year college; now it covers less than 30 percent.
This is a program that needs more funding, not less.
Trump, of course, brags on his economy and the low unemployment. He argues — without evidence — that his tax cut is trickling down to workers. What he doesn’t realize is that this economy continues to generate jobs that won’t support a family. That’s why so-called poverty programs, from CHIP to food stamps to public housing to low income heating assistance to Medicaid, are so necessary. They give vital support to low-wage workers who do some of the hardest, most taxing jobs in our country.
Cuts in student aid, cuts in Pell grants, cuts in food stamps, cuts in the poverty level. Trump is putting low wage workers and their families in a box with no way out except down. Our country is paying a very high price for this meanness.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026
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Activism
Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs
Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.
By Carla Thomas
The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.
The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.
At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.
“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”
According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.
“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”
This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.
Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.
Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.
“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”
The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.
“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”
Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”
For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.
“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.
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