The revolution will not be financed by the market.

Popular calls for divest and invest must now consider the financial mechanisms used to invest in new conceptions of public safety.

Here’s what you need to know. Thread.

@thenation https://www.thenation.com/article/society/invest-divest-police/

First some context: Tomorrow is June 30, the end of the fiscal year for most state and local governments.

Many will have to set budgets and make cuts in communities that have now come to see the limits of procedural and behavioral police reforms.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-mayor-commits-to-goal-of-cutting-1-billion-from-nypd/2490530/

For folks looking to redirect bloated police budgets, here’s some questions to ask and things you need to know.

1. How will local govts ACTUALLY plan to move funds from police expenditures toward services desperately in need of greater investment?

2. Typically cities finance infrastructure through the bond market. This allows unelected actors (rating analysts) to evaluate the spending decisions of local governments. This is an affront to democracy and has also effectively forced austerity on our communities

We must be careful not to mistakenly leverage financial markets to invest in our visions.

Instead of using bonds and the bond market, demand federal grants. There is no silver bullet. Yet grants cannot be used to underrate and underinvest in your city in the future.

Lastly, local activists must have a seat at the table. More, they must not be crowded out by technocrats who claim the ‘know how’ in determining who and what is worthy of investment.

Thanks to @thenation for publishing the piece online and in print. And a BIG shoutout to the incredible editor, @lizzyratner!