Author: DAMON K JONES

$400 Checks Won’t Fix New York’s Real Problem Let’s cut through the noise. New York politicians are patting themselves on the back for sending out “inflation refund checks.” Two hundred here, four hundred there. Meanwhile, the state is staring at a $10.5 billion budget deficit, with billions more projected in the years ahead. At the same time, New York’s Corrections Department just blew $445 million on overtime pay — a glaring example of mismanagement that wastes taxpayer dollars while families struggle to keep their homes. That’s not leadership — that’s bad management dressed up as generosity. Read: Job Too Dangerous: State Spends $445…

The prison staffing crisis in New York is not just a budget issue or labor dispute—it is a failure of state leadership. By ceding authority in its prisons, the state sets the stage for disorder and weakened control. Authority and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand A government cannot ensure order if it lacks the will to enforce rules in its own prisons. When correctional facilities are so short-staffed that county jails house state-sentenced inmates indefinitely, or when the state lowers hiring standards from 21 to 18 out of desperation, the message is clear: control has been lost. As someone who…

This Labor Day weekend in Chicago, at least 52 people were shot, and seven were killed. Three separate mass shootings took place in Humboldt Park and Bronzeville. Parents buried children, teenagers fought for their lives in hospital beds, and families feared stepping outside. Yet the response from City Hall sounded more like a campaign rally than a plan for public safety. Mayor Brandon Johnson took the stage and declared, “No troops in Chicago. No militarized force in Chicago.” He spoke at length about the labor movement, wages, paid leave, and resisting Trump. What he did not do was squarely address the blood…

When Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey burst onto the scene, it was more than just another brand. It was a victory for culture, for history, and for business. Built on the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the man who taught Jack Daniel how to distill whiskey, the company quickly became one of the most awarded in America, drawing worldwide attention. It showed us that Black excellence could not only enter the marketplace but dominate it. Yet today, the brand is making headlines for a different reason. A federal lawsuit accuses Uncle Nearest of defaulting on more than $100 million in loans,…

Compassion without results is not compassion. It is waste. And nowhere is that waste clearer than in New York’s mental health system. For decades, New York politicians congratulated themselves for closing psychiatric hospitals and cutting inpatient beds. They called it progress. In reality, it was abandonment. Since 2000, more than two thousand psychiatric beds have been eliminated across the state. During COVID, New York City shut down nearly a fifth of its psychiatric beds and never brought them back. Entire counties—twenty in all, covering almost a million residents—now have no psychiatric beds at all. Families in crisis sit in emergency…

The National Action Network’s call for a March on Wall Street, led by Rev. Al Sharpton, is rooted in a tradition of protest that has long defined our struggle for justice. And let me be clear: I have the utmost respect for Rev. Sharpton and NAN. They have stood on the front lines of civil rights battles when many others remained silent. But as we enter a new era, we must be honest with ourselves — marching on Wall Street misses the mark. Our challenge today is not simply external oppression, but internal responsibility. Rev. Sharpton is right to remind…

Even after the mortgage is gone, families and seniors lose houses they worked a lifetime to pay for — all because the state won’t stop taxing them into oblivion. There was a time when paying off your mortgage meant freedom. A family would work, sacrifice, save, and when the final payment was made, they could breathe easy. The home was theirs. But in New York today, that promise is a myth. Even if you pay off your mortgage, you never truly own your home. Property taxes ensure the government always has the final claim. Miss a payment, and the state…

In Mount Vernon, one homeowner’s fight against an eight-story building constructed just inches from her family’s house is more than a personal dispute. It is a case study in how government shouldn’t work for the people—and yet, it is the government people keep voting for. The zoning board and planning board limited this project to a single lot. Those limits were clear and public. Yet just two months later, the Building Department issued a permit expanding the project to cover additional lots—without authorization. That was not a clerical error; it was government overriding its own rules. And when rules are…

When President Trump authorized a federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., critics wasted no time. They called it federal overreach. They warned about masked agents. They cried about home rule. What they failed to mention is that Ward leaders in D.C. had already asked for help under the Biden administration. Nothing was done. So Trump delivered what they requested — and the results speak louder than the rhetoric. The Numbers Don’t Lie Mayor Muriel Bowser herself called these “precipitous declines,” crediting the 500 additional federal officerssupporting MPD. In neighborhoods hit hardest — particularly Black communities in Southeast — residents didn’t complain. They…

Section 8 was never meant to be permanent. When Congress created the program in 1974, it was billed as a bridge — a way to help struggling families afford decent housing until they could get on their feet. But half a century later, that bridge has become a trap. For far too many Black families, Section 8 has not been a pathway out of poverty but a cycle that manages poverty, monetizes it, and recycles it for the benefit of developers and politicians. Let’s be clear: this is not about older people or people with disabilities who rightfully need permanent…