What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds?
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0:01 - 0:03My name is Shari Davis,
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0:03 - 0:04and let's be honest,
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0:04 - 0:06I'm a recovering government employee.
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0:07 - 0:11And I say that with a huge shout-out
to the folks that work in government -
0:11 - 0:12and on systems change.
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0:12 - 0:14It's hard.
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0:14 - 0:16It can be isolating.
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0:16 - 0:18And the work can feel impossible.
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0:19 - 0:22But government is the people that show up.
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0:23 - 0:25Really, it's the people that can show up
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0:26 - 0:29and are committed to the promise
that public service offers: -
0:29 - 0:31service to people,
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0:31 - 0:32democracy
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0:32 - 0:36and fixing the problems
that community members face. -
0:37 - 0:38Seventeen years ago,
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0:38 - 0:42I walked through city hall
for the first time as a staff member. -
0:43 - 0:45And that walk revealed something to me.
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0:46 - 0:48I was a unicorn.
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0:48 - 0:50There weren't many people
who looked like me -
0:50 - 0:51that worked in the building.
-
0:52 - 0:56And yet, there were folks committed
to addressing hundreds of years -
0:56 - 0:58of systemic inequity
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0:58 - 1:01that left some behind and many ignored.
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1:01 - 1:03Where there was promise,
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1:03 - 1:05there was a huge problem.
-
1:05 - 1:08You see, democracy,
as it was originally designed, -
1:08 - 1:10had a fatal flaw.
-
1:10 - 1:16It only laid pipeline
for rich white men to progress. -
1:16 - 1:19And now, if you're a smart rich white man,
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1:19 - 1:22you understand why I say that's a problem.
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1:23 - 1:26Massive talent has been left
off the field. -
1:26 - 1:30Our moral imaginations have grown anemic.
-
1:30 - 1:34Our highest offices
are plagued by corruption. -
1:34 - 1:38We're on the brink
of a sort of apathetic apocalypse, -
1:38 - 1:41and it's not OK.
-
1:41 - 1:43We've got to open the doors
-
1:43 - 1:44to city halls and schools
-
1:44 - 1:48so wide that people
can't help but walk in. -
1:48 - 1:51We've got to throw out
the old top-down processes -
1:51 - 1:53that got us into this mess,
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1:53 - 1:55and start over,
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1:55 - 1:57with new faces around the table,
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1:57 - 1:59new voices in the mix,
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1:59 - 2:04and we have to welcome new perspectives
every step of the way. -
2:04 - 2:06Not because it's the right thing to do --
-
2:06 - 2:08although it is --
-
2:08 - 2:12but because that's the only way
for us to all succeed together. -
2:12 - 2:14And here's the best news of all.
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2:15 - 2:17I know how to do it.
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2:17 - 2:19The answer -- well, an answer,
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2:19 - 2:21is participatory budgeting.
-
2:22 - 2:23That's right.
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2:23 - 2:27Participatory budgeting,
or "PB" for short. -
2:27 - 2:31PB is a process that brings
community and government together -
2:31 - 2:35to ideate, develop concrete proposals
-
2:35 - 2:39and vote on projects
that solve real problems in community. -
2:39 - 2:42Now I realize that people
don't get up and dance -
2:42 - 2:45when I start talking about public budgets.
-
2:45 - 2:47But participatory budgeting
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2:47 - 2:52is actually about collective,
radical imagination. -
2:52 - 2:55Everyone has a role to play in PB,
-
2:55 - 2:56and it works,
-
2:56 - 3:01because it allows community members
to craft real solutions -
3:01 - 3:03to real problems
-
3:03 - 3:07and provides the infrastructure
for the promise of government. -
3:07 - 3:08And honestly,
-
3:08 - 3:13it's how I saw a democracy
actually work for the first time. -
3:13 - 3:15I remember it like it was yesterday.
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3:15 - 3:18It was 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts,
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3:18 - 3:20and mayor Menino asked me
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3:20 - 3:23to launch the country's first
youth-focused PB effort -
3:23 - 3:26with one million dollars of city funds.
-
3:26 - 3:29Now, we didn't start
with line items and limits -
3:29 - 3:31or spreadsheets and formulas.
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3:31 - 3:33We started with people.
-
3:33 - 3:37We wanted to make sure
that everyone was listened to. -
3:37 - 3:38So we brought in young people
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3:38 - 3:42from historically and traditionally
marginalized neighborhoods, -
3:42 - 3:44members of the queer community
-
3:44 - 3:46and youth that were formerly incarcerated,
-
3:46 - 3:50and together, often with pizza
and a sugar-free beverage, -
3:50 - 3:53we talked about how to make Boston better.
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3:53 - 3:57And we designed a process that we called
"Youth Lead the Change." -
3:57 - 3:59We imagined a Boston
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3:59 - 4:02where young people
could access the information -
4:02 - 4:04that they need to thrive.
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4:04 - 4:08Where they could feel safe
in their communities, -
4:08 - 4:13and where they can transform public spaces
into real hubs of life -
4:13 - 4:14for all people.
-
4:14 - 4:16And that's exactly what they did.
-
4:16 - 4:18In the first year,
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4:18 - 4:24young people allocated 90,000 dollars
to increase technology access -
4:24 - 4:26for Boston public high school students,
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4:26 - 4:29by delivering laptops
right to Boston public high schools, -
4:29 - 4:34so that students could thrive
inside and outside of the classroom. -
4:34 - 4:37They allocated 60,000 dollars
to creating art walls -
4:37 - 4:42that literally and figuratively
brightened up public spaces. -
4:42 - 4:45But they addressed
a more important problem. -
4:45 - 4:49Young people were being criminalized
and pulled into the justice system -
4:49 - 4:52for putting their art on walls.
-
4:52 - 4:56So this gave them a safe space
to practice their craft. -
4:56 - 5:00They allocated 400,000 dollars
to renovating parks, -
5:00 - 5:05to make them more accessible
for all people of all bodies. -
5:05 - 5:07Now, admittedly,
-
5:07 - 5:10this didn't go as smoothly
as we had planned. -
5:11 - 5:13Right before we broke ground on the park,
-
5:13 - 5:16we actually found out that it was on top
of an archaeological site -
5:16 - 5:18and had to halt construction.
-
5:19 - 5:21I thought I broke PB.
-
5:21 - 5:25But because the city
was so committed to the project, -
5:25 - 5:27that's not what happened.
-
5:27 - 5:30They invited community in to do a dig,
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5:30 - 5:32protected the site,
-
5:32 - 5:33found artifacts,
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5:33 - 5:36extended Boston's history
-
5:36 - 5:38and then moved forward
with the renovation. -
5:39 - 5:43If that isn't a reflection
of radical imagination in government, -
5:43 - 5:45I don't know what is.
-
5:45 - 5:47What sounds simple
-
5:47 - 5:52is actually transformational
for the people and communities involved. -
5:52 - 5:56I'm seeing community members
shape transportation access, -
5:57 - 5:58improve their schools
-
5:58 - 6:00and even transform government buildings,
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6:00 - 6:04so that there is space
inside of them for them. -
6:04 - 6:06Before we had PB,
-
6:06 - 6:08I would see people who look like me
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6:08 - 6:10and come from where I come from
-
6:10 - 6:13walk in to government buildings
for this new initiative -
6:13 - 6:15or that new working group,
-
6:15 - 6:17and then I'd watch them
walk right back out. -
6:18 - 6:20Sometimes I wouldn't see them again.
-
6:20 - 6:24It's because their expertise
was being unvalued. -
6:25 - 6:28They weren't truly
being engaged in the process. -
6:28 - 6:30Put PB is different.
-
6:31 - 6:32When we started doing PB,
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6:32 - 6:35I met amazing young leaders
across the city. -
6:36 - 6:40One in particular, a rock star,
Malachi Hernandez, -
6:40 - 6:4115 years old,
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6:42 - 6:43came into a community meeting --
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6:43 - 6:46shy, curious, a little quiet.
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6:46 - 6:48Stuck around
-
6:48 - 6:51and became one of the young people
hoping to lead the project. -
6:51 - 6:53Now fast-forward a couple of years.
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6:54 - 6:58Malachi was the first in his family
to attend college. -
6:58 - 6:59A couple of weeks ago,
-
6:59 - 7:03he was the first
in his family to graduate. -
7:03 - 7:05Malachi has appeared
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7:05 - 7:07in the Obama White House several times
-
7:07 - 7:10as part of the My Brother's
Keeper initiative. -
7:10 - 7:14President Obama even quotes
Malachi in interviews. -
7:14 - 7:17It's true, you can look it up.
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7:17 - 7:20Malachi got engaged, stayed engaged,
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7:20 - 7:24and is out here changing the way
we think about community leadership -
7:24 - 7:26and potential.
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7:26 - 7:28Or my friend Maria Hadden,
-
7:28 - 7:31who was involved
in the first PB process in Chicago. -
7:32 - 7:34Then went on to become a founding
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7:34 - 7:36participatory budgeting
project board member, -
7:36 - 7:38eventually a staff member,
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7:38 - 7:42and then unseated a 28-year incumbent,
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7:42 - 7:45becoming the first queer Black alderperson
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7:45 - 7:47in Chicago's history.
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7:48 - 7:50That's real engagement.
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7:50 - 7:52That's being taken seriously.
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7:53 - 7:56That's building out and building on
community leadership. -
7:57 - 7:59That's system change.
-
7:59 - 8:01And it's not just in the US either.
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8:01 - 8:04After starting 30 years ago in Brazil,
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8:04 - 8:08PB has spread to over 7,000 cities
across the globe. -
8:08 - 8:09In Paris, France,
-
8:10 - 8:12the mayor puts up
five percent of her budget, -
8:12 - 8:15over 100 million euros,
-
8:15 - 8:19for community members to decide on
and shape their city. -
8:19 - 8:24Globally, PB has been shown
to improve public health, -
8:24 - 8:26reduce corruption
-
8:26 - 8:28and increase trust in government.
-
8:28 - 8:32Now we know the challenges
that we face in today's society. -
8:33 - 8:36How can we expect people
to feel motivated, -
8:36 - 8:38to show up to the polls
-
8:38 - 8:43when they can't trust that government
is run by and for the people. -
8:43 - 8:46I argue that we haven't
actually experienced -
8:46 - 8:49true participatory democracy
-
8:49 - 8:52in these United States
of America just yet. -
8:52 - 8:55But democracy is a living,
breathing thing. -
8:55 - 8:58And it's still our birthright.
-
8:59 - 9:02It's time to renew trust,
and that's not going to come easy. -
9:02 - 9:05We have to build new ways of thinking,
-
9:05 - 9:09of talking, of working,
of dreaming, of planning -
9:09 - 9:10in its place.
-
9:10 - 9:15What would America look like
if everyone had a seat at the table? -
9:15 - 9:19If we took the time to reimagine
what's possible, -
9:19 - 9:22and then ask, "How do we get there?"
-
9:23 - 9:27My favorite author,
Octavia Butler, says it best. -
9:27 - 9:31In "Parable of the Sower,"
basically my Bible, she says, -
9:31 - 9:34"All that you touch
You Change. -
9:35 - 9:38All that you Change
Changes you. -
9:38 - 9:42The only lasting truth
Is Change. -
9:42 - 9:44God
Is Change." -
9:44 - 9:49It's time for these 50 states to change.
-
9:49 - 9:53What got us here sure as hell
won't get us there. -
9:53 - 9:55We've got to kick the walls of power down
-
9:55 - 10:00and plant gardens of genuine
democracy in their place. -
10:00 - 10:03That's how we change systems.
-
10:03 - 10:05By opening doors so wide
-
10:05 - 10:07that people can't help but walk in.
-
10:08 - 10:10So what's stopping you
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10:10 - 10:14from bringing participatory budgeting
to your community?
- Title:
- What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds?
- Speaker:
- Shari Davis
- Description:
-
What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds in your community? That's the idea behind participatory budgeting, a process that brings local residents and governments together to develop concrete solutions to real problems close to home. In this inspiring call to action, community leader Shari Davis shows how participatory budgeting can strengthen democracy, transform neighborhoods and cities -- and give everyone a seat at the table. "We've got to open the doors to city halls and schools so wide that people can't help but walk in," she says.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:28
Jenny Lam commented on English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | ||
Krystian Aparta accepted English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? |
Jenny Lam
There's a small typo that could affect the translation:
6:28 - 6:30
Put PB is different.
Should be:
6:28 - 6:30
But PB is different.