Are NGOs a Good Thing
Segment # 128
San Francisco has become the sick model for NGO (Non Government Organization) corruption nationally. All the information is public for a journalist if they still exist to track campaign donations and the people behind the NGOs. As Tony Hall points out below it is a pretty straight forward pay for play scheme that ultimately destroys San Francisco, fails to help the homeless and drug addicted. The corruption is self-perpetuated by policy and greed. I don’t this changing and eventually us the taxpayers will be forced to bail them out.
I wish this was the worst of it, but it certainly isn’t. Compound the NGO corruption on a national scale with political donors taking NGO money to process migrants or do anything else that can be justified to fleece the taxpayer. As taxpayers we are .literally paying to destroy ourselves and our way of life. Maybe at almost 80 I will get out of this world without too much pain; however, if you are under 60 you are an excellent chance of paying a very heavy price for this unabated. Forget the shiny distractions just look at who supports the corruption.. because they are after you.
Unlike our traditional news sources the data is presented here for your own judgment.
Tony Hall's Background
Tony Hall was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2000 to 2004, representing District 7. He was known as the lone conservative on the Board of Supervisors and was praised by his colleagues for his dedication and willingness to work across parties. As a supervisor, Hall worked on various initiatives like restoring Harding Park Golf Course, rebuilding Laguna Honda Home, and preserving parks and open spaces. After leaving the Board of Supervisors, Hall briefly served as the executive director of the Treasure Island Development Authority, but had conflicts with Mayor Gavin Newsom's office over control of the island's redevelopment.
Hall later ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Francisco in 2007 and 2011, positioning himself as a critic of the city's political establishment.
NGOs and Corruption in San Francisco
According to Hall, San Francisco has over 5,000 different nonprofits doing business with the city, with no monitoring of the services they provide or how the money is being spent. Hall has accused nonprofit groups of being the "real power" in the city, collecting big-dollar government contracts without competitive bids.
He has criticized the "pay-to-play" culture in San Francisco politics, alleging systemic corruption where political insiders and campaign donors wield influence.
Hall has specifically criticized the "Brown Machine" under former mayor Willie Brown, alleging that Brown's patronage appointments and influence over city departments like Planning enabled corruption and improper development deals. In summary, Tony Hall was a former San Francisco supervisor who positioned himself as a critic of the city's political establishment, particularly the influence of nonprofit groups and the "pay-to-play" culture he associated with former mayor Willie Brown's administration.
Former Supervisor: Why Money Cannot Fix San Francisco’s Problems
Apr-01-2024
Former San Francisco supervisor Tony Hall explains the city’s issues as man-made problems. With over 5,000 different nonprofits doing business with the City of San Francisco, there is no monitoring of the services they provide, nor of how the money is being spent. “There are people making money on the homeless problem, the way it is today,” said Mr. Hall.
“The city has been mismanaged. We are spending far in excess of $100,000 per homeless person. Some of that money finds its way back to the elected officials in campaign donations, and that’s the problem”, said Mr. Hall.
Mr. Hall also explained why San Francisco’s budget is some 5 times the budget of San Jose, a neighboring city of similar size, and pointed out the $2 billion currently allocated to homeless services in the city of San Francisco.
S.F. mayor hopeful Tony Hall like last angry man
S.F. MAYOR'S RACE Tony Hall, Candidate
By John Wildermuth,Chronicle Staff WriterAug 22, 2011
It was the day after last Tuesday's well-attended mayoral debate and Tony Hall was talking about how he stood out from the rest of the pack of mayoral wannabes.
"I was the only one there talking directly to the people and making my point about pensions," the former supervisor said in an interview at his West Portal campaign headquarters. "We're facing a crisis and we have to deal with it."
The 69-year-old Hall, who spent more than 30 years in a variety of city jobs, comes across as the last angry man in this year's race for mayor, and it's a role he's glad to accept.
San Francisco voters are looking for someone who will talk straight with them and concentrate on solving the city's growing list of troubles, Hall said.
"People are starting to say 'Drop the malarkey, let's talk numbers, let's talk facts,' " he said.
Any conversation with Hall quickly gets around to the city's public pension woes and the dueling reform proposals that will share the November ballot with the mayor's race. Neither the plan by Mayor Ed Lee nor the one pushed by Public Defender Jeff Adachi will do the job, he argues.
For Hall, only a complete rethinking of public pensions can save the city's financial future. New city workers should pay more into their revised pension plans and likely get lower guaranteed payments when they retire.
"We have to bite the bullet because several mayors have been more concerned about their political futures than the city's future," Hall said.
There are villains aplenty in Hall's view of local government. The city is plagued by "systemic corruption, with the pay-to-play people running the show."
Lee's surprise run for a full term as mayor, for instance, "is a total masquerade for the people who have been running City Hall for more than 20 years and don't want to lose it."
Nonprofit groups are the real power in the city, collecting big-dollar government contracts without competitive bids, Hall said. And his first act as mayor would be to fire "the department heads who have been ripping off the city."
Political ambitions
Hall was a late arrival to a political career and it was a tough change for a lifelong government administrator who had long stints with the district attorney's office and the court system.
A West of Twin Peaks resident, he won the District Seven supervisor's seat in 2000 and worked on issues like improving Lake Merced, rebuilding Harding Park and upgrading Laguna Honda Hospital.
Sean Elsbernd, who followed Hall as supervisor, spent three years as Hall's City Hall aide.
"The first two years were a tremendous experience and I learned a lot about government," he said. "But 2003 was a mayoral election year and Tony wanted to run. He didn't like it when I told him he'd be better off running for re-election. That's when he and I began to part ways."
Hall ran for re-election in 2004, but midway through the campaign accepted Mayor Gavin Newsom's offer of a high-profile - and better paying - job as executive director of the Treasure Island Development Authority. But Hall and Newsom quickly began butting heads over future plans for the island, and in October 2005 the authority's board, with a majority of Newsom appointees, ousted Hall.
"It was the proudest moment of my career," Hall said. "I had the guts to stand up for the people."
Newsom, however, said that "clearly, I made a mistake" when he recommended Hall for the job.
Hall filed to run against Newsom in 2007, but quickly left the race. He ran into more political problems that year when he faced charges from the city's Ethics Commission that he misused campaign funds from his shortened 2004 re-election campaign.
While Hall beat back the main charges, he was forced to pay a $6,000 fine for what he said were little more than bookkeeping errors.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-mayor-hopeful-Tony-Hall-like-last-angry-man-2334389.php
National NGOs
It is clear that a large number of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are involved in processing and facilitating the movement of illegal migrants across the U.S. border and into the interior of the country. Here are the key points:
The Heritage Foundation report found that illegal immigrants who crossed the border in 2022 have been tracked in 431 of the 435 U.S. congressional districts, indicating the widespread involvement of NGOs in transporting migrants across the country4.
The report states that the Biden administration relies heavily on NGOs to "receive, process, transport, lodge, and counsel the illegal aliens" and pays them billions of taxpayer dollars through various federal departments2.
According to the report, some of the prominent NGOs involved include Catholic Charities USA, HIAS affiliate Jewish Family Services, and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service affiliate Refugee Services of Texas2.
The article also mentions that there are over 200 NGOs listed for their activities south of the U.S. border, and this does not even include the "burgeoning number of large and small NGOs that work mainly inside the United States" for transportation, shelter, food, and other resettlement needs5.
So in summary, while an exact number is not provided, the search results indicate that there are hundreds of NGOs, both large and small, that are actively involved in processing and facilitating the movement of illegal migrants across the U.S. border and into the interior of the country. The scale of their involvement appears to be quite extensive.
References:
NGOs use American tax dollars to relocate migrants https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/ngos-american-tax-dollars-migrants/
Nonprofits and NGOs assisting migrants who cross the border: humanitarian support or abetting a crime?
‘Good Samaritan’ Groups at Border Draw GOP Critics Over Funding https://about.bgov.com/news/good-samaritan-groups-at-border-draw-gop-critics-over-funding/
SECURING AMERICA’S BORDERS
Tracking Movement of Illegal Aliens From NGOs to the U.S. Interior https://www.heritage.org/the-oversight-project/securing-americas-borders/tracking-movement-illegal-aliens-ngos-the-us
Biden Admin. Sends Millions to Religious Nonprofits Facilitating Mass Illegal Migration https://cis.org/Bensman/Biden-Admin-Sends-Millions-Religious-Nonprofits-Facilitating-Mass-Illegal-Migration
Between 40-70% of NGOs are not faith-based, with most sources suggesting around 50-60% of NGOs are secular or non-religious in nature. The exact percentage can vary depending on the specific sector or type of NGOs being considered.
In summary, the search results indicate that corruption is a significant issue affecting the NGO sector, with complex links to political corruption and the broader aid system. While NGOs can take steps to address corruption internally, the problem often has systemic roots that require collaborative solutions across different stakeholders.
Beyond the Bribe: Corruption and Fraud in Local-Level NGOs - https://online.ucpress.edu/socdev/article/9/4/388/198255/Beyond-the-BribeCorruption-and-Fraud-in-Local
Dealing with corruption in your NGO https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/jan/28/corruption-ngo-development-aid
Corruption in the NGO world: what it is and how to tackle it (1999) https://odihpn.org/publication/corruption-in-the-ngo-world-what-it-is-and-how-to-tackle-it/
