on a personal level, what is so powerful for may, the notion that when a kid begins the school system that you make it clear to him or her that college is a possibility for them i think that is something that cannot be overestimated. it is something that is powerful. in california, only 10% of latinos have a college degree. 22% for african-americans, compared to 40% of the anglo population. that is a huge disparity, and unless we address it in this state, it will have long-term ramifications about the future of this had state, economically and otherwise. i have always said, i have benefited from the fact that i was an immigrant, that i grew up in latin america. in latin america, it is not too

far-fetched for latinos to go to college. every person who goes to college in latin america is a latino, so the notion that a member of that minority group, go to college was something that you grew up with. a lot of our kids do not have that here. we need to make it clear, in this land of opportunity, that opportunity is available to you. and what a better way of making that statement clear, and then by the government saying we are willing to make that investment, because we believe in you? i think that is powerful. if that is going to change the lives of not only these kids, but the lives of their families. so it is really amazing for me to be a part of this. i want to thank everyone who has made it possible. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor campos. as you heard, we have a number

of strong partners here, on the first day that we are announcing the program, to make this program a success. one of our longstanding partners, an organization that is helping low income families become more successful with their money -- earned. i want to introduce to you the president of earn. >> good afternoon. earn is a program that helps families save and invest, and things like college. for too many years, we have seen families save millions of dollars when they have the incentive to do so and use them for things, like college. today, we are happy to announce we are going to match the first $100 of a family's savings account for their child's

college fund. [applause] we have seen the power of a small incentive like this give real life to aspirations that might feel like a dream but might become a reality for families that participate. i want to say, earn has been successful because of groups that we work with, the new america foundation, for example. we are grateful to have some of the two greatest thinkers in the country hear about this subject. they and the san francisco foundation helped to create our organization. i want to thank you all for being here. appreciate your interest in the program. [applause] >> thank you. as ben mentioned, we have a number of strong organizations working with us. an organization on the national level is cfed, working to build

savings for college accounts. i want to reduce bob of cfed. >> thank you, mr. treasurer, all of you. it has been our honor and freedom, i guess, to be working nationally to create a realistic path for every american to go to college, start a business, buy a home. in that, we have gone to look at the emergence over the last 20 years of children's savings accounts, college savings accounts. i want to take that national perspective and just reflect here. i think it is not just san francisco being out there, but san francisco being out there in front. i want to make three comments on

that. there was a lot of research and demonstration that had gone into this. we had a large seed initiative thousands of people in rigorous evaluations. i have some reports from that. but san francisco carefully considered what had gone before and applied the lessons of that. we found out, given the opportunity, even poor families can save, because it is the price of stability and hope. secondly, there is not just one innovation here. there are a series of them. i think they have been called out, but it is worth underscoring. the city has figured out how to create a flexible, spare foundation for lifetime savings and aspirations that can be built on.

and they had the guts to invest in a tough time, knowing that this is about the future as well as the present. the school system totally integrated teaching, where it ought to be in the school system, and within existing courses. we know there are lots of financial education programs. there is very little effect of this to that without an account attached. and then the city, for those of you who have tried to open up a savings account for a kid, you know it is not easy. this cannot happen unless it is easy. the city has figured out a way to do that and it is rolling it out. finally, to my nonprofit partners, it cannot happen in the public sector alone, you need nonprofit partners. san francisco is the first but

it will not be the last. i imagine 10 of the other cities at san francisco has organized for financial empowerment will follow the lead. i hope the federal government will aspire legislation, or some other child account legislation comment as nomerica has been proposing. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, bob. i am proud to announce today the san francisco foundation has also come aboard to support this program. i know everyone is familiar with them here. they are an incredibly strong community support representative. with that, i want to introduce the ceo of the san francisco foundation, sandra fernandez. >> thank you. i think you have to have told city leadership, and you can see our mayor, treasurer,

superintendent, all understand what part they can play. we also recognize as a community foundation that there are many donors and corporations, philanthropic institutions, that really care about the future of california, and the future really was sitting here about half an hour ago. in addition to the research that has been done, the notion that you expect somebody coming in as a kindergartner to go to college -- if you set the expectation as well as the opportunity -- that is what this partnership is about. we believe in as the building as an important means for people to sit -- for people to pursue economic opportunity and be better citizens. we are happy to partner, bring in our donors and other foundations to help with the matching and financial literacy. we are happy to be a part of this incredibly exciting program. thank you. [applause]

>> one of the primary thought leaders on the national level and that we have been working with is the new america foundation. i am proud to introduce our local thought leader, here in san francisco, with the new america foundation. [applause] >> thank you so much. i am the last speaker. i do not think there is anyone else waiting in the wings. i think it has all been said. i am feeling really proud to be a san franciscan right now. our city, in this area, in many others, are not afraid to go first. we are up here because everything we have seen, from the latest research, from the good work of earn, what fed has been testing -- cfed has been

testing around the country, really improves the odds for success for kids. i know that this is a tough budget time. we need to make sure, especially in education, that every dollar we spend is working as hard as it can. from what we know, at this point, this is going to be a small investment there really pays off later. at new america, it is funny, we are a nonprofit institute. when all the kids were sitting there, i wanted to say, who wants to work at a think tank when they grow up? i am sure there and would have shot up in the air. at new america, we are lucky because we get to advance good policy. specifically, we want to move

forward big ideas that really break out of the traditional, left-right way of approaching things. we think this is one of those ideas. again, we are just excited. we are going to work with everyone here to make sure the account is an effective tool as it can be, for kids as well as parents. and we will help other cities who are interested in this approach, make it happen. i think this will also drive and informed some policy innovation. we are seeing it at the state level and at the national level. there is a bipartisan bill to create a savings account for all americans. with that, i will wrap it up. [applause] >> thank you. i know we have taken a lot of your time. i think we have a couple more minutes. if there was just a question that we could answer?

>> [inaudible] >> i think the question was how much money families could put into the account to make it successful, make sure that they are advancing inflation and things like that. the obvious answer is, the more, the better. our goal is to make sure that they are putting in at least what they can, perhaps $5, $10 a month would be a good start. we hope that they can bring in other family members, friends, employers -- we are or to work with them to make sure these accounts are successful. we just started our negotiations with citibank. we will make sure that they are low cost for the families and the city. we know that this is the right thing to be doing.

it is good business for the bank, the city, and account holders. >> there are no minimum balances or fees for the parents who have these accounts. those 25 students, those are 25 potentially future college graduates, hopefully bankers of san francisco. for all of us, it is an investment over time. they all seem like good clients for the future. >> just to put it in perspective, $20 a month, you will have $14,000 when they are 18th. -- 18. that is not bad. i know that is a lot of money for some people, but when you kept on hearing today -- which is an important part of what is happening today -- the flat

former notion. this is not what we are announcing. we are announcing a platform that can be built on. earn is going to match $100 in savings. who else is out there? citibank says no minimum, no cost. who else is out there? stanford is looking at this. who else is out there? this thing can be built upon. if you are a philanthropist in san francisco and you do not know how to give back to the city, maybe you can put up $100 to these accounts. i am serious, without speaking out of school, i took a bit of my salary and cut it. what greater return on investment, direct investment,

on the quality of someone's life? in 10 years, we are going to look back, a remarkable moment, but we do not know how remarkable. that is why i am so excited and proud to have these partners. and this just started today. >> [inaudible] the initial investment is not a lot of money. as we go through budget challenges, how do you justify spending this money? >> we invested more money this year in health care. we invested more in preschool. we are going to complete maria su's vision of after-school from years ago. we are making investments. you do not just make cuts.

i am sick and tired of the politics in this country. it is a zero sum game. either or, you tax and cut. there is a third way to do things, target investment. it is so inevitable, i cannot believe it. the money is important, but the minimus, we have already attracted more money than we have invested. that is my kind of investment. [applause] >> with that, i want to conclude things for today. a number of us will be sticking around for those of you who have questions. thank you.

>> there has been an acknowledgement of the special places around san francisco bay. well, there is something sort of innate in human beings, i think, that tend to recognize a good spot when you see it, a

spot that takes your breath away. this is one of them. >> an icon of the new deal. >> we stood here a week ago and we heard all of these dignitaries talk about the symbol that coit tower is for san francisco. it's interesting for those of us in the pioneer park project is trying to make the point that not only the tower, not only this man-built edifice here is a symbol of the city but also the green space on which it sits and the hill to which is rests. to understand them, you have to understand the topography of san francisco. early days of the city, the city grows up in what is the financial district on the edge of chinatown. everything they rely on for existence is the golden gate. it's of massive importance to the people what comes in and out of san francisco bay. they can't see it where they are. they get the idea to build a

giant wooden structure. the years that it was up here, it gave the name telegraph hill. it survived although the structure is long gone. come to the 1870's and the city has growed up remarkably. it's fueled with money from the nevada silver mines and the gold rush. it's trying to be the paris of the west. now the beach is the suburbs, the we will their people lived on the bottom and the poorest people lived on the top because it was very hard getting to the top of telegraph hill. it was mostly lean-to sharks and bits of pieces of houses up here in the beginning. and a group of 20 businessmen decided that it would be better if the top of the hill remained for the public. so they put their money down and they bought four lots at the top of the hill and they gave them to the city. lily hitchcock coit died without leaving a specific use for her bequest. she left a third of her estate

for the beautify indication of the city. arthur brown, noted architect in the city, wanted for a while to build a tower. he had become very interested in persian towers. it was the 1930's. it was all about machinery and sort of this amazing architecture, very powerful architecture. he convinced the rec park commission that building a tower in her memory would be the thing to do with her money. >> it was going to be a wonderful observation place because it was one of the highest hills in the city anywhere and that that was the whole reason why it was built that high and had the elevator access immediately from the beginning as part of its features. >> my fear's studio was just down the street steps. we were in a very small apartment and that was our backyard. when they were preparing the

site for the coit tower, there was always a lot of harping and griping about how awful progress was and why they would choose this beautiful pristine area to do them in was a big question. as soon as the coit tower was getting finished and someone put in the idea that it should be used for art, then, all of a sudden, he was excited about the coit tower. it became almost like a daily destination for him to enjoy the atmosphere no matter what the politics, that wasn't the point. as long as they fit in and did their work and did their own creative expression, that was all that was required. they turned in their drawings. the drawings were accepted.

if they snuck something in, well, there weren't going to be any stoolies around. they made such careful little diagrams of every possible little thing about it as though that was just so important and that they were just the big frog. and, actually, no one ever felt that way about them and they weren't considered something like that. in later life when people would approach me and say, well, what did you know about it? we were with him almost every day and his children, we grew up together and we didn't think of him as a commie and also the same with the other. he was just a family man doing normal things. no one thought anything of what he was doing.

some of them were much more highly trained. it shows, in my estimation, in the murals. this was one of the masterpieces. families at home was a lot more close to the life that i can remember that we lived. murals on the upper floors like the children playing on the swings and i think the little deer in the forest where you could come and see them in the woods and the sports that were always available, i think it did express the best part of our lives. things that weren't costing money to do, you would go to a picnic on the beach or you would do something in the woods. my favorite of all is in the staircase. it's almost a miracle masterpiece how he could manage

to not only fit everyone, of course, a lot of them i recognized from my childhood -- it's how he juxtaposed and managed to kind of climb up that stairway on either side very much like you are walking down a street. it was incredible to do that and to me, that is what depicted the life of the times in san francisco. i even like the ones that show the industrial areas, the once with the workers showing them in the cannery and i can remember going in there and seeing these women with the caps, with the nets shuffling these cans through. my parents had a ranch in santa rosa and we went there all summer. i could see these people leaning over and checking. it looked exactly like the

beautiful things about the ranch. i think he was pretty much in the never look back philosophy about the coit. i don't think he ever went to visit again after we moved from telegraph hill, which was only five or six years later. i don't think he ever had to see it when the initials are scratched into everything and people had literally destroyed the lower half of everything. >> well, in my view, the tower had been pretty much neglected from the 1930's up until the 1980's. it wasn't until then that really enough people began to be alarmed about the condition of the murals, the tower was leaking. some of the murals suffered wear damage. we really began to organize getting funding through the arts commission and various other sources to restore the murals.

they don't have that connection or thread or maintain that connection to your history and your past, what do you have? that's one of the major elements of what makes quality of life in san francisco so incredible. when people ask me, and they ask me all the time, how do you get to coit tower, i say you walk. that's the best way to experience the gradual elevation coming up above the hustle and bustle of the city and finding this sort of oasis, if you will, at the top of the hill. when i walk through this park, i look at these brick walls and this lawn, i look at the railings around the murals. i look at the restoration and i think, yeah, i had something to do with that. learning the lessons, thank you, landmarks meet landmarks.

the current situation at pioneer park and coit tower is really based in public and private partnership. it was the citizens who came together to buy the land to keep it from being developed. it was lily hitchcock coit to give money to the city to beautify the city she loved of the park project worked to develop this south side and still that's the basis of our future project to address the north side.