Taxi Takes Activist on Cross-Country Crusade

After 6,800 miles, the cab fare from New York City to Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood was about $10,760.

It’s a good thing the sole passenger will not have to pay.

By the time this road trip ends in Washington, D.C., in a couple of weeks, the fare will be about $25,000.

Social activist Theresa Funiciello is on a mission to heighten awareness of tax benefits for caregivers. From Detroit, to Cheyenne, Wyo., to Seattle to Los Angeles, the former welfare mother has been stepping out of a yellow New York City taxicab since May 8, passing out postcards addressed to Laura Bush, the White House. They remind the first lady to tell the president that “caregiving is work” like any job for which people receive pay.

Funiciello, 54, is bringing attention to the Caregiver Credit Campaign. The executive director of Social Agenda, a nonprofit organization based in New York, favors tax credits or refunds for those who care for their children or aging parents at home.

Even families who pay no income taxes because they make so little money should receive funds from the federal government for caregiving. That would allow some to stay home to care for their children or adult relatives in need.

The poor, as well as the affluent and middle class, should get some kind of subsidy for such tasks, she said, surrounded by tourists in front of the historic theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

Several months ago, Funiciello, the author of “The Tyranny of Kindness: Dismantling the Welfare System to End Poverty in America,” befriended Brazilian-born veteran cabby Clever da Silva.

In their first conversation, Funiciello told da Silva about her efforts. He asked her if she would like to drive across the country and deliver her message--with him as the driver.

“I didn’t think he was serious,” she said Sunday as she passed out her postcards and dodged several LAPD officers who warned her about passing out literature on private property.

Meanwhile, da Silva, 45, with a video camera in hand, was relishing the moment. Although he said he heartily supports the cause and cares for his mother, da Silva has his own agenda: breaking a world record for the longest taxicab ride and peddling his book, “New York City From a Cab Driver’s View.”

Super 8 Motel has donated rooms, and their gas is being paid for by Social Agenda.

Next stop: Arizona.