* In 1998, Kest was a signatory to the “Statement of Principles” of the New Century Alliance for Social Security, a collaboration of activists who converged to “work together to protect Social Security from schemes that ‘privatize’ America’s retirement system by reducing guaranteed benefits to fund private investment accounts.” Other signers included Julian Bond, Heather Booth, Kenneth Cook, Marian Wright Edelman, Peter Edelman, Mike Farrell, Heidi Hartmann, Patricia Ireland, Jesse Jackson, Norman Lear, Kweisi Mfume, Robert Reich, Susan Shaer, Eleanor Smeal, Andrew Stern, and John Sweeney.
* Though Kest and ACORN professed a dedication to helping the poor, Kest refused to take a stand against the high out-of-wedlock birth rates correlated with poverty in the black community. “We [ACORN] are more focused on irresponsible behavior in the corporate sector,” he said. “I don’t think [illegitimacy] comes anywhere close to the irresponsible behavior of people running the largest businesses in this country.”