Shark Week 2016 – We’re going to need a bigger boat!

It’s Shark Week! While ocean going sharks will be in the spotlight, it’s the predatory payday loan sharks that are the real danger in our neighborhoods. This year, we’ve got a chance to build a lifeboat to keep our families out of harm’s way with new proposed rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TheContinue reading “Shark Week 2016 – We’re going to need a bigger boat!”

Free From Jail, Imprisoned by Debt

This opinion piece by Libero Della Piana was written for OtherWords and appeared in Truthout. At 36, Marcus White has spent half of his life in prison. Today he’s no longer behind bars, but now he’s imprisoned by something else: debt. When White was sentenced, he was saddled with $5,800 in criminal fines and fees.Continue reading “Free From Jail, Imprisoned by Debt”

Colleges Squeezing Out Less Profitable Home State Students

A change in funding at state colleges and universities is starting to change who makes up the student body. In-state students, even with perfect grades and impressive lists of extra-curricular activities, are being passed over in favor of out-of-state students willing to pay three times the tuition. A scathing report last month accused the CaliforniaContinue reading “Colleges Squeezing Out Less Profitable Home State Students”

Gerrymandered Out of a Voice and a Vote

As the election season picks up steam, the matter of voting rights is making its way back into the mainstream media. Voters need to have their voices, and their votes counted. However, many of the newest congressional districts have been drawn in a way that limits the voice and voting power of people of color,Continue reading “Gerrymandered Out of a Voice and a Vote”

LeeAnn Hall: Supreme Court Verdict Assures Unions Can Continue to Help Workers

The Alliance for a Just Society released the following statement from Executive Director LeeAnn Hall in response to Tuesday’s 4-4 Supreme Court verdict in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case. The decision lets stand a lower court ruling upholding public sector unions’ ability to collect “fair share” fees to cover the costs of collectiveContinue reading “LeeAnn Hall: Supreme Court Verdict Assures Unions Can Continue to Help Workers”

Debt-Trap Debbie Swimming With the Loan Sharks

Debt-Trap Debbie needs to stop shilling for predatory payday lenders who siphon $8 billion in fees and interest each year from those who can least afford it. That was the message delivered this week to Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s doorstep at the Democratic National Committee, which she chairs, by a hundred grassroots leaders fromContinue reading “Debt-Trap Debbie Swimming With the Loan Sharks”

Tools to End the Prison to Poverty Pipeline

A prison sentence often doesn’t end on the day of release. For many people with conviction records, their sentence will continue for years to come with barriers to employment and housing. Research in the report, “Jobs after Jail: Ending the prison to poverty pipeline,” by the Alliance for a Just Society, show that states haveContinue reading “Tools to End the Prison to Poverty Pipeline”

Supreme Obstruction: Senate Leaders Want a Constitutional Shutdown

This article by LeeAnn Hall and Fred Azcarate was originally published in The Hill. Which of our elected officials truly believe in constitutional government – and which of them don’t? The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is putting senators to the test on this question – and the right wing is failing thatContinue reading “Supreme Obstruction: Senate Leaders Want a Constitutional Shutdown”

Vermont Main Street Alliance Members Play Key Role in Paid Sick Days Senate Approval

The member businesses of the Main Street Alliance of Vermont achieved a tremendous victory this month that was over ten years in the making. The Vermont State Senate approved the Healthy Workplaces bill (H.187) with a strong bi-partisan vote of 21-8. The approval came after several amendments were made by the Senate Committee on EconomicContinue reading “Vermont Main Street Alliance Members Play Key Role in Paid Sick Days Senate Approval”