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!”
Author Archives: Alliance for a Just Society
Direct from Main Street: Maine Small Business Views on Credit and Lending
This report shares the findings of a survey of Maine small businesses, focusing on their experiences with credit and their reactions to one current proposal to support small business and economic growth: the creation of a state bank. This report contributes to the discussion of such a proposal by sharing the perspectives of Maine’s MainContinue reading “Direct from Main Street: Maine Small Business Views on Credit and Lending”
Montanans Stop Drastic State Budget Cuts
Last week, on April 28, the 62nd Montana Legislative Session came to a close. The session was a contentious one, featuring some of the worst budget cut proposals in state history. Faced with devastating cuts to health and human services, education, and public employee jobs and salaries, members of the Montana Organizing Project responded byContinue reading “Montanans Stop Drastic State Budget Cuts”
Montanans Rally for Budget Courage, Not Cuts
On Friday, April 1st, 2011, 1,500 Montanans flooded the Capitol lawn to voice their objections to sweeping and hurtful cuts in the Montana state budget. “Courage, Not Cuts!,” was their rallying cry. The “No Fooling with Our Future Rally” was presented by Montana Organizing Project leaders and activists, who partnered with many groups within theContinue reading “Montanans Rally for Budget Courage, Not Cuts”
Foreclosure Fairness Now Law in Washington State
Last week, the Washington state “Foreclosure Fairness Act” was signed into law, marking a major victory in a long, multi-year fight by advocates for low-income borrowers, including the Statewide Poverty Action Network and Washington Community Action Network (an Alliance affiliate.)
On Tax Day, Some Alarming Tax Stats
Did you know… The federal government collected less in taxes in 2010 than it has in over three generations, and tax rates are at historic lows The Bush tax legacy means we currently tax wealth less than work: middle-income paychecks are taxed at 25% compared to stock dividends and capital gains for the wealthiest, whichContinue reading “On Tax Day, Some Alarming Tax Stats”
Washington CAN! Leads Takeover of State Capitol to Protest Budget Cuts
At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, Lieutenant Mark Arras of the Washington State Patrol addressed a crowd of 100 people who had filled the Capitol Building rotunda with sleeping bags and pillows. They had taken up camp in the Capitol to protest state budget cuts slashing social services like health care and education. “WeContinue reading “Washington CAN! Leads Takeover of State Capitol to Protest Budget Cuts”
Unfair to Immigrants, Costly to Taxpayers
This op-ed, originally published in the New York Times, is co-authored by Andrew Friedman, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, an Alliance affiliate. Every year thousands of immigrants being held on Rikers Island are transferred to federal custody and deported. Only about half of them have a criminal record, many of them areContinue reading “Unfair to Immigrants, Costly to Taxpayers”
Big Banks Must Step Up to Address the Revenue Crisis
The big banks live in a parallel universe. In their universe, the financial meltdown was beyond their power to stop. The recession that left more than 1/10th of the American workforce unemployed is a shame they had little to do with. The massive government bailout of the financial system was an opportunity to make aContinue reading “Big Banks Must Step Up to Address the Revenue Crisis”
America’s Food Sweatshops
This article is written by Yvonne Yen Liu and reprinted with permission from Colorlines.com. Liu presented the findings of her report, “The Color of Food,” at the Alliance’s IPP Symposium, “Health Equity — Beyond Health Care Reform” on March 11, 2011. You can download the full report here.