This article first appeared in OtherWords Have you ever picked up your phone to find an aggressive voice on the other end demanding payments on a debt you know nothing about? You’re far from alone. Once you’re in the sights of a debt collector, the impact on your life can be devastating: Your wages canContinue reading “Cracking Down on Abusive Debt Collectors”
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REPORT: Debt Collectors Profit From Aggressive Tactics
For Immediate Release January 26, 2016 Contact: Kathy Mulady, (206) 992-8787 kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org REPORT PROFILES COMPANIES WITH THE MOST COMPLAINTS ABOUT ABUSIVE AND DECEPTIVE DEBT COLLECTION TACTICS Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should write strong rules to protect consumers from abusive collection practices SEATTLE – Companies engaging in debt collection activities use abusive and deceptive practices that includeContinue reading “REPORT: Debt Collectors Profit From Aggressive Tactics”
Instead of Building Walls, Build an Economy That Works for All
The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will take up a case that challenges President Barack Obama’s executive actions that deferred the deportation of 5 million undocumented immigrants. News coverage of this development naturally was dominated by the two words that are sure to make any news story go viral: “procedural battle.” Okay, perhaps suchContinue reading “Instead of Building Walls, Build an Economy That Works for All”
Winning the Fight for $15 in 2016
Millions of low-paid Americans rang in 2016 with a raise, as a handful of state minimum wage increases went into effect on the first day of January. Many of those raises are a barely noticeable 15 or 20 cents an hour — little comfort to people struggling to make ends meet. But workers in theContinue reading “Winning the Fight for $15 in 2016”
Today in Medicaid: Big Win in Louisiana
Today, Louisiana’s new governor, John Bel Edwards, made the most of his first full day in office. Through an executive order, Gov. Edwards expanded Medicaid to about 300,000 uninsured Louisianans, many of whom will be eligible for health coverage for the first time. This move makes Louisiana the 31st state to extend the benefits ofContinue reading “Today in Medicaid: Big Win in Louisiana”
It’s a Matter of Life and Death: Insurers Must Cover Language Services
A 14-year-old girl accompanies her Somali-speaking father to his medical appointment. Because the clinic doesn’t provide an interpreter, the girl has to inform her own father than he has been diagnosed with cancer. She remains his interpreter through eight years of treatment, sometimes hiding information to protect him from the bad news. A group ofContinue reading “It’s a Matter of Life and Death: Insurers Must Cover Language Services”
Defending Planned Parenthood is Essential for the Whole Progressive Movement
(This opinion by LeeAnn Hall was originally published in Common Dreams) Planned Parenthood is an easy target for rage and righteousness as we saw too plainly in the shootings in Colorado Springs late last month. The ongoing conservative attack on Planned Parenthood funding depends on the same extreme rhetoric but, it’s also part of aContinue reading “Defending Planned Parenthood is Essential for the Whole Progressive Movement”
Next Attack on Workers – Will Conservatives Champion “Free Riding” to Justify It?
Building power through strength in numbers. It’s one way regular people can overcome opposition from corporate and wealthy special interests to win concrete improvements in our everyday lives. We may not be able to match opponents who can write seven-figure checks dollar for dollar, but by banding together, articulating collective demands, and negotiating with powerfulContinue reading “Next Attack on Workers – Will Conservatives Champion “Free Riding” to Justify It?”
Stop racist rhetoric and legislation on refugees
The U.S. Congress should be ashamed. Today, House Republicans, joined by 47 Democrats, hastily passed a bill that would effectively end the current U.S. refugee program for refugees fleeing the brutal civil war in Syria — a war our government is actively involved in. This week, following the tragic terror attacks in Paris, politicians inContinue reading “Stop racist rhetoric and legislation on refugees”
Racism on Campus is Nothing New. A Sustained Anti-Racist Campus Movement Would Be.
As a first-year student at Brown University I was detained for trespassing by campus security. In my own dorm. In sock feet. You see, I left my dorm room to go to the bathroom and didn’t bring my college ID along. I guess I should have known better. As a black student it was alwaysContinue reading “Racism on Campus is Nothing New. A Sustained Anti-Racist Campus Movement Would Be.”