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”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
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”
Hate Has No Home Here / Hate Has No Business Here
The Alliance for a Just Society joins with Main Street Alliance and businesses all around the country who are standing up to racist and anti-Muslim rhetoric from political candidates and others in recent weeks. We reject collective punishment for individual acts and join other in saying “Hate has no business here” and “Hate has no homeContinue reading “Hate Has No Home Here / Hate Has No Business Here”
Debtors’ Prisons Redux
Debtors’ Prisons Redux: How Legal Loopholes Let Courts Across the Country Criminalize Poverty (pdf) By Allyson Fredericksen and Linnea Lassiter December 2015
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”
Let’s Block Too-Big-To-Fail Insurance Mergers
By LeeAnn Hall and Wendell Potter This article was originally published in Roll Call. If you thought too-big-to-fail banks were dangerous, watch out for too-big-to-fail health insurance companies. This summer, the country’s top insurers announced a spate of merger plans, lighting up the business pages nationwide. Health insurance giant Anthem unveiled its intention to absorbContinue reading “Let’s Block Too-Big-To-Fail Insurance Mergers”
Health Insurance Is Great – Navigators Needed to Help People Use It
This spring, Adriann Barboa and her colleagues at Strong Families New Mexico went on a five-county tour, fanning out across the state to share findings from the Breaking Barriers study they’d conducted on progress under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The report is part of a ten-state series by the Alliance for a Just Society.Continue reading “Health Insurance Is Great – Navigators Needed to Help People Use It”
Price-Gouging AIDS & Cancer Patients? By-Product of a Broken System
Martin Shkreli wants you to swallow his bitter pill — and to thank him for making you pay $750 for it. For 62 years, the drug Daraprim has been the standard method to treat parasitic infections that are particularly life-threatening to AIDS and cancer patients. It was relatively affordable — though low-income patients might take issue with calling an $18 pill “affordable” —Continue reading “Price-Gouging AIDS & Cancer Patients? By-Product of a Broken System”
Racial Segregation: Righting the Wrong and Making Restitution
At a time in history when crime continues to decline, same-sex marriage is legal, and innovation is powering advances in technology and bioengineering – one issue fails to progress: racial justice. The unemployment rate for African-Americans continues to be more than twice that of whites. Public schools are more segregated now than they were inContinue reading “Racial Segregation: Righting the Wrong and Making Restitution”