Alliance affiliate Idaho Community Action Network today applauded the Obama Administration’s proposed rule change allowing spouses and children of U.S. citizens to stay together in the United States while family members work to gain permanent U.S. residency. Continue reading “ICAN Applauds Obama Administration’s Proposal to Keep Families United”
Health Care 2011: Year in Review
The election in November of 2010 shifted the political ground both in D.C. and in many state legislatures. These political changes brought efforts to repeal the ACA and to reduce the national commitment both to Medicaid and to critical programs funded as a part of reform. The efforts by the political right to reset the national agenda challenge every gain we’ve made. Although the fight for health care has moved from front page news to the trenches, we have seen some impressive achievements this past year:Continue reading “Health Care 2011: Year in Review”
MT Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Corporate Spending in State Elections
Something amazing happened in Montana on December 30. The State Supreme Court ruled on whether Montana has to throw out its century-old ban on corporate spending in Montana elections in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling. What did the state court decide? Well, to summarize in two words: heck, no. Continue reading “MT Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Corporate Spending in State Elections”
Occupy Protests Have Shifted National Dialogue, 2012 Elections Loom
The Occupy protests that have sprouted up in over a thousand cities nationwide have had a profound effect on the political landscape. Barely four months ago, the dominant narrative was that the country is broke and we have to tighten our belts through “fiscal austerity,” with nary a mention of income inequality and who pays the price of “austerity” policies (hint: not the 1 percent). Today, even Republican presidential nominees are sniping back and forth about who is the wealthiest, and the framing of the 99 percent movement is widely used by politicians and in the media.Continue reading “Occupy Protests Have Shifted National Dialogue, 2012 Elections Loom”
99% Red Balloons for Economic Equity
While Fortune 500 corporations duck out of state taxes, legislators continue to put public services on the chopping block, but still the 1% isn’t being told that they need to do their part when it comes to balancing state budgets.
Last week, the Washington Community Action Network fought back at a special session of the legislature:
On Tuesday, Washington CAN! and our allies headed to Olympia to protest the Special Session and the additional $2 billion in budget cuts that are going to be made. Tuesday’s events focused on the personal stories of those affected by the cuts, putting a face to the growing 99% movement.
Click here for Washington CAN’s full report-back.
Small Business Owners Aren’t Buying Anti-Regulatory Hype
Over the past two weeks, the House of Representatives has been inundated with an alphabet soup of anti-regulatory legislation. Last week, the House debated and voted on the RAA (Regulatory Accountability Act) and RFIA (Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act), and this week on the REINS Act (Regulations in Need of Scrutiny from the Executive Act). Continue reading “Small Business Owners Aren’t Buying Anti-Regulatory Hype”
News from DC: Super-Committee Fails, Now What?
Bill Daley is the Federal Issues Policy Director at The Alliance for a Just Society.
On November 21st, the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee of Deficit Reduction, aka the “Super Committee”, issued this statement: “After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee’s deadline.” What does failure mean? What happens next? Continue reading “News from DC: Super-Committee Fails, Now What?”
The 99% are Headed to DC to Take Back the Capitol
The Alliance for a Just Society is supporting the call for thousands of Americans to go to Washington, DC in the first week of December to make the voices of the 99% heard and counter the influence of the 1%. Alliance affiliates from Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Washington and Virginia will all make the trek to DC, bringing local displaced workers with them to join thousands from across the country. Continue reading “The 99% are Headed to DC to Take Back the Capitol”
No Deal Is Better than a Bad Deal
Yesterday morning in Washington D.C., the Alliance for a Just Society helped crash a swanky fundraising event where Senator John Kyl was trawling for cash from corporate bigwigs. Kyl sits on the congressional joint committee tasked with reducing the federal deficit. While Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security hang in the balance, corporations and the one percent continue are counting on Kyl and the other “supercommittee” members to protect their outsized tax breaks.Continue reading “No Deal Is Better than a Bad Deal”
Big Immigration Victory in Arizona…and Lots More Work to Do
Last week, the immigrant rights movement had a major victory in Arizona. State Senate President Russell Pearce was the driving force behind Arizona SB 1070, the infamous bill that gave local police the power to act as immigration officials. Pearce lost his senate seat on November 8th in a historic recall election, sending a clear message that anti-immigration measures might not be quite as popular as Senator Pearce believes. And while the ousting of Pearce is a big moral win for the movement, reiterations of his bill are working their way through legislatures all across the country. Continue reading “Big Immigration Victory in Arizona…and Lots More Work to Do”