On May 5th, 2010, the Colorado state legislature passed a payday lending reform bill that is a huge victory against predatory lending, and will benefit an estimated 200,000 low-income Coloradans annually.Continue reading “Colorado Progressive Coalition Hails Payday Lending Reform Passage”
“This is a Movement, not a Moment” — Scenes from the Montana Organizing Project Founding Convention
This post was written by Amanda Harrow, Montana Small Business Program Director
An energized diverse group of people came together this past weekend in Butte, Montana, to found the Montana Organizing Project. Seventy people from labor unions, faith communities, non-profit service organizations, and other interested communities around the state joined in committing to work for social, economic, and racial justice in Montana.Continue reading ““This is a Movement, not a Moment” — Scenes from the Montana Organizing Project Founding Convention”
A reaction to President Obama’s long awaited stand on comprehensive immigration reform
On Thursday, after weeks of increased pressure from immigrant rights advocates President Obama addressed a crowd at American University on the need to fix our broken immigration system. The speech outlined his commitment to a comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrant families currently in the U.S.Continue reading “A reaction to President Obama’s long awaited stand on comprehensive immigration reform”
Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is
In late May, seventy-five people from twelve different states gathered in Seattle for the inaugural two-day symposium of the Institute for Pragmatic Practice (IPP): “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is: Building State Budgets that Reflect Our Values.”Continue reading “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is”
Maine Small Business Owners Take on Big Insurance
Big Insurance and its Bag of Tricks
The ink may have dried on the federal health care reform bill, but the health insurance industry isn’t packing up its bag of tricks and going quietly into the night. Instead, insurers actually appear to be stepping up their attempts to game the system, seeking to exploit the window of opportunity before new rules and regulations take effect. They’re scheming to (a) inflate their rates, (b) kick customers with health issues off their rolls, and (c) employ creative accounting to reclassify costs, all in the interest of maximizing short-term profits.Continue reading “Maine Small Business Owners Take on Big Insurance”
Main Street Alliance Joins Small Business Majority on Amici Brief Opposing Lawsuit Against Health Reform in VA Court
This is a cross-post from the Main Street Alliance, a NWFCO-sponsored program that works with small business owners to bring their voices into important policy debates.
Today, the Main Street Alliance joined Small Business Majority in filing a friend of the court brief in U.S. district court in Virginia. The brief registers small business opposition to the lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General in Virginia attempting to repeal key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Virginia MSA leader Tammy Rostov joined SBM CEO John Arensmeyer and attorney Joseph Sandler on a press call to discuss the brief.Continue reading “Main Street Alliance Joins Small Business Majority on Amici Brief Opposing Lawsuit Against Health Reform in VA Court”
NWFCO Celebrates New Health Care Law!
I’m signing [this health reform bill] for 11-year-old Marcelas Owens, who’s also here. Marcelas lost his mom to an illness. And she didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford the care that she needed. So in her memory he has told her story across America so that no other children have to go through what his family has experienced. — President Barack Obama, March 23, 2010Continue reading “NWFCO Celebrates New Health Care Law!”
Washington CAN!: Medical Interpretation Victory Empowers Patients and Workers
For eight years, I was the interpreter for my father while he was sick. At the age of 14, I was more his interpreter than his daughter. I worried about how I would tell my father that another part of his leg would be amputated or whether he was going to survive another surgery. Sometimes I would spare my father bad news despite the doctor’s orders. I would decide whether or not to tell the nurse if my father had eaten that day based on the pain the IV would cause him.Continue reading “Washington CAN!: Medical Interpretation Victory Empowers Patients and Workers”
Tax Justice in Oregon
Just weeks after conservative Scott Brown was elected to replace Senator Ted Kennedy in a Massachusetts special election, and the Supreme Court squashed restrictions on corporate campaign contributions, the health care bill appeared dead. Pundits across the country warned of the end of the progressive agenda. Meanwhile in Oregon, hundreds of volunteers poured into union halls to collect the canvass materials to educate voters on tax fairness and the need to preserve social services. The result? Oregonians stood up to say that they valued social services and didn’t mind asking those who have weathered the storm of the recession to finally pay their fair share to keep them around.Continue reading “Tax Justice in Oregon”
Norm Pflanz: Marching Toward Immigration Reform
While Congress was finishing debate on the historical health care reform bill, hundreds of thousands of immigrants and immigrant allies marched on the nation’s Capitol to demand another piece of critical progressive reform: Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Many of NWFCO’s partners participated in this incredible show of optimism and solidarity, including Nebraska Appleseed.Continue reading “Norm Pflanz: Marching Toward Immigration Reform”