A brand new caucus has emerged in the U.S. House of Representatives. Its arrival is good news, if perhaps a bit overdue. Last week, members announced the launch of the Congressional Dads Caucus, which will focus on pro-family issues such as an expanded Child Tax Credit, national paid family and medical leave, and more funding for child care and health care.
Archives: Voices
Don’t let politicians cut housing aid
We all need physical safety before we can do anything else. Without a roof over our heads, that sense of security is impossible. And with two small children in tow, things get scary. And after fleeing a dangerous domestic situation with my baby and 9-year-old son, with no home but the small moving truck I had rented to escape, I still felt unsafe and terrified. I left economic security and a beautiful Victorian home overlooking a lush green park in Savannah, Georgia and drove to Jacksonville, Florida — where I discovered the only affordable options for housing for us were uninhabitable apartments.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, January 27, 2023
The debt ceiling edition. There just might be some good news on the COVID-19 front. New cases, hospitalizations, stays in ICUs and test positivity are all down sharply, compared with two weeks ago. This follows a post holiday bump reported in early to mid January. Meanwhile, the “tripledemic” of RSV, flu, and COVID-19 is easing off, as hospitals nationwide report improving conditions.
It’s official: the U.S. tax code worsens racial disparity in America
For some time, human needs advocates and many economists have maintained that the U.S. tax code discriminates on the basis of race and ethnicity by increasing disparities between families with wealth – more often White families – and families without wealth. Now, for the first time ever, a U.S. Treasury Department study has confirmed these suspicions: White Americans disproportionately benefit from a variety of tax breaks, including those aimed at investors.
Who does inflation hurt most? From 2021 to 2022, the ground shifted.
When inflation began ravaging Americans’ pocketbooks and wallets in early 2021, it was middle-income Americans who mostly bore the brunt. That’s because inflation then was in part driven by gas costs and a shortage of used cars, which led to higher prices. Americans with low incomes, while hurt, were affected slightly less. Last year, that changed, according to a new report by the New York Fed.
America’s inequality problem in one statistic
If you work for a big corporation, there’s a very good chance your boss has already raked in more cash than you will all year. If the typical CEO of a large U.S. corporation clocked in at 9 am on January 2, by 3:37 pm that afternoon he’d made $58,260 — the average annual salary for all U.S. occupations. In less than seven hours on the first workday of the year, that CEO made as much as the average U.S. worker will make all year long.
Why new consumer protection agency rule must include EBT account holders
It began, in part and strangely enough, with a banana. Entrepreneur Jimmy Chen hoped to develop software that would make it easier for people with low incomes to apply for SNAP benefits. While conducting research and interviews and studying how poor people shop, he noticed people buying one very cheap item – often a banana – so that they could find out their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) balance, which was printed on their receipt.
A stronger IRS helps make our tax system fairer for families
As tax filing season begins, you may be wondering about recent efforts to strip the IRS of billions of dollars of funding. Last week, House Republicans voted to rescind the $80 billion in new IRS funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. While this cut will not ultimately be enacted (the Democratically-controlled Senate will not pass the bill and President Biden has indicated he would veto it), it brings attention to the critical need for more – not reduced – IRS funding.
COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, January 13, 2023
The XBB.1.5 edition. New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are on the rise in many parts of the country. Hospitalizations in particular are at the highest level they’ve been in almost 11 months. Some of this increase was anticipated due to the aftermath of the holidays – a time when many family members and friends gather indoors. But the increase in caseloads is also due to the rapid emergence of XBB.1.5, which is more transmissible than any other omicron subvariant we’ve seen so far.
Biden Administration offers mixed — and disappointing — steps on immigration.
On January 5, 2023, the Biden Administration announced new border enforcement measures aimed at increasing security at the border and reducing the number of individuals crossing unlawfully. The first policy announced is two-fold: it includes a new pathway for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans with the requirement of having U.S.- based sponsors to enter the United States. But also announced is an expansion of Title 42, a policy that allows for the rapid expulsion of individuals back to those same countries without the opportunity to apply for asylum.
I was incarcerated. These are the consequences of prison predatory phone rates.
Have you ever had to choose between phoning your sick mother or brushing your teeth? How about between wearing shoes or calling your favorite niece to sing happy birthday? I’ve had to make these decisions before, and I don’t wish it on anyone — and that’s because I was once incarcerated.
The other January 6
When one thinks of January 6, one remembers the tragic and awful events of two years ago at our nation’s Capitol – anarchy and chaos and insurrection. Democracy bent that day but did not break. But there is another January 6 that plays a role in our country’s history – a day that contributes seminally and in an aspirational sense to the molding of our character as a nation.