We’ve talked on this blog about minimum wage, paid leave, and other human needs programs that affect low-income workers and people with disabilities. One area we haven’t talked about yet that also impacts the ability of these populations to get good jobs and improve their situations is transportation. Let’s change…
Archives: Voices
Head Smacker: Minimum Wage Workers Forced to Rely on Public Subsidies While Their Employers Make Billions
Last Thursday, a group of minimum wage earners and supporters gathered on the steps of the Capitol to urge Members of Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10. Many at the rally brought spare pairs of shoes with them as a symbol of their challenge to Congress to…
Fact of the Week: More U.S. Cities Have Made it Illegal to Be Homeless
A report by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty released in July shows a disturbing trend in cities across America – the passage of laws that, in effect, make it illegal to be homeless. And the number of cities that are criminalizing many of the activities that homeless…
Head Smacker: Professor Epstein Wants People to be Able to Take Jobs at 2 Cents an Hour
There is a growing support for raising the minimum wage. In fact, 22 states and the District of Columbia have already enacted increases above the federal $7.25 per hour. But that view is not shared by Richard Epstein, professor of law at NYU. He was on the PBS NewsHour on…
Fact of the Week: Americans Want US to Give Shelter and Support to Child Refugees
A new poll by the Public Religion Research Institute sheds some light on what the U.S. public thinks about the child refugee crisis happening along the country’s southern borders. When asked what the U.S. should do about the children who are currently arriving from Central America without their parents, 70 percent…
New Q&A on the Child Refugee Crisis
There are many questions around the current child refugee crisis, including why the children are coming, what protections for them currently exist and what would happen if these protections are taken away, why additional money is needed and when it’s needed, how the public feels about the crisis, and why…
Children Fleeing Violence Need Congress to Act Now
In what has become a true humanitarian crisis, nearly 60,000 refugees, mostly unaccompanied children, have come to the U.S. this year alone. This Wednesday, July 30, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill to provide $2.7 billion in emergency funding to help improve their already desperate situation. The…
Rep. Ryan’s Poverty Plan – Reactions and Resources
Earlier today, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) appeared at an event hosted by AEI to unveil his new plan to fight poverty, “Expanding Opportunity in America.” Rep. Ryan’s plan categorizes his reforms into six different areas, a few of which we’ll discuss here. So-called “Opportunity Grants”: First, Rep….
Head Smacker: Trying to get Chairman Ryan’s poverty plan to match up with everything he has proposed up to now, and what he might be doing tomorrow
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) gave a speech today about Expanding Opportunity in America. He talked about the need to provide individualized services to poor families, to let states try new approaches and test their outcomes, to reduce incarceration and provide services for those returning from prison, and…
Fact of the Week: The Average Worker Who Would Benefit from a Minimum Wage Increase Isn’t Who You Might Think
The average age of workers who benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10 is 35 years old. More than a third of workers affected are at least 40. While many people still think of the average minimum wage worker as the teenager earning some extra spending cash, the reality is…
Rep. Ryan’s Plan to Fight Poverty – A Preview
This Thursday, July 24, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveils his plan to fight poverty and expand opportunity at an event at AEI. We encourage you to watch the live stream starting at 9 a.m., and share your thoughts about what you hear in the comments section below….
Head Smacker: Congress Continues to Fund Military Equipment the Pentagon Doesn’t Want
Despite Congress’ continued insistence that critical assistance like benefits for the long-term unemployed be paid for by cutting something else, they continue to push money towards the Pentagon – whether or not the Pentagon wants the money in the first place. The Friends Committee on National Legislation pulled together some…