Food Insecurity

By Matt McConnell | Researcher, Economic Justice and Rights Division | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – New survey data released recently by the United States Census Bureau found that housing payments for about half of all US renters were unaffordable in 2021 under guidelines set by the US Department of Housing and Urban […]

Employment

Child poverty rates highest in states that haven’t raised minimum wage

Minnesota Reformer

By Casey Quinlan | – ( Minnesota Reformer ) – Of the 20 states that have failed to raise the minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour standard, 16 have more than 12% of their children living in poverty, according to a States Newsroom analysis of wage and poverty data. Anti-poverty advocates say that’s […]

Afghanistan

Whatever you Think of the Taliban, the Afghan People Desperately Need Help, not Broad Sanctions

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Ed Corcoran | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – The Taliban waged an impressive military campaign and removed the prior government in August 2021. They know how to fight, but they clearly do not know how to run a government. The new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has not been able to get international […]

Democratic Party

If Government wants to Significantly Reduce Poverty, it Can: Census Data Proves It

OtherWords

By Shailly Gupta Barnes | – ( Otherwords.org) – The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that poverty dropped notably in 2021. Amid a pandemic and widespread economic pain, this is a significant accomplishment. There are three lessons here — about government programs, about how we measure poverty, and about how far we have left to […]

Employment

America as a Sacrifice Zone

Liz Theoharis

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In the American ethos, sacrifice is often hailed as the chief ingredient for overcoming hardship and seizing opportunity. To be successful, we’re assured, college students must make personal sacrifices by going deep into debt for a future degree and the earnings that may come with it. Small business owners must sacrifice […]

Agriculture

Food Sovereignty vs. Food Aid: Why Small-Scale Farming Suffers

Daniel Martin Varisco

( Tabsir.net ) – The early major civilizations in the Middle East and Asia with their head start several millennia ago had one thing in common: an agricultural base that fed not only people but led to development of states and their services. Major river systems like the Nile and Tigris/ Euphrates, the Ganges of […]

Climate Crisis

How Climate Emergency could further Punish Inflation-Ridden Economies, with Record Heat Waves across US, UK and Europe

The Conversation

By Derek Lemoine, University of Arizona | – Hundreds of millions of people struggled to keep cool amid a sweltering summer heat wave as cities across the U.S. and mainland Europe experienced record-high temperatures. In the U.K., thermometers topped 104 Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) on July 19, 2022, the highest ever recorded. While all this […]

Employment

Does the Future Belong to People Who Profit Off Our ‘Excessive Wealth Disorder’?

Sam Pizzigati

( Inequality.org ) – If Dustin Hoffman should ever do a remake of The Graduate, the classic 1967 film that launched his famed cinematic career, what might be the 2020s update for that film’s most iconic exchange? A good many of us still fondly remember that poolside party scene. A 21-year-old “Benjamin” gets pulled aside […]

Food Insecurity

How Far Right Legislators are Criminalizing Homelessness and Recreating Debtors’ Prisons to Please the Rabid Trump Base

H. Scott Prosterman

In today’s America, it is increasingly difficult to tell government officials from criminals. A case in point is the Tennessee legislature, which just criminalized homelessness as a felony , which is surely is a crime against man, nature, humanity and natural law. As of July 1, it will be a felony in Tennessee to camp […]