JUST IDEAS
On Trump’s menu: Taking food assistance away from those who need it most
A new rule from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to take away food assistance from at least 750,000 people if they cannot meet harsh new work reporting requirements. The rule would significantly weaken the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),...
Remarks at Life of Learning Ceremony
Thank you, Jack, and Bill Treanor, and congratulations to all of you being honored this evening. It is a special occasion. I am so proud to be part of this Law Center and University. As much or more than any other law school in the country, we stand for and work for...
The Earned Income Tax Credit: A Tool to Weather Hardship
Extreme weather events, such as Tropical Storm Florence and Hurricane Michael, highlight a heavy truth about ongoing climate change: They hit low-income communities the hardest. And the future may be bleaker still.
House farm bill: The latest assault on disability rights
Over the last year, people with disabilities have fought against attacks on their health care, civil rights, and supports that make inclusion in society possible. Now, as the House and Senate prepare to iron out a final version of the bill, we urge those involved to adopt the Senate’s approach to SNAP.
It’s Time to Make Sure Nobody is Paid Less Than the Minimum Wage
Eighty years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt called for a national floor on wages to ensure “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, a core part of the New Deal, the federal minimum wage falls far short of that goal.
From family leave to inclusive paid leave — the importance of the disability lens
Nearly all of us will need to take time away from a job at some point to address a family member’s or our own serious illness, or to welcome a new child into our family. Unfortunately, in the United States we have a patchwork system filled with holes when it comes to paid leave.
Stop pointing at Asian Americans to downplay racism at universities
Offering up an imaginary monolithic culture as the model for success is futile and dangerous. The model minority rhetoric ignores institutional racism against Asian Americans, not to mention fundamental differences in the history and current reality faced by other people of color, such as African Americans and Latinos.
Block grants would be a disaster. Here’s how we know.
Republicans are advancing yet another effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act that is as bad as the one defeated in July, if not worse. This one makes large use of block grants, a long-standing Republican idea to promote “state flexibility.”
The Obama Legacy: Place-Based Poverty
I have spent the last 50-plus years of my life fighting poverty. In 1967, when I worked for Senator Robert Kennedy as his legislative aide, the Senator and I traveled to Mississippi. We saw children starving—literally—with bloated bellies, open sores that wouldn’t heal. Our nation did the right thing then—we expanded the food stamp program—and that’s why you don’t see that kind of starvation here today.
But we had to fight for it. And now we are going to have to fight again.
I Was Homeless in Rural America. Here’s How to Help Families Like Mine.
Source: AP Photo/Elaine Thompson Originally posted on Talkpoverty.org After we packed what was left of our belongings into our rusted-out minivan, my siblings and I loaded in to avoid the rain. We squeezed in among the garbage bags full of clothes, the kitchen...