With all the talk surrounding money in politics, little attention has been paid to how this issue limits the candidate pool. Essentially, we are seeing now more than ever the devastating results of money in politics in the form of limiting the ability of potential candidates to afford running for office. There have been many reports on how expensive elections have become, but few have … Continue reading Who Should Run for Office?
This year is the 25th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which enables qualifying employees to take unpaid but protected leaves from their workplace. While this was a good start, in the years since, paid leave legislation at the federal level has stalled and women have paid the price. Luckily, California has decided to do something about this. As of January 1 … Continue reading Best Fringe Benefit: Caregiver Paid Leave
The mayor of Mount Vernon, NY, a city of around 70,000 citizens just north of New York City, has been charged with several felonies, essentially for stealing money from his own campaign committee. Mayor Richard Thomas also spent tens of thousands of dollars raised for his inauguration on personal expenses, but that is apparently not illegal. New York State law clearly prohibits using money raised … Continue reading Elected Officials and Outside Income — Not a Good Match
With passage of the 13th and 14th amendments, America created two of the greatest loopholes in the country’s legal code. Immediately following their introduction, the language of the amendments led to Jim Crow, convict leasing, and chain gangs. Over 150 years later, we are seeing further harmful results of these laws in states that disenfranchise felons. Thankfully, some states are beginning to examine their policies … Continue reading Florida is being Forced to Reform its Voting Rights Restoration System
There are vast differences between the lives of a rich person and a poor person. As someone who finds himself in the former category, I know that the majority of these differences privilege my experiences and opportunities over the other. In a truly democratic and safe society, these benefits should stop once the criminal justice system enters into the equation, but this is not the … Continue reading Do Millionaires Worry About Going to Jail?
With so many contentious aspects of the omnibus being highlighted in the news cycle, it’s easy to ignore the seemingly innocuous touting Trump has done in the aftermath of the legislation’s passage. Unfortunately, the president’s musings over enacting a presidential line item veto is not simply hot air, and while many presidents have called for one before, the proposal has never been as potentially detrimental … Continue reading Trump Wants to Take Even More Power From Congress
Whether it’s the monied bail system, the corruption of officers and prosecutors, or the financial interests of for-profit prisons, there are economic and institutional powers that require a consistent flow of offenders and non-offenders to be put behind bars and forever marred by the label “convict.” At the moment, a plurality of states disenfranchise citizens, sometimes for life, due to their criminal history. We would … Continue reading New Jersey Might (Finally) Do Something About its Practice of Disenfranchisment
Our country and all subsequent American generations are sitting on a massive time bomb that will ultimately explode and take the United States of America, as we know it, with it. This time bomb is our National Debt! For some reason, the “fiscally responsible” party, the Republicans, only seem concerned with the debt when a Democrat is in the White House or in control of … Continue reading A Ticking Time Bomb that Boomers are Leaving Behind…..
Are you afraid? I cannot believe that you, members of the NRA, are not shaken to the core by the relentless occurrence of mass murders in this country. Whether you are moved by frustration, anger, or humaneness, isn’t it time for you to do something about it? To be blunt, you have the power! If you really are the five million NRA members who … Continue reading Dear NRA Members
Last night, Trump gave his first State of the Union (SOTU) address. In it, he congratulated himself on victories achieved in his first year, and listed the various things he plans to do in the future. True to himself, Mr. President did not forget to share a handful of mistruths surrounding statistics in order to improve his record. “Just as I promised the American People … Continue reading Trump’s State of the Union Address was More of the Same Narcissism and Division
Two weeks ago, I checked my phone and believed I had just moments left on this earth. As many of you may have read or heard by now, those of us in Hawaii on January 13 received the following message: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. At the time, I was surrounded by my family, including our … Continue reading Why Was an Impending Missile Strike Even Believable?
A few years back, I travelled to India with a friend from the country but who had become a US citizen. It was a wonderful experience, full of new scenery and exciting tastes, but there was something a little off. No matter where I went, it felt like all eyes were always on me. I caught glances from every person I passed. It was unnerving … Continue reading We are ALL Racially Aware, But We Don’t Have to be Racially Prejudiced
Post originally appeared at WalkerViewPoints on 12/26/17. How do you feel when you walk through the Business Class section of the airplane on your way to crowded and uncomfortable coach seating, while privileged customers are sipping their free champagne? Do you wonder for a moment how their wealth was obtained, whether every one of them gained it fairly, without privilege of birth? I venture to … Continue reading Americans Do Care About Inequality!
The #MeToo movement has continued its efforts to change the culture of workplace sexual harassment by putting their money where their mouth is. New Year’s Day the Time’s Up initiative was announced, with stated goals that include fighting sexual assault in blue-collar workplaces across the country. One of their missions is to “discourage the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence victims,” according to the nytimes.com. … Continue reading Society Can’t Fix a Non-disclosable Problem
In a bill full of boondoggles to the 1%, few other amendments are as egregious as the graduate student tax. The aforementioned tax has been championed as a way to increase tax revenue in the wake of mounting special interest pressure to remove the estate tax. Thus, it is simply a shifting of the fiscal burden onto hard-working, less privileged citizens in order for the … Continue reading The #GradStudentTax is the End of Equal Opportunity
Despite calls to move to the center and focus on bipartisanship, since the 2016 election the Democratic party is finally beginning to realize that it can no longer compromise on its values for Wall Street cash. Even setting aside the simple fact that progressive platforms like raising the minimum wage are good policy, it’s clear that relying on Wall Street money and ignoring the energy … Continue reading Why Progressives Don’t Need Wall Street Millionaires
Let Congress sort out if they can be turned into law later, the way to win is to rally people around ideas.
The thing that holds us together as Americans is values. They are our American religion. That’s what we pledge allegiance to.