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Safety Net Needs More Than Stimulus Checks

The Covid-19 pandemic in the United States has left millions of people struggling to make ends meet. Massive government spending, especially the stimulus checks, has provided crucial relief. But the checks are just a band-aid for a U.S. social safety…
Gina Stanton, of the Homewood neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, attends a rally held by the Mon Valley  Unemployed Committee and Pittsburgh Restaurant Workers Aid Group at Governor Tom Wolf’s regional office on March 10, 2021, downtown Pittsburgh.
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The Promise of Public Housing

No one should have to choose between housing that is unaffordable and housing that is uninhabitable.

President Joe Biden’s recently announced infrastructure plan calls for the federal government to invest $40 billion in repairing America’s public housing stock, a move that could open a new chapter in the nation’s fraught relationship with…
A group of protestors during a major demonstration at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, in response to then-President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut $6.2 billion in federal housing funds, April 20, 2017. 
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Interview: The Law Putting Illinois' Young People at Risk

Forcing Parental Involvement in Abortion Violates Rights

A law in the US state of Illinois that forces people under 18 to involve an adult family member in their abortion decision is failing some of the state’s young people and violating their human rights. In a new joint report with the American Civil…
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Declassify the Post-9/11 Torture Program

As Joe Biden settles into his presidency, in addition to facing a pandemic and economic crisis, he will hear demands for accountability. If President Biden is going to help restore a robust commitment to the rule of law, he will need to reach…
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Amazon Unionization Effort Spotlights Need for US Labor Reform

Federal Law Should Enable Workers to Fight for Better Conditions

It is hard to imagine a less hospitable environment in the United States for workers to organize than Alabama, where state law seriously curtails unions. But that is exactly what a group of Amazon warehouse employees in Bessemer, Alabama are…
An Amazon worker delivers boxes in downtown Los Angeles, California, October 1, 2020. 
News

Biden Administration Should Restore, Strengthen Consumer Protections

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under the Trump administration has been gutting consumer protections for four years, putting low-income families at risk of exploitation by predatory lenders. The incoming Biden administration should…
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I Had to Rely on Food Stamps While Working Full-Time for Instacart

For the past three years, I have shopped and delivered food for Instacart to thousands of homes and businesses in the San Francisco area. I rarely take a day off and usually work seven days a week. But I struggle to make ends meet, no matter how hard…
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Grocery App Workers' Rights Are Under Siege

Californians will soon be voting on Prop 22—an initiative that would remove protections for gig workers and could drive them into financial hardship.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the tech-driven transformation of the grocery industry. Many Californians shunning brick-and-mortar stores for fear of catching the virus continue to rely on workers hired by online ordering apps to pick…
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News

The Need to Abolish Extortionate Criminal Fines and Fees

Nationwide protests in response to the brutal murder of George Floyd have put a spotlight on the profound injustices of the criminal legal system. Much of the criticism has rightly focused on the abuses in policing and incarceration. But…
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US Needs to Address Economic Hardship, Rights Impacts of Covid-19

Census Bureau Data Underscores Vulnerability of People in Poverty

The United States Census Bureau released the results of its annual American Community Survey (ACS) last week. The survey provides US data on poverty, income inequality, health, and a range of other topics for 2019, prior to the pandemic. Despite some…
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Comprehensive Sex Ed for All Can Improve People’s Health

Last July, I spoke with Sky H., a 20-year–old who identifies as non-binary and grew up in a very conservative rural town in the Black Belt region of Alabama. In school, Sky received abstinence-only…
Desks in an empty classroom
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How Digital Contact Tracing for COVID-19 Could Worsen Inequality

Amid protests against racism and police brutality in Minneapolis, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington likened police investigations of arrested protesters and their associates to contact tracing for COVID-19. This reckless analogy…
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In the Pandemic, Millions of People Could Lose Their Homes

For households around the world, soon it will be the time of the month to start thinking about next month’s rent, mortgage or housing loan payments. Billions of people have been directly or indirectly affected by Covid-19. This unprecedented public…
Homeless women sleep outside on a mattress in the "Villa 31" neighborhood during a government-ordered lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, May 6, 2020.
News

Business As Usual Isn’t Good Enough for World’s Homeless

Across the globe, people experiencing homelessness face serious risks—this was true before the Covid-19 pandemic. In many wealthy countries, homelessness has come to be seen as a fact of modern society. Some governments have claimed it can’t be…
Tents line a sidewalk on Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, Saturday, April 18, 2020.
News

The Forgotten, Suffering Without Aid

Street Vendors and Undocumented Workers are Getting No Federal Help

COVID-19 has thrown New York City’s inequalities into sharp relief. People in low-paying jobs and immigrant workers have been the hardest hit by job losses. And for many of those most vulnerable to economic shocks, informal workers…
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News

Consumer Case Could Open Door to Corporate Influence

When Americans vote in the Super Tuesday primaries, one of the issues at stake is corporate power. That same day the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could open the floodgates to greater politicization and corporate…
A general view of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters in Washington, D.C., as seen on October 4, 2019. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
News

How Sex Ed Can Save Lives

When Abba M. learned that a sexual partner had exposed her to the human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV, she did “a bunch of Googling.” The 21-year-old Alabama resident knew very little about it. Turning to her friends proved…
A billboard by the Alabama Department of Public Health in Eutaw, Greene County, raises awareness of recommended adolescent vaccines, including the HPV vaccine.

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