Study Suggests Black Families Pay Unfairly High Property Taxes
A new paper examines property tax assessments in every state and concludes that Black homeowners pay, on average, a 10–13% higher tax burden “for the same bundle of public services.” Here’s the tax gap state by state: In Illinois, Black homeowners pay nearly a third more than white homeowners for otherwise similar houses. Among the…
Trump Holds Press Conference to Celebrate Massive Unemployment Rate
Evan Vucci/AP For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.The latest jobs report is out—and with 4.8 million jobs added to the economy last month and unemployment falling to 11.1 percent, it’s far better than most economists had expected. It’s encouraging news, to be sure, but joblessness remains higher…
Coronavirus Growth in Western Countries: July 1 Update
Here’s the coronavirus death toll through July 1. What’s going on with Mexico? I’m still not sure. The United States is now down to 1.57 deaths per million. The raw data from Johns Hopkins is here. The Public Health Agency of Sweden is here.
We Should Cut Prison Sentences in Half
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Would you like to end mass incarceration? There’s an easy way to do it: cut every sentence, for every crime, in half. This doesn’t solve all our problems, of course, but it would be a great start. It would cut the prison…
Congressional Democrats Are Tying Themselves Into Knots About Whether to Restrict Aid to Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb. 20, 2020 visiting an area where a new neighborhood is to be built in an East Jerusalem settlement.Debbie Hill/Pool via AP For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Rank and file Democrats are trying to walk a thin line on Israel. Almost…
Raw Data: Public Opinion About Immigration
We’ve passed a milestone: according to Gallup, more people want to increase immigration than decrease it: It’s worth noting that this Gallup question doesn’t distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. And unsurprisingly, the upward support for immigration comes from Democrats and independents, not Republicans. Still, the net result of Donald Trump’s demonization of immigrants has…