Welfare Reform Was a Disaster for the Poor. Trump Wants to Make It Even Worse.
President Bill Clinton signs welfare reform legislation on August 22, 1996.J. Scott Applewhite/AP This week marked the 23rd anniversary of welfare reform, a law that ripped a hole in the nation’s safety net under the guise of encouraging personal responsibility among poor families. The nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has marked the anniversary…
Parents Are Giving Up Custody of Their Kids to Get Need-Based College Financial Aid
This story was originally published by ProPublica. Dozens of suburban Chicago families, perhaps many more, have been exploiting a legal loophole to win their children need-based college financial aid and scholarships they would not otherwise receive, court records and interviews show. Coming months after the national “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal, this tactic also appears to…
Whatever Else You Do With Your Life, You Should Tip the Delivery Guy in Cash
Getty Images Man, it’s a hot one. Like seven inches from the midday sun. It’s July, it’s a weekend, you’re feeling hungry but lazy, you don’t really want to eat what you have in the fridge, you definitely don’t want to go outside (on account of the heat), so you decide to order something for…
California Is Considering Ending Criminal Court Fees and Wiping Out Billions in Debt
Susann Prautsch/Getty Three years ago, during Brandon Greene’s first week working as a lawyer in a new clinic affiliated with the East Bay Community Law Center, he was handed a stack of cases to review. Each involved a client who was struggling to pay down the fines and fees that easily accumulate in California’s criminal justice system. It was his job…
Ayanna Pressley Wants to Ditch an Old Anti-Abortion Law. House Democrats Aren’t Listening.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley speaks to demonstrators outside of the Supreme Court on May 21, 2019.Stefani Reynolds/AP Images The Democratic majority in the US House appears likely to pass a spending bill which will include the Hyde Amendment, a measure that blocks federal funds from being spent on abortions, despite clear opposition from the the party’s base and…
Elizabeth Warren Just Unveiled a Plan to Close the Racial Wealth Gap
Jack Kurtz/Zuma Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released a plan Friday to close the racial wealth gap by issuing $7 billion in grants to entrepreneurs of color. The grants could be used for startup capital to support an estimated 100,000 new minority-owned businesses, potentially creating 1.1 million jobs. “Every American should have a fair shot at…