Tagged: 2021

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From Brooklyn to Buffalo, Socialists are Organizing to Tax the Rich

By Rob Katz

Read the full article from The Indypendent, here.

When a coalition of 40 organizations wrote to Krueger in February 2020 to propose a package of income taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations, she told the Daily News that she supports a “robust progressive tax system” but insisted that only the governor, who has spent his decade-long tenure slashing taxes and social spending, could grow total spending for new or expanded programs. In the pre-pandemic world, Krueger made clear that while she supported the sentiment, she believed her hands were tied.

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It’s Past Time for Congress to Permanently Demilitarize Our Police

By Representative Hank Johnson and Yasmine Taeb

Read the full article from The Nation, here.

In the last few years, the transfer of surplus military-grade weaponry from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to the streets of America has flourished. The militarization of domestic law enforcement perpetuates institutionalized racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia and contributes to the maintenance of a society where the lives of Black and brown people don’t matter. Moreover, studies have shown that the militarization of police departments is not only unsafe for communities but also ineffective in reducing crime or improving police safety. Not surprisingly, evidence has shown that law enforcement agencies that receive military equipment are more prone to violence against the communities they are sworn to protect.

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White supremacists’ fake bomb threats net 3 years in prison

By Associated Press

Read the full article from the Grio, here.

A former Old Dominion University student who joined up with white supremacists in a swatting conspiracy that targeted a Black church, his own university and a Cabinet officer, among others, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Monday.

Selected Media

Renting Is Terrible. Owning Is Worse.

By Shane Phillips

Read the full article from The Atlantic here.

“The housing situation is only getting worse—more expensive, more inequitable, more precarious. As prices have continued their climb in the country’s most economically dynamic regions, it’s no longer feasible for working-class residents to seek out the best opportunities there. Instead, younger and lower-income residents are being pushed out to places where jobs are less plentiful and lucrative, but where housing, at least, is relatively affordable.”

Selected Media

Renting Is Terrible. Owning Is Worse.

By Shane Phillips

Read the full article from The Atlantic here.

“The housing situation is only getting worse—more expensive, more inequitable, more precarious. As prices have continued their climb in the country’s most economically dynamic regions, it’s no longer feasible for working-class residents to seek out the best opportunities there. Instead, younger and lower-income residents are being pushed out to places where jobs are less plentiful and lucrative, but where housing, at least, is relatively affordable.”

Selected Media

Speakers make case for giving financial reparations to descendants of slavery

By Barbara Branning

Read the full article from UBNow here.

“Darity pointed out that wealth is equated with a family’s well-being, and that a person’s financial agency leads to greater opportunity — for homeownership and building savings, for example. Currently, he said, Black people represent 13% of the population but hold only 2% of the nation’s wealth. Darity and Mullen ended their presentation with a synopsis of their detailed plan for providing substantial financial compensation to all eligible descendants of documented slaves.”

Selected Media

How Can Blackness Construct America?

By Michael Kimmelman

Read the full article from The New York Times here.

“The MoMA show was organized by Sean Anderson, an associate curator at the museum, and Mabel O. Wilson, an architect, Columbia University professor and author, among much else, of ‘White by Design,’ which describes the Modern’s failure to display and collect works by Black architects and designers. ‘Reconstructions’ proceeds from a question: ‘How do we construct Blackness?’ The architects enlisted to answer this question are a multigenerational mix, including some familiar names. Nearly all run small or solo practices.”

Selected Media

U.S. Pedestrian Deaths Soar In ‘Total Failure’ As States Prioritize Vehicle Speed, Traffic Flow

By Nina Golgowski

Read the full article from HuffPost here.

“Black people were found to have been struck and killed by drivers at an 82% higher rate than white non-Hispanic people during the years 2010 to 2019. The fatality rate in the lowest-income neighborhoods was nearly twice that of middle-income neighborhoods. ‘Low-income communities are significantly less likely to have sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and street design to support safer, slower speeds,’ the report states. ‘It is likely that many of the people walking in these lower-income census tracts are also lower-income themselves.’ People in lower-income communities are less likely to have cars, the report adds.”

Selected Media

U.S. Pedestrian Deaths Soar In ‘Total Failure’ As States Prioritize Vehicle Speed, Traffic Flow

By Nina Golgowski

Read the full article from HuffPost here.

“Black people were found to have been struck and killed by drivers at an 82% higher rate than white non-Hispanic people during the years 2010 to 2019. The fatality rate in the lowest-income neighborhoods was nearly twice that of middle-income neighborhoods. ‘Low-income communities are significantly less likely to have sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and street design to support safer, slower speeds,’ the report states. ‘It is likely that many of the people walking in these lower-income census tracts are also lower-income themselves.’ People in lower-income communities are less likely to have cars, the report adds.”

Selected Media

Legislating the Gig Worker Economy

By Liz Farmer

Read the series on the gig economy from the Rockefeller Institute here.

“Part One of this series will address the legislative approach to protecting gig workers’ rights in California and other states. Part Two looks at efforts to protect gig companies. Part Three will look at how the COVID-19 economic crisis might influence the gig economy and labor policy going forward.”

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