Congress is locked in a budget battle that’s grabbed round-the-clock media attention. Lost in the coverage are the real stakes in the debate, including the lives of the more than 50 million people covered by Medicaid, which is now in the budget-cutting cross-hairs. More than half of these 50 million are people of color. RacialContinue reading “Medicaid Makes a Difference Report”
Author Archives: AJS admin
Washington Community Action Network’s Sunny Summer Conference
On July 23, 250 Washingtonians spent a rare sunny Seattle Saturday in a leadership conference! WashingtonCAN’s annual Summer Leadership Conference was attended by about 250 committed community members. Turnout included people from WashingtonCAN, Working Washington and other progressive organizations and labor unions across Washington. Folks from Vancouver to Tacoma to Spokane participated. Workshop topics rangedContinue reading “Washington Community Action Network’s Sunny Summer Conference”
Let’s Not Get Fracked!
If you listen regularly to public radio’s “This American Life” (TAL), you probably weren’t surprised by their recent, in-depth examination of fracking in Pennsylvania, where natural gas companies are now ripping through the Marcellus Shale. The radio program has made a real niche in dissecting the way power works across our country, and fracking –Continue reading “Let’s Not Get Fracked!”
Homeowners Present New Bottom Line to Attorneys General
Forty homeowners and clergy members traveled across the country on Tuesday to Chicago’s Drake Hotel to welcome and urge the nation’s states’ Attorneys General to stand firm for a strong settlement agreement with the big banks. While the Attorneys General gathered for their NAAG summer meeting, members of the New Bottom Line brought along “welcomeContinue reading “Homeowners Present New Bottom Line to Attorneys General”
Medicaid Matters across Generations
On July 12th, over 250 people joined with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Al Franken of Minnesota and Claire McCaskill of Missouri to highlight the important role Medicaid plays for seniors, kids, families and America and to decry recently proposed cuts to the critical program. The Alliance for a Just Society worked with CaringContinue reading “Medicaid Matters across Generations”
The Exchange in Vermont: A Model for Other States
On May 6, the Vermont State Legislature passed a law creating a new health policy for its state. The Governor signed it into law that same day. The Act, H. 202, includes a fairly comprehensive set of policies that should serve as a model for other states to follow. H. 202 not only creates anContinue reading “The Exchange in Vermont: A Model for Other States”
Main Street Takes on Wall Street…And Wins!
Big bank lobbyists have been putting on a full-court press in Washington, D.C. to roll back components of the financial overhaul passed last year and free Wall Street to go back to the “business as usual” that led to the financial crisis in 2008. The bankers are gunning for the new Consumer Protection Bureau andContinue reading “Main Street Takes on Wall Street…And Wins!”
Seattle Residents Take Their Demands to Chase Bank
On a beautiful sunny Seattle Saturday, 400 south Seattle residents took to the streets to demand that JPMorgan Chase Bank reinvest money in the communities they have destroyed. The community members — parents, students, workers, homeowners — demanded that Chase reinvest money in the form of principle write down for every Washington homeowner. They alsoContinue reading “Seattle Residents Take Their Demands to Chase Bank”
Thousands of New Yorkers Take Over Wall Street
On Thursday, May 12, 20,000 community members from New York City and beyond descended on Wall Street. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had just released his budget which cuts 6,000 teaching jobs and slashes vital social services the city relies on while keeping in tact tax breaks for his billionaire friends and the corporations that house them.Continue reading “Thousands of New Yorkers Take Over Wall Street”
Storming the JP Morgan Chase Castle
The JP Morgan Chase office in Columbus, Ohio is surrounded by a moat—literally. But that didn’t stop five hundred Americans, organized by the New Bottom Line coalition, from finding a way across and storming the castle on May 17. Homeowners, community leaders, union members, clergy members and more converged on Tuesday’s shareholder’s meeting. Many dressedContinue reading “Storming the JP Morgan Chase Castle”