In a victory for voting rights, a decision issued September 7, 2011 by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has denied certification to a proposed ballot initiative that would impose restrictive requirements for photo ID in Massachusetts elections.
The decision rests on Article 9 of the Massachusetts Constitution, which guarantees “the freedom of elections.” The certification ruling likens the ID requirement to a poll tax because the proposed law makes no provision for qualified voters to obtain state-issued identification without paying a fee.
Why is the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene an emergency worth spending federal money on, while the jobs crisis caused by the financial crash does not merit a response?
With unemployment above 9 percent, creating more jobs is an urgent priority for the United States. But it is difficult to have a sensible debate on how to spark job growth given the myths and misinformation that surround this issue. Specifically, many political leaders and analysts wrongly point to three culprits in explaining weak job growth: government regulations, the new healthcare law, and taxes. None of these explanations hold up under closer scrutiny.
The number of food stamp recipients is likely to hit a new high of 46 million when the Department of Agriculture releases its latest report on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) -- that's over 18 percent of American households. This should drive conservatives through the roof.
Distinguished Senior Fellow Bob Herbert took to MSNBC yesterday evening to talk about the unemployment crisis and discuss what the President needs to do to enable job creation.
By most accounts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has done an excellent job in response to Hurricane Irene, even drawing praise from Bob McDonnell, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and Chris Christie.
Hurricane Irene may not have lived up to all the media hype, but it still did billions of dollars in damage. Some analysts say cleaning up the mess will boost Gross Domestic Product for the second half of 2011. These estimates are surely correct – and remind us why GDP is such a perverse way to measure economic progress.
NEW YORK- As Labor Day approaches - and with President Obama's much anticipated jobs plan to be announced shortly - the national policy center Demos is illuminating America's severe jobs crisis with "America Can Work Better" week, which begins with a post from Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow Bob Herbert. Through a package of info-graphics and commentary, "America Can Work Better" will clarify the root causes of America's jobs crisis; analyze chronic unemployment among American youth; dispel myths about "job-killing regulation and taxation;" and offer some real-
Oregon's middle class is fraying, with well-paying jobs in short supply and the cost of raising a family dramatically increasing. That's the assessment of a major report released today by the Oregon Center for Public Policy and Demos, a New York City-based research and advocacy institute.
"The American Dream is vanishing before our eyes," explained Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow and former NY Times columnist Bob Herbert. "Sadly, Oregonians who work hard and play by the rules can no longer expect to provide a decent life for their families."
The biggest domestic policy failure has been the refusal of top officials in the White House and in Congress to recognize the severity of the employment crisis that has settled like a plague over American workers.
Most American workers have had the legal right to join unions for 76 years. So you might not think letting people know about that right would be controversial, especially when the information is conveyed by yet another poster in the employee break room or office, next to the one that says you can’t make 14-year-olds work in coal mines and that the federal minimum wage is $7.25.
That the world's first government to back a plan that "regulates the creation and trade of carbon credits from farming and forestry" should be Australia's is no surprise.
Reckless speculation on Wall Street -- which helped cause the financial crisis and Great Recession -- is a big reason why budget deficits have spiralled skyward since 2008, so it's only fair that Wall Street do its share to reduce these deficits.
The anniversary of welfare reform is a fitting occasion to consider how opinion can trump fact and bias policy. The problem with “ending welfare as we knew it” was that it did not end or meaningfully reduce poverty, nor did it secure a decent standard of living for struggling Americans. The poor are still poor, and now they have neither a hand-up nor a hand-out. Jake Blumgart reports that, since 1996, states have been clearing the welfare rolls but leaving poor families with few alternatives:
The public is overwhelmed by budget deficits, shrinking public supports, and the inability of its government to compromise. In this climate, so-called minority issues seem like a distraction. But black and Latino men between the ages of 16 and 24 are profoundly more likely to be poor than whites, more likely to be unemployed or the victims of violent crime, and less likely to graduate from high school.
A communications consultant I know tells me that two of her clients decided this week to take a break from her services. Why? Because both have suffered losses in the stock market and are suddenly worried about money.
With Elizabeth Warren preparing to run for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, an epic -- and telling -- electoral battle is shaping up that will pit one of the most eloquent voices of progressive populism against a star of conservative populism.