Despite important strides that the United States has made toward racial equality in the 60 years since the March on Washington, we have yet to address the persistent poverty and unemployment that turned Martin Luther King’s dream “into a nightmare.”
Dave Kellaway reviews Barbara Kingsolver’s latest novel, Demon Copperhead and reflects on her contribution to literary fiction. She is one of the best living writers of the socially engaged novel.
The 117th Congress has finished its work, with little to offer American children. Lawmakers were unable to muster a deal to combine an extension of last year’s expanded child tax credit with tax breaks for businesses.
Teresa Ghilarducci and Teresa Ghilarducci
The Progressive
Most middle and lower wage older workers are not able to retire and must work to avoid poverty and maintain living standards. For work to be a bulwark against old age poverty, work must be decent, and work and retirement policy must be compatible.
We are producing more food than at any other time in human history, yet millions of people around the world are starving. The global food system is broken.
In the 1960s, more than a third of seniors lived in poverty. Federal programs like Medicare to help the elderly, the situation improved significantly. But last year, the poverty rate for those 65 or older increased, even as it sank for everyone else.
If they auto-enroll everyone in their newly generous income-driven repayment plan, it will significantly take the sting out of resuming payments. Joe Biden’s plan is the culmination of years of activist work.
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