At the 11th hour, just before several crucial relief programs expired, Congress passed a bipartisan, $900 billion COVID-19 relief package. It includes modest, one-time $600 payments for U.S. families and restores some of the additional federal unemployment payments that had lapsed.
This week in OtherWords, Sarah Anderson writes that this is a welcome stopgap for a suffering country, but not nearly enough. Fresh off a deep dive into what a more transformative agenda would look like, she lays out how Congress and the next administration can fight the pandemic and recession today while making the country more resilient for tomorrow.
The pandemic response isn’t the only area where the next administration will have damage to repair. As Diana Anahi Torres-Valverde writes this week, Dreamers and DACA recipients like herself have spent the last four years terrified. The next administration needs to go beyond just ending Trump’s attacks on the program for undocumented young people, she argues — it needs to offer them a real pathway to citizenship.
Finally, Jill Richardson says that now that natural scientists have developed viable COVID-19 vaccines, it’s time for social scientists to work on getting people to take them.
This will be our last newsletter, and new content, until 2020. We’ll return sometime in the first half of January. Thanks for reading us and reprinting us, and all your support besides — have a safe, happy holiday, however that looks this year, and a brighter new year to come.
New This Week…
A Welcome Stopgap, But Not Nearly Enough | Sarah Anderson
The COVID-19 relief bill will help, but much more needs to be done to combat the pandemic and make the country stronger in the face of future crises.
Dreamers Deserve a Path to Citizenship | Diana Anahi Torres-Valverde
DACA changed my life. But after four years of fear, it’s clear that undocumented young people need more protection.
The Coming Battle Over Vaccines | Jill Richardson
Natural scientists have done their part by creating vaccines. To get people to take them, we need social science.
Barr and the Boot | Khalil Bendib
The perils of licking a boot that’s kicking.
In Case You Missed It…
My Christmas List | Jim Hightower
The special gifts I’ve arranged for special people.
Mitch McConnell Wants to Let Corporations Kill You | Thom Hartmann
The Senate GOP leader’s refusal to pass COVID-19 aid without corporate immunity should be the scandal of the year.
Learning the Lessons of the Latino Vote | Lizet Ocampo
Georgia will determine control of the Senate. The votes of Latinos, who have suffered badly during the pandemic, could be decisive.
Trump’s Lies About Immigrants Should End With His Presidency | Jill Richardson
New data confirms what’s been true all along: Trump built his brand selling fear-mongering lies about immigrants and crime
