This week in OtherWords, native Texan Chisom Okorafor mourns the lives lost in the state’s devastating recent floods, including the 27 kids at a Christian summer camp much like the ones she attended as a child.
But this disaster wasn’t completely natural, she writes. “The evidence is overwhelming,” Chisom argues, that climate change has made disasters like the flood far more common in Texas and beyond. “To stay safe, we need to constantly study the climate to predict these disasters and prevent the worst from happening.”
But Republicans in Texas and nationally have devastated agencies that monitor weather and warn locals, she writes. Then “when these cuts go through — and understaffed agencies fail to serve their purpose — people say the services don’t work. And there are calls for more budget cuts,” she explains. “We need to change the rhetoric around public services in this country, and shine a light on all the good ‘invisible’ services do.”
Also this week, Chris Mills Rodrigo explains why not taxing tips won’t actually help many tipped workers, while Jim Hightower says we need to cut back on billionaires, not federal workers.
New This Week…
The Texas Floods Are a Warning: Fund Public Services | Chisom Okorafor
We need to shine a light on all the good that “invisible” public services like the National Weather Service do.
Until We Raise the Minimum Wage, Tip! | Chris Mills Rodrigo
Annoyed about tipping? The solution is simple: tell employers to pay workers what they deserve.
Sanitation Workers Should Make More Than Trump’s Cabinet Officials | Jim Hightower
The administration is firing valuable public servants to cut taxes for billionaires. They’ve got it backwards.
In Case You Missed It…
10 Ways the GOP Budget Will Make Life Worse for Americans | Sarah Anderson and Lindsay Koshgarian
Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” represents the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich since chattel slavery.
Politicians Are Betraying Gen Z on Climate | Olabisi Omoniyi-Alake
While Gen-Zers thrift, knit, crochet, and find other ways to reduce our footprints, Trump and the GOP are greenlighting more climate chaos.
These Immigrants Were Supposed to Be Protected. Trump Came for Them Anyway. | Emily Rodriguez
Attacks on TPS holders like my uncle — people who work hard, follow the rules, and make this country great — hurt all of us.
I’m a Veteran of Auto Boycotts. My Advice to Tesla? Dump Musk | Ron Carver
During the Great Recession, I organized a Toyota boycott that accidentally paved the way for Musk’s rise. Musk probably won’t tell that story, so I will.
