Rights and Democracy
Bernie and Goliath
An Anti-Poverty Program That Makes It Pay to Work
Imagine a government-funded anti-poverty tool that encouraged people to work. Now imagine that it's popular with both Democrats and Republicans, in red states and blue. Turns out we've had just such a tool since 1975: the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. The EITC is...
Texas Is Flooded Because Our Democracy Is, Too
"It’s flooding down in Texas," goes the old song. "All of the telephone lines are down." With apologies to Stevie Ray Vaughan, there’s a lot more down in Texas than telephone lines now. Power lines are down, homes are destroyed, and cities sit underwater. Dozens have...
The Greatest Dreamer
Teachers Shouldn’t Have to Panhandle for School Supplies
Back to school! These three simple words used to leave America’s public school teachers giddy with anticipation. Now they leave them opening up their wallets and worrying. The problem? Teachers have been spending out of their own pockets for generations to decorate...
Trump’s Pardon of Joe Arpaio Is Deeply Disturbing
During a speech to a group of police officers in July, President Trump returned to one of his favorite themes of the campaign season: violence. "Please don’t be too nice" to the "thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon," Trump advised the officers. Be...
Not Even Robert E. Lee Wanted Confederate Monuments
While our president's moral character seems stuck somewhere between boorish and brutish, it's only fair to note that he also has an aesthetic dimension. This surprising side of Trump popped out several days after the Charlottesville attacks by raging white...
America’s Whitest Sheriff
Stop the Buzz Killing Beer Barons!
Next time you reach for a cold beer on a hot summer day, you'll have some uninvited drinking buddies: the beer barons. Two conglomerates now control 90 percent of U.S. beer production. They use their power to raise prices, squeeze out small brewers, and limit your...
Trump’s Running Out of Friends, and It’s His Own Fault
I hate to say this, but I'm starting to feel sorry for Donald Trump. He's only been in office for half a year, and already he's running out of Americans to attack. Of course, he came into office already having notched his AK-47 Twitter rifle with hundreds of hits on...
