RSS

Rebecca Ruiz

Rebecca Ruiz is special reports director at the Prospect.

Recent Articles

Not With My Home

Homeowners have been at the mercy of banks since the foreclosure crisis began. A network of activists and organizers is trying to change that.

Rebecca RuizMay 17, 2011

In 2004, Egyptian immigrant Mohamed Nour and his wife, Heba, decided they could do better than their cramped two-bedroom apartment in Boston. They were expecting their second child, and rent was more expensive each year. They found a two-story, three-bedroom home on a tree-lined block in suburban Revere.

Nour, now 41, bought the house for $337,000. In 2007, the interest on his original adjustable-rate-mortgage loan shot up by 3 percentage points. He was able to refinance at a more favorable rate, but then in 2008, his 4-year-old son, Pheras, was diagnosed with a glioma, a malignant brain tumor. Nour, a limo driver, began missing work shifts to bring his son to chemotherapy treatments.

Eyes on the Prize

Our moral and ethical duty to end mass incarceration

Rebecca RuizDec 06, 2010

Today, nearly 1 percent of the American adult population is imprisoned -- a rate unprece-dented in this country's history. A staggering $68 billion is spent annually on the country's local, state, and federal corrections systems. This "investment" in public safety has fundamentally transformed American society, removing a disproportionate number of nonviolent minority offenders from their communities while diverting much-needed taxpayer money from critical social programs. Most of these offenders will be released only to return to prison because of anemic re-entry efforts and policies.

Care for the Caregivers

Child-care providers have long been thought of as full-time baby sitters. Government can make them well-paid professionals.

Rebecca RuizSep 01, 2010

Being a child-care provider in the U.S. often means living at the edges of poverty. The average salary for the nation's 2.3 million child-care workers is $19,605, according to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying organization. That's just a hair above the poverty level for a family of three.