As time winds down for Congress to pass a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, Republicans have another plan in the works—not only to place the blame for a shutdown squarely on Democrats but to blame them for a failure to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Early Friday morning, House Speaker […]
Kalena Thomhave
Kalena Thomhave is a freelance journalist and researcher based in Pittsburgh. She is a former Prospect writing fellow.
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Getting Arrested for Opposing the Tax Bill
The Republican tax proposal, soon be signed into law, will particularly impact the health of people with disabilities.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Reimagining the Tax Code, Getting There with Grassroots Activism
Tax policy, which can be deadly dull, hasn’t inspired much enthusiasm for activist campaigns—until now. Advocates could leverage this energy to push for a progressive tax code.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Feminist Men Commit Sexual Assault Too
The world isn’t divided into Roy Moore-like predators and angels.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Simplifying the Tax Code, or Simply Trickle-Down Economics?
The Senate’s tax bill drives up the deficit, which could enable the same tax-cutting Republicans to inflict drastic cuts to the social safety net.
Posted inCivil Rights in America
The GOP Tax Plan Expands the Child Tax Credit — for the Wealthy
Though an expanded child tax credit could sharply reduce poverty, the GOP is instead focused on strengthening the (upper-income) American family.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Revving Up Rural Public Transit
Small communities create unique transportation programs that reduce reliance on cars and improve residents’ local connections.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Medicaid Malpractice
We knew it would happen, but that doesn’t quite reduce the sting. In September, I wrote about a proposed waiver to Kentucky’s Medicaid program, which would foist work requirements on recipients (among other patronizing indignities like premium payments and “health incentives”) and would devastate Kentucky’s large newly insured population. Those work requirements directly conflicted with […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Retirement Savings Crisis Continues to Take a Back Seat on Capitol Hill
The Republican tax plan doesn’t touch 401(k)s as feared, but these accounts still don’t meet the retirement needs of most Americans.
Posted inEconomic Policy
How the Prison Phone Industry Further Isolates Prisoners
The high profits of expensive phone calls and video visits are often too lucrative for prisons—which can get a share of those profits—to pass up.