Not only are record numbers of women running for office across the country, the 2018 list of candidates is markedly more diverse than in previous elections. According a new report released by the Reflective Democracy Campaign, an offshoot project of the nonprofit Women Donors Network, it’s the closest that the party has gotten to genuinely […]
Blog: TAPPED
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Post Office Workers to Trump: ‘U.S. Mail: Not for Sale’
All four postal service worker unions (the National Association of Letter Carriers, the American Postal Workers Union, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union) plan to keep up their fight against the Trump administration’s push to privatize the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). On Columbus Day, October 8, postal workers […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Millennial Lawmakers: Now Is the Time to Run for Office
Remember I’m the one that went from being pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed, to being sworn in, I remember needing capital for an office, now my office is in the capital— Best thing about how we did it— Grassroots is all natural! That’s Missouri State Representative Bruce Franks Jr.’s rap about his journey from protester to lawmaker. […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
The Back-Up Way of Defeating Kavanaugh
Assume the worst: Let’s posit that within a week, despite the evidence of his abuses when young, his temperament when middle-aged, and his unyieldingly troglodytic beliefs at all times, Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. That, of course, would create the first hard-right majority on the Court since 1937—a majority dead-set against […]
Posted inWorking in America
Some Good News: New York–Area Airport Workers Just Won Country’s Highest Minimum Wage
Good news has been a little thin this week, but here’s something decidedly positive: Today, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a raise for approximately 40,000 airport workers at Newark, JFK, and LaGuardia airports. By 2023, airport workers, who include workers like cabin cleaners, baggage handlers, and wheelchair attendants, will receive […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
A Close-Run Thing
The Duke of Wellington, speaking to a colleague about his victory at Waterloo in 1815, which ended the Napoleonic wars, described it as a “the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.” Historians have simplified the remark as “a close-run thing.” Watching what may or may not be a turning point in the Trump […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Median Income Rises—But That’s Far from the Full Story
On Wednesday, the Census Bureau announced that median income had reached its highest recorded level in 2017, while the poverty rate declined. The report inspired glowing coverage from mainstream news sources, while President Trump predictably took credit. “Middle-Class Income Hits All-Time High!” @foxandfriends And will continue to rise (unless the Dems get in and destroy […]
Posted inWorking in America
Stop Saying Minimum-Wage Hikes Kill Jobs
A new study on the effects of an increased minimum wage on employment shows that increased wages in six cities had no discernible effect on employment. But while this is great news, the prospect of employment losses should not be how we evaluate the worthiness of raising the minimum wage. But first, the positive news: […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Kavanaugh Nomination Is Dangerous for Disability Rights Community
As an attorney and judge, Brett Kavanaugh has done everything in his power to limit the rights of people with disabilities. As a Supreme Court justice, he would have the ability to do even more damage, rolling back decades of progress in the field of disability rights—and civil rights more broadly. As a disabled Latina, […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
My (Zero) Time on the Manafort Jury
A couple of months ago, I was summoned for jury duty for the federal district court in D.C. for a “special” four-week trial, the “pre-selection” process for which was set to begin today, the Tuesday after Labor Day. A quick search on the district court’s website said that “special” trials were “mainly high-profile.” “Maybe it’s […]
