Op-Ed

The Social Security trustees will release their annual report on the program’s financial status on Friday, March 31, inevitably followed by alarmist headlines — but don’t be fooled. Although echoed by some policymakers, claims of Social Security’s impending “bankruptcy” are highly misleading and demonstrate misunderstanding, or deliberate misrepresentation, of Social Security’s finances. Even in the unlikely […]

March 22, 2023 – The wars in Iraq and Ukraine may differ, but both speak to the tragic realities of war. They also make a strong case for strengthening the rule of law instead of undermining it through flimsy pretexts for endless militarism. Like the 2003 U.S. war in Iraq, which marked its 20th anniversary […]

Most of us who were alive then remember where we were on the morning of the 9/11 attacks. As we mark the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War this March, I wonder how many also remember where we were that day. On 9/11, I was a Catholic school eighth grader. I’ll never forget my teacher, […]

March 13, 2023 – On Friday, bank regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California. Its failure was the second largest in U.S. history and the largest since the financial crisis of 2008. On Sunday, regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank. As they rushed to contain fallout, officials at the Federal Reserve, Treasury, […]

March 7, 2023 – While out for a long walk Sunday afternoon, I dropped in on my twin brother Ian and his wife as they were getting ready to go Scottish dancing. Nancy is the talented chair of Madison Country Dancers. My tall, skinny twin in his jaunty new kilt, complete with matching knee socks, […]

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 – Today Gigi Sohn, longtime public-interest advocate and former Federal Communications Commission official, withdrew her name from consideration for the long-vacant commissioner’s seat at the agency after her nomination had been held up for nearly 500 days. The move follows a relentless smear campaign leveled against the nominee by a phalanx […]

Nationwide, March 1, 2023 – This week, immigration justice advocates and directly impacted communities from across the country are gathering to mark the 20th anniversary since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began operations. In those 20 years, the deportation agencies have targeted immigrants, […]

February 14, 2023 – Being poor and unable to afford bail in New York can be a death sentence. The vast majority of people who died on Rikers Island prison in 2022 were classified as “suspected suicide.” This is a troublingly vague causation. Yet, the New York Department of Corrections claims concern for death is […]

In their crusade against “wokeness,” congressional Republicans are taking aim at Labor Department rule about pension plan investments. The rule’s transgression is apparently that it makes easier for pension plans to consider how climate-related risks might affect a company’s bottom line. To avoid being woke, the GOP would apparently prefer pension managers to close their […]

Scholar-activist W.E.B. DuBois in 1946. Underwood Archives/Getty Images Chad Williams, Brandeis University The opening days of Black History Month 2023 have coincided with controversy about the teaching and broader meaning of African American studies. On Feb. 1, 2023, the College Board released a revised curriculum for its newly developed Advanced Placement African American studies course. […]

January 26, 2023 – In the century since the world’s oldest public broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), began operating, people around the world have benefited from international public broadcasters that share reliable information. Even with the rise of social media and competing services, their global footprint remains significant. The BBC reached a record 489 million […]

January 20, 2023 – Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, issued the following statement in recognition of what would have been the 50th anniversary ofRoev. Wade, the landmark ruling recognizing the constitutional right to abortion. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturnedRoe, clearing the way for states to ban […]

Washington, DC, January 19, 2022 – Today, the United States officially hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit. The Treasury Department will now resort to using “extraordinary measures” over the next few months to prevent an economically catastrophic default. In response, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., released […]

January 18, 2023 – If you work for a big corporation, there’s a very good chance your boss has already raked in more cash than you will all year. If the typical CEO of a large U.S. corporation clocked in at 9 am on January 2, by 3:37 pm that afternoon he’d made $58,260 — the average […]

The tax cuts signed into law by former President Trump at the end of 2017 were a boon for profitable corporations, according to a new report released by the Government Accountability Office. It finds the average effective federal income tax rate paid by large, profitable corporations fell to 9 percent in the first year that the Trump […]

Washington, D.C. January 10, 2023  – Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued the following statement after House Republicans passed a resolution to establish a Select Subcommittee to investigate ongoing federal investigations:   Today, House Republicans voted to form a select subcommittee to investigate deep state conspiracy theories. Make no mistake: This bogus committee is designed to […]

WASHINGTON (November 23, 2022)—Relentless Russian air strikes on the Ukrainian electricity sector Wednesday have caused instabilities that forced the disconnection of all fifteen reactors at its four nuclear stations from the grid. Below is a statement by Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS): “Russia’s ruthless attack on […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CO – The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) has issued the following statement regarding the tragic shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, CO last night:  “Our hearts ache for the victims of the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs,” said NCLR Executive Director Imani Rupert-Gordon. “5 lives were stolen, at least 18 […]

The midterm elections confirmed that in many ways, we are a nation divided. But maybe not as divided as we seem. Voters may be split on their partisan preferences. But in ballot initiatives, voters across the political spectrum ushered in a wave of significant changes. They hiked the minimum wage in Nebraska, expanded Medicaid in South […]

Washington, DC – Today, Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Co-Chairs Congresswomen Jackie Speier (CA-14), Lois Frankel (FL-21), and Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Vice Chairs Congresswomen Veronica Escobar (TX-16) and Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Freshman Representative Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-53), and Whip Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) issued the following statement after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced her […]