The Federal Reserve Should Not Increase Interest Rates
Later this month, the world's top financial and economic policymakers will pow-wow at the Federal Reserve Bank annual...
Later this month, the world's top financial and economic policymakers will pow-wow at the Federal Reserve Bank annual meeting in Jackson Hole to determine whether it is time for the Fed to roll back recession-era policies -- e.g. a near-zero benchmark interest rate -- put in place to support job growth and recovery.
This would be the wrong decision for the communities that are still struggling to recover and the wrong decision for America. Advocates for higher interest rates point to an improving job market as a sign that America has come back from the recession. But many activists, economists, and community groups know that raising interest rates now would stymie the many communities, particularly those of color, that continue to face persistent unemployment, underemployment, and stagnant wages. As the Fed Up campaign, headed by the Center for Popular Democracy, notes in areport released this week, tackling the crisis of employment in this country is a powerful and necessary step toward building an economic recovery that reaches all Americans -- and ultimately, toward building a stronger economy for everyone.
The report, "Full Employment for All: The Social and Economic Benefits of Race and Gender Equity in Employment," shares a new data analysis by PolicyLink and the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) estimating the boost to the economy that full employment -- defined as an unemployment rate of 4 percent for all communities and demographics along with increases in labor force participation -- would provide. While overall unemployment is down to 5.3 percent, it is still 9.1 percent for blacks and 6.8 percent for Latinos. Underemployment and stagnant wages have further driven income inequality and hinder the success of local economies. By keeping interest rates low, the Fed can promote continued job creation that leads to tighter labor markets, higher wages, less discrimination, and better job opportunities -- especially within those communities still struggling post-recession.
Lowering unemployment to 4 percent for all gender and racial groups (the rate of overall unemployment in 2000 when the economy was last at full employment) and increasing labor force participation rates would mean that 14.3 million more Americans are employed, 9.3 million fewer would live in poverty, GDP would increase by $1.3 trillion, and the government would receive an additional $261 billion in tax revenue, according to the report.
Full employment would also have an enormous positive impact on racial inequities in income. Currently, only half of workers of color make at least a living wage ($15/hour), compared to 69 percent of white workers, and median household income within communities of color is significantly lower compared to white households. With full employment, black households would see their incomes rise 23 percent, Latino households would see a 14 percent increase, and Native American households would see a 32 percent increase.
Armed with this data, which was compiled as part of ongoing economic research by PolicyLink and PERE's National Equity Atlas team, Fed Up will host its own meeting in Jackson Hole, featuring presentations by this team, activists, economists, and community organizers. This meeting, concurrent with the Fed's, aims to put pressure on the Federal Reserve to acknowledge those communities of color still mired in the recession and take up policies that will bring full employment to all. While Federal Reserve policies are not the only solution to boosting employment among those communities so often left behind, they are a vital and necessary step towards building a stronger, more inclusive American economy.
Source: Huffington Post Politics
Fed’s George to meet with protestors ahead of Jackson Hole summit
Fed’s George to meet with protestors ahead of Jackson Hole summit
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George will host a meeting Thursday with the activist group known...
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George will host a meeting Thursday with the activist group known as Fed Up ahead of the bank’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Other Fed officials also will attend the meeting, which will “focus on crucial and timely questions about monetary policy and Federal Reserve governance,” the group said in a statement. The meeting will be streamed online, the group said.
The Kansas City Fed confirmed the Aug. 25 meeting with the left-leaning Center for Popular Democracy’s Fed Up coalition.
Fed Up has been urging the central bank to hold off on raising interest rates until the economy improves further and working class households have seen more of the benefits of the expansion. The group also has criticized the Fed for lack of diversity among its 12 regional bank presidents.
The group has joined with Andrew Levin, a Dartmouth College professor and former Fed staffer, to propose changing the regional banks into fully government institutions from their quasi-public, quasi-private structure, and to eliminate regional board director seats that are reserved for bankers. The boards are responsible for appointing regional bank presidents who participate in the Fed’s policy meetings.
By David Harrison
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The Heartland Wants More New Americans
The Heartland Wants More New Americans
In 2016, over 970,000 people applied for U.S. citizenship—the highest point point in two decades. That was 24 percent...
In 2016, over 970,000 people applied for U.S. citizenship—the highest point point in two decades. That was 24 percent higher than 2015, and 9.2 percent more than 2012, when the last presidential election was held.
Read the full article here.
New Report Alleges Charter School Fraud Could Be Costing IL Taxpayers $27 Million
Education Votes - February 2, 2015, by Brian Washington - Proven or suspected fraud in Illinois’ charter school...
Education Votes - February 2, 2015, by Brian Washington - Proven or suspected fraud in Illinois’ charter school industry is suspected of carrying a price tag for taxpayers as high as $27.7 million—that’s according to a new report that some say adds more credence to the argument that these schools need more oversight and accountability.
The report, Illinois’ Charter School Fraud Risk Problem, alleges three fundamental problems with charter school oversight in the state:
Oversight depends heavily on whistleblowers and reporting by the charters themselves; General auditing techniques commissioned by the charters are not specifically designed to uncover fraud, only inaccuracies and inefficiencies; and Government agencies in Illinois tasked with investigating fraud are severely understaffed.The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), which authored the report, also claims to have uncovered massive deficiencies which, at a minimum, reportedly total at least $13.1 million.
“Here is yet another state where lawmakers continue to dump massive amounts of public school funds into the charter industry, yet no one is held accountable at any stage of the funding pipeline,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García, who represents about 3-million educators nationwide.
Despite the alleged problems outlined by CPD, as well as what critics charge is the inability of charter schools to show real improvement in relation to student achievement, charter school enrollment in the state has grown by 680-percent.
In the Chicago Public Schools district, the state’s largest public school system, the budget for charter schools, which are considered public schools because they are taxpayer funded, is $616 million for fiscal year 2015—an increase of 15 percent compared to fiscal year 2014.
“Operators (of charter schools) continue to line their pockets unchecked while public schools are forced to slash programs due to lack of funding,” said Eskelsen Garcia. “Lawmakers need to stop treating education budgets like a slush fund for corporate charter school operators and hold them accountable to the students and communities they are supposed to be serving.”
For Illinois, CPD is recommending that the state make major changes to its current oversight structure, including the following:
Mandated audits designed to detect and prevent fraud; Increased transparency and accountability; and A state-imposed moratorium on new charter schools until the state oversight system has been reformed.“Illinois students, their families, and taxpayers cannot afford to keep losing millions of dollars in public funds at the hands of charter school operators, who essentially enforce their own rules,” said Eskelsen Garcia. “It’s time for the Illinois legislature, State Board of Education, and authorizers, like Chicago Public Schools, to step in and make sure these operators use the funds they are given to fulfill their own promises of a great education for their students. There should be a sound structure for oversight and accountability whenever taxpayer dollars are applied.”
CPD’s Illinois report follows two other state-specific reports–including one which focused on the state of Pennsylvania. That report, issued last month, charged that fraud and abuse of the state’s charter school industry amounted to a $30 million loss for state taxpayers.
Meanwhile, another recent report by CPD alleges that nationwide taxpayers have lost $100 million due to charter school fraud.
“It’s time Illinois and all states are able to assure taxpayers that their charter oversight systems are airtight and dedicated to quality and community,” said Eskelsen García.
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Protester who confronted Sen. Flake about Kavanaugh vote: 'Everyone had an impact'
Protester who confronted Sen. Flake about Kavanaugh vote: 'Everyone had an impact'
Though the demonstrators who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator over his support of Supreme Court nominee Brett...
Though the demonstrators who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator over his support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have found themselves in the spotlight for their emotional plea, they're crediting everybody who has spoken up with potentially changing Flake's mind.
Read the full article here.
Poll Finds Voters Rank Lack Of Parental Involvement, Over-Testing As Top Education Problems
iSchoolGuide - April 8, 2015, by Sara Guaglione - According to...
iSchoolGuide - April 8, 2015, by Sara Guaglione - According to a new poll of registered voters, voters ranked lack of parental involvement and over-testing as top issues in U.S. education today.
Other education issues voters ranked included: cuts to funding for programs like art, music, and PE; too many students per class; recruiting first-rate teachers; and poverty and hunger's effect on student learning, according to the poll conducted by In the Public Interest and the Center for Popular Democracy. Interestingly, lack of choice was ranked last, despite the national attention surrounding charter schools.
Studies have shown over the years that parental involvement is crucial to a student's educational achievement. A report from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory titled A New Wave of Evidence concluded back in 2002 that "when schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more."
Over-testing is an issue that has also taken the forefront in the nation's education debates, both in the classroom and in congressional buildings. As we previously reported, nearly every state in the country has an "opt out" movement from new Common Core standardized exams, according to Elizabeth Harris of The New York Times. Concerned parents taking to social media and school board meetings to protest have captured the attention of school officials.
According to the National Education Association's blog, the poll also found that 63 percent of voters rate the quality of education at public schools in their neighborhood as excellent or good and 68 percent hold a favorable view of public school teachers. Only 11 percent had an unfavorable view.
Voters are also more likely to say public schools in their neighborhood are getting better (31 percent) than getting worse (16 percent).
Overall, voters were supportive of charter schools but voted for proposals to make charters more effective, accountable, and transparent to taxpayers. Respondents wanted teacher training and qualifications, anti-fraud provisions, and measures to ensure high-need students are served.
More than 80 percent of voters supported regular audits of charter finances, public disclosure of how taxpayer money is spent, and requirements that charter operators open up their board meetings to parents and the public.
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La campaña anti-Trump señala a empresas que apoyan su política
La campaña anti-Trump señala a empresas que apoyan su política
La protesta popular contra las políticas antiinmigrantes y antitrabajadores de Donald Trump se amplía y desde ayer ha...
La protesta popular contra las políticas antiinmigrantes y antitrabajadores de Donald Trump se amplía y desde ayer ha empezado a tener en su objetivo a empresas que hacen posible su agenda con sus inversiones o alineándose con la Administración.
El Center for Popular Democracy y Make the Road New York han lanzado una campaña contra nueve empresas entre las que están JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Disney, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Uber, Blackstone y Boeing. Algunas están en la lista por hacer donaciones a la inauguración de la actual presidencia o estrechar relaciones con la Administración. Otras por ser inversores en las empresas que construyen y operan cárceles privadas para inmigrantes.
Lea el artículo completo aquí.
Charter School Fraud Has Cost Pennsylvania at Least $30 Million
Daily Kos - October 2, 2014, by Laura Clawson - Pennsylvania's charter schools are rife with fraud and mismanagement,...
Daily Kos - October 2, 2014, by Laura Clawson - Pennsylvania's charter schools are rife with fraud and mismanagement, as anyone who reads local newspapers knows. But a new report from the Center for Popular Democracy, "Integrity in Education, and Action United" details just how big the problem is. Pennsylvania charter school enrollment and funding is growing rapidly and without adequate oversight, and according to the report, there's been at least $30 million in fraud by charter school officials since 1997. For instance:
In 2012, the former CEO and founder of the New Media Technology Charter School in Philadelphia was sentenced to prison for stealing $522,000 in taxpayer money to prop up a restaurant, a health food store, and a private school. Media coverage of parent complaints of fiscal wrongdoing initially uncovered the fraud. Nicholas Tombetta, founder of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, has been indicted for diverting $8 million of school funds for houses, a Florida condominium, and an airplane. In 2005, a former business associate of Tombetta surfaced allegations of fraud, which led to the investigation. Dorothy June Brown, founder of Laboratory, Ad Prima, Planet Abacus, and Agora Cyber charter schools, will be retried this year for allegedly defrauding the schools of $6.5 million and conspiring to conceal the fraud from 2007 to 2011. Two administrators plead guilty and testified against Brown in her first trial. In 2009, the Pennsylvania Department of Education conducted an audit of Agora after receiving complaints from parents of Agora students.You'll notice that in each of those cases, it was complaints from parents or a tip from a business associate that led to investigations. Pennsylvania should be doing more to uncover wrongdoing before it's so blatant that parents are screaming about it. In Philadelphia, there are 86 charter schools and only two auditors. What's more, charter school auditors in Pennsylvania don't actively look for fraud; the report calls for expanded local audit authority, fraud risk assessments for all charter schools in the state, and targeted fraud audits. The report's authors also call for a moratorium on new charter schools until these oversight goals are met.
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Marvel stars raise at least $500K for Puerto Rico at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre
Marvel stars raise at least $500K for Puerto Rico at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre
Marvel stars who have been filming in Atlanta helped raise at least $500,000 for hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto...
Marvel stars who have been filming in Atlanta helped raise at least $500,000 for hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico at a Monday night event at the Fox Theatre.
Scarlett Johansson came up with the idea to pull together a benefit event. Her colleagues Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr., all of whom have been in town filming Marvel’s latest “Avengers” project, eagerly joined the effort. Atlanta’s Tony-winning director Kenny Leon served as director.
Read the full article here.
Veepstakes: Julian Castro moves to shore up a potential weakness
Veepstakes: Julian Castro moves to shore up a potential weakness
The controversial federal program that clouded the HUD secretary's VP prospects gets a timely overhaul. Julian Castro’s...
The controversial federal program that clouded the HUD secretary's VP prospects gets a timely overhaul.
Julian Castro’s Housing and Urban Development Department announced significant changes Thursday to a federal program that sold delinquent mortgages to private investors — a move that mollified progressive critics who threatened to undermine his vice presidential prospects.
With three weeks remaining until the Democratic convention and Hillary Clinton’s campaign narrowing down its list of potential ticket mates, the U.S. housing agency said it is changing a controversial program to give delinquent homeowners a new chance to reduce the principal they owe on their mortgage. The changes also prohibit financial firms from giving up on trying to sell or recuperate decrepit properties the businesses would rather walk away from.
As HUD secretary since 2014, Castro had been under attack from by at least 11 Latino and populist groups for his oversight of the department’s “distressed asset stabilization program,” which sold struggling homeowners’ mortgages to hedge funds. Castro, they alleged, failed to deliver on a HUD promise to sell more mortgages to non-profit community groups instead of financial firms.
Started in 2012, the program’s two stated objectives are to help struggling residents while also clearing billions of dollars of bad debt off the agency’s books. But liberals have argued the program undermines homeowner protections, especially for people in low-income neighborhoods, as HUD sold mortgages to the same financial firms that exploited borrowers in the lead-up to the 2008-2009 recession.
The changes came not long after Castro surfaced on Clinton's short list of vice presidential candidates — along with Sens. Tim Kaine and Elizabeth Warren — leading to immediate speculation about the HUD secretary’s political motivations.
Warren was among those calling for major reforms to the program.
“Given that Secretary Castro has only spent a brief time on the national stage, the black mark caused by the distressed asset issue stands out prominently on his record,” said Isaac Boltansky, director of policy research for Compass Point Research & Trading in Washington. He covers housing policy.
“There is no question that the left’s attack of this program generally — and Secretary Castro specifically — lowered the odds of him being tapped,” he said.
As severely-delinquent mortgages accumulated after the recession, the Federal Housing Administration, a division of HUD, needed to reduce debt liabilities to the government.
Under the program, delinquent loans held by banks but insured by the FHA are sold to new buyers, including hedge funds, private-equity firms and non-profit community groups. Through May 2016, HUD sold more than 105,000 FHA-insured loans valued at $17 billion, according to a report by the National Consumer Law Center.
Castro has not said much publicly about the program, which in recent weeks erupted into a politically-charged issue for the Obama administration, said sources with familiar with the situation.
The program was supposed to give struggling homeowners another chance to avoid foreclosure. But researchers following the program said that financial companies have used it to circumvent homeowner safeguards.
“If you have an option of selling your loan through [the] DASP, then you don’t have to go through state foreclosure procedures that have the consumer protections in them and actually help enforce FHA rules,” said Geoff Walsh, author of NCLC’s report. He previously worked as an attorney with Vermont Legal Aid, Inc. and specialized in housing, consumer and bankruptcy areas. “A lot of damage has been done,” he said.
The liberal groups held Castro responsible for the program’s flaws, even though it started before his tenure at HUD. But the groups immediately applauded HUD’s new changes to the program that they had advocated for.
Their website attacking Castro was still live on Friday, though it will be updated to reflect HUD’s changes, said Matt Nelson, managing director of Presente.org, which claims to be the largest U.S. online Latino organizing group.
Housing experts acknowledged that pressure from advocacy groups — which used the issue to question Castro’s progressive credentials — played a role in the revisions.
“But for his potential to be vice president, these changes probably don’t get made,” said Edward Gorman, head of community development for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, whose members include nonprofits that buy DASP loans.
“It was the specific targeting of the secretary on this issue and the gathering of liberal senators in support that caused the [Obama] administration and the secretary particularly to take another look at this issue,” he said. “This will be fodder for Republicans. This will become a political issue.”
For Castro, it had already metastasized into an issue that clouded his vice presidential prospects. Widely regarded as one of the Democratic Party’s rising Latino stars, the former San Antonio mayor was targeted by a coalition of activist groups that recognized the leverage afforded to them by a presidential primary fight colored by questions about Clinton’s ties to Wall Street and Bernie Sanders’ populist, anti-Wall Street rhetoric.
“HUD has continually enhanced the DASP program by making improvements before every sale since 2014,” an agency spokeswoman said in a statement. “As a result, tens of thousands of families have been able to remain in their home or avoid foreclosure through the program.”
Maurice Weeks, a housing staffer at the Center for Popular Democracy, one of the groups supporting the attack on Castro’s handling of the DASP, said he is grateful to see the changes HUD announced. But his group will want to make sure the changes actually result in better conditions for communities.
“It became a political problem for Castro since he’s the head of that department,” Weeks said. “We didn’t set out to determine if Castro was a good VP candidate or not. Our focus was on homeowners across the country.”
By PATRICK TEMPLE-WEST
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