A society that fails to invest in its children, to protect its land and water, or to build a future is courting collapse. Republicans in Congress and President Trump got their big political victory: a tax overhaul that vastly benefits the superrich and corporations at the expense of nearly everyone else. On one hand, it’s… Read More Tax Overhaul and the Immorality of Inequality
Note: Building long-term power in our communities is what PeoplesHub.org is about. New online trainings and workshops launch April 2, designed to get local groups working strategically and inclusively, building power that is independent of any political party. It’s no secret that many voters are ticked off with the Democratic Party. By more than two… Read More 9 Ways to Use the Midterm Elections to Build Sustainable Local Power
It has become an all-too-familiar sight—websites, posters, collection jars with photos of children, mothers, young people who need medical care they can’t afford. Some will not receive life-saving treatment without this help. All too often, the bills will saddle the family with a debt burden that will follow them for years—sometimes for life. Getting sick,… Read More Forgiving Medical Debt: How Occupy, John Oliver, Nurses, and High School Students Made It Happen
Wisconsin dairy farmers reminded me not to allow Fox News and the NRA to define groups of people. I thought I knew something about Wisconsin politics. I assumed the state was neatly divided between blue cities, like Madison and Milwaukee, and solidly red rural areas that twice elected Governor Scott Walker, one of the nation’s… Read More What I Got Wrong About the Rural–Urban Divide
One of the most chilling reasons for being sent back to prison is failure to pay a fine or court or supervision fees. The United States has the largest incarcerated population in the world, climbing from 600,000 to over 2 million in just a few decades. We also have the highest percentage of our population… Read More Yes, Lots of People Go to Jail Because They Can’t Pay a Fine
Imagination, as Hawaiian Native rights advocate Poka Laenui describes it, is more than an antidote to hopelessness. It is a source of power. There are many consequences to the near daily barrage of lies, violence, bigotry, and vulgarity produced by the Trump administration. One impact: This atmosphere crowds out space for imagining and creating… Read More We Need Radical Imagination
The next women’s march is in the works. Although big mobilizations are important, if we want to build power, we have to build sustained organization. Last year at this time, a giant women’s march was in the planning stages. It turned out to be among the largest in U.S. history, according to theWashington Post. Between 4… Read More We Must March. But We Must Also Organize Locally
The place where we live is where we can find our power. I’ve been writing a year-end column for YES! for years. Previously, my aim was to find the strands of hope from the past year that can be woven into new possibilities in the next year. But as I sat down to write this… Read More We Can Reimagine and Reinvent Our Society in 2018
Between the darkness of the winter solstice and the new year is a good time to reflect. This piece, which I wrote in the fall, seems even better suited to this time of year. We’re in the midst of an extraordinary time. Deadly wildfires, ongoing desperation in Puerto Rico, the acquittal of the yet another… Read More Take Time to Pause for Self-Care
Opponents of the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal appear to have won — just the latest sign of strength for the “thin green line” holding back massive new fossil fuel exports. “This is more fun than I’ve ever had in my life,” Don Steinke told me when I called him last week. Steinke, a retired science… Read More How Northwest Communities Are Stopping Big Oil Projects
