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On a normal day, Sonia Acuña, a petite 41-year old mother of four, puts on her bright red McDonald’s cap and reports to work at a branch of the giant hamburger chain in Chicago’s main rail terminal, Union Station. But today, in cold and drizzling early morning weather, Acuña—still wearing her
In the media
David Moberg
Americans owe more than $1 trillion in student loans — a total that surpasses credit card debt — but millions who are past due on payments are not taking advantage of a program designed to make their debt manageable. The federal income-based repayment­ program reduces an eligible borrower’s monthly
In the media
Meagan Pant
Think of predatory lending and you probably think of pawn shops and check cashing stores in run down strip malls in poor neighborhoods. Time to expand your thinking—like, say, to include the fancy office tower in downtown San Francisco that houses Wells Fargo's headquarters. Wells Fargo is one of a
Blog
David Callahan
Representative Martha Roby has an op-ed in Politico today making the case for her “Working Families Flexibility Act.” The bill would allow businesses to pay their workers in comp time, rather than higher wages, for the overtime hours they work. Roby has argued that her bill would make it easier for
Blog
Brenden Timpe
ALBANY, N.Y.—With the recent indictment of New York politicians like Senator Malcolm Smith and Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, many wonder, can they trust state lawmakers? "We do a random sample of more than 800 registered voters and our sample looks like the New York electorate both in terms of
In the media
Amy Cutler
Judging by press reporting, the bogus tweet from the Associated Press Twitter account of White House bombs was primarily about the hacking of the news agency. Who did it, when was it Tweeted and retracted, where are the perpetrators from and how the hell did a major news organization fall for what
Blog
Wallace C. Turbeville
As we struggle to fully recover from the Great Recession, it has become increasingly clear that the wealthy not only recovered much more quickly than the rest of the country, they managed to increase their wealth even though most households saw a net loss. A new Pew report finds that during the
Blog
J. Mijin Cha
“I make $1,000 for the store in 30 minutes. But I don’t make $1,000 in a month working there.” The quote is a paraphrase of a Victoria’s Secret worker. She, like 500 other retail and fast food employees in and around the Chicago Loop, isn’t at work today. They’re all on strike. (Follow #strikefor15
Blog
Amy Traub
More than 77 percent of successful candidates in 2012 and all current statewide office holders were publicly financed, a report released Monday found.
In the media
Hartford Courant
According to numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the beginning of April, American employers added only 88,000 jobs in March, compared to 268,000 in February. While it's certainly better than losing the same number of jobs, it does very little to reassure Americans still looking for
Blog
Ilana Novick