Media

It’s been a decade since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast area of the United States, and nearly destroyed New Orleans. Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, killing nearly 2,000 people, displacing thousands, and inflicting an estimated $108 billion dollars of damage.

Beyond the stats, when I think about the events that unfolded in late August of 2005, I remember what it taught me about our democracy.

 Given how tough it can be for many people to save for retirement, it’s unfortunate that some companies make it even more difficult. But a large number of 401(k) plans do just that by imposing high costs and offering subpar investment choices.

Women make up almost half of all workers in America and working mothers are the primary breadwinners in 40 percent of the nation’s families, so economic equality would make an immense difference for families and the economy as a whole.

US stock prices opened trading much higher today after yesterday’s rout and the rout the day before that and the rout the day before that. European markets were up also. The Chinese markets, which closed at 3 a.m. New York time, were off by another 7%, but the government cut interest rates to increase liquidity in the economy and raised the requirements to buy on margin (how much of a stock’s value one can borrow from the brokerage firm).

Great news, is it not? We can all relax and enjoy the end of the summer.

In 1965, CEOs made about 20 times as much as the average worker. By 2013, they made about 273 times as much. And CEOs of fast food companies made about 1,200 times as much as the typical fast food workers, according to a 2014 report by Demos, a public policy organization in New York. 

The co-counsel in the case, Jenn Rolnick-Borchetta of Demos, a progressive policy organization, told POLITICO New York, the need to give information to people who have been stopped by the police “has been ordered, but what that is going to look like isn’t yet figured out.”

“The pilot form has a blank space for officers to fill in their information," said Borchetta, who said that creates a potential problem because “we know officers don’t give their info, or the right info.”

In an op-ed for The New York Times, Professor Victor Fleischer of the University of San Diego School of Law advocated minimum annual payouts from university endowments to reduce tuition and increase research support. He suggests paying out 8 percent of the endowment balance if the endowment exceeds $100 million. This is an issue worth discussing though the conclusion that endowment payouts be mandated is by no means as clear as the professor suggests. 

The significance that money in politics has in the candidacy of women and people of color is perhaps no more evident than in the 2014 campaign of Nina Turner for Ohio Secretary of State.

It’s not often that statewide candidates can garner national headlines the way Turner, a black woman, did during her race. She had been an experienced legislator and a strong voice against voter suppression in one of the nation’s most influential states. Turner had the backing of unions and other groups on the grassroots level, and was even a popular guest on cable news shows.