In the last ten days, the House has passed two much-needed bills for Black and brown people and working people of all backgrounds. The PRO Act, is the most far-reaching reshaping of U.S. labor law in decades. The CREDIT Act would overhaul the nation’s credit reporting system.
“These are folks who are serving [and] preparing food for all of the rest of us. It's a recipe for contagion when...the people preparing your food cannot afford to stay home when they have a contagious disease.”
COVID-19 is a threat to everyone, but the economic damage resulting from medically necessary quarantines and shelter-in-place orders is neither random nor equally distributed.
The Postal Service faces a $13 billion revenue loss this fiscal year alone; If the Postal Service is allowed to fail, it will be a tremendous blow to all Americans.
We're all seeing systematic efforts to shift the economic and health risks of the pandemic from governments and employers and onto the backs of disproportionately Black and brown workers.
Rather than cutting funds for public needs while allowing police budgets to swell, cities, states, and the federal government must shift funding to the real priorities of communities.
Twelve years after starting college, white men have paid off 44% of their student loan balances on average, while black men saw their balances grow by 11%, according to an analysis from Demos.
Twelve years after starting college, the white female borrower has paid off 72% of her loan balance. Over the same time period, the typical Black female borrower's balance has grown by 13%.
Credit reports and scores control access to public goods people need. Yet, in the midst of a global pandemic and economic collapse, remaking the nation’s credit reporting system is not the top concern.
The response to the COVID-19 crisis must include investments in public goods and health infrastructure, breaking up concentrated economic power, and equitable access for Black and brown communities.