Reflecting On The Next March on Washington
Rep. John Lewis reflects on the 50 years after the March on Washington. At just 23 years old, he was chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, one of the most important groups in the American civil rights movement. ... Fifty years later, Lewis worries that people are not as engaged in the struggle for civil rights. ... "I have a feeling that people are just too quiet."
PBS' Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a March on Washington "worker bee," reflects on the march and the agenda ahead with PBS' Gwen Ifill. "A whole new set of issues crop up. And movements are about adapting to the new set of issues, adapting to the fact that the Voting Rights Act must be revised, or it will be useless, adapting to the fact that Trayvon Martin, a kid, was murdered, and that there are still stand your ground laws on the books, which are a clear and present danger to every black man in the United States. Do we have a movement that is capable of growing to embrace these new issues? That, I think, will be the question on August 28, 2013."
Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., connects her father's speech to conditions today. "He said, 'One hundred years later [after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation], the Negro is still not free.' And I would argue that 150 years later, the African-American race is still not free ... There are still great disparities in the African-American community.""
March information on OurFuture.org Information on the two events at the Lincoln Memorial and links to other commemorative events.
A 'Lost Decade' For Workers
Report underscores need for wage hikes, reports Think Progress. "Despite productivity gains of nearly 25 percent from 2000 to 2012, “wages were flat or declined for the entire bottom 60 percent” of the workforce, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute."
Sentier Research report confirms that U.S. household income is below end-of-recession levels. AP: "The median, or midpoint, income in June 2013 was $52,098. That's down from $54,478 in June 2009, when the recession officially ended. And it's below the $55,480 that the median household took in when the recession began in December 2007."
Making Health Care Reform Work
As Obamacare rollout nears, president checks in with state officials. President Barack Obama sought a progress report from state officials on Wednesday on the rollout of his signature health care law, stepping up his profile on the issue as the launch of a key provision of the law nears on October 1. ... The White House said Obama "heard about the progress they have made in setting up the new marketplaces" but did not provide details.
Facts contradict right-wing line that health care reform is suppressing hiring. USA Today: "Job creation at small companies has almost doubled in the past six months, reaching 82,000 jobs at firms with 49 or fewer employees in July, payroll processor ADP says. Borrowing by small businesses and sales of franchises have also climbed, indicating businesses are willing to take on new expenses and risk. Surveys by the National Federation of Independent Business say business-owner confidence is up this year but remains below pre-recession levels. ... New research from Moody's and other economists also challenges the idea that small employers are hiring only part-time workers to avoid the health care law's mandate."
'One in Four Young Adults Doesn't Know About Health Care Exchanges.' US News and World Report: "A new survey released Wednesday by the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that studies barriers to health care access, shows just 27 percent of 19 to 29-year-olds are aware that in October uninsured adults will have access to new health care exchanges where they can purchase tax-deductible insurance packages, and those living below the poverty line may gain more access to Medicaid. Poorer and uninsured young voters were the most likely to be out of the loop."
This as Republicans stoke "privacy" fears over role of health care "navigators." "Florida Gov. Rick Scott has joined other Republicans lawmakers around the country in questioning privacy issues surrounding the navigators hired to walk people through their health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act. ... In May, Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., and Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, also wrote a letter to [Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen] Sebelius on behalf of the House Committee on Ways and Means amid concerns that navigators will have access to sensitive taxpayer information."
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal backs out of Obamacare funding request. "Gov. Bobby Jindal, a fierce Obamacare critic, pursued funds from an under-the-radar program in the health law until this week, when his administration reversed course, citing cumbersome federal rules. ... But officials say they withdrew the application Monday because complicated federal stipulations would have undermined their efforts and likely led to lawsuits. .... [Moriba Karamoko, founding director of the Louisiana Consumer Healthcare Coalition] said Jindal’s reversal appeared to be a face-saving move politically but also a nod to the state’s powerful nursing home lobby. “It’s human lives that are left in the balance around it,” he said.
Obama Talks College Affordability
The president will spend the next two days on a bus tour talking about ways to make college more affordable. "The president's big black bus will make its first stop at the University at Buffalo on Thursday ... [Rachel Fishman of the New America Foundation] and her colleagues identified the University at Buffalo as one of a handful of that have found ways to keep costs down while still producing a large number of graduates. ... Obama is expected to highlight such efforts as he visits colleges in Buffalo and Binghamton, N.Y., as well as in Scranton, Pa."
Obama to propose new system for rating colleges. AP: "The new rating system, which the president wants implemented before the 2015 school year, would evaluate colleges on a series of measures, including average tuition and student loan debt, graduation rates, and the average earning of graduates. Obama is also seeking legislation to link the new rating system to the way federal financial aid is awarded, with students attending highly rated schools receiving larger grants and more affordable student loans."
Breakfast Sides
CFPB says mortgage servicing still riddled with problems. The Washington Post: "Examiners at the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] found that mortgage servicers, which collect loan payments and handle loan modifications and foreclosures, engage in sloppy payment processing that can result in extra fees for homeowners. They also uncovered instances in which servicers failed to tell homeowners that their loans were transferred to another company or gave consumers conflicting information on the process for reworking the terms of their mortgage."
Catholic push to overhaul immigration goes to pews. "Catholic bishops and priests from major dioceses across the country will preach a coordinated message next month backing changes in immigration policy, with some using Sunday Masses on Sept. 8 to urge Congressional passage of a legislative overhaul that includes a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants."
Drug-testing SNAP recipients is a waste of money. From WaPo's Wonkblog: "House leaders are now proposing to cut $40 billion from SNAP over time. They also want to allow states to drug-test SNAP applicants. This additional barrier will deter some people from pursuing benefits. What’s particularly strange about the drug-testing campaign is that if you’re trying to find people with substance-use disorders, your local sports bar, community college, or hospital ER would provide a more target-rich environment. ... [T]he actual prevalence of illicit substance use disorders remains quite low—only about 5.3 percent among SNAP recipients who are only about 1.7 percentage-points more likely to have such disorders than comparable non-recipients. And if one excludes marijuana, then abuse or dependence of other illicit substances is rare within the SNAP population."
