Commentary
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Over-Criminalized & Under-Resourced
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The murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Elijah McClain have drawn national attention to policing issues throughout the U.S. One reform in the wake of these murders that is gaining attention is the Counseling Not Criminalization Act. This act proposes schools to replace school resource officers (SRO) with psychologists,…
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The Case for Puerto Rican Self-Determination
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On February 3, 2020, I stood outside the Drake University building where one of the Iowa Caucuses was taking place. That morning, I had driven up from Humboldt Park, Chicago, squeezed into a rental van with a group of four other members of the Puerto Rican Agenda of Chicago, an…
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The Coffee Cup and Plastic Straw
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Introduction: A regular day in the life of an American Jennifer is on her way to work when she makes her daily stop at the local coffee shop in Chicago to pick up her iced coffee for the day, served in a coffee cup with a single-use plastic straw. As…
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Direct Democracy Now
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In the internet age, middlemen of all stripes have found themselves out of a job. But there is one type of middleman that seems immune from disruption: the legislator. Each election cycle, these grifters regale us with fantastical promises. Then, their campaigns victorious, they take their seats and suddenly the…
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It’s Time for a New Constitution
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On Thursday September 17, the United States celebrated Constitution Day—a holiday celebrating the signing of the Constitution in 1787. In the intervening 233 years, the document has undergone 27 revisions that have aimed at making the United States and its institutions more inclusive, responsive, and democratic. Yet for the entirety…
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How to Tax the Rich
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President-elect Joe Biden is forming a transition team to assume office in January, but the outcome of some Senate elections are still outstanding. While the exact congressional makeup is unclear, more is known about the Biden-Harris transition team, which now includes noted Harris faculty and tax economist, Professor Damon Jones.…
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Universal Basic Income: A Bad Idea that Makes Sense Right Now
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The idea for a Universal Basic Income gained a lot of press during the Democratic primary debates when Andrew Yang pitched a “Freedom Dividend” plan to give every American $1,000 a month. Since the world didn’t end after most Americans received $1,200 as a part of the first COVID-19 stimulus…
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Law Enforcement, White Supremacy, and the Far-Right
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Jimmy Miotto examines how currently proposed police reforms would be in vain without a reckoning of law enforcement’s past and present status as a haven for white supremacists. It goes without saying that when the history of America in 2020 is written, COVID-19 and the 220,000 lives it has claimed…
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Minimum Wage in a Pandemic, in 4 Graphs
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As the economy free falls into a sharp recession [1], many low-income workers have been deemed “essential” during the pandemic [2], which effectively obligates work—notably without any additional federally mandated hazard pay [3]. This basic contrast, along with conversations regarding the presumed distortions of unemployment benefits [4], has dominated much…