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How to unite Tea Party and liberal voters in a key 2012 battleground
Anyone running for office in the heated Presidential and US Congressional races in the state of Florida in 2012 should take notice of a new poll of likely voters in Florida voters released yesterday by...
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Bless these shrimps and crabs and pass the RESTORE Act
Faith and fishing: two central parts of Louisiana’s vibrant coastal culture. Every April, going back generations, you can see them intersect in a celebration of bayou life at the annual Blessing of the...
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White House stands firm, pushes Congress to fund (at last) ecosystem...
As Louisiana literally sinks into the Gulf of Mexico—wetlands disappearing at the rate of a football field per hour or so—it becomes imperative and even urgent to find ways to stop coastal land loss....
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RESTORE Act offers Gulf Coast a shot at economic mobility after the oil spill...
Out of the tragedy of the 2010 BP oil disaster, we could soon see hope emerge. New legislation, the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act, just passed by Congress, could bring billions of dollars in...
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Ignoring the nation’s poor: A political peril in 2012?
The campaign rhetoric and the media coverage of an election focused on our economy have largely overlooked a major national economic shift: the number of working families living under the poverty line...
View ArticlePoll: Voters want leaders to prioritize working poor families and #talkpoverty
Americans recognize a problem when we see it. But what happens when that problem continues to worsen year after year, and leaders are reluctant to speak its name? According to the Bureau of Labor...
View ArticleAs Not Seen on TV: BP Fails to “Measure Up” on Promises to Gulf Coast
Every Sunday, my wife and I make a pot of coffee and settle in to watch our favorite political shows—“Sunday Morning” on CBS and “Meet the Press” on NBC. Every week, we cringe when it goes to...
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As BP trial begins, communities and businesses call for restoration and...
Today marks the beginning of arguably the biggest trial of this young century. The U.S. Department of Justice goes to court with global oil giant, BP. After spilling 4.9 million barrels of oil into the...
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Fishing for community solutions in the world’s deltas
What do vulnerable fishing and farming communities along the Mississippi River Delta and the Mekong River Delta have in common? Quite a lot. Earlier this year, I traveled to Vietnam to help connect...
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Congress, want to know about the new poverty rate? Ask a working mom
Tianna Gaines-Turner (center) speaks to a Capitol Hill forum on realities of life for millions of working poor in the US. Listening is Andrew Yarrow of Oxfam America (left) and Eugene Steuerle of the...
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And when will Congress discover the working poor crisis?
Much ink is spilt in end-of-year recaps this time of year, but the most compelling national analysis so far came from Salon’s Joan Walsh. She proclaimed 2013 as the year “Americans discovered the...
View ArticleObama to Congress: What’ll it take to raise the minimum wage?
It was a breath of fresh air to see the President come out so forcefully and so unrepentantly for people living in poverty in the US on Tuesday night. The 2014 State of the Union (SOTU) was a big night...
View ArticleRebuilding bayous? That’s a “no-brainer”
One of my favorite places in the DC area is the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. Every weekend it’s jam-packed with people bird-watching, kayaking, and fishing – enjoying all the benefits a tidal wetland...
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What US history shows: 7 years and time for a minimum wage increase
Thousands of fast food workers took to the streets in over 150 cities across the country last week to raise attention to the challenges of getting by on poverty-level wages at a time of record...
View ArticleIf Walmart is ready to raise their minimum wage, why isn’t Congress?
Walmart CEO Doug McMilon laid out a new pay and training program for its hourly associates: entry pay is going up to $9 an hour this year, $10 in 2016. Interestingly they made equally clear that...
View ArticleAnd now, the work begins
Litigation around the 2010 BP oil spill took an important step with an agreement in principle that offers promise of restoration and resilience to ecosystems and communities along the Gulf Coast. After...
View ArticleNew poll on minimum wage every GOP candidate should read this Labor Day
Dear Republican Presidential Hopefuls: Before you bite into that first hotdog off the grill, head out to a house party, gas up your Harley, or limber up for a good parade, this Labor Day weekend you...
View ArticleOn the minimum wage, Santorum has it right
Last night at the CNN Republican Presidential Debate, former Senator Rick Santorum delivered an impassioned plea for an increase in the federal minimum wage, calling it good policy and good politics...
View ArticleIn the #CNBCGOPDebate, can we finally get candidates to say whether they’ll...
At the next GOP Presidential Primary Debate, coming up next Wednesday evening on CNBC, every candidate should be asked to take a stand on this critical economic question, “Do you support gradually...
View ArticleMyth-busting the minimum wage as the fight for $15 and the GOP debate converge
It’s no coincidence that as Republican presidential candidates prepare for tonight’s debate on the Fox Business Channel, thousands of low-wage workers will take to the streets for a national one-day...
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