June 2012

The People's Budget Campaign: Legislative Achievements After Year One
June 30, 2012
In the 2012 legislative session, the Vermont state legislature took an unprecedented step by adding language to the Vermont statute that moves the state toward budget and revenue policies grounded in human rights. Adopting a key demand of the People's Budget Campaign, run by the Vermont... Keep reading »
Supreme Court Ruling on Health Reform Points to Public, Tax-Funded Health Care Solution
June 29, 2012
In upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Supreme Court affirmed the government’s authority to ensure health care for all. The Court also pointed to a right way of doing this (through the government’s tax power) and a wrong way (through compelling people to buy a commercial... Keep reading »
A New Solution for Universal Health Care: Beyond the Supreme Court Ruling on Health Reform
June 26, 2012
NESRI in the Huffington Post: We now have an opportunity to bring health back into health reform, no matter how the Supreme Court rules on the Affordable Care Act. Ever since health reformers opted to put lobbyists before people, partisan brawls over "Obamacare" and "... Keep reading »
The Road Not Taken: Supreme Court Decision on Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant Law Fails on Human Rights
June 25, 2012
The Supreme Court decision on Arizona's anti-immigrant law, while striking down harsher measures designed to make undocumented immigrants “self-deport,” still allows the police to demand that anyone suspected of being undocumented “show their papers” when stopped. From... Keep reading »
Why Human Rights Should Inform How States Spend National Foreclosure Settlement Money
June 13, 2012
Last April, the federal government and 49 states negotiated a $25 billion settlement for widespread, wrongful foreclosures with the nation’s five largest loan servicers. The National Foreclosure Settlement includes $2.5 billion in direct payments for the states and D.C. to fund ... Keep reading »
DSC-NY Rally to Challenge Latest Draft of NYC School Discipline Code
June 12, 2012
The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing last week to review a new draft of the Discipline Code, which included some positive steps towards limiting the number of minor infractions that subject students to suspension. While students and parents with the Dignity in Schools... Keep reading »