Copy

Remaking America’s Promise for the Next Generation

Last week, presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren unveiled a sweeping plan to tackle a $1.5 trillion student debt crisis to address our higher education system that is holding back generations of Americans. Her proposal calls for wiping out student debt of up to $50,000 for 42 million working and middle class Americans. Moreover, 90 percent of those who are burdened with student debt but dropped out of college would also benefit. The proposal makes all public colleges’ tuition and fees free, adds $100 billion in Pell grants over ten years, and creates a $50 billion fund for HBCUs (historically black colleges) and other minority-serving institutions. Senator Warren plans to pay for it with an annual 2 percent tax on families with $50 million or more in wealth.

Warren’s plan is sparking a debate about the scale of federal support needed to address the student loan crisis and surfacing narratives about fairness and deservedness. It also provides us the opportunity to examine how corporate power and anti-Black racism is depriving an entire generation of young people from getting ahead, whether that’s buying a home, saving for retirement, starting a family, or launching a business. Student debt ultimately serves as a multigenerational debt anchor that causes unrelenting stress, financial strain, and a spiraling cycle of debt.

Who carries debt and who defaults on their loans is racialized and gendered. About 11.5 percent of student loans are in default. According to the New York Federal Reserve, borrowers between the ages of 40 to 49 have the worst delinquency rates. It is estimated that in the next five years, 40 percent of borrowers are likely to default.

Read more and share this letter on Medium.

Please read on for updates about our newest initiatives, opportunities to engage, and free tools and resources that we hope you will use in service to your communities.

With enduring gratitude,


Anne Price
President

The Payback Problem

NEW REPORT

Our new report, released in collaboration with PolicyLinkThe San Francisco Financial Justice ProjectTipping Point Community and Western Center on Law & Poverty, reveals that taking parents’ child support payments to pay back the cost of public assistance harms California’s low-income parents and children.

According to the report, The Payback Problem, inequitable public assistance payback policies take money away from children in poverty, set low-income parents up to fail, and discourage parents from making payments at all. The report also recommends reforms that have proven successful in other states. Click here or on the button below to view and download the full report. 

Read More

Listen Up

HIDDEN TRUTHS | EPISODE 22

For this episode, Rakeen Mabud, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and a standing contributor to Forbes, joined Jhumpa Bhattacharya to discuss mandatory arbitration and other features of the 21st century workplace that are decreasing worker power and driving negative economic outcomes for women and people of color.

Rakeen shared her research and discussed other troubling characteristics of our current labor market, from monopsony to the explosive growth of contract workers. Reflecting on these challenges and the path ahead, she shared her optimism in being part of a growing array of young and diverse voices, from organizers to policy wonks, who are tackling these issues head on with an eye for deep-seated, structural change. Click here or on the button below to listen to the full conversation.
Listen Now

Join Us!

OPPORTUNITY SUMMIT 2019
May 10 | San Jose State University, CA 

Come and listen to our very own Aisa Villarosa, Associate Director of Policy  and Advocacy, present at this year’s Opportunity Summit 2019: Generating Powerful Pathways to Economic Security For All during a panel discussion on a fair chance workforce system. Her session will provide highlights from the year-long study on a Fair Chance Workforce in the Bay Area and provide best practices as well as strategic and tactical guidance to groups seeking to develop or enhance a fair-chance hiring policy and achieve tangible results in the hiring of people with records. Learn more >>
CASH DURING PREGNANCY
May 20 | San Francisco, CA

The racial wealth gap has persisted for decades and may play a key role in preterm birth disparities. Directly addressing income insecurity in pregnancy offers an untapped opportunity to generate long term health and financial improvements for families. Hosted by the Preterm Birth Initiative (PTBi) at UCSF, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Asset Funders Network, Jhumpa Bhattacharya will participate in a panel discussion to explain the implications of the racial wealth gap for maternal and child health, and present pregnancy income supplementation as a promising intervention. Learn more >>
PATHWAYS TO JUSTICE
June 3 - 5 | San Francisco, CA

Pathways to Justice 2019, hosted by the State Bar of California in partnership with the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC) and the Judicial Council Center for Families, Children & the Courts (CFCC), will be running Monday, June 3 through Wednesday, June 5, bringing together nonprofit legal services providers, private bar pro bono, and staff from key court departments and self-help centers to learn best practices and practical problem-solving to improve the administration of justice. Jhumpa Bhattacharya will present on a panel discussion, "Fighting Fines and Fees: Toward Debt Free Justice in California," providing a deep dive to help legal services providers navigate the systems, respond to their clients needs, and join the fight for abolition. Learn more >>

In the News

Communication is an integral part of our work. We believe that changing the conversation and informing our communities is an essential part of driving real and lasting change.

New York Times

"Closing the Racial Wealth Gap"

OZY
"It's Time To Dole Out Punishments Based On Wealth, And Life Expectancy"

MS Magazine
"Fresh, Feminist Voices are Exactly What Our Nation Needs Right Now"

East Bay Times

"Opinion: California should eliminate court administrative fees"

Biscayne Times

"Think Local, Think Bold"

HELP US ADVANCE OUR WORK

If what you read in the balance of this newsletter resonates with you, please consider making a donation to the Insight Center to help us advance our work. Donate directly online by clicking on the button below.

Donate today!
Copyright © 2019 Insight Center for Community Economic Development, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.