Right Wing's Job Training Cuts Shuts Doors To Millions Of Jobs

Even with an unemployment rate of 9.2%, the United States is unlikely be able to fill a projected 2.8 million science, technology, economy and manufacturing jobs that will be created by 2018. The problem? There will not be enough qualified people.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis told a Senate hearing Tuesday that her goal is to enable American workers to get the skills necessary to “support a lifetime career path of productive, middle-class jobs.”

At the third hearing the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has held to explore the state of the American middle class, Solis reiterated in her testimony the importance of job training programs, particularly to the green energy, advanced manufacturing and health care industries.

Workers in today’s job market need to have the flexibility and adaptability to shifts in skills that today’s competitive job market requires. In order to prepare American workers for the “promising industries of the 21st century economy,” as Solis puts it, we need to rethink our job training programs. Most Americans will no longer participate in the world of education and jobs sequentially, as in studying first and then working. Americans need life-long learning opportunities to “support moves within and between emerging industries.”

Solis noted the Department of Labor’s collaboration with the nation’s community colleges to engage with the industrial and manufacturing industries to ensure that American students earn industry-accepted credentials. Community colleges offer American workers and students career pathways through “…education and training that is aligned with the skill needs of the employers, utilizes curriculum and instructional strategies, leads to the attainment of industry-recognized degree or credentials, and includes supportive services such as childcare and transportation services, and job placement services.”

House Republicans however, are opting to cut these key programs. In April, they passed a budget that slashed nationwide job training programs. Their budgetary actions are at odds with the Republican promise to bring down the unemployment rate.

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 was passed with bipartisan support, but in one swift partisan move Republicans would do away with federal grants to states to operate more than 3,000 job centers nationwide, which served more than 8 million people in 2010.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that between 2008 and 2018, science, technology, economy and manufacturing (STEM) jobs in the U.S. will grow by 17 percent, compared to an estimated growth rate of just under 10 percent for non-STEM jobs. Who do House Republicans think will fill the increasing number of STEM jobs when fewer than one-third of eighth graders in the U.S. are considered proficient in math and science? If nobody is prepared to fill the STEM jobs we have open today, who will fill them in the future?

Key conservative leaders would rather see the federal government turn its back to the problem. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has suggested that the government “eliminate federal job training programs.” Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said on MSNBC that he could “whack [job training] from this budget and [have] nobody feel it.”

Fortunately, the job-killing budget bill passed by House Republicans in April was rejected by the Senate. Members of Congress who allow cuts to essential programs that help build a competitive American workforce and economy should be held to task for their irresponsible decisions. American workers should not let the members of Congress who voted for the job-killing budget forget their betrayal of the American worker.

Originally published at http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011073027/right-wings-job-training-cuts-shuts-doors-millions-jobs

The Innovators of America’s Future: DREAM Students

“I am Undocumented, Unafraid & Unapologetic!” was the phrase that rang in Chicago’s Daley Plaza on March 10th, 2011.

I watched nervously from the crowd as my good friend Alaa Mukahhal, an undocumented Palestinian American, shouted those words from the stage. I was afraid for what might happen to her if she stopped living in the shadows. But, as tears streamed down my face, I know I was proud for having the strength to stand up and fight for her rights.

Alaa’s story kept replaying in my head as I sat in the first official Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security hearing on the DREAM Act, on Tuesday June 28th, 2011, chaired by Senator Dick Durbin.

Alaa is officially in deportation proceedings and her only hope to stay in the only home she’s ever known is for the DREAM Act to pass. We’re both hoping she gets that chance soon.

I call Alaa an undocumented Palestinian American because that’s who she is: an American, with a side of Palestinian, who just happens to not have papers documenting her residency here.

She may lack documents that classify her as an American citizen, but that does not invalidate her love and pride for her country. As Alaa puts it:

“Because of our status, I and hundreds of thousands of people like me are not considered American. Why? A passport cannot label me. I am a Muslim, an Arab, a Palestinian, and an American. I am all of these things together, rolled into the person.”

Alaa feels that her story may seem different than the millions of other undocumented youth because she is Arab and Muslim, and thus also dealing with the intense Islamophobia and Xenophobia that’s a sad reality in today’sAmerica. But overall her story is just like so many other young dreamers.

Alaa’s family is Palestinian, but she was born in Kuwait. She has a Jordanian passport, because the Kuwaiti government kicked out its Palestinian population in 1991.

In hopes of finding asylum and a home for their two kids, Alaa’s parents got tourist visas to the United States. Alaa was only seven at the time. A few years later her family’s plea for asylum was rejected by the U.S., but Alaa’s parents didn’t have anywhere to go. In desperation, they remained in the United States.

In the face of the difficulties of affording college without federal loans or being able to work legally, Alaa went on to receive a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana. Despite her many accomplishments and talents, Alaa is unable to get certified as an architect because of her undocumented status.

The debate around the DREAM Act revolves around three key issues: fairness, economic prosperity and national security.

Congress has no choice but to approve the DREAM Act, if it hopes to save the U.S. economy. The testimony during the June 28th hearing made this point, loud and clear. Senator Feinstein of California cited a 2010 UCLA study that indicated 2.1 million undocumented immigrants would contribute $3.6 trillion to the economy over a forty year period; if they were “legalized.” Two million undocumented immigrants who are between the ages of 18 and 34 could eventually become eligible for the DREAM Act.

Education Secretary Andre Duncan testified at the hearing that the Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce estimates that by 2018 the U.S. will be 3 million college graduates short of market demand, with 2.8 million jobs opening in high‐need fields such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Many STEM jobs are currently unfilled, but are desperately needed if the U.S. hopes to retain it competitive and innovative edge in the global economy. These jobs could be filled by many qualified and talented undocumented students. Instead, the U.S. is helping foreign students train at those jobs, go back to their home countries and compete against us. Why not hire a DREAM student like Alaa, an extremely gifted architect and graphic designer, who wants to contribute to America and the American people?

Believe it or not, the DREAM Act would help our national security. The bill’s language states clearly that only individuals with “good moral character” would qualify. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified, “These individuals do not represent a risk to public safety or security. Yet as long as there are no legal options available for them to adjust their immigration status, they will be part of the population subject to immigration enforcement under the law.” The DREAM Act would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to focus its limited resources on individuals who actually do pose a security threat.

Senator Cornyn of Texas, who seemed unmoved by the witnesses’ numerous rebuttals to his concerns, wanted clarification of what precisely “good moral character” entails in order to qualify for the DREAM Act. Margaret D. Stock, Counsel to the Firm Lane Powell on immigration and citizenship law, responded to this concern by citing: “The Immigration and Nationality Act 101F, which provides a statutory bar to ‘good moral character’ for certain offenses, and there is a laundry list of those offenses.” Offenses that would normally bar a person from becoming a naturalized citizen would also bar them from using the DREAM Act.

Cornyn also expressed concern over whether the DREAM Act would burden university systems. Duncan’s response was flawless: “Never in my life have I seen a study that shows college educated young people hurt the economy. It is an investment, not an expense.”

Duncan sees DREAM students the same way I see Alaa; they are innovators, the next job creators; and the dreamers who will move America forward.

This blog post was written by me and published first on the Campaign for America's Future blog (ourfuture.org/blog)

France battles to "save" Muslim women from oppression, yet oppress the LGBTQ community.

"France has explored the possibility but so far has refused to grant marriage rights to homosexual couples." I read this quote yesterday in a Times article on "Why France Lags Behind New York in Recognizing Gay Marriage" and felt an overwhelming sense of frustration with France. It wasn't until I read this article that I realized how much France is a complete hypocritcal and racist country.

I always took the Burqa and Headscarf ban in France as a result of its European sense of secularism. I, for one, am proud to be an American, largely in part to our definition of secularism, which is the seperation of church and state and not the abolishment of the church. I was patient (for the most part) with France because at least they seemed constistent with upholding a belief that no one should be forced to 'cover' their persons and/or identity.

Now I know how wrong I was to let France have their silly secularism debate over the headscarf issue. The French government just really hates the large population of Muslims in their country.

I just HATE when people, beliefs and especially governments are being INCONSISTENT. If the French government is sooooooooo concerned for women's rights, why are they against gay rights? Why are they against gay marriage? INCONSISTENT LOGIC.

If you disagree or have other evidence, I encourage you to discuss your points in the comments. Thank you!

The Front Line Of The Middle-Class Struggle: Helping Others Cope While Coping With A Pay Cut

A packed Senate hearing room sat quietly, slowly leaning in to catch the grief-stricken testimony of Amanda Greubel. “I’ve sat with parents as they completed the eligibility application [for free or reduced lunch], held their hands as they’ve shed tears of shame,” she explained, “… I’ve held women’s hands through pregnancy terminations because they can’t afford another child now.”

As Greubel's voice broke in her testimony, tears were beginning to form in my eyes. And mine weren’t the only ones.

Greubel is the director of the Family Resource Center at Central Clinton Community Schools in DeWitt, Iowa. She came to Washington on Thursday to testify before a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee hearing entitled, “Stories from the Kitchen Table: How Middle Class Families are Struggling to Make Ends Meet.”

Testifying with Greubel were Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Susan Sipprelle, multimedia journalist; and Thomas Clements, Founder of Oilfield CNC Machining LLC in Louisiana.

The hearing was the second in a series the committee is holding on the economic struggles facing the middle class. Congress has much to learn from the stories of real middle-class families about where Washington’s priorities should be. Their testimonies offered a clear portrayal of the broken social contract. Witnesses repeated the idea that middle-class families had “worked hard, played by rules and did everything the government told them to do,” and yet they are now so far away from the American Dream the government and society had promised them.

Bernstein provided the “empirical evidence behind the middle-class squeeze” that Greubel so tragically shares with many other middle class families. He displayed a chart based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data that shows median family income and U.S. productivity growth for two time periods: 1947-1979 and 1979-2009. As the chart shows, real median family income did not begin disappearing at the onset of the Great Recession and will not end after the aftereffects of the recession are past. Economic inequality has increased almost exponentially in the last 30 years.

The decline of real middle class income in this country over the last 30 years is intolerable. Greubel’s own family life is an example. She has lost $10,000 in income a year when the state of Iowa, for the 2009-2010 budget, cut education funding mid-year, forcing the school board to reduce her position to three-quarters time. This change has forced the family, as Greubel put it, to go through a “complete financial, emotional and spiritual overhaul.” She has a young son and is expecting another child in December. Her son ends up eating more cereal and ramen noodles than she cares to admit, most of their clothing now comes from Goodwill and the couple spent the last few months catching up on a $1,000 hospital bill when her son became sick. She even thought about terminating her own pregnancy at one point.

Despite all this, Greubel considers her family lucky compared to the families she helps at her job who have to pick between medicine and food, who make anguished decisions to terminate pregnancies they cannot afford, who watch as one or both parents fall into a deep depression after 16 months of unemployment and feelings of worthlessness.

Greubel said her family and others she works with are neither lazy nor uneducated. In fact, both she and her husband earned master degrees, but they are also facing the difficulty of paying off student debt on a tight budget.

Most middle-class families in America are in the same plight, Bernstein said, as middle-class income in the last 30 years has gone up only 3 percent but college fees have gone up 10 percent.


Families like Greubel are facing hard financial and family decisions as politicians in Washington are trying to tear up the social contract previous leaders signed with the middle class. Meanwhile, CEOs of financial corporations bailed out by taxpayers are getting six- and seven-figure salaries.

Washington, I implore you to hear the plights of middle-class families all across America. Listen to the words of Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin’s opening statement, which summed up the economic situation of the middle class:

“…[S]ince the 1970s, that social contract has disappeared. Real family income has barely budged despite our workforce becoming more productive than ever. Unions have deteriorated and defined benefit pensions have all but disappeared. Our manufacturing base has been shipped overseas. Large corporations have put returns for their shareholders and higher pay for their executives over their workers economic security. Income and wealth inequality are at levels not seen since immediately before the Great Depression.”

This post was written by me and originally published on the Campaign for America's Future blog.

Source of Missing Jobs in America Found: Forced Laborers

With unemployment at a near historic high in the United States, could you imagine any American company bringing in foreign workers to work for them below the minimum wage and with no benefits? Most people would say no. But can you imagine those same Americans forcing foreign workers to stay here, with no pay, and constant abuse? That is actually happening in this country today.

Forced labor is a real phenomenon in the United States agriculture business. Without awareness and investigation into where our supplies come from and who businesses are hiring, the American people become unwitting complicit supporters of labor trafficking

Monday June 13th, in anticipation of the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) held a Senate committee hearing and panel discussion to review the success and needed improvements of the law. Smith is chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights and co-chairman of the Congressional Human Trafficking Caucus. Several leaders in the fight against human trafficking were invited to testify: the main witness, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. State Department; Deborah Cundy, Vice President of Carlson Companies; Chai Ling, founder of All Girls Allowed; Nancy Rivard, President and founder of Airline Ambassadors International; Philip Kowalcyzk, President of The Body Shop; Kevin Bales, co-founder and President, Free the Slaves, and; David Abramowitz of Humanity United.

During the testimony of Ambassador CdeBaca, Smith asked a pointed question about labor trafficking in the United States. He inquired if the elimination of broker fees would help stop labor trafficking. Brokers, according the Verité Initiative, are “intermediaries who facilitate employment for migrant workers,” often in legal methods. However, research by the Verité Initiative shows that brokerage fees can “range from USD 3,000-27,000 among workers coming in legally on H-2A and H-2B guest worker visas.” In 2008, 173,103 guest workers were admitted on H-2A visas, which are for agricultural work. The main states receiving these workers were: Arkansas; California; Louisiana; Florida; Georgia; Kentucky; New York and; North Carolina. The other main industry for guest workers who came on the H-2B non-agricultural visa is Forestry. 104,618 H-2B visas were granted in 2008.

Even without trafficking, the guest worker visas do not provide “adequate protections for work, health, and housing; legalizing the payment of sub-minimum wages; and – because workers are, for practical purposes, bound to work for one or more employers – entrapping workers at specified work sites for the duration of their stay in the United States”

Ambassador CdeBaca testified that eliminating broker fees from the guest worker visa process is one of the many steps the United States government can take to stop the enslavement of foreign workers in the United States. He explained how the brokers will often confiscate the passport of the worker until they pay of their travel and brokerage debt, leading to workers essentially renting themselves out to their employers.

At this point we really have to ask ourselves how much of the food that ends up in our house have been planted and/or picked by made by forced laborers, even child slaves in the United States. 50 percent of transnational trafficking victims are children. It’s bad enough American workers are competing with foreign adult workers abroad that corporations are hiring, but now we are competing with child slaves within the United States! It’s horrific on every conceivable level.

CNN reported on June 13th that a woman in Georgia was convicted of trafficking two Nigerian girls as labor slaves in her house, where she regularly abused them. The girls were 17 and 20 and had been brought to the United States on fake US passports that the convicted women had bought for them. The girls were never paid for their years of work, forced to be dependent on their trafficker for all their basic needs, and were given spoiled food to eat.

Just last month, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that it filed lawsuits against “a labor broker in California, farms in Hawaii and Washington, and a marine services company in Mississippi and Texas [that] subjected foreign workers to severe abuse and discrimination after they were trafficked into this country.”

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was a historic victory for human rights in America. However, is not strong enough to protect innocents from becoming victims of forced labor and abuse. With 27 million people in forced labor worldwide, Washington needs to act fast to reauthorize TVPA with more statues to prevent labor trafficking in the United States. If the moral issue is not enough to motivate Washington into action, perhaps the estimated 14,500 - 17,500 foreign nationals trafficked into the United States every year that are essentially replacing American workers in our own country, will motivate the deficit yelling Congress into action.

Smith, the prime sponsor for the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, leads his fellow Congressmen in action but we need more leaders rising to the occasion in Congress.

Embracing a Holistic And Progressive Approach To Ending Poverty

Don’t you just love it when a Senator nails the issue of poverty in American with a single sentence? That is just what Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) did last Thursday at the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s when he said: “The federal government is the only entity to fight poverty in America. We need to do it because we can do it and we’re the only ones who can do it effectively.”

Senator Cardin was the keynote speaker at a CAPAF event on “Strengthening Families: Developing a Progressive Agenda that Promotes Family Stability and Cuts Poverty.” The event also included a panel discussion that was made up of Racquel S. Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity, White House Domestic Policy Council; Lisalyn Jacobs, Vice President for Government Relations, Legal Momentum, and; Aisha Moodie-Mills, Advisor, LGBT Policy and Racial Justice, Center for American Progress.

Senator Cardin asked the audience what it will take for us to get involved in fighting poverty, if not the moral imperative. The answer: the economic imperative to fight poverty that is increasing everyday. The Senator quoted a recent Georgetown study that claims poverty costs the United States $500 billion a year. But the real question behind that is who is to blame: low-income families or the lack of progressive programs to fight poverty from a holistic approach?

I often hear the argument that the government should stop bailing out low-income families who ‘don’t work hard enough with all the help the government gives them.’ The reality though is what Lisa Jacobs of Legal Momentum said her organization determined: the “combined income from all the poverty support programs is not enough to uplift the families out of poverty.”

Jacobs iterated the need for the federal government to take back state programs, many of which are so regressive that they keep putting up obstacles to prevent people from even coming in through the door. Racquel Russell joined in by explaining how to bring low-income families to the middle class we need a holistic approach, where we look at transportation, childcare, family formation, job opportunities, job training, education, and nutrition for starters.

We must protect the safety net programs that allow low-income families to work. Our budget deficit, as Senator Cardon pointed out, came from tax cuts for the wealthy in 2001 and 2003, the money we borrowed for two wars, and reckless gambling on Wall Street that the government allowed. The deficit did not come from poverty programs or middle class families so “when we look to fix the problem, let us not start and end with middle class families.”

In order to have a talk about fixing poverty in the United States we need:

1. A real conversation about where GOOD jobs will come from.
2. To understand what is really involved in creating strong communities
3. A honest conversation about family formation (policies should reflect the diversity of family structures in America)

This is where the conversation to end poverty begins.

This piece was written by me and originally published at the Campaign for America's future blog.

The Truth Behind Washington’s Minimum Wage Glass Ceiling

I wrote this for The Campaign for America's Future blog:

Washington conservative elites seem to be taking it for granted that raising the minimum wage in a recession will destroy the already fragile job market. However, what proof do we have that this is true?

New research being conducted by prominent economists is yielding data that is proving this Washington line completely wrong. In fact, their results are showing that raising the minimum wages is not only good economics, but also good politics. Not only does a greater minimum wage not kill jobs, but it is in fact the first step to a recovery.

A panel discussion on this new research was held today by the Center for American Progress in conjunction with the National Employment Law Project. The guest panels were: Celinda Lake, President, Lake Research Partners; Michael Reich, Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California, Berkeley; Sylvia Allegretto, Deputy Chair of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics, University of California, Berkeley; and Heidi Shierholz, Economist, Economic Policy Institute.

Each panelist presented their research on the effects of raising the minimum wage in America, with each concluding that minimum wage increases do not necessarily have a negative effect on the job market, and some studies show that they can help expand the job market.

Michael Reich’s research used a fix effect model to generalize local case studies where the minimum wage was increased on only one side of bordering counties and states. Among his findings were the positive effects of raising minimum wage not only on the employee, but also the employer: “Turnover goes way down with the minimum wage increase. This means when employees stay long, they become more experienced and employers save turnover costs.”

Past research may have blinded our view of of minimum wage hikes because studies showed a slight negative effect on the economy after a minimum wage increase, presumably as a result of raising minimum wages. Sylvia Allegretto’s research used localized statistics to take into account different factors that might affect the job market besides raising minimum wages. For example, in one case study she found that “the negative effect witnessed three years after minimum wage changes is the same as two years before minimum wage changes.” In light of this, it pays to not forget: correlation does not mean causation.

Bringing the current economic situation into context, Allegretto, whose research covered three recession periods, explained that there is no data showing that raising minimum wages in a recession negatively affects the economy and the job market. She gave an example of how we can sometimes be deceived by unexplained statistics:

“We see a lot, especially now, when students are graduating, in high school and college, and we are constantly saying everyday in the media that “Oh well the reason these young folks cannot get jobs is because of the minimum wages. Well, the unemployment rate of those with a BA or more is recently been close to all-time levels but no one would say that those educated folks are looking for a minimum wage job.”

Whatever economic stimulus some regions of the country experienced after the recent set of minimum wage increases came from the employees, not the employers. Conservatives in Washington today are pushing on us erroneous statements that giving corporations more tax breaks will create jobs. However, there is no evidence that corporations will spend the extra money they get to create an economic stimulus. We know that most businesses’ financials today are back to pre-recession levels, yet the unemployment rate is still at a historic high. This is because corporations are not hiring with their money; they are sending it straight to CEO bonuses.

Celinda Lakes’ recent opinion research on the minimum wage shows that raising the minimum wage is broadly supported by the public. In a fall 2010 nationwide poll, “67% of Americans supported raising the minimum wage to the critical threshold of $10 an hour.” In individual states where the issue was polled during this election cycle the numbers also show public support for raising the minimum wage. For example, in Maryland, where almost two-thirds of voters say the economy is not in good shape, 79% favor raising the minimum wage.

The American people understand that putting more money in their pocket will go straight back into the economy and putting money into corporations will only pad the packets of their executives. Members of Congress now need to listen to common sense and the views of the American people and put raising the federal minimum wage on the table.

Take The Blindfold Off The Tax Debate

(my first professional blog post)

There’s been a great deal of talk about tax reform recently. However, much of it has been, as Representative Sander Levin, D-Mich., put it on Friday, “discussed only in glittering generalities” that distort reality.

At a time when the middle class is saddled with an economic recession and a recovery that is slow to reach them, Republicans like Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan are backing budget proposals that in the name of deficit reduction award tax breaks to the wealthy while cutting services vital to the middle class. Americans need a progressive discussion of tax reform that defends the middle class and responsibly reduces the federal deficit.

That discussion happened at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, where Rep. Sander Levin gave a talk Friday on “The Implications and Opportunities of the Current Tax Reform Debate.”

Levin declared the need for a real tax reform discussion with specific and realistic goals. In light of Congress’s inability to talk about taxes, he proposed three guiding principles for the tax reform debate: “Tax reform should protect working families; it should encourage economic growth and job creation in the United States; and it should be fiscally responsible.”

There is an obvious need to address redundancies and complexity in the tax system to make our tax policy more effective. However, the House Republican approach of lowering the top tax rate to 25 percent for individuals and corporations, with no thought to who would make the sacrifices as a result, is astoundingly blind. It is, as Levin put it, “the equivalent of putting a blindfold on, spinning around three times, and picking a number. It’s time to take the blindfold off. It’s time to understand clearly what that would mean for working families.”

Working families and middle-class America should be the focus of the tax reform debate and Levin’s talk championed this ideal. It is disheartening to hear some members of Congress call for the elimination of all tax credits and deductions, as the White House bipartisan fiscal commission recommended, when the overwhelming majority of the beneficiaries of those tax benefits are lower- to middle-income families. For example, in 2009, all of the people receiving the Earned Income Tax Credit, 90 percent of the people receiving the child tax credit and 81 percent of education credit beneficiaries are in households that make less than $100,000 a year.

Finally, we need to discuss raising revenues as we talk about deficit reduction. Republicans refuse to even broach that topic, even though during the only period of time since World War II that we have balanced our nation’s budget, the federal government’s revenues averaged 20 percent of gross domestic product. Compare this to 2010, when federal revenues were at 14.9 percent of GDP, close to historic lows.

Asked how Democrats would convince Republicans to discuss federal revenues, Levin said, “We face an unavoidable debate that may be an unavoidable collision and our challenge is to face that collision productively.”

Members of Congress should rise to Levin’s call to a real tax reform debate, face the inevitable collision with congressional conservatives and champion the economic rights of middle-class and working families.

This blog was first published on the Campaign for America's Future blog. I am an intern at CAF.

First Chicago Update

Hi everyone,

So, I haven’t really maintained the blog in awhile but since I’m far away in Chicago, I thought I’d share my thoughts so you all won’t forget me. I have some general thoughts about my move to Chicago and my next blog post will be about my current fellowship- Get Out the Vote.

Sooooo, first of all, this has been huge for me. I basically uprooted myself and moved halfway across the country on my own, in hopes for better opportunities in a bigger city that has a larger Arab and Muslim population. Often times I feel that God is testing me with the obstacles that get thrown in my way, but thankfully (Alhamdulillah) these obstacles have only made me closer to Allah as I try to find his blessings in each hardship. So, in this regard, I am happy about my move to Chicago. It has really helped me appreciate God more and brought me so much closer to feeling his presence, Alhamdulillah.

On for a little rant about Chicago:
1. The drivers are crazy. They drive over MEDIANS in the road!
2. Bridgeview, Il and the surrounding villages are soooooo Arabville. And being surrounded by Syrians and Palestinians (in the thousands) makes me feel like I’m somehow in the Middle East. This hilariously enough helps pacify my inner drive to travel to the Middle East. Arab food is everywhere 
3. The trees…are…no where to be seen in the suburbs. Sigh, I miss my deciduous forest. Oh NC.
4. The streets are basically all a grid so it should mean that it’s easy to get around, but it’s not. The road will randomly end and then pick up a couple blocks later. Also, I still haven’t figured out how people know which way is S, N, E, W…. Directions, please just tell me to go left or right. See, in downtown (specifically the loop) I just use the trains or the cta. However, in the suburbs it’s all driving so I tend to get lost a fair bit. Thank God for my GPS in my iPhone.
5. WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK I’M IN HIGH-SCHOOL??!!

Ok, the rant is over. Alhamdulillah.

My apartment is cool and right in the heart of UIC’s campus. I room with three other really friendly and nice Muslim girls so that makes me really happy. Alhamdulillah, I feel really comfortable in my place. Also, my bed is on a loft…like built into the wall…that just makes me happy.

I can’t for more updates. Next update: Why some Muslims don’t vote and why ALL Muslims SHOULD vote

blasphemous prayer

when my hand

prints prayers
as pleas that they
perhaps
might propagate
pious actions,

it poetically
preaches blasphemy
as pretentiously guessing
god’s will.

tissue poems

shelves of fresh journals,
binding blank pages, they
signify scholarly space.

hands in jacket pocket
unfold a forgotten napkin,
and against my palm,

words flourished.