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What Can Cities Learn From Baltimore’s Decline In Violence?

July 12, 2026 Chip Brownlee, The Trace. , , , ,
When Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott proposed his signature violence reduction strategy in 2021, he was asking community members to believe that an effort that had already failed — twice — could work if the city tried again. Baltimore had tried versions of the strategy, known as focused deterrence, in the 1990s and in 2014. The approach — often oversimplified as a “carrot-and-stick” tactic for violence prevention — aims to identify the small number of people most likely to be involved in shootings and offer them both help and the promise of legal consequences if violence continues.

Washington State Lawmakers Approve Millionaires Tax

March 21, 2026 Tim Wheeler, People's World. , , ,
Olympia, WA—Rejecting scores of Republican poison pill amendments, the Washington State House of Representatives on March 11 approved by a 51 to 46 vote a “millionaires tax” of 9.9% on annual income over $1 million. The Senate had approved the measure March 10 by a vote of 27 to 21. It is now on Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk, and he has promised to sign it into law. The governor had expressed unhappiness with the Senate-approved version, arguing that it fails to earmark enough in funding for state programs that serve low-income families, children, and small businesses.

Mali Delivers 33 Million Dollars Of Mining Revenue To Local Communities

March 21, 2026 Pavan Kulkarni, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
The government of Mali redistributed USD 33 million of mining revenue to the mining-affected and other underdeveloped regions of the country last week, at a ceremony in the Koulouba Presidential Palace on March 12, presided over by President Col. Assimi Goïta. Local municipalities located in active mining zones were allocated half of this amount. The other half was shared between the regional administrations within which the mining zones are located and the non-mining areas under an equalization mechanism to address the uneven development of different regions of the country.​

Nicaragua As A Regional Model

February 2, 2026 Stephen Sefton, Tortilla con Sal. , , ,
Nicaragua plays an essential role in the development of Central America not only because of its geographical position in the center of the isthmus but also because of the success of its revolutionary model of socio-economic democratization. Nicaragua has demonstrated that public policies for development focused on the needs of the human person yield better results than a neoliberal focus on corporate profits. Nicaragua's productive economy is highly competitive with the economies of its neighboring countries, while its public sector responds much better to the aspirations of the families of the vast majority of its population.

We’re Making ‘Tax The Rich’ More Than A Slogan

December 11, 2025 Max Page, Labor Notes. , , ,
Taxing the rich should bring a smile to your face. It certainly brings one to mine. Here’s what passing the Fair Share Amendment in Massachusetts allowed us to do, in just the first years since its passage in 2022: Offer free community college tuition to every resident (bringing a 40 percent increase in enrollment), free school meals for every student, free regional buses, a multi-billion-dollar capital program for public higher education and public vocational high schools. And we’ve been able to invest in literacy programs, and expand access to affordable childcare and early education.

Childcare Can Be Free And Universal

November 1, 2025 Rita Bee, Counter Punch. , , ,
I was drawn to the childcare profession because of my love for children. I just love seeing their smiling, hopeful faces, watching them grow and learn, and welcoming the trust and love they bring to us every day. At the same time, working in this field can be challenging. Babies and young children require a great deal of love and care, informed by expertise in early childhood development. Low pay is challenging for providers, and high costs are challenging for families. But some states are looking for answers — and I believe mine has found one. New Mexico is now expanding its free, high-quality child care program so that all families can access it. It’s the first of its kind in the nation — and I hope other states will follow.

Mayor Vetoes Anti-Immigrant Legislation Due To Public Pressure

June 30, 2025 Fight Back! News. , , ,
Jacksonville, FL – On June 24, Mayor Donna Deegan made the decision to veto the anti-immigrant Ordinance 0138. This decision comes after a months-long campaign by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) that began back in February. Since the ordinance’s inception, local activists, immigrant families, faith leaders and many more provided testimony against this legislation. The ordinance sought to block any city services or funding from supporting undocumented immigrants including access to necessities such as healthcare, temporary shelters and programs for children, leaving undocumented people with even fewer resources to navigate their lives.

Washington Targets Achievements Of Cuba, Nicaragua, And Venezuela

June 12, 2025 John Perry and Roger D. Harris, Popular Resistance. , , , , ,
“We look for the poorest patients,” the Cuban doctor in charge of the eye clinic said. “Often we travel to remote rural areas and bring them to the clinic in a bus.” The clinic, in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua, was part of Misión Milagro (Miracle Mission), run jointly by the Cuban and Venezuelan governments. The larger mission has treated over seven million patients in 33 countries since 2004. Local Nicaraguan doctors, trained by the Cubans, are now in charge in Ciudad Sandino. Misión Milagro is despised by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Washington has imposed sanctions on officials in countries using this and other Cuban medical missions. Supposedly aimed at stopping the “trafficking” of medical staff, the real intent is to destroy services that have proved immensely popular for their free, high-quality treatment, often in remote areas with few health facilities.

Panama: Indigenous Leaders Condemn ‘Criminalization Of Protests’

May 27, 2025 Richard Arghiris, Intercontinental Cry. , , , ,
Indigenous authorities in Panama have condemned the “escalation of persecution and repression” by the government of President Raúl Mulino. The traditional authorities of the Ngabe-Buglé Comarca claim that armed security agents have made violent house-to-house raids including the use of tear gas, large-caliber weapons and arbitrary arrests of indigenous leaders in various communities, such as Trinidad, El Piro, Ojo de Agua, Tolé, Viguí and El Prado. Faced with nationwide strikes and protest, President Mulino has eschewed dialogue and instead deployed riot police and armed SENAFRONT (National Border Service) officers to disperse marches and gatherings using chemical agents. Dozens have been injured but the protests are continuing into their second month.

The Pentagon Just Can’t Pass An Audit

November 30, 2023 Lindsay Koshgarian, Scheer Post. , , , ,
The Pentagon just failed its audit — again. For the sixth time in a row, the agency that accounts for half the money Congress approves each year can’t figure out what it did with all that money. For a brief recap, the Pentagon has never passed an audit. Until 2018, it had never even completed one. Since then, the Pentagon has done an audit every year and given itself a participation prize each time. Yet despite this year’s triumphant press release — titled “DOD Makes Incremental Progress Towards Clean Audit” — it has failed every time. In its most recent audit, the Pentagon was able to account for just half of its $3.8 trillion in assets (including equipment, facilities, etc).

US Sanctions Hit Nicaragua’s Social Investment Programs

November 26, 2023 John Perry, Orinoco Tribune. , , , ,
Which country spends nearly two-thirds of its budget on tackling poverty? When I met Nicaragua’s finance minister, Ivan Acosta, he had just presented his 2024 budget to its National Assembly, and he made clear that a large part of it is aimed at doing just that. In cash terms, Nicaragua’s government will spend about 24% more in 2024 than in the current year, which includes a huge increase (43%) in public sector investment. Acosta explained how the country would continue its recent advances in health, education, transport, energy, water supply, housing and local government services. Less than 3% of spending is for defense, and in any case Nicaragua’s army has mainly civil duties such as dealing with frequent natural disasters and preventing deforestation.

Biden-McCarthy Deal: Neoliberal Fiscal Policy Continues

May 31, 2023 Jack Rasmus, LA Progressive. , , , , ,
Over the weekend, US House of Representatives speaker McCarthy and president Biden announced a tentative agreement on raising the debt ceiling. The deal—almost certain to pass Congress later this week—represents a typical Neoliberal fiscal policy deal. Ever since neoliberal capitalism policies were introduced under president Carter in the late 1970s, and subsequently expanded dramatically under Reagan, Neoliberal fiscal policy has been characterized by accelerating Pentagon and war spending; simultaneous cutting of business-investor taxes; acceptance of consequent escalating budget deficits—and in turn US national debt levels; and the use deficit/debt to cap and reduce social program spending.

New Report: $1.1 Trillion Was Spent On Militarism And War Last Year

May 24, 2023 Olivia Alperstein, Institute for Policy Studies. , , ,
Washington, D.C. –  On May 24, the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies released a critical new analysis of the militarized budget in the United States, “The Warfare State: How Funding for Militarism Compromises our Welfare.” The new report found that this past year, out of a $1.8 trillion federal discretionary budget, the U.S. spent a staggering $1.1 trillion – or 62% – of that budget on militarism and war. Threats to cut spending for vital domestic programs have featured prominently in the debt ceiling debate in recent weeks, but spending on militarism has been almost entirely exempt from the discussion.

States With Temporary Budget Surpluses Should Invest In People

March 13, 2022 Ed Lazere, CBPP. , , ,
Policymakers in at least 14 states are using temporary budget surpluses to call for costly and permanent tax cuts targeted more to wealthy people and profitable corporations than to those who need help. That’s a bad choice. States should be careful to protect their long-term ability to provide funding for high-quality schools, access to affordable health care, and other public services, which these tax cuts would badly erode. Instead of permanent tax cuts, states should use the surpluses for needed one-time supports for people and businesses or to seed longer-term investments, especially those targeted to the communities most harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The surpluses largely reflect substantial — but temporary — federal funding provided in relief bills enacted in 2020 and 2021; those relief bills also boosted state economies and thus state revenues as well, further improving state fiscal conditions.
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