CHARLESTON, W.Va. - After an astonishingly successful run - buying up and forgiving debt - the Rolling Jubilee has said it is time to do more: organizing debtors to speak up for themselves. The jubilee was described as a "bailout by the people, for the people," collecting donations to buy heavily discounted medical debts that creditors were pushing off their books.

Aaron Smith is an activist with Strike Debt, the Jubilee's parent organization. He said they managed to purchase a little short of $15 million in debt with about $400,000 in donations, stopping countless harassing phone calls.

"Instead of the debt buyers buying this debt for pennies on the dollar and repackaging it off to debt collectors who use threats and intimidation, we buy it. Then we just send the people a letter that says you don't have to worry about this debt any more, and have a nice day," Smith explained.

Smith stressed that charity is no solution, which is why they are moving on to what he describes as a bigger and more important project: organizing debtors to demand better terms.

On Strike Debt's website is a manual to help debtors fight back. For one thing, Smith said, many debt collectors don't have the documentation they need to legally demand payment. So, Strike Debt has written a simple form to challenge the debt and maybe walk away for nothing.

Lenders argue that paying a debt is a moral obligation, a sign of good character. But Smith pointed out that banks and corporations constantly buy and sell debt for pennies on the dollar. Why shouldn't ordinary people? He said arming debtors with that knowledge is more important than buying up medical bills.

"You are much more likely to say, 'There's no way I'm going to pay a hundred cents, there's no way I'm going to pay fifty cents. I'm going to pay what I feel like I can pay, and not a penny more, and you're gonna take it,'" he said.

Smith and the others with the Rolling Jubilee worked without pay. All the donations went to buy debt or pay legal or paperwork costs, he said, adding that the public reaction was intense from the moment they started.

"We thought we would get to about $50,000 within a few months and that would let us buy about $1 million worth of debt," Smith recalled. "We ended up raising $50,000 in one day."

More information is available at www.rollingjubilee.org and www.strikedebt.org.


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A new Washington law ensures employees quick access to their personnel files, which are necessary for many things including filing for workers' compensation and unemployment claims.

Employers must now provide copies of the files when requested within 21 days or face possible legal action.

Jesse Wing, an employment attorney in Seattle, noted under the old law, many employers ignored or restricted requests.

"There are even employers who are located in a different part of the state who say, 'if you want to drive here, you can sit in our conference room and look at the documents but you can't have a copy of them, we won't send them to you.' Which also can cause a lot of problems for employees who have disabilities,'" Wing explained.

Wing noted the new law took seven years to pass, largely because the business community voiced concerns about time-consuming document searches and possible sensitive employee information in the files. He countered digital files make retrieval quick and legally, employees already have access to their records.

Wing added a flood of lawsuits is unlikely under the new law, as they would offer little payoff and employers can avoid them simply by complying.

"What we really want is our clients to be able to get the documents that they need for all the myriad reasons that they need them," Wing stressed.

Wing pointed out the new law only applies to employees working in the private sector. Public employees have another mechanism to obtain their files. Although, he said, there have been problems with that system as well, so follow-up legislation may be needed.


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A groundbreaking radio show from the early 1990s is returning this weekend in Arkansas. The PHAT LIP! You(th)Talk Radio show will be back on the airwaves Saturday on KABF 88.3 FM Community Radio in Little Rock.

The show, produced by Washitaw Foothills Youth Media Arts and Literacy Collective, features young people ages 16 to 24.

Director Kwami Abdul-Bey says the broadcast gives teens and young adults a chance to express their feelings about a variety of topics.

"We want all young people involved in the conversation, so you'll be hearing what they have to say particularly as it has to deal with civic engagement and electoral justice," he said.

The show will air from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. the first and third Saturday of each month, and is also available on KABF.org and through the Shortwave Relay Service.

The talk show is funded by a three-year grant. Some of the topics the students want to address are medical and student debt and funding cuts for social programs.

Jasmine Serrano, a show host, is a junior at Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, and said she got involved with the project after speaking to members of the Arkansas Legislature.

"In society, we always look at the adults and we always look at the older folks and generations, but we don't really take the time to pay attention to how the current policies and societal perceptions are impacting youth," Serrano explained.

When Abdul-Bey started the original show in 1994, he said it was in response to a documentary that painted Arkansas youth in a bad light. His seventh-grade social studies students wanted to combat the negative stereotypes. He noted the name of the show reflects the music of the times.

"One of my favorite hip-hop artists back in the 1990s was Fat Lip from Digable Planets," he continued. "And 'pfat' at the time was something that was cool, something that was vital as far as the culture was concerned. And 'lip' just means you talk too much."

Reports of the Trump administration considering taxing wealthy Americans to pay for mass deportations and other priorities come on the heels of a new study showing how the move could generate significant revenues without slowing economic growth.

Mary Eschelbach Hansen, associate professor of economics at American University and the report's co-author, said raising tax rates for people who earn more than $609,000 a year to 44% would add 3% to the nation's tax coffers, enough to stave off cuts to popular programs serving low-income Coloradans.

"In current budget proportions, that's about enough to pay for some of the biggest, most important programs like food stamps SNAP, Children's Health Insurance Program, and also Temporary Assistance for Needy Families," Eschelbach Hansen outlined.

While 44% may seem high compared to today's top rate of 37%, it is a lot less than the 92% paid by people who earned more than $400,000 a year under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Republicans have long argued tax cuts create economic benefits for all, and leaders in Congress, including Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., the House Speaker, have said they would oppose any tax hikes.

Eschelbach Hansen argued raising the top tax rate would also increase how much of the national income pie most Americans get to keep, compared to how much the wealthiest get, by about 2%. She added years of trickle-down economics have shown only the wealthy benefit from low tax rates.

"If lowering top tax rates was going to trickle down, then you and I would be much richer than we are now," Eschelbach Hansen pointed out. "Because we have had an era of low top tax rates for decades."

Eschelbach Hansen stressed higher personal tax rates have virtually no impact on long-term economic growth, and lower personal tax rates lead to less economic growth, because people tend to take advantage of the lower rate by moving their income.

"Instead of reinvesting it in your business, where it will grow your business and grow the economy, you'll be more likely to just take it as personal income, which is not going to stimulate growth," Eschelbach Hansen explained.


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