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The Debt Hangover: After the Holidays Spending Spree many African Americans face Ballooning Debt

The Editors — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:47:47 +0000

By Tarice L.S. Gray
January’s usually the month when Americans are bombarded with tips for getting their bodies back in shape after feasting on December’s holiday fare.

January is also a time when people often wonder: are my finances in good shape?

Wealth Disparities Likely to Grow

The Editors — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:51:21 +0000

By George E. Curry
A widening gap between the mega-rich and the rest of society, documented in a recent congressional study, is likely to create even larger economic disparities between African-Americans and Whites.

The Economy and the ‘Political Economy’: More of the Same?

The Editors — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:45:32 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
The condition of America’s political economy – that is, the political war in Washington between the Congressional Republicans and President Obama over how to fix the economy – may well get worse.

Prime-time Fine for Subprime Loans

The Editors — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:33:04 +0000

By Doug Miller
In the largest civil penalty it has ever issued, the Federal Reserve fined Wells Fargo & Co. $85 million to settle allegations that the San Francisco-based bank maneuvered borrowers into taking out costlier subprime home loans and falsified information on mortgage applications.

What Becomes Justice Most?

The Editors — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:21:21 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
The story of the Virginia scholarships, to some degree, and, even more directly, of the state of Oklahoma’s refusal to properly compensate the Tulsa black community for Greenwood’s destruction casts into sharp relief the harm the post-Civil War century of legalized racism did to the ability of black American individuals, families and communities to gain and hold a solid economic footing in American society.

Jobs and the Cities The Slow Road to Recovery

The Editors — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:55:06 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
The nation’s metropolitan areas, overwhelmingly the source of its domestic economic power and jobs, are in for a decade of economic uncertainty – and very likely increased social tension – as they try to recover from the Great Recession, according to a new report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

New Migration Needed for African Americans

The Editors — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:59:06 +0000

By George E. Curry
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk thinks it is now time for a Third Great Migration, this one to far-flung cities around the world.

Demonizing the Poor for being Poor

The Editors — Tue, 31 May 2011 20:59:23 +0000

By George E. Curry
In the 1960s, we had the War on Poverty. In 2011, we’re now seeing a War on People Who Live in Poverty.

Egypt’s “Days of Rage” – Can It Happen in the United States?

The Editors — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:30:24 +0000

By Stacey Patton
Analysts have said that high unemployment in Egypt, and Tunisia, which forced its president out of the country last month, has been a ticking time bomb that created this televised revolution. There have been numerous signs indicating that the U.S. is facing a similar economic Armageddon.

Obama to Face a ‘Beast’ of a Problem in 2011

The Editors — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:13:14 +0000

By George E. Curry
Republicans in the House and Senate, borrowing a page from Ronald Reagan, plan to stifle President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda by using recently-enacted tax cuts as an excuse to reduce federal spending.

There is even a name for it – Starve the Beast.

President Obama Signs Compromise Tax Bill; Unemployment Benefits Extended

The Editors — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 18:56:17 +0000

By The Editors
President Obama Friday quickly signed legislation the House of Representatives had passed at midnight Thursday authorizing more than $800 billion in tax cuts and extending unemployment benefits to millions of jobless workers for the next 13 months.

Obama-GOP Tax Plan Prospects Improve; Unemployment Benefits Renewal Nears

The Editors — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 23:06:42 +0000

By The Editors
The Senate appeared ready Tuesday to pass the controversial compromise tax plan fashioned by President Obama and Congressional Republicans, legislation that would also extend unemployment benefits to millions of jobless workers to the end of 2011.

Court Finds “Strong Inference” of Discrimination in Louisiana/HUD Post-Hurricane Recovery Program

The Editors — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:59:26 +0000

The funding formula used to provide grants to New Orleans residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita very likely disadvantaged black homeowners because it was based on depressed property values that result from both current racial isolation and the city’s segregated past, a U.S. District Court judge has indicated. As [...]

No Money in the Bank: Black Women, Wealth and Assets

The Editors — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:33:10 +0000

By C. Nicole Mason If the average single black woman went to the bank and withdrew her wealth, she would only withdraw $100.00. And nearly half of single black women have zero or negative wealth—meaning if they inserted their cards into an ATM machine, it would more than likely be rejected.

The Business of You: Credit Card Rules Feel More Like a Shell Game

The Editors — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:10:13 +0000

By Jackie Jones The Center for Responsible Lending...has laid out what the new credit card policy legislation that went into effect Feb. 21 really will and won’t do.

The (Missed) Opportunity of a Lifetime

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:38:35 +0000

By Leslie Proll When President Obama took office last January, hopes were high that the right wing’s long stronghold on the federal courts had come to an end. LDF and other civil rights advocates were eager for a new day when fair and impartial judges would once again be nominated and confirmed in large numbers.

Obama at Year One

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:31:02 +0000

By John Payton
A year ago, we could barely contain our excitement as we contemplated a historic achievement. Barack Obama had won a decisive victory. There was widespread enthusiasm for his Presidency. Right after the election, Gallup reported that 68 percent of the public was proud that Obama was President. His choices of Senator Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, of Eric Holder to be Attorney General and of Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense were well received. His Inaugural speech was brilliant. We were looking forward to acknowledging and confronting fundamental problems that have plagued our society for decades.

Real-world Therapy for Retail Bankers: Five Steps to a Healthy Business and Renewed Popularity

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:09:59 +0000

By Doug Miller Maybe, just maybe, America’s retail bankers really don’t get it. Despite being hauled before Congress, derided by the president and sinking like a bar of gold bullion in an increasingly choppy sea of public opinion, maybe they’re just incapable at this point of seeing the balance sheet for what it really is.

The Business of You: Creeping Costs Dig Deeper In Your Pockets

The Editors — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:46:34 +0000

By Jackie Jones You may not be able to get rid of all the fees, but you can make a dent in the pile and put a little more cash in your pocket or your savings account.

Tofu & Baby Bok Choy for the Poor? Or the Yuppies?

The Editors — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:19:53 +0000

By Stacey Patton
Could it be that all this sprucing up and stocking of healthier food has something to do with the influx of the neighborhood’s white residents?

Economy – Jobs Report

The Editors — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:21:07 +0000

By The Editors The monthly report of the federal Department of Labor found that employers cut 524,000 jobs last month – the latest in a series of alarming monthly job losses that added up to a total of 2.45 million jobs lost during all of 2008. There is widespread agreement among economists that the huge monthly job losses are far from over.

President-Elect Obama on Economy: ‘Our Problems Are Rooted in Our Past Mistakes, Not Our Capacity for Future Greatness’

The Editors — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:57:46 +0000

by The Editors: On Thursday, January 8, 2009, President-Elect Barack Obama addressed the nation’s growing economic crisis. He discussed both the severity of the recession and his vision for recovery. Read an analysis of the speech and the full transcript. President-elect Obama Economimc Recovery Plan – Speech Highlights Related Posts:“We Came Here to Build A [...]

Economic Crisis Hits Historically Black Colleges Hard

The Editors — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:42:24 +0000

by TaRessa Stovall: The butterfly effect – the concept that fluttering butterfly wings might set off minute changes in the atmosphere, affecting the path of a tornado far away – can be applied to the impact of America’s recession on many institutions, especially Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). With all of America’s mainstream colleges [...]

The Recession: A Challenge for Black America

The Editors — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:43:25 +0000

It is now widely accepted that the precipitous slide of the American economy during the last three months is the worst economic crisis America has faced since the Great Depression of the 1930s. A seemingly unending drumbeat of statistics from all sectors of the nation’s $14 trillion economy – grimly tolling our economic peril – [...]

Seeing the Opportunity in Our Crisis

The Editors — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:25:11 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels: Perhaps they should re-stage the November 4 vote for president. Apparently now there are even more people who want to vote for Barack Obama than actually did on that day. That’s the conclusion one can draw from post-election polls which show that the proportion of Americans who think Obama’s the right [...]