Roosevelt Must-Reads: The Power of the People

As of late, I’ve been doing my utmost to find the silver linings of an otherwise frightening, frustrating, and disappointing news cycle—a rather difficult task in this political moment. There’s the legal fight brewing over Roe v. Wade, and Emily Peck’s sobering piece in HuffPost on the economic peril faced by women—and especially women of color—in Alabama. “Alabama is one of only two states with no equal pay laws protecting women from discrimination … it has the fourth largest pay gap in the US … and women working there full-time earn, on average, just 73 cents for every dollar a man makes, compared with the US average of 80 cents on the dollar. For [B]lack women it’s 58 cents, versus 61 cents nationwide” But my hope was buoyed by Alexia Campbell’s story on how house progressives plan to revitalize the labor movement through the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. And then there Eric Posner’s piece in The Atlantic on how the antitrust establishment may finally turn against Big Tech. Aslo, Dylan Matthews elevated the legacy of Alice Rivlin and reminded me of the power of people to shape institutions. Let us not forget the power of hope and our capacity to build a better world.