Legislation would give state-funded, faith-based agencies the right to refuse service to anyone on religious grounds. Those of us who support equality for all were hoping for the best, but were largely unsurprised by the 4-1 vote by the Michigan Senate Families, Senior & Human Services Committee to send a package of discriminatory adoption bills for consideration and a likely […]

Senate Families, Seniors and Human Services Committee to meet on bills that would allow adoption agencies to refuse placement of children based on religious objections. Once again, the Michigan Legislature isn’t wasting any time moving forward with bills that could hurt Michigan children and families, and the voices of Michiganders who oppose faith-based discrimination need to be heard. On Wednesday, […]

The numbers reflect the growing popularity of the ACA and the success of outreach efforts. Due in large part to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, America’s uninsured rate has dropped to 11.9 percent, the lowest level since Gallup and Healthways began tracking it in 2008. More Americans under age 65 now have self-funded insurance – in fact, nearly […]

Package of legislation is intended to close the wage gap between what women and men earn for equal work. On Equal Pay Day 2015, Michigan’s Progressive Women’s Legislative Caucus introduced a new wage discrimination policy agenda that offers comprehensive solutions to combat Michigan’s wage gap. The legislation would empower workers to negotiate for equal pay, strengthen support and create strong […]

On Equal Pay Day, Congressman Dan Kildee and Senator Gary Peters are standing with women, who still earn an average of 78 cents on the dollar compared to men. Imagine if your year was more than 15 months long. Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the reality for too many American women who still do not earn the same salary […]

While we work toward a better America for everyone, we must act “as if.” Progress takes time. Consider that the first President to propose universal health insurance was Teddy Roosevelt, but the first major step toward that kind of health reform didn’t happen until Barack Obama’s presidency. But the Affordable Care Act did become law because Democrats and progressives never […]

This isn’t about religion. It’s about faith in humankind. I’m not a religious person. I’m spiritual — Buddhist-inspired — but not religious. But I have faith. I have faith that people are better than what we are seeing in those who would use religion as a license to discriminate. Laws like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) passed in Indiana […]

Special enrollment period through April 30 is available for people who learned of penalties on their 2014 tax return. It shouldn’t have been news to anyone that if you don’t have health insurance, you’ll have to pay a penalty unless your income is so low you can’t afford coverage. But since 2014 was the first year the Affordable Care Act […]

Instead of being tied to a job for the insurance benefits, Americans have the freedom to pursue their dreams. Ever since he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 10, Shawn Dhanak says he worried about what he was going to do when he was no longer covered by his parents’ insurance. He remembers his grandmother telling him, “You […]

These are only five of the millions of Americans whose lives have been changed for the better thanks to the ACA. Call it Obamacare, call it the Affordable Care Act or the ACA. Whatever you call it, you have to call it a success — because it is. March 23, 2015, marks the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing the […]

When your fellow Republicans vote to enshrine discrimination into law, it’s not a week to brag about the state. So there I was, minding my own business late Friday afternoon, when an email from Governor Rick Snyder’s office showed up in my inbox. It wouldn’t be remarkable except for the subject line: “A great week for the state of Michigan” […]