Momentum is building to raise the minimum wage. Several states have already taken action — Connecticut has boosted it to $10.10 by 2017, the Maryland legislature just approved a similar measure, Minnesota lawmakers just reached a deal to hike it to $9.50. A few cities have been more ambitious — Washington, D.C. and its surrounding counties raised it to $11.50, Seattle is considering $15.00 Senate Democrats will soon introduce legislation raising it nationally to $10.10, from the current $7.25 an hour. All this is fine as far as it goes. But we need to be more ambitious. We should be raising the federal minimum to $15 an hour. Here are seven reasons why: 1. Had the minimum wage of 1968 simply stayed even with inflation, it would be more than $10 an hour today. But the typical worker is also about twice as productive as then. Some of those productivity gains should go to workers at the bottom. 2. $10.10 isn’t enough to lift all workers and their families out of poverty. Most low-wage workers aren’t young teenagers; they’re major breadwinners for their families, and many are women. And they and their families need a higher minimum. 3. For this reason, a $10.10 minimum would also still require the rest of us to pay Medicaid, food-stamps, and other programs necessary to get poor families out of poverty — thereby indirectly subsidizing employers who refuse to pay more. Bloomberg View describes McDonald’s and Walmart as “America’s biggest welfare queens” because their employees receive so much public assistance. (Some, like McDonalds, even advise their employees to use public programs because their pay is so low.) 4. A $15/hour minimum won’t result in major job losses because it would put money in the pockets of millions of low-wage workers who will spend it — thereby giving working families and the overall economy a boost, and creating jobs. (When I was Labor Secretary in 1996 and we raised the minimum wage, business predicted millions of job losses; in fact, we had more job gains over the next four years than in any comparable period in American history.) 5. A $15/hour minimum is unlikely to result in higher prices because most businesses directly affected by it are in intense competition for consumers, and will take the raise out of profits rather than raise their prices. But because the higher minimum will also attract more workers into the job market, employers will have more choice of whom to hire, and thereby have more reliable employees — resulting in lower turnover costs and higher productivity. 6. Since Republicans will push Democrats to go even lower than $10.10, it’s doubly important to be clear about what’s right in the first place. Democrats should be going for a higher minimum rather than listening to Republican demands for a smaller one. 7. At a time in our history when 95 percent of all economic gains are going to the top 1 percent, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour isn’t just smart economics and good politics. It’s also the morally right thing to do. Call your senators and members of Congress today to tell them $15 an hour is the least American workers deserve. You can reach them at 202-224-3121. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION!

Billions of our dollars are being wasted on futile, endless wars, while serious problems here at home go neglected. The climate catastrophe and nuclear weapons threaten the existence of all of us.

This is a person who did the right thing for the right reasons. She was not violent. Did she commit a crime? There is more evidence that Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions committed crimes than anything Reality Winner has done. The administration will try to sweep her under the carpet. I ask you, my fellow citizens of this country, to support, uphold and dignify this young woman as the heroine that she is.

Along with most Americans, a large majority of Coloradans recognize the huge threat posed by climate change and want to take action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

It is a crime for masked people to publicly gather in the state of Virginia with the intent to conceal identity in any public place. We expect local and state law enforcement to enforce the Code of Virginia under 18.2-422, with an exception for any street theater that may occur parallel to the gathering of the hate group also known as the KKK.

Medical cannabis patients in Fresno have suffered for years because the city and county both prohibit the cultivation and retail sales of medical cannabis. Now the city is proposing to ban "recreational" sales without even bothering to consider Proposition 215 patients or tough new state laws. FRESNO DESERVES BETTER.

Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston, announced that he would call on the City Council to vote on joining the lawsuit over SB4, aka the Show Me Your Papers law. The Houston City Council is currently in recess until late June, and with the law set to take effect on September 1, 2017, the City of Houston has to step up for all of its residents, soon. Tell Mayor Turner to call a vote of the Houston City Council to join the lawsuit against SB4 and call on the Houston City to vote YES on joining the lawsuit. Time is of the essence because when SB4 takes effect, it will: - target millions of brown and Black people — of all backgrounds and citizenships — will be racially profiled, locked up and pushed out. - trample on civil liberties by forcing immigrants without papers into criminal charges - put domestic violence survivors in danger because of fear of local police - make students unsafe on campus because of their immigration status If Houston votes to join the lawsuit, they will join the cities of Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, and El Cenizo, the first city to sue Governor Abbott for signing this law.

Last week, Donald Trump recklessly announced that he will pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, which has been signed by 195 countries in an effort to stop catastrophic climate change, which is accelerated by carbon pollution. In response, governors from California, New York, and Washington launched a coalition committed to the carbon reduction efforts called for under the Paris Agreement, which has now been joined by a total of 12 states and Puerto Rico. Urge Gov. Reynolds to enlist Iowa in this new coalition and do everything possible to fight climate change.

We need to stay steadfast to the Paris Climate Accord. The State of Arizona can not go backwards on climate control.

The Healthcare bill that will be brought to the floor of the US Senate has been drawn up in closed sessions by Majority Leader McConnell. It is essentially the same as the bill passed by the Republicans in the House. It will take away Insurance from Millions, make huge cutbacks to Medicaid, and make PreConditions simply unaffordable.....IT CANNOT PASS

The heath and well being of my state, my nation, and the planet.

Washington has shown it does not want to lead America so it is up to States to show the way. Oklahoma has plenty of Wind and Sun to power clean energy and grow our economy and add thousands of local jobs. All this while reducing taxpayers utility bills, earthquakes (from fraking), and pollution. Our energy companies can still produce and sell the oil to other states or countries while diversifying their portfolio for more stability and job growth.