Olivia Alperstein

A Coup Attempt Against American Taxpayers - OtherWords Trump’s attempt to freeze federal funds for government services was an effort to steal our tax dollars to enrich billionaires. And he’ll try again.

NEW: This week, Trump sloppily tried to freeze funding for thousands of programs that Americans rely on. This administration is trying every tactic — legal or not — to fund its planned massive tax handout to its billionaire backers.

IPS scholar @karendolan.bsky.social:

Fossil Fuel 'Oil-Garchs' Reap Billions in Payback for Trump Support | Common Dreams A new report tracks the monthly wealth of fossil fuel billionaires.

"This is what “Oil-garchy” looks like": On the 2nd Trump administration: www.commondreams.org/opinion/pros...

Instagram blocked teens from searching LGBTQ-related content for months Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags were hidden under Meta's “sensitive content” policy which restricts "sexually suggestive content"

SCOOP: Instagram blocked teens from searching LGBTQ-related content for months.

Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags were hidden under Meta's “sensitive content” policy which restricts "sexually suggestive content", Meta said they are fixing this “error” after I reached out for comment.

I am quoted in this article by @newsweek.com

The frenzy surrounding AI has caused the value of tech stocks to skyrocket, thus making tech billionaires even richer. This class of billionaires have even more material power, which they can convert into political power.
www.newsweek.com/america-bill...

The Low-Wage Corporations That Blew Half a Trillion Dollars to Inflate CEO Pay - Institute for Policy Studies A new report reveals that nearly half of the 100 largest low-wage employers spent more on stock buybacks than on long-term capital investments over the past five years.

Americans across the political divide support curbing excess CEO pay. CEOs pocket massive paychecks while their workers struggle to get by. @sarahanderson.bsky.social @ips-dc.org's 2024 analysis found the CEO-worker pay gap at the top 100 low-wage corporations is 538 to 1. ips-dc.org/the-low-wage...

The power of song to uplift and inspire never ceases to move me. As multiple holiday traditions celebrate hope and light in the darkest time of the year, songs and music warm our collective spirits. I'm grateful that I grew up exposed to traditions that mix protest songs with spirituals and prayers.

10 Inequality Victories in 2024 Our year-end review of 10 of the most inspiring inequality wins, from union drives to fair taxes to consumer protection.

I'm so proud to work alongside my brilliant @ips-dc.org colleagues at a research institution that's supported social movements for decades, fighting corporate greed.

@millsrodrigo.bsky.social and @sarahanderson.bsky.social highlight 10 inequality victories in 2024: inequality.org/article/10-i...

Climate Justice Groups: Latest U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution Falls Short of What's Needed - Institute for Policy Studies This NDC falls short of what we need: a concrete, substantive action plan that builds global solidarity to address the climate crisis at scale.

BREAKING: Today, Biden announced the latest U.S. contribution to the Paris Agreement. It falls far short of what's needed to protect communities in the U.S. and around the world, warn climate justice groups.

"It is unacceptable for the US government to walk away from its responsibility.” Statement:

How Billionaires Have Sidestepped a Tax Aimed at the Rich Wall Street financiers were a clear target of the tax, but some, on questionable legal grounds, have claimed their outsized profits were exempt, sometimes avoiding hundreds of millions in taxes.

NEW: A host of billionaires — sports team owners, oil barons, Wall Street traders and others — have managed to avoid paying a tax on investment income.

propub.li/41EtbPK

The Rich Are Hoarding Their Wealth Using Charity Funds Wall Street–backed charity funds provide ultrawealthy donors with massive charitable tax breaks — yet operate without any requirement to ever distribute the money to working charities.

The ultra-wealthy get huge tax breaks for donating to Wall Street-backed funds — despite no guarantee that those donations ever make it to active charities. Instead, they often make it to dark money hate groups.

New @inequality.bsky.social findings in @jacobinmag.bsky.social:

International Allies Against Mining in El Salvador condemns decision to retry ADES Santa Marta Five Water Defenders and Bukele’s attempts to overturn mining ban - Institute for Policy Studies The decision to grant a retrial presents further evidence of the deterioration of independence within El Salvador’s judicial system, and its politicization to punish and weaken the struggle to uphold ...

"El Salvador’s 2017 prohibition against metallic mining is a widely popular measure and overturning it would be a death sentence for the small and densely-populated country with its scarce water sources, many of which are already contaminated." ips-dc.org/release-inte...

The 2023 arrest of the ADES Santa Marta water defenders took place as they and other activists voiced concerns that the Salvadoran government was considering reestablishing metals mining in El Salvador. Now, Bukele has openly signaled interest in overturning the 2017 prohibition on metallic mining.

The original verdict was based on lack of evidence there was any crime to pursue. International Allies Against Mining in El Salvador, representing hundreds of organizations in over two dozen countries, condemns the retrial, which may signal deterioration of the judicial system's independence.

International Allies Against Mining in El Salvador condemns decision to retry ADES Santa Marta Five Water Defenders and Bukele’s attempts to overturn mining ban - Institute for Policy Studies The decision to grant a retrial presents further evidence of the deterioration of independence within El Salvador’s judicial system, and its politicization to punish and weaken the struggle to uphold ...

In 2023, 5 prominent Salvadoran community leaders who were instrumental in the nationwide 2017 ban on metallic mining were arrested on sham charges. They were found innocent at trial, but another court granted the Salvadoran Attorney General's appeal and ordered a retrial. ips-dc.org/release-inte...

'Unsettling New Milestone': Top 12 US Billionaires Now Control $2 Trillion in Wealth | Common Dreams "The oligarchic dozen is richer than ever, and they are endowed with extreme material power that can be used to pursue narrow political interests at the expense of democratic majorities," according to...

NEW: Just 12 U.S. billionaires now have a collective net worth of over $2 trillion, according to new analysis from IPS scholar @ocampomar.bsky.social — a figure that amounts to a little less than a third of total federal spending in 2023.

@eloisegoldsmith.bsky.social has more in @commondreams.org:

It’s Dark Money-Giving Tuesday A new study reveals that charitable giving will soon be dominated by Wall Street dark-money funds that enrich the wealthy and never have to give to working charities.

It’s Dark Money-Giving Tuesday! "A group of Wall Street-backed charity funds fueling the dark-money takeover of American politics is set to help collect half of all individual charitable donations within the next three years."

@thelever.bsky.social @countingcharity.bsky.social @ips-dc.bsky.social 🤝

74 Health, Environment, and Public Service Organizations Applaud Congressional Resolution on 40th Anniversary of Bhopal Chemical Disaster to Designate December 3 as National Chemical Disaster Awarenes... The resolution recommends common-sense measures to protect communities' health, prevent future chemical disasters, and hold companies accountable for the harmful effects of disasters they've caused.

NEW: 40 years after the Bhopal chemical disaster, residents are STILL fighting for accountability.

A new resolution from @repjayapal.bsky.social, @reprashida.bsky.social, and @senjeffmerkley.bsky.social would mark December 3 as National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day to demand justice:

US Department of Labor announces proposed rule to phase out certificates allowing payment of less than minimum wage to workers with disabilities

The US Department of Labor has proposed a rule to phase out Section 14(c) certificates that currently enable employers to pay a subminimum wage to certain people with disabilities. The subminimum wage policy has impacted poverty rates among disabled Americans for decades. www.dol.gov/newsroom/rel...

"The wealth defense industry is extracting rent from our charity system," warns Bella DeVaan. "Profit-seeking shouldn’t get anywhere near charitable giving, yet more and more finance and tech professionals are finding ways to further their control of how donations flow."

Assuming that their assets will grow at the same rate they have over the past five years, the assets held in DAFs and foundations will eclipse $2 trillion by 2026.

DAFs and foundations together take in 35% of all individual giving in the US. If these 2 types of intermediaries continue to grow at the rate they have for the past5 years, by 2028, they will take in half of all U.S. individual giving.

Among key findings, the report found that with each passing year, an additional 2 cents of each dollar donated by individuals is funneled into intermediaries like donor-advised funds (DAFs) — and away from working charities.

Gilded Giving: Saving Philanthropy from Wall Street Philanthropy is becoming just another tool to benefit the wealthy and their money managers — leaving real charities behind in the process. Here’s how we fix it.

This #GIvingTuesday, while everyday donors are choosing which charities to support, the wealth defense industry is exploiting loopholes to give back to itself. Read @ips-dc.bsky.social's new report “Gilded Giving 2024: Saving #Philanthropy from #WallStreet.” ips-dc.org/report-gilde...

Retailers Locked Up Their Products—and Broke Shopping in America CVS, Target and other chains have barricaded everything from toiletries to cleaning supplies. It’s backfired in almost every way.

Seems like people wanna talk about all the locked-up stuff at chain pharmacies and big box stores today. Here’s a gift link to a feature I published a few months ago about why retailers started putting so much stuff behind plexiglass and how badly it’s backfired. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Scooby Doo Fred Jones GIF Alt: Scooby Doo GIF where Fred Jones pulls off a white mask with eyeholes to reveal the villain's face underneath.

Billionaires and greedy corporations count on people not finding out just how much they exploit tax loopholes and undercut ordinary workers to ensure they rake in huge profits.

Luckily, there are researchers and organizations that are willing to expose villains for what they are.

Imagining better US disability policy solutions isn't exactly a fringe issue. Roughly 1 in 4 Americans are disabled. Millions more are one medical incident away from becoming disabled or chronically ill. Fighting for a more accessible future is a vital part of fighting for a better future, period.

A cookie tin filled with sewing supplies will mysteriously appear in your house in the next 48 hours.

On public transit, you can't tell by looking who has a disability and who doesn't. Sometimes it's a guy in a wheelchair or a woman dictating speech to text with a service dog in tow. Sometimes it's someone in pain without visible mobility aids who needs to sit down. Don't police priority seating.

Just for once I'd like to see a Christmas movie about an underworked, underpaid guy from a small town who inherits an Upper West Side apartment from his great aunt, moves to the big city, and meets a smart woman with a marketing job who encourages him to pursue an MFA and shows him how to jaywalk.

I joined Bluesky back when you still needed a code. Right now, it feels a bit like kids returning to summer camp and seeing all their friends. People created some wonderful online communities on Twitter, and they've been rebuilding some on Bluesky. I'm excited to watch new communities grow, too.