On Our Radar

The Washington Post, November 1, 2022, Pandemic led to sharp spike in Black, Asian and Latino homeownership Helped by pandemic-era stimulus programs, Black, Latino and Asian households saw the sharpest increase in homeownership in 2021 since the Great Recession, when all their levels of owning had fallen, according to an analysis of new federal data […]

NPR, November 28, 2022, Congress considers codifying same-sex marriage after long battle for gay rights This week, the Senate is set to move forward with the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) to codify same-sex and interracial marriages through federal protections. Dozens of Republicans have voted in support of the bill, including congressional leaders like Sen.

NPR, November 16, 2022, Homeless veterans in Los Angeles sue the VA over promised housing The group is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to build affordable housing. The suit claims the VA hasn’t lived up to a 2011 agreement to house veterans.

The New York Times, November 11, 2022, New Measure of Climate’s Toll: Disasters Are Now Common Across U.S. The rising toll of climate change across the United States has been measured in lives lost, buildings destroyed and dollars spent on recovery. But a report released on Wednesday uses a different measure: Which parts of the

Nonprofit Quarterly, November 4, 2022, More Than Just A Structure: The Myriad Impacts Of Black Women’s Exclusion From Homeownership A house is far more than a structure. In financial terms, American neoliberal thinking leads us to believe that a house is an investment and potential pathway to wealth. Intrinsically, however, a house is a home

Better Markets, September 29, 2022, Federal Reserve’s Climate Scenario Analysis Is A Welcome First Step In Addressing Climate Risks But Must Have Supervisory Consequences Phillip Basil, Director of Banking Policy at Better Markets, issued the following statement on the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a “pilot” climate scenario analysis exercise for 2023: “The Federal Reserve’s official announcement of

American Banker, September 28, 2022, Fed Proposes Permanent Extension Of Real Estate Debt Leniency The Federal Reserve wants lenders to remain patient with commercial real estate borrowers that struggle to service their debts. In a policy statement proposed this week, Fed staffers petitioned the Board of Governors to make a series of tweaks to its

Insider Intelligence, September 27, 2022, Green Banking Groups Need Clarity On How Best To Deal With Climate Change What we’ve been noticing: Groups of banks set up to combat climate change are taking differing approaches as they look to cut carbon emissions while dealing with a complex and increasingly politicized problem. 

Vox, September 27, 2022, The Child Care Crisis Just Keeps Getting Worse On the Senate floor in early August, just two days before lawmakers voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, four senior Democrats came out to lament what they believed to be the bill’s biggest omission: child care.

The New York Times, September 24, 2022, E.P.A. Will Make Racial Equality A Bigger Factor In Environmental Rules The Environmental Protection Agency will establish a new national office of environmental justice, the Biden administration’s latest effort to rectify the disproportionate harm caused by pollution and climate change in communities of color and in low-income cities,

The New York Times, September 25, 2022, Whatever Happened To The Starter Home? The nation has a deepening shortage of housing. But, more specifically, there isn’t enough of this housing: small, no-frills homes that would give a family new to the country or a young couple with student debt a foothold to build equity.

The New York Times, September 20, 2022, Billionaire No More: Patagonia Founder Gives Away The Company A half century after founding the outdoor apparel maker Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, the eccentric rock climber who became a reluctant billionaire with his unconventional spin on capitalism, has given the company away. Rather than selling the company or taking

The Guardian, September 20, 2022, World Bank Warns Higher Interest Rates Could Trigger Global Recession The world may be edging toward a global recession as central banks simultaneously raise interest rates to combat persistent inflation, the World Bank has warned. The three largest economies, – the US, China and the eurozone – have been slowing sharply, and even a

The New York Times, September 20, 2022, ‘A Crisis Coming’: The Twin Threats to American Democracy World War II and the Cold War presented threats from global totalitarian movements. The 1960s and ’70s were marred by assassinations, riots, a losing war and a disgraced president. These earlier periods were each more alarming in some ways

NPR, September 20, 2022, High Rents Outpace Federal Disability Payments, Leaving Many Homeless After two months of sleeping in the Salvation Army Center of Hope homeless shelter in Charlotte, N.C., Margaret Davis has had no luck finding an apartment she can afford. The 55-year-old grandmother receives about $750 a month from the federal government. She’s