This week, I saw a 15 minute video on YouTube, called Humans Need Not Apply. In summary, the video postulates that we are experiencing a “robot revolution,” wherein advancement in automation that performs physical labor and make decisions could profoundly impact a wide range of occupations representing approximately 45 percent of our workforce.
Category: Advocate
What Has the 113th Congress Accomplished This Year?
The 113th Congress comes to a close this week and lawmakers are probably just as happy as the American public to put the last two years behind them and start anew. A recent Gallup poll reported that Congressional approval ratings are just one point higher than last year at 15 percent. Under this Congress we’ve seen a government shutdown and the invocation of the nuclear option (a Senate procedure allowing a rule or precedent to be overridden). However, there were some moments worth celebrating, particularly during the second session of the Congress this year.
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Congress Lurches to the Finish Line with FY 2015 Budget Baton
Negotiations over the $1.1 trillion spending bill for FY 2015 continue despite snags over everything from trucking regulations and pension funding to terrorism insurance and the Dodd-Frank law that tightened financial regulations in the wake of the financial meltdown that helped trigger the Great Recession.
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Lame Duck Congress Could Yield Positive Results Amid Drama
As the 113th Congress lurches to a post-election close, known as a lame duck session, some positive results might be in the making amid the budget drama and some notable failures.
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Thanksgiving’s Story of Partnership
The relationships between the native inhabitants and European settlers eventually deteriorated with shameful and tragic results that cannot be overlooked. However, the snapshot of the period between the Pilgrims’ landing and that harvest feast is a story that teaches the value of partnership.
Take Action for the Upcoming Year
Lawmakers briefly returned to Washington, DC, to wrap up lingering issues before the 114th Congress convenes in early January. The new Congress will not only bring new faces and changes to the country’s leadership, but a different set of priorities. As Goodwill® prepares to begin new relationships and strengthen old contacts, it is important that we focus on what our own priorities should be.
Big Changes Still Possible from Lame Duck Congress
The reference to a lame duck Congress gives the impression of being powerless, yet in reality the current Congress still holds the power and the duty to act on areas that will impact Goodwill and the people we serve.
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Changing the Impact Game: It’s Time for a Forward Pass
The 2014 mid-term elections are behind us, and even the most respected pollsters and pundits are surprised – not that the Republican party made gains, but by how much. Now the big question in Washington is whether the new Congress can abandon the politics of gridlock in order to move forward and govern. I admit it, I’m cynical. Control of Congress has flip-flopped numerous times over the past 20 years; yet, these breath-taking political moments have failed to establish the kind of transformational change that voters demand when they vote to throw incumbents out of Congress.
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Changing the Impact Game: It's Time for a Forward Pass
The 2014 mid-term elections are behind us, and even the most respected pollsters and pundits are surprised – not that the Republican party made gains, but by how much. Now the big question in Washington is whether the new Congress can abandon the politics of gridlock in order to move forward and govern. I admit it, I’m cynical. Control of Congress has flip-flopped numerous times over the past 20 years; yet, these breath-taking political moments have failed to establish the kind of transformational change that voters demand when they vote to throw incumbents out of Congress.
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Amid Politics as Usual, Every Vote Still Matters
“All politics is local” is a common phrase associated with former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, and it couldn’t have been truer in my hometown. My parents were very politically active and I remember spending many election days in the firehouse-turned-polling-station checking off names of people who would come in and vote. Those lists
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Nonprofits Are Creating Jobs Even in Tough Times
Much has been written about the Great Recession and the impact it continues to have on our economy. It’s been seven years since the housing bubble began to collapse, triggering the worst stock market collapse since the Great Depression and a loss of an estimated $10 to $12 trillion in wealth in both the housing
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Missing in Action – The Long-Term Unemployed
Recent economic news has been brighter as of late with consumer confidence starting to move upward, and monthly unemployment rates and jobless claims declining. But every silver lining has a cloud, and that cloud are people who have been out of work for a long time. Nearly a third of Americans who were unemployed last month have been without a job for 26 or more weeks, double the rate recorded before the recession began late in 2007. Those out of work for extended periods of time are often less likely to be hired than those unemployed for shorter stretches. The result is a more devastating impact to household savings and long-term earning potential for those job seekers.
