Innehållsförteckning för The Money Edition från The Goodnewspaper

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky recently launched a $100 million program with the Obama Foundation to invest in young people. Chesky, who has signed a pledge to give the majority of his wealth away during his lifetime, partnered with former President Barack Obama in May 2022 to launch the Voyager Scholarship. The scholarship will grant $50,000 to rising juniors to cover tuition costs for over two years, as well as a $10,000 grant and Airbnb credit to fund a summer experience for the student. Additionally, scholarship recipients will get a $2,000 annual Airbnb credit for 10 years after graduation. Scholarship applicants must demonstrate a commitment to public service, including careers in community organizing, social work, entrepreneurship or the arts. Because travel and schooling often lead to financial limitations, the…

You may have heard this phrase before: “Anything is legal if you’re rich enough.” Though a generalization, it presents a valid criticism of criminal justice in the U.S. Take, for example, how folks with more financial freedom can pay fines for small criminal acts, can hire a reputable lawyer — or could pay cash bail upon arrest. Using money to impose consequences is inherently inequitable because not everyone has the same access to financial resources. Factoring in all of the racial and socioeconomic factors contributing to the criminal justice system (according to the NAACP, Black Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white folks, and according to the Economic Policy Institute, Black families make 61 cents to a white family’s dollar, as of 2019), money as…

In January, Ridgeland, Mississippi mayor Gene McGee threatened to withhold $110,000 in funding from a local library unless they removed LGBTQ+ books from their bookshelves. When a library or library system loses local operating funding', it can mean cuts in programs, staffing, or even closing clown its doors. So, while this library couldn't get its local government to financially support them, an unlikely international community took charge in the fundraising efforts: “the furries.” The furry fandom is a diverse subculture of writers, artists, and role players who take an interest in anthropomorphized animals like wolves and cats — many of whom are also a part of the LGBTQ+ community. After furry community member, Soatok (who prefers to go by his online handle) saw a tweet about the situation, he contacted…

GOOD Read the article “How to Fix Economic Inequality” by the Peterson Institute for International Economics for an excellent overview of wealth inequality. piie.com/microsites/how-fix-economic-inequality BETTER Donate to inequality.org, which is a media and education platform where each piece of content aims to narrow the staggering economic inequality that pervades our daily lives. BEST Call your representatives and urge them to work towards policies that support increased minimum wages, wealth taxes, social support for working families, and ending residential segregation.…

The coronavirus pandemic exposed an obvious — but routinely disregarded — Achilles’ heel affecting younger generations: the lack of financial preparedness. Financial literacy (an understanding of concepts like saving, credit, interest rates, investing, and risk assessment) is generally low among American adults, especially young adults, according to a recent report from the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at George Washington University. Advocates are actually seeing this as an opportunity to build an even stronger case for high schools to prioritize the subject for all students — regardless of their income, race, or gender — and states across the U.S. are listening. As of July 2022, 15 states have passed financial education laws with overwhelming bipartisan support. South Carolina, Michigan, and Georgia are among the latest to require high schoolers to…

GOOD Learn more about the facts and myths of wage in creases. Visit raisetheminimumwage.com for fact sheets and Q&As to help get the full scope of stagnant wages in America. BETTER Although the goal is a federal policy to end poverty, you can sign a petition to get wage increases on your state ballot and engage with local grassroots movements to improve the standard of living in your own community. BEST Contact your representatives at state and federal levels to ensure they understand how important increased wages are to their constituents. Find your representatives by visiting ggg.news/contact-reps…

In an effort to increase accessibility to addiction recovery services, Alberta has become the first Canadian province to remove financial barriers from its 72 licensed, publicly funded treatment centers. "We are giving all Albertans — regardless of their financial situation — the opportunity to recover and build a better life. Recovery is for everyone," Jason Luan, associate minister of mental health and addictions, stated in a news release. Those deemed as "low-income Albertans already had treatment costs covered by the government. However, the change, according to the official press release, will make residential addiction treatment available for "students, senior citizens, and people in the workforce who make too much to qualify for Income Support, but not enough to pay privately." The financial burden isn't solely limited to the person struggling…

Whether motivated by a combination of forced furloughs or layoffs, lockdowns, or an abundance of free time to dive into new side hustles, the COVID-19 pandemic became the unintentional catalyst for American entrepreneurs to start new small businesses in record numbers. According to the United States Census Bureau, more than 4.4 million new businesses were created during 2020 — the highest total on record. For reference, that’s a 24.3% increase from 2019. In January 2021 alone, half a million new businesses were welcomed into the market. “We almost never see this sort of boom in a recession,” Luke Pardue, an economist at Gusto, a payroll and benefits platform for small businesses, told CNBC. A 2021 survey conducted by Gusto, showed that the majority of these new businesses were overwhelmingly created…

In 2012, Colorado became the first state in the U.S. to legalize adult-use, recreational marijuana. Since then, various state and city programs have been smelling… success. In the decade since legalization, Colorado has surpassed $10 billion in total sales, according to Forbes, and with it, the state has seen major impacts on increased tax revenue (namely over $2 billion in tax revenue). Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana, places a 15% special sales tax on recreational cannabis, which goes to the state’s general fund, A fraction is taken for the Department of Education’s State Public School Fund, and the remainder goes backto the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund. This revenue does not go to direct “per pupil” funding, but to building projects, renovations, and other education-based initiatives. In 2018, over $20 million…

The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour and has not been increased since 2009, despite a number of efforts to increase that number (most recently, a proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, which passed in the House but died in the Senate). However, raising the minimum wage would be a win for workers and the economy. In fact, if the federal minimum wage was increased to just $12, this would give nearly 35 million workers a raise and lift about 4.5 million people out of poverty, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) This equates to approximately one in four Americans (many of whom are in BIPOC and low-income communities) achieving a higher standard of living. Not only would this measure help…

WE HAVE GOOD NEWS While most cities finalize their annual budgets with the help of mayors, city managers, and council members, some are giving everyday people a seat at the table through participatory budgeting (PB). A decision-making practice initially developed in Brazil in the 1980s, PB has now reached cities all over the world. Those who have implemented this budgeting system believe that it builds transparency and understanding in the budgeting process and increases civic engagement. In practice, city officials ask the public for their input on where to invest a portion of its municipal budget. Seattle, for example, recently incorporated PB in an effort to divest from policing and reinvest into organizations that address housing, healthcare, and public safety issues — especially within BIPOC neighborhoods. The Black Brilliance Research…

GOOD Identify local service organizations that offer financial assistance for medical costs or housing. Take it a step further by sharing this information with your neighbors, friends, and loved ones. BETTER There are so many other ways to help your community than offering your time or money. Consider donating things you already own but rarely use, like gently used professional clothes or baby gear. BEST Offer your expertise or time by supporting volunteer opportunities in your area (like driving someone to get a state-issued ID or providing small business advice). Learn more by visiting: volunteermatch.org…

GOOD Learn more about conscious consumerism by listening to “Conscious Chatter with Kestrel Jenkins,” a podcast that brings in activists, small business owners, and everyday people to uplift one another's work. BETTER Amplify your favorite small businesses! Share their posts on social media, write a kind review, purchase gift cards, recommend them to family and friends, and always be sure to tip generously. BEST Shopping for something? Ditch big-box stores and Amazon for smaller, local, and more sustainable businesses. We’ve created a great guide to help get you started: ggg.news/articles/alternatives-to-amazon…

Anyone who has financial goals — like paying off student loan debt, saving up for a house, or investing in a 401(k) — knows that it doesn’t happen overnight. It can be overwhelming', confusing, and discouraging, but here’s the good news: you don’t have to be rich to get help with your finances. In fact, there are plenty of free (and lowcost) resources out there that can help you sort through your personal or small business finances. The key to getting started? Take it one small step at a time. Maybe your goal is to pay off your debt in five years, or maybe it’s saving up for your dream wedding, or even taking time off to backpack through Central America. Regardless, just take it one small step at a…

Banks have long excluded low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities from accessing financial services. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was one of several laws enacted in the 1960s and 70s to address fairness and access to housing and credit. CRA was specifically passed to prevent redlining — a prevalent banking practice used to deny credit to individuals based on where they lived. This law effectively encouraged banks to meet the credit needs of the communities they serve — including LMI neighborhoods. Over the years, CRA has grown from an “encouragement” model to more of a requirement for FDIC-insured depository institutions seeking charters, bank mergers, acquisitions, and branch openings — essentially, they can’t grow their business unless they help their communities along the way. Banks get “graded” every three years by federal…

In the throes of the major historical events of recent memory, many of us have embraced the idea of slowing down. We’re tossing hustle and bustle aside in favor of intentionality and sustainability, carefully untangling our worth from our performance and productivity. We’re meditating more, making our silly little smoothies, taking hot girl walks, setting boundaries at work, and doing all these new things to sustain ourselves and find healing. It’s working, right? Much to our chagrin, these structural lifestyle changes make us feel better and allow us to thrive, all while decreasing our output. So what if we took those guiding principles of regeneration and used them as a template for a new economic model? The Doughnut is a concept that was first published by Kate Raworth in 2012…