In this New Year, Americans have celebrated the lowest unemployment rate since 1969,[1] an expansion to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program,[2] and a cap on the cost of most insulin for those on Medicare.[3] At the same time, low- and middle-income Americans have experienced a rise in the cost of groceries,[4] the highest rate of […]

The consumer financial services industry has taken advantage of digital technology to transform the way it provides services to consumers using payment systems. After describing this new digital environment, the article describes its impact on lowincome consumers. It examines statutes and regulations that offer limited protection for low-income consumers as well as gaps in those […]

Substance use is one of the favorite justifications for the family regulation system to remove children and prevent reunification with their parents, especially if those parents are women, people in poverty, or people of color. This Article reviews decades of scientific research, hundreds of scientific articles, revealing that almost all the assumptions justifying removal and […]

In 1996, prisoners’ rights formally fell out of public favor. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) put a period on the widespread prisoners’ rights movement of the 1960s and 70s: it drastically diminished the ability of prisoners to vindicate their rights in courts, the incentives for lawyers to represent prisoners, and the ability of courts […]

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world, imprisoning over two million people. Not only does mass incarceration have great monetary costs for Americans as the United States spends over $250 billion each year on incarceration, but the United States also faces significant social costs as a result of […]

Minimum wage laws are among the most important laws that impact the livelihood of low-wage workers. Indeed, as Gandhi stated, “the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” New York’s minimum wage has been capped at $15 for most workers since 2018 because the traditional approach […]

Community colleges have the potential to be a powerful force to alleviate poverty in the United States. However, the persistent underfunding of community colleges inhibits their ability to meet the aspiration of economic mobility for all students as they serve students who have more significant needs with fewer resources than public or private four-year institutions […]