Rachel Black
@rachelblack.bsky.social
Policy Advisor at Aspen's Financial Security Program
Pretty sure that people should just get the things they need. Big fan of anyone trying to figure out how to do that.
All thoughts definitely my own.
Pretty sure that people should just get the things they need. Big fan of anyone trying to figure out how to do that.
All thoughts definitely my own.
Reposted by Rachel Black
The public: "We are desperate for help with the cost of living. Please do something."
Trump administration: "Penis."
Trump administration: "Penis."
"Men are men. Men can never become women. Women are women. Women can never become men."
December 18, 2025 at 5:03 PM
The public: "We are desperate for help with the cost of living. Please do something."
Trump administration: "Penis."
Trump administration: "Penis."
Reposted by Rachel Black
This is quite interesting as it ends the CTC and EITC and creates a big child allowance (5600/y), a 2k baby bonus and a 3k/y UBI for adults 19-67. The Policy Engine (CC: @maxghenis.bsky.social )folks did an analysis of the net impacts...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/11/20/r...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/11/20/r...
Rep. Tlaib’s Economic Dignity for All Agenda Would Bring Economic Security for Millions
The agenda would lower poverty by 42% and child poverty by two-thirds.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
This is quite interesting as it ends the CTC and EITC and creates a big child allowance (5600/y), a 2k baby bonus and a 3k/y UBI for adults 19-67. The Policy Engine (CC: @maxghenis.bsky.social )folks did an analysis of the net impacts...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/11/20/r...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/11/20/r...
Reposted by Rachel Black
@rachelblack.bsky.social and I wrote about public banking infrastructure and the cash safety net a while back.
www.businessinsider.com/stimulus-che...
www.businessinsider.com/stimulus-che...
Millions of Americans have struggled to get access to their stimulus checks. The government needs a better system so getting cash to people isn't so painfully slow.
We need to fortify our structure of stimulating the economy, and cash has proven to be a key tool to building a safety net for Americans.
www.businessinsider.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
@rachelblack.bsky.social and I wrote about public banking infrastructure and the cash safety net a while back.
www.businessinsider.com/stimulus-che...
www.businessinsider.com/stimulus-che...
Reposted by Rachel Black
Appreciate your boosting/sharing of this episode in particular. Action items at the end include a petition for Leqaa
This week’s episode is an interview with two lawyers who represent Leqaa Kordia, a young Palestinian woman who is in ICE detention for protesting genocide.
open.spotify.com/episode/7gid...?
open.spotify.com/episode/7gid...?
“What’s at Stake is Everything”: The Last Columbia Protester in ICE Detention
open.spotify.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Appreciate your boosting/sharing of this episode in particular. Action items at the end include a petition for Leqaa
Reposted by Rachel Black
NEW: Last week, I did a ride along with a Secret Service operation, going door-to-door to look for skimmers used to steal SNAP benefits.
It's one of the oddest fronts against transnational crime — and one that would be greatly reduced if governments would update EBT cards.
It's one of the oddest fronts against transnational crime — and one that would be greatly reduced if governments would update EBT cards.
Inside the Secret Service hunt for skimmers as outdated SNAP cards let thieves steal millions
The government still uses 1970s-era technology to deliver SNAP, leaving beneficiaries vulnerable to transnational crime rings that have taken hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits in recent year...
www.nextgov.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:09 PM
NEW: Last week, I did a ride along with a Secret Service operation, going door-to-door to look for skimmers used to steal SNAP benefits.
It's one of the oddest fronts against transnational crime — and one that would be greatly reduced if governments would update EBT cards.
It's one of the oddest fronts against transnational crime — and one that would be greatly reduced if governments would update EBT cards.
Reposted by Rachel Black
The Trump
Administration is creating a backdoor national registry using Social Security data that’s not always sufficient to identify citizens correctly.
Congress never authorized this.
It could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
www.propublica.org/article/dhs-...
Administration is creating a backdoor national registry using Social Security data that’s not always sufficient to identify citizens correctly.
Congress never authorized this.
It could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
www.propublica.org/article/dhs-...
DHS Agreement Reveals Risks of Using Social Security Data for Voter Citizenship Checks
A recently released agreement gives the Department of Homeland Security access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ Social Security data. It contains alarmingly few provisions to ensure accuracy and ...
www.propublica.org
October 30, 2025 at 11:26 AM
The Trump
Administration is creating a backdoor national registry using Social Security data that’s not always sufficient to identify citizens correctly.
Congress never authorized this.
It could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
www.propublica.org/article/dhs-...
Administration is creating a backdoor national registry using Social Security data that’s not always sufficient to identify citizens correctly.
Congress never authorized this.
It could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
www.propublica.org/article/dhs-...
Reposted by Rachel Black
Looking for plans this weekend?
Our picks: Watch Palestinian films, pick from one of 800+ board games at @labyrinthdc.bsky.social, celebrate Spooky Season with a dog costume contest benefiting @cdckrescue.bsky.social, and more:
Our picks: Watch Palestinian films, pick from one of 800+ board games at @labyrinthdc.bsky.social, celebrate Spooky Season with a dog costume contest benefiting @cdckrescue.bsky.social, and more:
14 things to do around D.C. this weekend
The shutdown continues — but our local arts and culture scene is going strong.
51st.news
October 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Looking for plans this weekend?
Our picks: Watch Palestinian films, pick from one of 800+ board games at @labyrinthdc.bsky.social, celebrate Spooky Season with a dog costume contest benefiting @cdckrescue.bsky.social, and more:
Our picks: Watch Palestinian films, pick from one of 800+ board games at @labyrinthdc.bsky.social, celebrate Spooky Season with a dog costume contest benefiting @cdckrescue.bsky.social, and more:
Reposted by Rachel Black
New from me: Russ Vought is using federal employees as hostages in federal shutdown negotiations, threatening mass firings if Dems do not accept Trump's terms.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court just allowed Vought to impose a de facto impoundment of foreign aid.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/shutdown-h...
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court just allowed Vought to impose a de facto impoundment of foreign aid.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/shutdown-h...
Shutdown hostage taking
Russ Vought's threatens more mass firings; SCOTUS blesses his de facto impoundment
donmoynihan.substack.com
September 27, 2025 at 12:28 AM
New from me: Russ Vought is using federal employees as hostages in federal shutdown negotiations, threatening mass firings if Dems do not accept Trump's terms.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court just allowed Vought to impose a de facto impoundment of foreign aid.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/shutdown-h...
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court just allowed Vought to impose a de facto impoundment of foreign aid.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/shutdown-h...
Reposted by Rachel Black
GOP lawmakers cite Georgia’s experiment as a model for the federal Medicaid work requirements set to take effect in 2027.
A new report by a government spending watchdog found that the nation’s only Medicaid work requirement program spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.
A new report by a government spending watchdog found that the nation’s only Medicaid work requirement program spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.
Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says
Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at lea...
www.propublica.org
September 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
GOP lawmakers cite Georgia’s experiment as a model for the federal Medicaid work requirements set to take effect in 2027.
A new report by a government spending watchdog found that the nation’s only Medicaid work requirement program spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.
A new report by a government spending watchdog found that the nation’s only Medicaid work requirement program spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.
Reposted by Rachel Black
Always interesting who people are willing to sacrifice
September 20, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Always interesting who people are willing to sacrifice
Reposted by Rachel Black
You know things are rough when the AAUP's advice on how to use social media is just "set all your accounts to private."
The @aaup.org just shared guidance for academic workers on how to protect themselves online www.aaup.org/news/advisor...
Advisory to Academic Workers
In a moment when it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the consequences of our online speech and choices, the AAUP and Faculty First Responders are issuing guidance to AAUP members and othe...
www.aaup.org
September 17, 2025 at 11:46 PM
You know things are rough when the AAUP's advice on how to use social media is just "set all your accounts to private."
Reposted by Rachel Black
so many dead canaries and we just keep on mining
September 17, 2025 at 11:10 PM
so many dead canaries and we just keep on mining
Reposted by Rachel Black
A Black college student who was found hanging from a tree on his school’s campus in Mississippi was not the victim of foul play law enforcement officials said, countering online speculation that he was the victim of a lynching.
capitalbnews.org/trey-reed-de...
capitalbnews.org/trey-reed-de...
Black Student Found Hanging at Delta State. Police Say No Foul Play.
The university’s chief of police and director of public safety said that investigators found no evidence he had been attacked before his death.
capitalbnews.org
September 16, 2025 at 8:47 PM
A Black college student who was found hanging from a tree on his school’s campus in Mississippi was not the victim of foul play law enforcement officials said, countering online speculation that he was the victim of a lynching.
capitalbnews.org/trey-reed-de...
capitalbnews.org/trey-reed-de...
Reposted by Rachel Black
I am advocating for you to be killed but I am using my inside voice you must debate me this is called democracy
September 14, 2025 at 3:11 AM
I am advocating for you to be killed but I am using my inside voice you must debate me this is called democracy
Reposted by Rachel Black
In this week’s newsletter I have thoughts on Ezra’s Klein value judgements about the “right way” to do politics.
How to Canonize a White Supremacist
On the brutal murder of Charlie Kirk, the certain blowback, and this country’s raging gun problem.
www.thenation.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:52 PM
In this week’s newsletter I have thoughts on Ezra’s Klein value judgements about the “right way” to do politics.
Reposted by Rachel Black
statehood for DC
Trump on DC: "We have actually more power in DC. I can change the mayor if I want. I can do whatever I want."
September 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM
statehood for DC
Reposted by Rachel Black
A Labor Day reminder: today there isn't a single city, metro area, or state in the U.S. where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Opinion | America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:54 AM
A Labor Day reminder: today there isn't a single city, metro area, or state in the U.S. where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.
Reposted by Rachel Black
We built a calculator that doesn't work, but don't worry, it's also a plagiarism machine that will tell you to kill yourself. It runs on the world's oceans and costs 10 trillion dollars.
August 29, 2025 at 6:24 PM
We built a calculator that doesn't work, but don't worry, it's also a plagiarism machine that will tell you to kill yourself. It runs on the world's oceans and costs 10 trillion dollars.
Reposted by Rachel Black
They specifically uploaded the 'NUMIDENT' file. This record includes your name, social security number, your birth date, your birth place, your parents' names and social security numbers, gender, and immigration status. The security threat is profound.
DOGE put at risk *every person with a Social Security Number* for identify theft.
DOGE's treatment of these data is extraordinary-the level of protection that has long been applied to these data is rigid. But they just uploaded it all to the cloud! www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...
DOGE's treatment of these data is extraordinary-the level of protection that has long been applied to these data is rigid. But they just uploaded it all to the cloud! www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...
DOGE Put Critical Social Security Data at Risk, Whistle-Blower Says
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 11:08 AM
They specifically uploaded the 'NUMIDENT' file. This record includes your name, social security number, your birth date, your birth place, your parents' names and social security numbers, gender, and immigration status. The security threat is profound.
Reposted by Rachel Black
the internet's least favorite handgun is probably coming to a DC national guard deployment near you
DC National Guard Is Being Trained to Carry Pistols Known to Fire at Random
The Sig Sauer P320 has a reputation for firing on its own. The National Guard is training to use them on the streets of D.C.
www.404media.co
August 20, 2025 at 5:34 PM
the internet's least favorite handgun is probably coming to a DC national guard deployment near you
Reposted by Rachel Black
the city I live in is occupied by armed federal agents checking people's papers at random public transportation stops and people are still doing this
“The idea that all of this happened because, like, twelve professors at Berkeley used “Latinx” on their syllabi is just detached from reality, from my point of view.”
@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social In full form www.thedriftmag.com/politics-is-...
@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social In full form www.thedriftmag.com/politics-is-...
www.thedriftmag.com
August 22, 2025 at 11:25 PM
the city I live in is occupied by armed federal agents checking people's papers at random public transportation stops and people are still doing this
Reposted by Rachel Black
Know-your-rights trainings, cop watching, and more taking place over the upcoming weeks. 51st.news/making-some-...
Your weekly roundup of ways to get involved in D.C.
How to fight back this month.
51st.news
August 19, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Know-your-rights trainings, cop watching, and more taking place over the upcoming weeks. 51st.news/making-some-...
Reposted by Rachel Black
Jackson, Mississippi, a primarily black city and the state’s capital, hasn’t had a proper running water treatment facility since late August of 2022.
Mississippi becomes the fourth state to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, DC. governorreeves.ms.gov/governor-ree...
Governor Reeves Statement On Mississippi National Guard Deployment to Washington, D.C.
Governor Tate Reeves today released the following statement on approving the deployment of approximately 200 Mississippi National Guard Soldiers to Washington , D.C.:
governorreeves.ms.gov
August 18, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Jackson, Mississippi, a primarily black city and the state’s capital, hasn’t had a proper running water treatment facility since late August of 2022.