Isaiah J. Poole

Isaiah J. Poole

Isaiah J. Poole is the editorial director of The Next System Project, a project of the Democracy Collaborative.

Articles by this author

The new populists are devoted, in contrast, to diversity, tolerance, and inclusiveness. (Photo: Dr Case/Flickr) Views
Wednesday, July 01, 2020
Progressive Populism and a 21st Century Challenge
Eugene Lim was on his way to hitting rock bottom. After graduating from Chicago’s Shimer College in 2011, he’d spent two years trying to find a permanent job. And he was increasingly blaming himself for his plight. “I thought I was poor through some fault of my own,” he said in a speech before the...
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"The next wave of infrastructure spending cannot be business as usual," Poole writes. "The Green Stimulus plan offers a necessary framework for getting this right." Views
Tuesday, April 07, 2020
Infrastructure and a Green Stimulus: Why We Must Organize Before Congress Acts
There are actions that we must insist the federal government do now to help the people and communities that have been devastated by the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic. Then there are actions that we are tempted to do right now because they would seem to be helpful—but will deeply regret doing if...
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Cards Against Humanity, an independent company best known for producing a card game with that name, announced February 3 that it had purchased ClickHole and reincorporated it as an independent, majority employee-owned company. (Photo: Click Hole Logo) Views
Thursday, February 06, 2020
Out of the ClickHole, a Light on Alternative Media Ownership Models
A writer at the Nieman Journalism Lab called it “ the happiest media news of 2020 (so far).” True, it involves a satire site with only five full-time employees. But it nonetheless marks a new entry into the ranks of employee-owned firms and puts a spotlight on a problem facing larger and more...
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Saturday, February 16, 2019
Without Amazon, New York Can Now Do Economic Development Right
Now that activists in New York City successfully chased Amazon and its “HQ2” plan out of New York City, there is a new challenge: Can the organizers and elected leaders who successfully blocked the kind of economic development they opposed bring about the kind of economic development they want?...
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Friday, September 21, 2018
Why We Have To Break Up Amazon
The European Union’s Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager may be onto the location of the soft spot on Amazon’s armor, where a well-placed antitrust arrow could be used to bring the digital behemoth down to size. The region’s antitrust enforcer announced on Wednesday that she is launching an...
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Bernie Sanders recalled his own childhood growing up in a rent-controlled apartment in New York City, which “meant that my family, which did not have a lot of money, did not have to spend 50 or 60 percent of its limited income on housing.”(Photo: Caelie_Frampton/flickr/cc) Views
Friday, December 08, 2017
We Have A Housing Emergency. Here’s How We Face It
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, led by former brain surgeon and not-qualified-to-run-a-federal-agency Ben Carson, has found itself making an uncomfortable admission: Under Donald Trump, the nation’s homelessness problem is getting worse. HUD put a partly sunny headline on its press...
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"I would say don’t be afraid to run as what you are and what you believe in. Find a way to connect those issues to what everybody in the community is feeling, and I think you will do just fine.”(Photo: Iowa CCI Action Fund/Twitter) Views
Tuesday, December 05, 2017
A Newly Elected Democratic Socialist On How to Win in Trump Country
“I’d like to think of myself as ordinary,” says Ross Grooters as he describes his life in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, an eastern suburb of Des Moines. But then he corrects himself. “Most people’s passions or enjoyment are not going out and doing activist things, so that’s where I’m not an ordinary Joe.”...
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Monday, November 06, 2017
9 Reasons To Stop The GOP’s Giant Tax Gift Bucket
Americans for Tax Fairness has just published “Nine Terrible Things About the Republican Tax Plan.” All are good reasons for you should get on the phone with your member of Congress and tell them to vote against this travesty of a tax bill. The number to call is 877-795-7862. If a staff member of...
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As Sen. Elizabeth Warren put it, congressional Republican leaders have signed off on a plan that would increase the federal deficit in order to “give away $2 trillion to giant corporations.” Views
Friday, November 03, 2017
Call Congress Now to Stop Trump’s Giant Tax Giveaway
House Republicans have released their long-awaited tax giveaway plan. It’s as bad as those of us who have been resisting the Trump administration and Republican efforts to hijack our economy and democracy have long feared it would be. People’s Action joins Americans for Tax Fairness and a broad...
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"I can assure you the poor and working-class people I know don’t buy the priorities of the Trump/Paul Ryan budget," Poole said. Views
Friday, September 08, 2017
'Not One Penny' of Tax Cuts for The Rich or Service Cuts for the Poor
The surprise deal President Trump struck this week with Democratic congressional leaders is an agreement to continue the status quo on federal government funding through December. That means three more months to fight against the Republicans’ budget proposal, which would be truly devastating for...
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