Category: Advocate

Thanksgiving for most of us means a time for gathering with family and friends, for getting together around the dinner table to enjoy turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, and for relaxing in front of the flat screen to watch your favorite football teams and TV shows. It is a special time—a time to give thanks for all the good fortune we have enjoyed. But for the many who are homeless and hungry in our country, Thanksgiving is just another day.

READ MORE from Your Action Can Give Struggling Americans Something to Be Thankful For

As nonprofit organizations like Goodwill continue to meet increased demand for services and labor to raise the necessary funds to meet those needs, Congress should seek to encourage everyone, regardless of income, to give more to charitable organizations. Any caps or limits placed on the charitable deduction will undermine the incentive effect, thus reducing charitable giving and hurting nonprofits. At a time when the nonprofit sector continues to see an increased demand for programs and services while public funds are being reduced, our elected officials should support policies that encourage all Americans to give more to charitable organizations and protect the people we serve.

READ MORE from Urge Congress to Protect Charitable Giving Incentives

This week, as Congress prepares for another effort to stabilize the nation’s fiscal outlook, a new report illustrates the impact that recent cuts to discretionary programs – including job training programs operated by Goodwill – has negatively affected people. “Faces of Austerity: How Budget Cuts Have Made Us Sicker, Poorer and Less Secure,” was released by NDD United, an alliance of more than 3,200 national, state, and local organizations – including Goodwill Industries International (GII) – working to prevent more harsh cuts to core government functions.

READ MORE from Goodwill® Featured in Report Outlining Negative Impact of Funding Cuts

Following Election Day, headlines are dominated by outcomes, voter turnout and even thoughts on the next major race.  As important as casting your ballot may be, voting is just one of the many ways we can be engaged in the legislative process. Throughout the year, you can meet with your lawmakers, attend hearings, provide testimony

READ MORE from What Legislative Issues Are Important to You in 2014?

Seventy-five years ago this Halloween Orson Welles and CBS Radio created panic in several parts of the US when they aired a nearly uninterrupted national broadcast of the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds. Congress, maybe hoping to top that effort, recently spooked the entire country and most of the financial world by shutting down most of the US government and nearly driving the nation into default.

READ MORE from Congress: Creating More Panic than Orson Welles

Goodwill® agencies around the country have joined the efforts to promote October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. As the month comes to an end, you have the opportunity to continue to support the rights of people with disabilities by urging your Senator to support the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

READ MORE from Act Now to Support the Rights of People with Disabilities

Once again, Congressional leaders have reached a temporary last-minute deal to avert economic Armageddon. In other words, with Congress punting the ball, the game has been extended into another overtime period. While the media’s focus on these political dramas appears like bad reality TV, the real-world realities are felt in local communities served by Goodwill® agencies. From employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities, veterans services, low-income housing, income tax assistance programs and more, local Goodwill agencies, their employees, and the people Goodwill serves are experiencing the pinch caused by the recent government shutdown.

READ MORE from Congress Averts Economic Armageddon, but Shutdown Impacts Felt by Communities

Four days in, the government shutdown has resulted in heavy political posturing and little hope for a solution. In addition, the debt ceiling will soon be reached, adding yet another layer to a bitterly partisan fiscal fight. Clearly, these are difficult times. The optimist in me hopes that the current impasse will prove to be our leaders’ rock-bottom moment. Perhaps the self-inflicted damage caused by the shutdown, and God forbid, debt default would serve to show the brinksmen on both side of the aisle their error in putting politics in front of policy.

READ MORE from People and Communities Remain Offstage in Shutdown’s Political Theater

Once again, the country watches as the government risks having to shut its doors and default on the debt because Congress can’t seem to do it any other way. These dual events of autumn have become so familiar that they seem more usual than not.

READ MORE from It’s Business as (Un)usual when It Comes to the Budget

Once again, the country watches as the government risks having to shut its doors and default on the debt because Congress can’t seem to do it any other way. These dual events of autumn have become so familiar that they seem more usual than not.

READ MORE from It's Business as (Un)usual when It Comes to the Budget

When the Internet was invented, few had any idea what its full potential could be. Today, of course, we reap benefits that even a few years ago seemed like science fiction. With the rise of e-commerce and treasuries leaning as a result of the recession, many policymakers are eyeing Internet sales as a tempting revenue source. In fact, Congress is now considering whether it’s not enough that you pay sales tax in the state you live in, but also whether you should be taxed when you buy something over the Internet.

READ MORE from Will Internet Sales Tax Reach into Your Pocket?

Congress’s plate of must do legislation is full as we head into the fall.  Spending bills, debt limit increases, and resolutions on Syria, are big bites to swallow in the short time between now and the end of the year.  A number of other issues, pending decisions in Washington, will have real impact on many

READ MORE from Action or Inaction in Congress Will Impact the Lives of People Goodwill® Serves