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Using a Tax Refund to Build Savings

Posted by Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts | Posted on: March 13, 2013 at 10:40 am

This post is the fourth in a series of weekly posts containing tax information and filing tips. Check back next week for our next post, or click here to read past posts.

Not to make you panic, but there’s about a month left before the April 15 tax-filing deadline. State and federal income tax refunds can provide a significant economic boost for families. If you work with families (including your own!), you should know about some of the ways that families can use their tax refunds to build up their economic security, other than paying bills or making long-deferred purchases. If families file their taxes electronically and choose direct deposit for their refunds, they can:

  • Put some of their refund in up to three different accounts, including checking and savings accounts, but also passbook savings, IDAs, IRAs, HSAs, Archer MSAs, and Coverdell education savings accounts. That means that they can save not just for a rainy day, but specifically for retirement, medical costs, or educational expenses.
  • Buy a U.S. Savings Bond worth up to $5,000.
  • Families can choose how much to put in the different accounts or the Savings Bond.
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Opposition to Obamacare Thawing, Maine Has a Chance to Cover More People

Posted by Anna Benyo, Senior Health Policy Analyst | Posted on: March 13, 2013 at 09:12 am

We continue to watch Governors and state legislators across the country as they make a crucial decision that will have an enormous impact on women and families.

Under the new federal health care law, women and families in Maine who are currently uninsured could get affordable health coverage starting next year. That’s because the law includes money to cover more people through Medicaid. Right now, Maine has an important decision to make—accept federal dollars that have been allocated to cover uninsured individuals through Medicaid or turn down the money and leave them uninsured. If Maine accepts the federal funds to cover more people, not only will it improve women’s health and dramatically reduce the number of uninsured, it will also ensure a smarter use of health care dollars.

A recently released study backs this up! Yesterday researchers from Maine Equal Justice Partners and the Maine Center for Economic Policy released a comprehensive study on this opportunity. Their findings show that accepting federal funds to expand health coverage means thousands of Mainers will receive affordable comprehensive health coverage, and the state will also benefit through a boost to the state economy.

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The FY 2014 Ryan Budget: One Terrible Idea After Another

Posted by Katherine Gallagher Robbins, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: March 12, 2013 at 01:51 pm

Today House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his vision for the next ten years. Despite having a section entitled "Fairness Restored," Ryan’s budget does anything but put forward a fair and equitable plan.

Chairman Ryan’s plan balances the budget on the backs of vulnerable women and their families. It would:

  • Cut the funding available for programs like Head Start, child care, K-12 education, job training, and domestic violence prevention.
  • Cut Medicaid and turn it into a block grant, allowing states to restrict eligibility and eliminate benefits. About two-thirds of adult Medicaid beneficiaries are women.
  • Repeal the Affordable Care Act, eliminating the Medicaid expansions critical for low-income families, tax credits to help moderate-income families purchase health insurance, help with the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare and preventive health care services (including contraceptive services), and protections against discriminatory insurance company practices.
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Title IX: What Keeps Me Going Towards My First Half-Marathon

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: March 12, 2013 at 12:46 pm

Title IXI often regret not being involved in high school athletics. Granted, I was very busy with musical theatre. It’s kind of ironic that I could perform a strenuous swing dance routine while singing with no problem, but could barely run one mile for the Presidential Fitness Test each spring.

About a year ago, I decided to confront my lack of athletic ability head-on and take up running. I started out with couch to 5k, a 9-week training program for non-runners (that’s the couch part!) to learn to run 3.1 miles. After my first race, I was hooked, and I’m planning to run my first half-marathon this Saturday.

Long-distance running is no joke – I’ve had to reform my sleeping, nutrition, social habits, all in the name of having better runs. I’ve also become one of those runners who talks about fun physical ailments (blisters, anyone?) in casual conversation. Mostly, though, it’s made me more disciplined. At least half of the challenge of running a half-marathon is mentally pushing yourself through to the end. The combination of physical and mental challenges, along with the commitment necessary to maintain my training around an already-packed schedule, has given me an opportunity for enormous personal growth.

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In Case You Missed It: ACS Blog on Women on the Federal Bench

Posted by Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts | Posted on: March 12, 2013 at 11:40 am

On Friday, the American Constitution Society marked International Women’s Day with a blog on one of our favorite subjects – diversity on the federal bench. In case you weren’t able to enjoy this great post on Friday, read on:

Making Progress, Albeit Slowly, on Diversifying the Federal Bench

March 8, 2013 | by Kristine Kippins

In celebration of International Women’s Day, ACS highlights the progress made over the last four years to diversify our federal judiciary.

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Using Consumer Protection Laws to Expose the Truth About Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Posted by Kelli Garcia, Senior Counsel | Posted on: March 11, 2013 at 03:48 pm

"Crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) around the country advertise free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and counseling—frequently appearing to be neutral medical providers. Women often mistakenly believe that CPCs will provide contraception, including emergency contraception and abortions or referrals to abortion providers. In reality, most are not clinics staffed by medical personnel that offer abortion and contraception. In fact, most CPCs refuse to provide accurate information about abortion or abortion providers. Instead, they offer false ‘facts’ about the safety, availability, and consequences of abortion and birth control. Women deserve better and that is why we are excited to announce the launch this week of Expose the Truth: A Toolkit on Using State Consumer Protection Laws to Document the Deceptive Practices of Crisis Pregnancy Centers.

All states have consumer protection laws that prohibit businesses from engaging in unfair and dishonest practices. The state Attorney General or consumer protection agency enforces the law by investigating complaints filed by people who think a business has broken these laws.

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Getting Closer to a Better Minimum Wage in Hawaii, New Mexico and New York

Posted by Julie Vogtman, Senior Counsel | Posted on: March 11, 2013 at 11:52 am

Momentum just keeps building towards a higher minimum wage. I reported last week that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which now has at least 25 co-sponsors in the Senate and 131 in the House. That’s a strong show of support – but we know the bill will still face opposition from some in Congress. So it’s heartening to see that a number of states aren’t waiting for the federal government to act to raise wages for their lowest-paid workers.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve noted proposed minimum wage increases in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. And just in the past couple of weeks, legislatures in several of these states have taken steps to move those proposals forward. This movement is especially good news for women, who make up the majority of minimum wage workers across the country and in most states.

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5 Reasons Why International Women’s Day Matters

Posted by Yumhee Park, Program Assistant | Posted on: March 08, 2013 at 04:10 pm

As both a feminist and women’s studies major, whenever I meet new people, I get asked some variations of the following questions:

“What do you with that?”

“Why is there no men’s studies major?” (UH, BECAUSE THAT’S CALLED HISTORY?)

“Women got the right to vote ages ago… Pretty sure the fight is over, no?”

“Oh, you’re a feminist? … Want to go make me a sandwich? Heh, heh, heh.” (Yes, I’ve actually been told this multiple times by multiple people)

Since International Women’s Day is now upon us, I figured there is no better time than now to address these questions (minus the last one – really, that’s a classic example of WHY we still need feminism) and bring light to why the work is still not over for women. Here are five reasons to remind us why International Women’s Day matters:

One) Girls all over the world are still struggling to gain access to quality education

Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan, at just 15 years old, is the youngest nominee in history for a Nobel Peace Prize. This nomination has not come without its share of horrors. She has fought nearly to her death to advocate for her right to education. However her story resonates with many girls all over the world across all cultures who still struggle to obtain the same education as their male counterparts. In the United States, pregnant and parenting teens face multiple barriers to gain access to education without discrimination. Based on their gender, girls all over the world still seem to have a difficult time accessing education without obstacles.

Two) People still don’t understand the severity of rape

The Delhi gang rape. The Steubenville rape case. Rape in the military. Why are we still so slow to act when it comes to rape? Why are we still blaming the victim? Why are we still perpetuating the silence forced upon the victims by not taking them seriously? Why do we click our tongues at rape cases around the world and deem them as barbaric while ignoring cases of rape in our country that are equally horrible? Lawmakers should really take biology classes after their grossly ignorant statements about rape and women’s bodies so that it becomes clear: Rape is rape, and no victim should have to prolong the trauma caused by such violation.

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