Lead Stories

It's Time to Sing a New Song! By Dr. E. Faye Williams

Oct. 27, 2024

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) —In just a few days the world will learn who we really are in America. All voters will have a say in the matter whether they use their vote or not. If you don’t vote, you’re helping to make the wrong decision. Whether we vote or not, we’ve seen and heard the best of who we are. Sadly, we’ve also seen and heard the worst of who some are.

For young people who are eligible to vote for the first time, I caution you to pay attention to the candidates. Listen to what they are saying. Check out their background to see what they have been doing to make our country better for all and not just for themselves at the expense of people in need.

All candidates are on trial, and we, the voters determine who is telling the truth, who is respectful, who has no problem pledging to work for us instead of for ruthless leaders like Russia’s and North Korea’s leaders, and “them that’s already got and already mistreating their citizens.” Yes, we, the American people are on trial.

At the Presidential level, we know Donald Trump has already shown his intentions. Some of his former staff, former supporters, and party members have told us who he is. They’ve told us he disrespects our military and wants to use them not for the American people, but against the American people! They tell us he is an admirer of the ruthless Hitler--a known killer of millions of innocent people. He longs for an army like Hitler’s. He calls people against him vermin and he plans to imprison them. Maybe he means us! He wants to mass deport innocent people who came to America seeking a better life. He’s shown us what he would do to those of us who are children of ancestors who were violently uprooted from their lives and families in Africa and brought to this country. We know he’s limited us to “Black Jobs” and no matter how educated or successful some of us have already become against great odds.

Yes, we are all on trial no matter who we are. In the Presidential race, Trump’s key competitor is Vice-President Kamala Harris. He has called her every name that’s more fitting of him. He is a multi-number of times convicted criminal. Vice-President Harris on the other hand is one with vast experience prosecuting people like Trump. She is highly educated, a great speaker to share her plans with the American people that she has to make our lives better. She tells the truth. She brings plans to improve our health care, not to destroy existing health plans with just a concept, but real plans. She brings us joy when she appears and doesn’t just criticize people who are in need of help. She offers a plan to save the lives of women by bringing back Roe v. Wade rights, jobs for all, funds to help new parents, money to help first time home buyers, and more good things our country can well afford.

People come out to her rallies that increased as she campaigned to urge her on without hateful, fearful language. Thus far, she’s bringing out up to 30,000 people in person and millions online to cheer her on for showing people how we can turn the page from the old hateful, jealous, lying, racist, sexist, anti-migrants, anti-DEI behavior. She has a background of success and fairness—exactly what we need to protect our democracy!

Just a few days before the election, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times are showing their fear of what Trump has promised—shutting down press that’s against him! Let’s show them we are not afraid. Vote from now to November 5^th. Show them what courage is!

(Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of The Dick Gregory Society.)

Black Retirees Growing Older and Poorer By Charlene Crowell

Oct. 22, 2024

Image of Grandparents with Grandchild - Central Indiana State of Aging

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - As Americans live longer, the ability to remain financially independent is an ongoing struggle. Especially for Black and other people of color whose lifetime incomes are often lower than that of other contemporaries, finding money to save for ‘old age’ is particularly daunting.

According to the National Council on Aging, racial and ethnic minorities accounted for one in 4 adults aged 65 and older in 2022. In that same year, the average 65-year-old could expect to live another 18 years or longer, on a median income of $29,740.

In 2022, the average yearly Social Security benefit for Black men ages 65 and older was $15,345, and for Black women was only $13,755. However, the average annual Social Security income for all 65 or older men was $18,910, and for all older women was $14,824.

In past generations retiring workers often received a gold watch, pension, and company-sponsored health insurance. But today’s retirees face far different circumstances. With few remaining pensions available, most workers must look to themselves for financial security in their old age. And Social Security has become a financial lifeline.

When enacted in 1935 during the throes of the Great Depression,Social Security was a ground-breaking federal social safety net for retirees. Financed by payroll taxes that began in 1937, both employees and their employers paid into the program. A 1939 amendment to the law expanded the program to include survivor benefits for retirees’ widows and children, commonly known today as SSI. In 1956 disability benefits were added in a second expansion.

To compensate beneficiaries for rises in cost of living, an annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) began in 1975. Prior to 1972, only special acts of Congress could increase benefits.

Today, more than 80 years later, 68 million retirees and 4.5 million other program participants recently learned that a 2.5 percent COLA increase will be added to their monthly checks – even lower than the 2.6 percent decade-long average computed by Social Security. For retirees, the increase will begin in January. SSI beneficiaries will receive their increase with their December 31 payment.

Next year’s increase means the average retiree’s monthly $1,927 Social Security check will rise by $49. The monthly average for an elderly couple with both receiving benefits will be $3,089, from 2024’s $3,014 – a $75 increase. It is important to note that individual benefit levels are determined by a formula that uses a worker’s highest earnings over a 34-year career. Should Medicare’s 2025 rates increase as expected, the net increase to retiree checks will be even less.

As the nation still struggles to cope with rising prices, the agency’s statement and those of elder advocates were polar opposites.

“Social Security benefits and SSI payments will increase in 2025, helping tens of millions of people keep up with expenses even as inflation has started to cool,” said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security.

But according to AARP, when the projected Medicare increase is announced, most retirees will receive a net gain of only $10.20 in 2025.

“[E]ven with the COLA, we know many older Americans who rely on Social Security may find it hard to pay their bills,” Jo Ann Jenkins, AARP’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Social Security is the primary source of income for 40 percent of older Americans.”

AARP’s concerns are validated by findings in an April 2024 report from the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, entitled, Retirement Wealth by Race and Ethnicity: Differences, Trends and Contributing Factors.

“Social Security provides a near-universal basic benefit, but many older adults, especially Black and Hispanic/Latino people and many people of other and multiple races and ethnicities, still struggle to meet the expenses they incur that are above those basic benefits because they have substantially fewer retirement savings, even after accounting for aspects such as education and income, than is the case for white households,” states the report.

Key findings from the report include:

White households with a college degree had a median retirement wealth of $273,500, compared to $160,323 for Hispanic/Latino households, and $119,000 for Black households with a college degree; and

Over the past three decades, Black and Hispanic/Latino households, as well as households of other or multiple races or ethnicities, owned on average between one-third and 60% of the retirement wealth of white households. There is no robust indication of those gaps becoming smaller.

These retiree racial wealth gaps are framed as elder poverty in another report, Who Counts as ‘Poor’ in America?, from the New York-based Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis.

“[I]magine being over 65 years old and trying to survive on $15,060 a year,” states the report. “According to official U.S. government poverty levels in 2024, one is considered “poor” in America – and thus qualifying for certain assistance – if their annual income is $15,060 or less for a single person, $31,200 for a family of four.”

The next Congress would be well-advised to get serious about the future solvency of Social Security. No one wants or should expect to become older and poorer.

Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Consumers to Receive $48 Million After Home Renter's Abuse Case by Charlene Crowell

Single Family Rental Home Urban Institute Image

Single family house for rent. PHOTO: Urban Institute

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The nation’s largest corporate landlord for single-family home rentals was recently fined $48 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for years-long financial abuses of tenants. The firm, Invitation Homes, also will be required to change its practices, and agree to long-term monitoring of its rental activity.

According to the September 24 settlement, renters who resided in one of Invitation Homes’ over 33,000 properties between 2018 and 2023 will be the beneficiaries. Its rental properties across the nation are located in both cities and suburbs including – but not limited to: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, and Seattle.

“Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest single-family home landlord, preyed on tenants through a variety of unfair and deceptive tactics, from saddling people with hidden fees and unjustly withholding security deposits to misleading people about eviction policies during the pandemic and even pursuing eviction proceedings after people had moved out,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in a September 24 announcement. “No American should pay more for rent or be kicked out of their home because of illegal tactics by corporate landlords. The FTC will continue to use all our tools to protect renters from unlawful business practices.”

Founded in 2012, Invitation Homes’ initial public offering (IPO) raised approximately $1.77 billion, making it and is the second- largest real estate investment trust (REIT) IPO in history, according to its website.

Regulators said Invitation Homes was guilty of anti-consumer practices that included:

· Deceiving renters about lease costs including $500 ‘reservation fees’ in addition to application fees. Since 2019, Invitation Homes has collected more than $18 million in application fees alone for deceptively priced houses;
· Charging undisclosed junk fees – costing consumers up to $1,700 per year;
· Failing to inspect homes before residents moved in;
· Unfairly withholding tenants’ security deposits when they moved out; and
· Other misrepresentations including total monthly leasing price, property condition, and availability of emergency maintenance,

In a related consumer alert posted on FTC’s website, Larissa Bungo, a senior attorney, shared more details documenting why the enforcement action is warranted.

“Landlords must truthfully advertise the prices and services they’re offering, said Bungo. “The FTC says Invitation Homes advertised an overall “worry-free leasing lifestyle” and promised pre-inspected homes before move-in and “24/7 emergency maintenance” for any issues, but failed to deliver.”

“Instead, new residents faced major issues like sewage backup, broken appliances, and visible rodent feces,” continued Bungo. “The promises didn’t live up to the hype and, to add insult to injury, according to the FTC, Invitation Homes wrongly withheld some or all of renters’ security deposits for things like normal wear and tear or damage that was already there before renters moved in. Which is also illegal.”

The fall settlement also marks a milestone victory for consumer advocates that in recent years have urged federal regulatory agencies to adopt and enforce rules to better protect consumers from an array of junk fees.

For example, in 2022, four national consumer advocates – Americans for Financial Reform, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer Law Center, and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), jointly urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), to enact junk fee rules.

“Hidden fees and costs strip wealth from the most vulnerable consumers who are struggling to make ends meet,” wrote the advocates. “The most impacted consumers often come from communities of color already burdened by other predatory practices, further exacerbating racial inequities… Disclosure is intended to give consumers an opportunity “know before they owe.” But that knowledge is worthless if charges are imposed under circumstances that most consumers would not expect even if, with hindsight, the fees were disclosed.”

By early February 2023, junk fee advocacy grew to involve more than 40 national and state consumer advocates who together appealed to the FTC for its own agency rules and actions.

Created in 1915, the FTC has two primary missions: protecting competition and protecting consumers. It is empowered to investigate as well as prevent unfair methods of competition, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices affecting commerce.

Consumers who suspect a company may be engaging in fraud, scams or bad business practices can share their concerns at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.

Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow at the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris’ VP Pick Established a George Floyd Remembrance Day in Minnesota By Hazel Trice Edney

Updated August 7, 2024

Harris Walz

Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Vice President Kamala Harris, now the official Democratic nominee for President of the United States, has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate, establishing the full ticket to run against former President Donald Trump and Sen. J. D. Vance (R-Ohio) in the Nov. 5 election.

Harris and Walz, president of the Democratic Governors Association, appeared together in the coveted battleground commonwealth of Pennsylvania Tuesday evening before a blitz through other swing states.

Democrats will then head for a Chicago convention August 19-22, where they will be celebrated. Harris will become the first Black woman and first Indian American to win the presidential nomination of a major political party. She is the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father.

This, no doubt, will begin a hard-fought race against Trump and Vance, both of whom have proven to be candidates willing to say just about anything – including attack Harris’ race and gender – with hopes to win far right voters and Trump's base supporters. However, those tactics could easily backfire, given Walz’ background.

Harris’ choice of Walz, elected governor of Minnesota in 2018, will no doubt resonate with Black and progressive voters across the nation largely due to his sensitivity to key issues. On May 25^th this year, Walz issued a proclamation, declaring a George Floyd Remembrance Day. Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, by police officer Derek Chauvin who callously knelt on his kneck.

“George Floyd’s murder ignited a global movement, accentuating the systemic racism that Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color have endured for centuries,” Walz stated in the proclamation. “We must continue to do everything in our power to deconstruct systemic racism and inequities in our state ….”

Until now, Walz, a former high school social studies teacher, football coach, and retired sergeant major in the Army National Guard, has been relatively unknown on a national stage. Recently his description of Trump-Vance as “weird” has caught hold on social media and beyond. Having run in a largely Republican district, Walz spent six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected Minnesota governor in 2018, largely due to votes from the suburbs of Minneapolis, according to the New York Times. He was re-elected in 2022.

Walz, 60, has led on other issues important to the Black community, including a $15-an-hour minimum wage. the organizing of unions, workers' rights and free breakfast and lunch for school children.

The Walz selection was applauded by former President Barack Obama, said to have advised Harris as she decided between the vice-presidential candidates.

“By selecting Tim Walz to be her vice president from a pool of outstanding Democrats, Kamala Harris has chosen an ideal partner – and made it clear exactly what she stands for,” said a statement from Barack and Michelle Obama. “Governor Walz doesn’t just have the experience to be vice president, he has the values and the integrity to make us proud. As governor, Tim helped families and businesses recover from the pandemic, established paid family leave, guaranteed the right to an abortion, and put common sense gun safety measures in place to keep communities safe. But Tim’s signature is his ability to talk like a human being and treat everyone with decency and respect – not all that surprising considering the fact that he served in the National Guard for 24 years and worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach before being elected to Congress. Like Vice President Harris, Governor Walz believes that government works to serve us. Not just some of us, but all of us. That’s what makes him an outstanding governor, and that’s what will make him an even better vice president, ready on day one. Michelle and I couldn’t be happier for Tim and Gwen, their family, and our country.”

The entry of Vice President Harris, a graduate of Howard University, an HBCU, into the race since President Joe Biden decided not to run, has - in just a few weeks - infused powerful new life and excitement into the race, initially between Biden and Trump. The choice of her vice presidential running mate was her first major decision.

The murder of George Floyd by now convicted and imprisoned former police officer Derek Chauvin at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly became an iconic symbol of long standing injustices by police in the Black community. In the Black community, much vetting will now take place of Tim Walz. But he is already getting wide applause that might help Harris' election which will not happen without vast Black support.

“Gov. Walz shows what our communities can look like when we lead with empathy. He is a labor champion who will take pro-worker values with him to the White House. Together with Kamala Harris, they will defend our freedoms — to care for our families, to have a voice on the job, to thrive. We look forward mobilizing the full strength of our union to ensure that this dynamic ticket wins on November 5," said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), in a statement.

“Tim Walz personifies what public service is all about: Doing for others and never leaving anyone behind. He learned these values while serving in the National Guard, and he lived them as a teacher and football coach in Mankato, Minnesota. He has always been the first to lend a helping hand in his community, and today, this is how he governs – empowering worker voices and defending those who have made public service a career," Saunders continues.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, also applauded Walz:

“Four years ago, we stood in Minneapolis to demand justice for George Floyd and accountability for not only the officer who murdered him, but his colleagues who stood idly by. We were honest about Governor Walz’s response, and he heard the calls we made for actual justice. Governor Walz tapped Attorney General Ellison to lead the investigation as a direct result of our advocacy in the streets and in the halls over government. I learned then that he was a man who will listen and do what is right by those he represents. A year later, justice like we had rarely ever seen was delivered for George Floyd, his family, and this nation," Sharpton said in a statement. "We can count on Governor Walz to take that same kind of open approach as Kamala Harris’ vice president. He will be a trusted partner for her as she leads the nation through one of its greatest challenges in history. Governor Walz has already shown he isn’t afraid to take on those who want to move our country backward, which will only be in asset in moving us forward. You can already see he is ready and willing to support Kamala Harris as she seeks to become the first Black female President, knocking down one of the greatest barriers in the process.”

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Student Loan Forgiveness, Denying Relief to Millions of Borrowers By Charlene Crowell

August 5, 2024

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Higher education is believed by many to be a bridge to a financially secure future. But for the more than 43 million Americans who together owe $1.6 trillion in student debt, that bridge gets longer and harder to cross when federal courts continue to block programs designed to relieve borrowers of the rising costs of loan repayment.

Until recently, student loan borrowers enrolled in the Education Department's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) payments cut in half and their remaining loan balances forgiven. The SAVE Plan offered forgiveness for qualified borrowers with loans up to $12,000 and promised that loan balances would not increase due to accrued interest if borrowers remained current on required payments. The Plan changed income calculations so that more borrowers would qualify for reduced payments - sometimes as low as $0. About 8 million borrowers are enrolled in the SAVE Plan.

But on July 18th, the Federal 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay to halt the SAVE program. It is not yet known when a final court resolution will occur.

The decision came at the behest of several conservative state attorneys general. To date, 18 states – including those with large Black and Latino populations like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio and Texas – have challenged the SAVE program's constitutionality, as well as President Biden's executive authority.

“It wasn’t so long ago that a million borrowers defaulted on their student loans every single year, mainly because they couldn’t afford the payments,” stated Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The SAVE plan is a bold and urgently needed effort to fix what’s broken in our student loan system and make financing a higher education more affordable in this country.”

“Already, we’ve approved an unprecedented $169 billion in relief for nearly 4.8 million Americans, including teachers, veterans, and other public servants, students who were cheated by their colleges, borrowers with disabilities, and more,” continued Cardona. “And from larger Pell Grants to free community college, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and I continue to believe that college affordability is a cause worth fighting for – and we’re not giving up.”

The Department simultaneously announced the following administrative adjustments for program participants:

Forbearance: Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan are being moved into forbearance. During forbearance, SAVE borrowers will not have to make payments. The time in forbearance will not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness or Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) loan forgiveness. SAVE borrowers will not accrue interest on their loans during the forbearance. SAVE borrowers will be notified about their forbearance by their loan servicers.

Bills and payments: Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan who have received a bill for August are being put in an interest-free forbearance – payments are not required during forbearance. Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan who have not yet received a bill for August will also be put in forbearance and therefore will not receive a bill.

Borrowers affected by this court decision should hear from their loan servicers and/or the Department in coming days. Updates to these developments also will be posted at www.ed.gov/save. The court decision was met with swift and emphatic opposition from advocacy groups.

“The role of government is supposed to be to help its citizens, not cause intentional, undue harm,” said Kristin McGuire, Executive Director of Young Invincibles, a national advocacy organization founded in 2009 that works to amplify the voices of young adults in the political process and expand economic opportunity.

“Legal challenges to forgiveness were to be expected, but it is disheartening to see our judicial system put politics over people time and time again,” McGuire added. “Continually halting student debt forgiveness is reckless and cruel for borrowers, and jeopardizes the economy and the future of our higher education system.”

Other organizations urged the Biden administration to stand against those seeking to block this needed loan relief.

“Right-wing politicians are using the courts to wreak havoc on the student loan system and put the economic stability of tens of millions of borrowers and their families at risk, said Persis Yu, Student Borrower Protection Center’s Deputy Executive Director. “Make no mistake: these lawsuits are shameful political gamesmanship designed to hurt President Biden at all costs, and borrowers are merely collateral damage.”

“These lawsuits reinforce an oppressive student loan repayment system that favors the interests of big businesses at the expense of low-income borrowers and borrowers of color,” said Nadine Chabrier, Senior Litigation and Policy Counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending. “By choosing to protect the profits of exploitative loan servicers over students seeking relief from excessive loan repayments that limit their financial options, courts have created further confusion in a system that already was failing to effectively administer loan repayments or provide accurate information to borrowers about the status of their loans.”

Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..