OtherWords

OtherWords is a free, non-profit editorial service published by the Institute for Policy Studies. Each week, OtherWords distributes a batch of publication-ready op-eds, along with a cartoon, to thousands of readers — including hundreds of editors of small and medium-sized newspapers. Each year, these op-eds appear thousands of times in local newspapers throughout the country, as well as in a growing number of online outlets. We believe that strong social movements need informed citizens, and that people learn best from conversations in their own communities — neighbor-to-neighbor. But between a consolidated, corporate-controlled mass media and a deafening social media echo chamber, it’s gotten harder than ever to have these conversations, especially in smaller communities with few local media options.

Through OtherWords, we’re able to provide millions of readers in America’s heartland with intelligent commentary on a range of progressive causes — on climate, inequality, war and peace, the movements for race and gender justice, and beyond. Through the trusted local papers that use our service, we reach readers in red, blue, and purple states alike with well-written, timely commentaries on the national issues that affect their lives. To read our work or get information about publishing it in your community, check out OtherWords.org.

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Latest Work

The GOP’s Empty Rhetoric on Obama’s Immigration Record

This administration is deporting immigrants at a record pace.

Protect the Public Schools’ Whistleblowers

It’s hard for them to protect their institutions when neither their school districts nor the legal system shield them from retaliation.

Foreign Influence: Inappropriate for Lawmakers Tasked with Shrinking the Deficit

The supercommittee’s members shouldn’t accept campaign contributions from lobbyists representing foreign governments or companies.

Equal Taxation for Wealth and Work

Windfalls from gambling in the Wall Street casino should be taxed at the same rate as wages.

Ask the Columnist: A Primer on Wealth and Taxes

It’s not fair to ask sacrifices only from those least able to afford it simply because they have the least political power.

Shouldn’t Americans Repair America’s Infrastructure?

The $7-billion reconstruction of the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland is in the hands of a state-subsidized Chinese company.

Not All Taxes Have to Hurt

Millionaires, who rightfully are the target for paying more, want us to think that any changes in the tax code will mean that we’ll all be paying more too.

Lobbying the Supercommittee

No moneybags, no service.

Emerging Economies Join G20 Coalition to Tax Speculation

The struggle to tax Wall Street moved forward in Cannes.

Gates Backs the Wall Street Tax at the G20 Summit

The 99 percent and the 0.001 percent agree on something, but the Obama administration is holding out.

The Lineup: Week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2011

Deborah Burger calls for a new Wall Street tax and Libby Reinish reports on the quiet consolidation underway in the coverage of local TV news.

The Skinny on Farm Subsidies and Obesity

To make real, lasting improvements in our food system, we have to get to the root of the problem.

Welcoming Overdue Mercury Standards

It’s time for the EPA to stand up for kids.

Tax Wall Street to Heal America

The nation’s nurses are calling for a tax on financial transactions to begin raising the revenue needed to fix the nation’s growing social crisis.

The Great Local News Heist

Although the Internet has made it possible to access many diverse sources of news online, what’s missing is diverse coverage of what’s going on in our own backyards.

GOP Debates are More Entertaining than GOP Policies

Romney adopts a stance of jovial condescension while Perry visibly seethes at his rival.

Paulson’s Plaintive Plea

Just because he lives in a 28,000-square-foot, $15-million mansion, why should this billionaire be targeted as an example of plutocratic excess?

Prison Nation

Having the world’s highest incarceration rate is costly in more ways than one.

Half-Full Champagne Flute

The economy looks good to John Paulson, since he made $5 billion last year.

The Lineup: Week of Oct. 24-30, 2011

William A. Collins and Khalil Bendib offer their takes on Occupy Wall Street, while Donald Kaul and Phyllis Bennis address the big news out of Libya.