Abortion measures could be on the ballot in as many as a dozen states this year. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)
Dear reader,
State governments are supposed to be laboratories of democracy, where the people are able to exercise their voice and win legislation held up by gridlock on a federal level. That’s especially true in red states as of late, where voters have supported progressive measures like legalizing marijuana and raising the minimum wage via ballot measures time and time again. No wonder their Republican elected officials are worried.
For our February print issue, our senior editor Gabrielle Gurley wrote about how Republican elected officials in Arkansas and elsewhere are making an enemy out of their own voters by preventing them from exercising their right to direct democracy, making ballot measures all but impossible to pass.
Our investigations editor, Maureen Tkacik, chose to focus on economic democracy and what threatens it. Writing about an outrageous case of corruption between the court and private industry in Houston, she explains how bankruptcy law, originally designed to serve as a second chance for the destitute, has since become another means of upward wealth redistribution. A social safety net for corporations, not for people.
All week, we’re going to be diving deeper into what really threatens democracy—in the states, in the courtrooms, and in the workplace. We hope to broaden the frame to better understand where democracy actually needs shoring
up. But we can’t create the kind of reporting and analysis you expect from us without your help. All of the reader support we receive funds our editorial mission: illuminating stories about ideas, politics and power.
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