Neena Schultz is an intern at the Religious Action Center. She studies at Gettysburg College. She currently is majoring in anthropology.

A fantastic article by Holly Sklar, senior policy adviser for Business for Shared Prosperity, explains that, in fact, businesses would benefit from a higher minimum wage. Many businesses have already signed on to the letter, and Business For A Fair Minimum Wage hopes that more will follow their lead. In the article, Sklar explains that “ States that have raised their minimum wages above the inadequate $5.15 federal level have had better employment and small business trends than the other states,” and that with a raised minimum wage, “businesses and communities will benefit as low-wage workers spend their much-needed pay raises at businesses in the neighborhoods where they live and work.” Read the full article here: http://www.businessforafairminimumwage.org/

Posted by Religious Action Center at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gwen Litvak is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of UCLA.

Is your congregation interested in issues of affordable housing? Get more involved in the campaign for the National Housing Trust Fund. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) and the National Low-Income Housing Coalition are seeking community endorsers for the National Housing Trust Fund, which Representative Frank is planning to introduce very soon.

The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act would establish a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury of the United States.  The Trust Fund would be a dedicated source of funds for the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of 1.5 million units of decent, safe, and affordable housing for low-income families over the next 10 years. Trust funds support a variety of housing activities for low and very low-income households including new construction, preservation of existing housing, emergency repairs and homeless shelters. The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund would not only produce new affordable housing units but it would also provide a much needed stimulus to our economy, creating jobs and adding to the revenues of states and localities.

Become an advocate for affordable housing in your community. If your congregation is interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact outreach@nlihc.org with your congregation’s name, contact, title, mailing address, phone, fax, and email. For more information, contact RAC Legislative Assistant Gwendolyn Litvak (glitvak@rac.org).

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David Saperstein is Director and Counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The following originally appeared as an Op-Ed for the Forward.

At last, the debate over America’s disastrous situation in Iraq has begun in earnest. With the entire nation now engaged, it is long overdue — and then some — for the Jewish community to weigh in and determine what insights Jewish values and interests can offer. We must do so not only because our prophetic tradition mandates that we speak out on the great moral issues of the day, and not only because as Americans we ought be deeply concerned for what this war means to our country, but also because Israel’s interests and security are so clearly at stake.

To continue reading, please follow the link:

http://www.forward.com/articles/time-for-our-community-to-join-the-iraq-debate/

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