Arizona's minimum wage increase has helped workers and not hurt job growth, study finds
Russ Wiles, Arizona Republic | July 18, 2019

http://azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/11/08/arizona-minimum-wage-proposition-206-election-results/92970650

Opinion: USWNT's Megan Rapinoe is living her patriotism at World Cup. What's your excuse?

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY

Published 3:40 p.m. ET July 3, 2019

http://usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2019/07/03/world-cup-2019-megan-rapinoe-more-american-those-criticize-her/1641234001

LYON, France -- It’s easy to hang a flag outside your house, stand for the national anthem, don the red, white and blue and tell everyone who will listen how much you love your country.

Actual patriotism, active patriotism, is much harder. It requires acknowledging this country’s flaws and holding it accountable until they’re addressed. It means working to achieve that more perfect union our country’s founders envisioned rather than simply paying lip service to the ideals we supposedly cherish.

America is not easy. At least, it’s not supposed to be. Megan Rapinoe gets that.

12 years after starting college, white men have paid off 44% of their student loans, while black women owe 13% more

Published: July 3, 2019 11:02 a.m. ET

http://marketwatch.com/story/12-years-after-starting-college-white-men-have-paid-off-44-of-their-student-loans-and-black-women-owe-13-more-2019-06-06

The experience of repaying student loans is unpleasant for millions of graduates, but for some borrowers, paying off student debt is an almost insurmountable challenge.

Twelve years after entering college, white men have paid off 44% of their student-loan balance on average, according to an analysis released this month by Demos, a left-leaning think tank. For white women, that share drops to 28%. For black borrowers, the picture is even bleaker. Black women see their loan balances actually grow 13% on average, 12 years after leaving school, while black men see their balances grow 11%.

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‘The ability to pay off your loans has everything to do with wages and the ability to gain secure employment; it has everything to do with housing affordability; it has everything to do with child-care costs.’

— Mark Huelsman, associate director, policy and research at Demos

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The age at which students enter college also plays a role in their ability to pay off debt. Students who start college at age 20 or older have paid off just 5% of their debt on average, at minimum, 12 years after leaving school. Students who enter school at age 18 or 19 have typically paid off more than one-quarter of their debt 12 years after leaving college, the report found.