Friday, October 28, 2011
So, I've been back in DC for two and a half months and have taken little advantage of being here. Nicole was here for months hanging out and enjoying her last few months of freedom before starting Commissioned Officer Training ("boot camp"), but none of that time involved seeing the sights. Marci just came for a long weekend from California and did touristy activities while I was at work. The best I can say I have done is visit the White House...sort of. I work a short 2 blocks from the Obama residence and occasionally get off the Metro/bus early to walk past it in the quite hours of the morning. Some mornings, like today, I get to play photographer for touring families capturing memories at hours all sane people should be sleeping. I get up at the crack of dawn these days to head to work so I can avoid commuter madness.
**This one just makes me laugh and somehow also showed up saved as a draft -- of course I didn't write it.
That's so 2005: What were we thinking? Huge houses, bad mortgages, reality TV, expensive coffee -- in just a few short years, we've left a dicey legacy.
By Liz Pulliam Weston
MSN Money -- Published May 26, 2009
That's so 2005: What were we thinking? Huge houses, bad mortgages, reality TV, expensive coffee -- in just a few short years, we've left a dicey legacy.
By Liz Pulliam Weston
MSN Money -- Published May 26, 2009
When you're living through them, some of the most bizarre fads can seem positively normal.
If you have any doubt, check out your parents' high school yearbook photos. (Yes, your dad really did think he was stylin' in that haircut -- and that shirt.)
If you have any doubt, check out your parents' high school yearbook photos. (Yes, your dad really did think he was stylin' in that haircut -- and that shirt.)
With time comes perspective, but I didn't want to wait 20 or 30 years to determine what the Pet Rocks and Members Only jackets of our age would be. So I asked around, querying readers on the Your Money message board and my followers on Twitter to determine what financial trends will most embarrass us in years to come. The results are my 20 nominations for the "What were we thinking?" award:
1. McMansions: Sales of oversized houses on undersized lots soared during the real-estate boom, but the glory days of these architectural abominations may be over thanks to changing demographics and rising energy bills. Retiring baby boomers and first-time homebuyers will be the growth market, and they'll want smaller homes, not huge, expensive-to-heat starter castles. (Read about the McMansion backlash.)
2. Granite countertops: They crack. They stain. They're expensive. And yet they became the must-have kitchen accessory, as ubiquitous and predictable as stainless-steel appliances (another major pain to clean, by the way). Was it really worth spending Junior's college fund on something that looks better than it works? (See the alternatives to granite.)
3. Remodeling as an investment: Only in a world designed by Bernie Madoff, whose investors currently pray for a return of any fraction of their principal, could remodeling be considered an investment. At the housing market's peak, the most popular remodeling projects returned about 80 cents on the dollar and only if you sold soon after completion. Yet millions of Americans drained their home equity to pay for upgrades, redos and tear-downs that ultimately reduced, rather than built, their net worth. (See which projects do make sense.)
4. House porn: Whole evenings on some cable channels were devoted to shows about fixing up and flipping homes for big bucks. Today, you can tell which shows were taped post-bust: At the end, after the big "reveal," the would-be sellers are always "waiting for the perfect offer" to come in.
5. Cash-out refinancing: I wrote numerous columns warning you about tapping your home equity to pay off credit card debt, buy cars or finance vacations -- columns that usually ran alongside lender advertisements encouraging you to do exactly that. If you'd listened to me, you might have enough equity left now to refinance at some amazingly low rates. Sorry, just had to rub that in.
6. Costco closets: Speaking of weird housing trends, there was a hot one for a while in building extra pantry space to accommodate bulk purchases from warehouse stores. So you'd save $12 on your paper towels, then store the monster package in a $12,000 specially designed closet. Now that we've discovered real thrift -- buying less, rather than more -- maybe these closets can be converted to a room for the boarder that the McMansion owners need to make their payments. (If you truly need items in bulk, you're probably wondering which warehouse club is cheaper.)
7. Zero-down financing: Saving cash for a down payment indicates a borrower has at least rudimentary money management skills. Lenders forgot how important that was, but they've since remembered.
8. Option ARM mortgages: BusinessWeek rightly called these loans "nightmare mortgages" in September 2006, just as the real-estate bubble was about to burst. But that didn't prevent homebuyers in high-priced markets from snapping up these mortgages that allowed their balances to grow over time.
Many will reset to much higher payments at the five-year mark, which could worsen the foreclosure crisis.
9. Condos as investments: In 2005, I warned you that the run-up in condo prices was "the tech-stock bubble all over again." Yet way too many people got sucked into the condo boom, paying top dollar for properties that were, ultimately, ugly stepsisters of what the real-estate people actually want: single-family homes. As in past real-estate recessions, condo prices have fallen faster and will take longer to recover. That's something to remember if you're considering swooping in on any "bargains."
10. Credit card debt: The explosion of easy credit, starting in the early 1990s, culminated with widespread offers of 0% balance transfers and low, supposedly "fixed" rates. Now millions are learning that whatever credit card issuers gave, they're apt to take away, and that includes low rates and generous lines of credit.
11. Birkin bags: There are many, many poster children for consumer excess. Manolo Blahnik shoes. Gucci sunglasses. Hermès scarves. But a handbag that costs more than some cars will suffice nicely. ("Retail price: $18,000. Our price: $12,000.") If you have this much money to blow, you should be donating it to your local food bank.
12. "The Secret": This mega-best-seller insisted you could think your way to wealth and a smaller waistline. I'm not going to knock the value of visualization, because clearly imagining your goal is a crucial first step. But the idea that you could get what you want without any effort or discipline was a clear sign the bubble was about to burst.
13. Finance plans for plastic surgery: I actually laughed out loud the first time a company tried to pitch me its low-cost financing plan for cosmetic surgery procedures. Surely people wouldn't be so dumb as to risk their financial lives, as well as their physical lives, for unnecessary and elective procedures? Shows you what I know. Now lenders as mainstream as Capital One have "health care finance" units, although the demand has drained away along with the economy.
14. Reality TV: Speaking of McMansions and plastic surgery, our national obsession with how the rich and vapid live is going to be tough to explain to future generations. Whether it's dysfunctional rock stars or the real housewives of anywhere, it will be hard for our descendants to understand why we wasted hours watching the conspicuous consume.
15. Mega-SUVs: Their very names -- Sequoia, Yukon, Escalade, Expedition, Hummer -- are now synonymous with excess, but years from now we'll wonder how anyone justified these massive, gas-guzzling "screw yous" to the environment and to anyone who tried to park (or drive) next to them.
16. "Underwater" cars: I'm not talking about the vehicles that drowned during Hurricane Katrina. I'm talking about the many, many cars that drowned their owners in debt. Before the auto industry rolled over and died, it puffed up profits by encouraging people to overspend on cars -- which they did, with a vengeance. Many thought replacing cars every three to five years was "normal," rather than a huge waste of money, but incomes weren't growing to keep up with rising car prices. So more than 80% of car loans stretched beyond four years, and one in four car buyers still owed money on their trade-ins. Now that people are hanging on to cars longer, perhaps they'll discover the joys of life without car payments. We can hope. (See "The real reason you're broke.")
17. $4, four-adjective coffee: However much you love your soy no-whip mocha frappawhatsit, you've got to admit how nuts it is to pay good money for ingredients that probably cost Starbucks 50 cents.
And that's before you even consider the calorie count. (See "Death of the 'latte factor'?")
18. Massive plasma TVs: Screens that dwarf the rooms they inhabit started as a status symbol of the very wealthy. But the desire for huge screens quickly worked its way down to folks who would pay for all that acreage many, many times over, thanks to stupidly high credit card interest rates.
19. Deregulation: Conflicts of interest and allegations of fraud led to the creation of a wall between commercial banks and investment banks during the Great Depression. In 1999, Congress demolished the wall by repealing the Glass-Steagall Act that had created it. The idea was that we had long since learned our lesson, that we wouldn't let bad things happen again and that modern finance required banks to have more flexibility to manage risk. Oops. (See "An ugly, unrecognizable recession.")
20. Las Vegas: I actually have no hope whatsoever that this monument to excess will ever go away. Built on delusions of easy wealth, soaking up resources of every kind (electricity, water, paychecks, home equity), this city has reinvented itself so many times -- including, horrifically, as a family destination in the 1990s -- to ever count it out, despite its current troubles. But a city based on the squandering of wealth really should be allowed to melt back into the desert from which it came. (See "Is 'Sin City' poised for a comeback?")
Liz Pulliam Weston is the Web's most-read personal-finance writer. She is the author of several books, most recently "Your Credit Score: Your Money; What's at Stake." Weston's award-winning columns appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money.
1. McMansions: Sales of oversized houses on undersized lots soared during the real-estate boom, but the glory days of these architectural abominations may be over thanks to changing demographics and rising energy bills. Retiring baby boomers and first-time homebuyers will be the growth market, and they'll want smaller homes, not huge, expensive-to-heat starter castles. (Read about the McMansion backlash.)
2. Granite countertops: They crack. They stain. They're expensive. And yet they became the must-have kitchen accessory, as ubiquitous and predictable as stainless-steel appliances (another major pain to clean, by the way). Was it really worth spending Junior's college fund on something that looks better than it works? (See the alternatives to granite.)
3. Remodeling as an investment: Only in a world designed by Bernie Madoff, whose investors currently pray for a return of any fraction of their principal, could remodeling be considered an investment. At the housing market's peak, the most popular remodeling projects returned about 80 cents on the dollar and only if you sold soon after completion. Yet millions of Americans drained their home equity to pay for upgrades, redos and tear-downs that ultimately reduced, rather than built, their net worth. (See which projects do make sense.)
4. House porn: Whole evenings on some cable channels were devoted to shows about fixing up and flipping homes for big bucks. Today, you can tell which shows were taped post-bust: At the end, after the big "reveal," the would-be sellers are always "waiting for the perfect offer" to come in.
5. Cash-out refinancing: I wrote numerous columns warning you about tapping your home equity to pay off credit card debt, buy cars or finance vacations -- columns that usually ran alongside lender advertisements encouraging you to do exactly that. If you'd listened to me, you might have enough equity left now to refinance at some amazingly low rates. Sorry, just had to rub that in.
6. Costco closets: Speaking of weird housing trends, there was a hot one for a while in building extra pantry space to accommodate bulk purchases from warehouse stores. So you'd save $12 on your paper towels, then store the monster package in a $12,000 specially designed closet. Now that we've discovered real thrift -- buying less, rather than more -- maybe these closets can be converted to a room for the boarder that the McMansion owners need to make their payments. (If you truly need items in bulk, you're probably wondering which warehouse club is cheaper.)
7. Zero-down financing: Saving cash for a down payment indicates a borrower has at least rudimentary money management skills. Lenders forgot how important that was, but they've since remembered.
8. Option ARM mortgages: BusinessWeek rightly called these loans "nightmare mortgages" in September 2006, just as the real-estate bubble was about to burst. But that didn't prevent homebuyers in high-priced markets from snapping up these mortgages that allowed their balances to grow over time.
Many will reset to much higher payments at the five-year mark, which could worsen the foreclosure crisis.
9. Condos as investments: In 2005, I warned you that the run-up in condo prices was "the tech-stock bubble all over again." Yet way too many people got sucked into the condo boom, paying top dollar for properties that were, ultimately, ugly stepsisters of what the real-estate people actually want: single-family homes. As in past real-estate recessions, condo prices have fallen faster and will take longer to recover. That's something to remember if you're considering swooping in on any "bargains."
10. Credit card debt: The explosion of easy credit, starting in the early 1990s, culminated with widespread offers of 0% balance transfers and low, supposedly "fixed" rates. Now millions are learning that whatever credit card issuers gave, they're apt to take away, and that includes low rates and generous lines of credit.
11. Birkin bags: There are many, many poster children for consumer excess. Manolo Blahnik shoes. Gucci sunglasses. Hermès scarves. But a handbag that costs more than some cars will suffice nicely. ("Retail price: $18,000. Our price: $12,000.") If you have this much money to blow, you should be donating it to your local food bank.
12. "The Secret": This mega-best-seller insisted you could think your way to wealth and a smaller waistline. I'm not going to knock the value of visualization, because clearly imagining your goal is a crucial first step. But the idea that you could get what you want without any effort or discipline was a clear sign the bubble was about to burst.
13. Finance plans for plastic surgery: I actually laughed out loud the first time a company tried to pitch me its low-cost financing plan for cosmetic surgery procedures. Surely people wouldn't be so dumb as to risk their financial lives, as well as their physical lives, for unnecessary and elective procedures? Shows you what I know. Now lenders as mainstream as Capital One have "health care finance" units, although the demand has drained away along with the economy.
14. Reality TV: Speaking of McMansions and plastic surgery, our national obsession with how the rich and vapid live is going to be tough to explain to future generations. Whether it's dysfunctional rock stars or the real housewives of anywhere, it will be hard for our descendants to understand why we wasted hours watching the conspicuous consume.
15. Mega-SUVs: Their very names -- Sequoia, Yukon, Escalade, Expedition, Hummer -- are now synonymous with excess, but years from now we'll wonder how anyone justified these massive, gas-guzzling "screw yous" to the environment and to anyone who tried to park (or drive) next to them.
16. "Underwater" cars: I'm not talking about the vehicles that drowned during Hurricane Katrina. I'm talking about the many, many cars that drowned their owners in debt. Before the auto industry rolled over and died, it puffed up profits by encouraging people to overspend on cars -- which they did, with a vengeance. Many thought replacing cars every three to five years was "normal," rather than a huge waste of money, but incomes weren't growing to keep up with rising car prices. So more than 80% of car loans stretched beyond four years, and one in four car buyers still owed money on their trade-ins. Now that people are hanging on to cars longer, perhaps they'll discover the joys of life without car payments. We can hope. (See "The real reason you're broke.")
17. $4, four-adjective coffee: However much you love your soy no-whip mocha frappawhatsit, you've got to admit how nuts it is to pay good money for ingredients that probably cost Starbucks 50 cents.
And that's before you even consider the calorie count. (See "Death of the 'latte factor'?")
18. Massive plasma TVs: Screens that dwarf the rooms they inhabit started as a status symbol of the very wealthy. But the desire for huge screens quickly worked its way down to folks who would pay for all that acreage many, many times over, thanks to stupidly high credit card interest rates.
19. Deregulation: Conflicts of interest and allegations of fraud led to the creation of a wall between commercial banks and investment banks during the Great Depression. In 1999, Congress demolished the wall by repealing the Glass-Steagall Act that had created it. The idea was that we had long since learned our lesson, that we wouldn't let bad things happen again and that modern finance required banks to have more flexibility to manage risk. Oops. (See "An ugly, unrecognizable recession.")
20. Las Vegas: I actually have no hope whatsoever that this monument to excess will ever go away. Built on delusions of easy wealth, soaking up resources of every kind (electricity, water, paychecks, home equity), this city has reinvented itself so many times -- including, horrifically, as a family destination in the 1990s -- to ever count it out, despite its current troubles. But a city based on the squandering of wealth really should be allowed to melt back into the desert from which it came. (See "Is 'Sin City' poised for a comeback?")
Liz Pulliam Weston is the Web's most-read personal-finance writer. She is the author of several books, most recently "Your Credit Score: Your Money; What's at Stake." Weston's award-winning columns appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money.
What's Up in Wisconsin?
**For some reason this posting was lost in cyberspace for months and suddenly appeared on my blog. I decided to publish it anyway. If you click on the photo of the Wisconsin protests on the sidebar it will take you to a bunch of photos of the protests in the spring.
For those of you not living in Wisconsin and perhaps particularly Madison where much of the hoopla is happening -- although, not exclusively, there have been several large and small communities hosting their own protests and rallies around the budget repair bill -- I thought I would post some information.
What is all the fuss about?
Read the Budget Repair Bill -- if you read the introductory section before the bill you will get a good overview of the technical details within it.
Is this about balancing the budget or busting unions?
Governor Walker claims this is about balancing the budget not busting unions. But if that were true why was Gov. Walker unwilling to accept the compromise proposed by Sen. Schultz (R-Richland Center), which would suspend collective bargaining for two years while balancing the budget and then letting it automatically reinstate? The increase in pension and health care contributions would have remained permanent under this compromise.
In addition the following provisions of the bill affecting unions have no fiscal impact BUT play significant roles in the future strength of unions:
1. Requirement that unions be certified every year -- Under current law once a union is certified (meaning it was voted into power by those whom it represents) it remains certified until a petition signed by approximately one-third of those represented called for an election to "decertify" the union.
2. Requirement that union receive 51% of ALL eligible collective bargain unit members -- This means that any person eligible to vote in a union certification election who would abstain/not participate would be automatically counted as a "no" vote (significant change from current law). Under current law an employee has to vote in the election to be counted.
3. Abolishment of union dues being deducted from payroll checks -- Under current law union dues are allowed to be deducted from payroll making collection of union dues more efficient and consistent. If payroll deductions are no longer allowed, the unions will have a more difficult time collecting the dues which fund their collective bargaining activities.
4. Abolishment of requirement that all collective bargaining unit members pay their "fair share" of union dues -- Current law requires everyone who works where a union represents them pay the portion of union dues that covers the collective bargaining activities of the union. No one is required to be a member of the union, just pay for these collective bargaining actions. Anyone who is a full voting member of the union pays significantly more for events and lobbying activities.
But isn't the problem that public employees get paid too much?
The Economic Policy Institute did a study last year that speaks to public v. private employment compensation. Now that this issue has hit the media they have done state specific studies on Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and California. You can find them all at the above link.
Important Note: Wisconsin's public employees are not refusing to increase their contributions to pension funds and health care coverage. What they are protesting is Gov. Walker extinguishing their collective bargaining rights. They want Gov. Walker to meet them at the bargaining table.
Aren't unions a thing of the past?
We can thank unions for the 40-hour work week, the 8-hour day, minimum wage, worker safety laws, etc. But now that there are federal laws about most of these things, aren't unions obsolete? Unions act as the representatives of employees at the bargaining table with management. They bargain about wages, health coverage, pensions...AND overtime, sick days (paid or unpaid), vacation, worker safety, role of seniority in promotion and work force reductions and perhaps most importantly with resolving workplace issues.
Hundreds of local government leaders oppose the budget repair bill because they believe collective bargaining is part of the solution in solving workplace problems. Mayors and school district supervisors do not want collective bargaining to be stripped from their employees. They argue that collective bargaining does not have any fiscal implications and these rights should remain in tact.
Well, what exactly is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining rights bring management and employees (represented by unions) together to negotiate or bargain for compensation, benefits and working conditions. Both parties are expected to come to the bargaining table in good faith with the intention to work out an agreement. However, NO ONE is required to accept or offer anything. Collective bargaining places no fiscal responsibilities on either the employer or the employees (represented by the unions). It forces a conversation when it would otherwise be easier to avoid the conversation but it places no demands on what is discussed or the end result.
For those of you not living in Wisconsin and perhaps particularly Madison where much of the hoopla is happening -- although, not exclusively, there have been several large and small communities hosting their own protests and rallies around the budget repair bill -- I thought I would post some information.
What is all the fuss about?
Read the Budget Repair Bill -- if you read the introductory section before the bill you will get a good overview of the technical details within it.
Is this about balancing the budget or busting unions?
Governor Walker claims this is about balancing the budget not busting unions. But if that were true why was Gov. Walker unwilling to accept the compromise proposed by Sen. Schultz (R-Richland Center), which would suspend collective bargaining for two years while balancing the budget and then letting it automatically reinstate? The increase in pension and health care contributions would have remained permanent under this compromise.
In addition the following provisions of the bill affecting unions have no fiscal impact BUT play significant roles in the future strength of unions:
1. Requirement that unions be certified every year -- Under current law once a union is certified (meaning it was voted into power by those whom it represents) it remains certified until a petition signed by approximately one-third of those represented called for an election to "decertify" the union.
2. Requirement that union receive 51% of ALL eligible collective bargain unit members -- This means that any person eligible to vote in a union certification election who would abstain/not participate would be automatically counted as a "no" vote (significant change from current law). Under current law an employee has to vote in the election to be counted.
3. Abolishment of union dues being deducted from payroll checks -- Under current law union dues are allowed to be deducted from payroll making collection of union dues more efficient and consistent. If payroll deductions are no longer allowed, the unions will have a more difficult time collecting the dues which fund their collective bargaining activities.
4. Abolishment of requirement that all collective bargaining unit members pay their "fair share" of union dues -- Current law requires everyone who works where a union represents them pay the portion of union dues that covers the collective bargaining activities of the union. No one is required to be a member of the union, just pay for these collective bargaining actions. Anyone who is a full voting member of the union pays significantly more for events and lobbying activities.
But isn't the problem that public employees get paid too much?
The Economic Policy Institute did a study last year that speaks to public v. private employment compensation. Now that this issue has hit the media they have done state specific studies on Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and California. You can find them all at the above link.
Important Note: Wisconsin's public employees are not refusing to increase their contributions to pension funds and health care coverage. What they are protesting is Gov. Walker extinguishing their collective bargaining rights. They want Gov. Walker to meet them at the bargaining table.
Aren't unions a thing of the past?
We can thank unions for the 40-hour work week, the 8-hour day, minimum wage, worker safety laws, etc. But now that there are federal laws about most of these things, aren't unions obsolete? Unions act as the representatives of employees at the bargaining table with management. They bargain about wages, health coverage, pensions...AND overtime, sick days (paid or unpaid), vacation, worker safety, role of seniority in promotion and work force reductions and perhaps most importantly with resolving workplace issues.
Hundreds of local government leaders oppose the budget repair bill because they believe collective bargaining is part of the solution in solving workplace problems. Mayors and school district supervisors do not want collective bargaining to be stripped from their employees. They argue that collective bargaining does not have any fiscal implications and these rights should remain in tact.
Well, what exactly is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining rights bring management and employees (represented by unions) together to negotiate or bargain for compensation, benefits and working conditions. Both parties are expected to come to the bargaining table in good faith with the intention to work out an agreement. However, NO ONE is required to accept or offer anything. Collective bargaining places no fiscal responsibilities on either the employer or the employees (represented by the unions). It forces a conversation when it would otherwise be easier to avoid the conversation but it places no demands on what is discussed or the end result.
Friday, February 11, 2011
2011 Recipient of the Cari Sietstra Award for Excellence in Organizing
I was surprised and honored at last nights Wisconsin Law Students for Reproductive Justice meeting to learn I had been chosen as the 2011 recipient of the Cari Sietstra Award for Excellence in Organizing. This award is given in honor of the founder of LSRJ to a member or chapter who has demonstrated excellence in campus organizing in the last three semesters. Considering the amazing women (primarily) I have met through my participation in LSRJ, I am deeply humbled to receive this award amongst the members of more than 80 chapters around the country. [Watch the above video of Sabrina's presentation if you want to hear more.]
Upon entering law school there was only one remaining active member of the Wisconsin LSRJ Chapter, but Margaret's commitment shown bright and she successfully pulled Audrey, Chris, Kristy and myself into the fold. That year we worked with the Village Health Project to sponsor the Condom Casino raising funds to support clean birthing kits in refugee campus and hygiene products for girls in Uganda (to keep them in school through menstration cycles). We also put on what had been a controversial Sex Toys program during the Spring 2008 semester, tabled about the importance of access to birth control, sold handmade soaps and put together a booth for the Sexual Health Fair in April on Library Mall. What a great beginning!
I was elected President of the Wisconsin Chapter in April of 2009 and stayed in that role until December 2010. Over the course of that year and a half, we have successfully tripled the active members of the organization and established a path for chapter longevity at Wisconsin. Last year we put on our first Sex Trivia Night at Plan B raising money for the new Planned Parenthood health clinic in Madison and hosted programs on: eugenics and rhetoric, current legislative state of Roe and access to family planning services, faith and reproductive justice and how these issues can be part of a legal career. Susie orchestrated a week of activities around National Back Up Your Birth Control Week that resulted in the chapter winning the Campus Challenge -- a $250 prize and recognition on the NARAL Pro-Choice New York website. Our final event of the year was a booth at the All-Campus Party creating a photo campaign of messages about sexual assault (April is Sexual Assault Awareness month), button making and our usual distribution of condoms and candy.
Over the past two years we also established coalitions with the Dane County Coalition for Women's Health, Wisconsin's Reproductive Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Wisconsin Women's Network, as well as campus organizations like Medical Students for Choice, the International Socialist Organization, and Advocates for Choice. Working in partnership with local organizations -- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health -- has allowed us to put our advocacy skills to practice on campaigns for comprehensive sex education in Wisconsin and access to abortion services in Wisconsin.
My efforts this year poured primarily into planning of the 2011 LSRJ Midwest Regional Conference, "Reproductive Justice Through the Looking Glass: Moving from Issues to Solutions," held January 29th at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Thanks to our wonderful speakers and the overwhelming support of the Wisconsin LSRJ Chapter this event was a GIGANTIC success! We were so thrilled to have so many guests from our Regional LSRJ Chapters with us.
Currently I am a semi-finalist for the Reproductive Justice Fellowship sponsored by LSRJ. Should I receive this fellowship I will be placed in an organization in Washington, DC that works on reproductive justice policy. I should know within the next few weeks whether or not this will become a reality for me.
LSRJ has been a significant part of my law school experience, and I am ever grateful for the practitioners who have invited me into their work spaces to help me learn and grow as an RJ advocate, policy maker and future lawyer. I remain committed to using my legal education to advance the position of women and children throughout the world.
Thanks, LSRJ for helping me get a step closer!
Laura
Upon entering law school there was only one remaining active member of the Wisconsin LSRJ Chapter, but Margaret's commitment shown bright and she successfully pulled Audrey, Chris, Kristy and myself into the fold. That year we worked with the Village Health Project to sponsor the Condom Casino raising funds to support clean birthing kits in refugee campus and hygiene products for girls in Uganda (to keep them in school through menstration cycles). We also put on what had been a controversial Sex Toys program during the Spring 2008 semester, tabled about the importance of access to birth control, sold handmade soaps and put together a booth for the Sexual Health Fair in April on Library Mall. What a great beginning!
I was elected President of the Wisconsin Chapter in April of 2009 and stayed in that role until December 2010. Over the course of that year and a half, we have successfully tripled the active members of the organization and established a path for chapter longevity at Wisconsin. Last year we put on our first Sex Trivia Night at Plan B raising money for the new Planned Parenthood health clinic in Madison and hosted programs on: eugenics and rhetoric, current legislative state of Roe and access to family planning services, faith and reproductive justice and how these issues can be part of a legal career. Susie orchestrated a week of activities around National Back Up Your Birth Control Week that resulted in the chapter winning the Campus Challenge -- a $250 prize and recognition on the NARAL Pro-Choice New York website. Our final event of the year was a booth at the All-Campus Party creating a photo campaign of messages about sexual assault (April is Sexual Assault Awareness month), button making and our usual distribution of condoms and candy.
Over the past two years we also established coalitions with the Dane County Coalition for Women's Health, Wisconsin's Reproductive Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Wisconsin Women's Network, as well as campus organizations like Medical Students for Choice, the International Socialist Organization, and Advocates for Choice. Working in partnership with local organizations -- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health -- has allowed us to put our advocacy skills to practice on campaigns for comprehensive sex education in Wisconsin and access to abortion services in Wisconsin.
My efforts this year poured primarily into planning of the 2011 LSRJ Midwest Regional Conference, "Reproductive Justice Through the Looking Glass: Moving from Issues to Solutions," held January 29th at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Thanks to our wonderful speakers and the overwhelming support of the Wisconsin LSRJ Chapter this event was a GIGANTIC success! We were so thrilled to have so many guests from our Regional LSRJ Chapters with us.
Currently I am a semi-finalist for the Reproductive Justice Fellowship sponsored by LSRJ. Should I receive this fellowship I will be placed in an organization in Washington, DC that works on reproductive justice policy. I should know within the next few weeks whether or not this will become a reality for me.
LSRJ has been a significant part of my law school experience, and I am ever grateful for the practitioners who have invited me into their work spaces to help me learn and grow as an RJ advocate, policy maker and future lawyer. I remain committed to using my legal education to advance the position of women and children throughout the world.
Thanks, LSRJ for helping me get a step closer!
Laura
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