Eleni Schirmer Journalist Profile

Articles

Biden’s Got One Last Chance to Cancel Student Debt

Dec 10, 2024 | newrepublic.com | Astra Taylor |Eleni Schirmer

When the Titanic crashed into a wall of ice at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, it had been warned seven times about the danger that lay waiting ahead. Yet those in charge did not alter course. When the ship hit the iceberg as predicted, the crew had mere minutes to concoct a plan capable of redeeming even some of that lost time. Their efforts were not wholly in vain; nearly a third of the passengers survived—famously, the wealthiest ones.
Biden’s Got One Last Chance to Cancel Student Debt

Dec 10, 2024 | yahoo.com | Astra Taylor |Eleni Schirmer

When the Titanic crashed into a wall of ice at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, it had been warned seven times about the danger that lay waiting ahead. Yet those in charge did not alter course. When the ship hit the iceberg as predicted, the crew had mere minutes to concoct a plan capable of redeeming even some of that lost time. Their efforts were not wholly in vain; nearly a third of the passengers survived—famously, the wealthiest ones.
“You Blitz!” Jane McAlevey’s Answer to What to Do When We Don’t Have Enough Time.

Aug 28, 2024 | newsbreak.com | Eleni Schirmer

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“You Blitz!” Jane McAlevey’s Answer to What to Do When We Don’t Have Enough Time.

Aug 27, 2024 | thenation.com | Eleni Schirmer

Can we count on you? In the coming election, the fate of our democracy and fundamental civil rights are on the ballot. The conservative architects of Project 2025 are scheming to institutionalize Donald Trump’s authoritarian vision across all levels of government if he should win. We’ve already seen events that fill us with both dread and cautious optimism—throughout it all, The Nation has been a bulwark against misinformation and an advocate for bold, principled perspectives.
We Need a New Movement to End Old-Age Poverty

Aug 11, 2024 | jacobin.com | Eleni Schirmer

Despite the California sun in the summer of 1933, sixty-six-year-old Francis E. Townsend’s mood was gloomy. He had just lost his job working as a physician for the Long Beach Health Department. Although the work itself had been bleak — attending to the city’s sick and poor was soul-wracking — not having a job was worse. Townsend, like millions of older adults during the Great Depression, found himself without savings, without work, and, most of all, without hope.
Who Would Want To Grow Old Only To Grow Poor?

Jul 30, 2024 | popularresistance.org | Eleni Schirmer

Above photo: A Townsend Plan supporter in Columbus, Kan., 1936. Arthur Rothstein/Library of Congress. Arthur Rothstein/Library of Congress. Seniors are increasingly in debt and facing financial crises at levels not seen since the Great Depression. The mass movement that fought for seniors 100 years ago under the banner of the Townsend Plan could be a model for solving the growing crisis now. Despite the California sun in the summer of 1933, 66-year-old Francis E. Townsend’s mood was gloomy.
Biden Touts His Student Debt Relief, but the Crisis Demands Much More

May 28, 2024 | thenation.com | Eleni Schirmer

President Biden wants you to know that he has been trying to cancel your student debt. Since last June, when the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s proposed attempt to discharge student debt, the White House has sent out an average of a press release every other week, touting his efforts. But all that bang hasn’t corresponded with an equal measure of buck.
How Jane McAlevey Transformed the Labor Movement

Oct 17, 2023 | newyorker.com | Eleni Schirmer

This past January, Jane McAlevey spent a week in Connecticut leading an organizing blitz. In union parlance, a blitz is a quick, concentrated organizing effort, designed to engage as many workers as possible in a short period of time.
If Biden can cancel some student debt, he can cancel all of it

Oct 5, 2023 | msnbc.com | Eleni Schirmer

This month, for the first time in more than three years, federal student loan payments are coming due for 43 million Americans. President Biden campaigned on student debt cancellation and last summer he announced a policy that would cancel up to $20,000 of debt per borrower. This would have zeroed out loan balances for millions, but just over a year later, most of those borrowers face restarting their payments.
School Debt: The Great Unequalizer

Aug 21, 2023 | buckscountybeacon.com | Eleni Schirmer

This article is from the summer issue of Rethinking Schools, and is reprinted with permission. In January 2020, mere weeks before the COVID pandemic shut down the world, Philadelphia schoolteachers bundled up and planted themselves in front of Lewis Elkin Elementary School. They were refusing to enter the building.