Tag: PACs

5 Super-Easy Ways to Use Your Holiday Dollars for Good

Posted on by robbie

The average American plans to spend $752 on Christmas presents this year. That frenzy of gift-buying nets corporations (including some naughty ones) hundreds of billions of dollars. During that four-week shopping spree, from Black Friday to Christmas Eve, it can be tough to find a moment to research where all your cash is going — and, by extension, what business practices your purchases might endorse. NationSwell selected five apps, all available for free in the iTunes App Store, to help you shop responsibly. After all, you don’t want to find coal in your stocking come Christmas morning, now do you?

1. See what other socially conscious consumers think

Scan a barcode, and OpenLabel will give you the crowd-sourced lowdown on the item in hand. The Yelp-like reviews — which touch on everything from environmental sustainability to labor practices — aren’t fact-checked, but a system of up-voting puts the most helpful reviews at the top. See an un-reviewed product? Add your own slant to the growing mix.

2. Support companies that support women

Data on gender equality is tough to find online. How many women hold leadership positions in a given company? How many weeks of maternity leave does a business’s policies guarantee? Does its advertising reinforce gender stereotypes? Buy Up Index Index has your answers. Use this app to determine whether 120 popular corporations are worthy of women’s purchasing power.

3. Know which political party you’re backing

With its ruling on the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court allowed independent political action committees to raise unlimited sums from corporations. (In the past year, these super PACs spent $1.1 billion to influence the election.) BuyPartisan, an app built by a former Capitol Hill staffer, compiles data on campaign contributions so you can see if a company’s CEO, board of directors or a corporate PAC is funding a candidate you oppose.

 4. Join a campaign for change

Voting with your dollar is essential. But a company might not know you’re doing so, unless you explicitly tell them. On Buycott, you can join user-generated campaigns that will tell you which products to avoid. Whether the Koch Brothers or Kellogg’s are the objects of your ire, you’ll find plenty of others to join you in protest here.

5. Shop at ethically responsible companies

Worn out from all this research into the byzantine world of corporate ownership? DoneGood makes it easy to target mission-driven sellers. Select a value you prize — “green,” “locally sourced,” “gives back” — and you’ll see a list of businesses that match your criteria. Several vendors offer discounts if you find them through the app.

The Washington PAC Fighting to Save Detroit

Posted on by robbie

We all have a bit of pride when it comes to our hometown. But a group of Detroit natives are proving their allegiance runs beyond local sports teams and are using the power of politics to show their loyalty.
Two Washington, D.C. residents have launched Detroit XPAC, a political action committee funded by donations from the Motor City’s expatriates across the country. The goal is to tap the influence of Michigan’s professional youth that have left the state but still have a vested interest in rebuilding its fledging city.

“We are just a bunch of people from Michigan, from Detroit, who really love this city and want to see it doing well,” Farber said. “It can be amazing. And it’s getting there again.”

Registered at both state and federal levels, the PAC uses contributions to support candidates who have progressive ideas about rebuilding Detroit through economic and sustainable environmental policies, according to the National Journal.
Though the group is still small, it operates a national advisory board as well as a Capitol advisory board to assist with reaching lawmakers on the hill. Most of its members are volunteers who work in urban design or on environmental issues.
The PAC is currently focusing on four or five state, local and federal races, but hasn’t made any endorsements just yet. This year’s pilot run is a precursor to 2016, when the PAC hopes to use its influence for the larger election.
Farber is hoping to reshape the city that shaped her by helping decide who will lead Detroit out of decline. While some current residents may find outside influence on elections a bit disconcerting, Farber argues the PAC’s interest is genuine.

“Part of the reason we thought we should tap into the expats is because it’s a community that isn’t being focused on, and yet we’re all over the country,” she said. “We wanted to prove that the borders of Michigan don’t stop people’s love for the state or where they grew up.”

The group bills itself as nonpartisan but Farber confesses the group leans toward Democratic candidates, who tend to have more progressive ideas. For now, the PAC is readying questionnaires to send out to candidates to hear more about their ideas in the races it plans to endorse.

The PAC is also aiming to create similar advisor boards for New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles.

“There are people on the wrong side of the aisle who think you can defund Detroit, you can cut off its resources, you can ignore it, you can pretend it doesn’t exist,” Dorsey said. “We believe that we must have people who are thinking through how to deliver for the economy in the best interests of citizens of Detroit and to protect the environment.”

Clearly, just because those citizens don’t live within Michigan state limits doesn’t mean they care any less about its long-term success.

MORE: Detroit’s Newest Parking Garage Becomes An Unlikely Canvas