Features Archives - Page 3 of 18

May 24, 2022 0

From Dick’s Desk at the AACA LITC
(Asian American Civic Association Low Income Taxpayer Clinic)

Dear Dick Massachusetts is one of the 46 states in the US that has legalized marijuana. So, I decided to petition my City of Cambridge to open a medical marijuana dispensary. Medical marijuana can effectively treat pain, headache, muscle spasms, eye disease, and many other medical problems. I received a good deal of support locally and from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in forming my cannabis business. That is, until I heard that the federal government still has not legalized marijuana. […]

May 24, 2022 0

Free Tax Advice and Representation for Non-English Speaking People

by Wenchen Wang

Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC) assist low-income individuals who have a tax dispute with the IRS and the Mass Dept of Revenue and provide education and outreach to individuals who speak English as a second language (ESL). According to the 2021 LITC Program Report from Taxpayer Advocacy Services, LITC represented 19,413 Taxpayers, brought 2,398 taxpayers into filing compliance, provided consultation or advice to 17,792 Taxpayers, and brought 2,990 taxpayers into collection compliance. The Asian American Civic Association (AACA) has launched the […]

May 24, 2022 0

Chinese Laundry: Personal Stories of Pride and Perseverance

by Chelsea Wang

For first-wave Chinese immigrants in the mid-1800’s, laundries were a primary source of income and a significant part of Chinese-American labor history. Along with construction of the railroads, the laundry business was a mainstay of the Chinese immigrant economy. The Chinese needed to survive in an English-speaking world in which they did not have access to most employment opportunities. The laundries remain a point of shared connection between many Chinese American families today. Thomas Chin’s family worked in their hand […]

May 24, 2022 0

A Song Everlasting: Ha Jin and the Absolute Cost of Creative Freedom

by Christopher John Stephens

The status of a creative writer in their own culture is always tenuous, always in flux. Are they best as servants to the status quo, or are they only understood within the context of what they manage to overturn? Think of American authors like James Patterson or Tom Clancy, whose bestsellers over the course of their many decades follow standard formulas of handsome rugged heroes and clearly defined bad guys. Their creativity exists in their ability to define and perfect […]

May 24, 2022 0

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Asian Cultural Appropriation

by Sampan Staff

Comic book fans are an insistent subgroup of art aficionados. Some might go so far as to say they are belligerent. They covet elements of their heroes; Superman’s cape, Captain America’s shield, Spiderman’s mask, as if they are talisman objects of veneration. They hang objects on their walls, wear costumes during Halloween, don the same outfits at Comic Conventions, and blur the lines between a preoccupation and religious observation. Where faith has always depended on a creation myth to explain […]

May 6, 2022 0

Society’s Other Covid-19 Symptom, Bigotry, Takes a Toll

by Max Wei

Low-income Asian American families have faced disproportionate hardships since the Covid-19 pandemic began, as I reported here in the last issue of Sampan. “Many people are surprised to learn that Asian Americans have the highest poverty rate of any racial-ethnic group in Boston — it’s about 29%, ” Carolyn Wong, a researcher at the Institute of Asian American Studies at UMass Boston, told me. Wong is the co-writer of a recently published report on the struggles faced by Asians in the Boston area from the pandemic. “The lowest paid workers […]

May 6, 2022 0

With Immigration Rule’s Fate in Limbo, So Is Fate of Many Asylum Seekers

by Moninisha Yadav

In recent decades, the United States has added approximately 1 million immigrants every year. This has happened in accordance with a number of provisions of immigration law, primarily through the sponsorship of family members who are U.S. citizens. However, when COVID-19 escalated in March of 2020, the number of immigration admissions, which had already been slowing greatly during the Trump administration, came to a virtual stop. As part of its approach to reduce immigration, the Trump administration sought to bypass […]

May 6, 2022 0

As Mother’s Day Approaches, U.S. Faces a Fertility Crisis

by Jeff Millman

It’s Mother’s Day, and fewer people than ever are having children. In the United States the birth rate has plummeted by nearly 20% since 2007. The beginning of this decade saw the lowest numbers for average births ever recorded, and the downward trend shows no signs of stopping. While the causes of the initial drop were well-understood – rates began to fall rapidly during the Great Recession in the late 2000s – economists and policy makers are puzzled by the […]

May 6, 2022 0

From Dick’s Desk at the AACA LITC
(Asian American Civic Association Low Income Taxpayer Clinic)

by Richard Soo Hoo

Dear Dick I am a journeyman finish carpenter. I spent the whole week sorting through my lumber supply invoices and pay records for my construction helper. But….I am relieved. I managed to file my income tax returns by the April 15 tax deadline this year. At the same time, I am worried that the IRS is going to audit me again. I’m being audited for last year. When I went to my mailbox, I noticed a thick letter with the […]

May 6, 2022 0

Failure to Fund Successful Health Services Program Leaves 30,000 Vulnerable Residents, Communities of Color Without Vital Care

by Sampan Staff

On March 29, 2022, ABCD—Action for Boston Community Development—received the shocking news that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Population Affairs, was terminating funding of the anti-poverty organization’s Title X Family Planning program as of March 31, 2022. For more than 50 years, in collaboration with a vital community health center network, ABCD has done an exemplary job of delivering critical health services to more than 30,000 low-income residents and communities of color. Where are our […]

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