Elizabeth Warren

America’s Roman Holiday: Prime Day and the Price of Convenience

PUBLISHED 6/26/2026 by

Amazon Prime Day has become one of the biggest shopping events in the country, but its success tells a story far bigger than discounts.

In an economy where families are struggling with the cost of groceries, rent, healthcare and childcare, the appeal of lower prices is understandable. Yet the massive scale of Prime Day also raises a harder question: What does it mean when one of America’s defining consumer rituals depends on a labor system that workers, regulators and advocates have repeatedly described as dangerous, underpaid and deeply unequal?

Amazon’s influence extends far beyond its own warehouses. By normalizing ever-faster delivery, constant surveillance and relentless productivity, the company has helped reshape expectations across the retail economy.

As billionaire wealth continues to soar and labor protections face renewed political pressure, Prime Day reveals the growing divide between those who profit from convenience and those whose labor makes it possible.

Trump’s IVF Announcement Fails Families—But Duckworth’s Right to IVF Act Could Deliver

PUBLISHED 10/23/2025 by

Last week’s White House announcement is the equivalent of “politely [asking] companies to add IVF coverage out of the goodness of their own hearts—with zero federal investment and no requirement for them to follow through,” says Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

There is, in fact, an alternative to the Trump plan: The Right to IVF Act, introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, would require employer-sponsored health plans and public health insurance, including Medicaid and military plans, to cover treatments. The bill also addresses discrimination and forbids the restriction of access to IVF based on marital status or sexual orientation.

Republicans have voted it down twice.

‘We Need to Shift Who Has Power in This Country’: Cynthia Richie Terrell Knows How We Can Cultivate Gender Balance in Politics

PUBLISHED 7/10/2025 by

In the first episode of the Ms. Studios podcast Looking Back, Moving Forward, Richie Terrell talked to Ms. consulting editor Carmen Rios about the vision of democracy she’s inspired by, practical strategies for advancing gender balance in politics, and what she considers the “gold standard” for equitable voting. 

“It’s no coincidence that the 50 top countries for women’s representation all have either a form of gender quotas, legislative or party-based, or constitutional, or they have a proportional voting system.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Is Effective and Popular—So Why Do Trump and Musk Want to Shut It Down?

PUBLISHED 2/19/2025 by

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are targeting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is the government oversight agency charged with protecting consumers from unfair and unethical practices like predatory lending rates for everything from home mortgages to used cars, junk charges such as “resort” fees at fleabag hotels and surprise “processing fees” or “closing fees” that weren’t disclosed upfront for loans.

And it’s no mystery why; the CFPB has been effective. It has obtained nearly $20 billion in financial relief for U.S. consumers in the form of canceled debts, compensation and reduced loans since its founding.

Unregulated Pregnancy Clinics Collect Health Information From Pregnant People—With No Privacy Protection

PUBLISHED 8/12/2024 by

This summer, the antiabortion movement is mounting an offensive against bipartisan bills to establish federal data privacy protections for Americans and long-overdue online protections for children.

While many unregulated pregnancy clinics, or crisis pregnancy centers, claim HIPAA compliance, they operate under no legal requirement to protect client confidentiality. Thus, they are free to share sensitive information they are collecting from pregnant people as they wish.

“No one should have to worry about their personal health information falling into the hands of anyone who might seek to use that information against them.”

In North Carolina, the U.S.’ Youngest Party Chair Has a Plan for Attracting Voters and Winning Elections in the Battleground State

PUBLISHED 9/5/2023 by and

Elected at 25 years old in North Carolina, Anderson Clayton is the youngest chair of a state Democratic party. In February, Clayton ousted Bobbie Richardson—a woman 48 years her senior who was endorsed by the North Carolina Democratic establishment, including Gov. Roy Cooper.

Clayton’s strategy for revitalizing the Democratic Party in North Carolina—a battleground state in the upcoming 2024 elections—is to expand the party’s base by focusing on young voters and rural communities, which she believes the party has ignored for far too long.

(This article originally appears in the Fall 2023 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get the issue delivered straight to your mailbox!)

The War on Women Report: Republicans Blame Unmarried Women for Midterm Results; 80% of Pregnancy-Related Deaths Can Be Prevented

PUBLISHED 12/8/2022 by

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

This month: Brittney Griner is released from a racist and homophobic penal colony; abortion access is still in shambles despite midterm victories; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to step down; three high-profile mass shootings in a matter of weeks; and more.

Anti-Abortion ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Face New Accountability Post-Roe

PUBLISHED 10/18/2022 by and

Post-Roe, the anti-abortion movement is funneling more resources to crisis pregnancy centers that use these tactics in order to block access to abortion healthcare, both in states with bans and in states that protect reproductive rights.

Over 2,500 crisis pregnancy centers across the U.S. provide virtually no medical services, spreading fabricated claims about the dangers of abortion. Public officials are taking actions to hold CPCs accountable for their deceptive practices.

War on Women Report: Texas Teen Raises $2.2 Million for Abortion Funds; 43 Abortion Clinics Closed; WNBA’s Brittney Griner Sentenced to Nine Years

PUBLISHED 8/11/2022 by

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back.

This week: State courts are shaping the future of abortion; Texas teenager raises $2.2 million for abortion care; WNBA star Brittney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison; and more.