DeMond Bush was living in his friend’s basement in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2017 when he heard about a job that could help him get beyond his past. Since getting out of prison two years earlier, the 43-year-old had cycled through day labor and temp work but hadn’t been able to find anything stea.
The government gives hundreds of millions of dollars in Work Opportunity Tax Credits to temp agencies, even if the jobs they offer don’t lead to permanent employment. Many top recipients of the credit have long records of labor violations.
Throughout the COVID pandemic, from initial contact tracing to the current vaccine rollout, the nation’s greatest logistical powerhouse the military has been left on the sidelines. Why?