Category: Economy
On the Web’s Silver Anniversary
by Sam Pizzigati | Mar 13, 2014 | EconomyExactly 25 years ago, the British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee (pictured) conceptually “invented” the World Wide Web—and set in motion a process that would rapidly make the online world an essential part of our daily lives. By 1995, 14 percent of Americans were surfing the web. The level today: 87 percent. And among young […]
Striking to Save a Great University
by Marjorie Elizabeth Wood | Mar 13, 2014 | EconomyEarlier this year, hundreds of faculty members at the University of Illinois-Chicago canceled their classes and went on strike. In the first faculty walkout in UIC history, they picketed the campus for two days. What could professors possibly have to complain about? Nearly everything. And it might not be what you think. Today, more […]
Pay Attention to the Precariat
by John Russo | Feb 24, 2014 | Economy, PoliticsThe precariat is the growing class of insecure workers whose wages and working conditions do not provide economic stability. It ought to be getting more attention in American political discourse. I have urged mainstream journalists covering labor issues to use the term, which is increasingly being used in Europe. Several reporters have told me […]
Congress Should Give ‘Low-Wage Breadwinners’ a Raise
by John Stoehr | Feb 24, 2014 | Economy(Source: CNNMoney) The Republicans are giddy after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a new report suggesting as many as 1 million jobs might be lost if the federal minimum wages goes from $7.25 per hour to $10.10, as proposed by President Barack Obama. Indeed, that sounds like a lot. Why focus on wages when […]
Increasing the Minimum Wage Can Create Jobs—If It’s Enforced
by Polly Cleveland | Feb 19, 2014 | Economy(Source: The Gazette) Back when I first studied economics, we “proved” in class that a minimum wage causes unemployment. You just draw supply and demand curves for labor, add a horizontal line for a wage above the “market clearing” competitive equilibrium wage, and—bingo!—a gap appears between labor supply and labor demand. Employers routinely violate current […]