Category: Politics
Are We Doomed to Ever More Inequality?
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 9, 2014 | Economy(Thomas Piketty) America’s ongoing debate over economic inequality may be turning a new page. Starting in the 1980s, during the debate’s first chapter, pundits and policymakers battled over whether the United States was in fact becoming more unequal. This initial debate is over now. No serious analyst argues any longer that the gulf between America’s […]
Obamacare Will Raise Wages
by Polly Cleveland | Feb 9, 2014 | EconomyAccording to New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, “If we’re subsidizing companies, we have every right to demand a living wage for the people they pay.” He’s referring to conventional Democratic Party wisdom that taxpayers subsidize Walmart and other large low-wage employers by providing employees with food stamps, health care, and other public assistance. For […]
When Obama Beat the Lobby
by M.J. Rosenberg | Feb 7, 2014 | Foreign PolicyIt didn’t take much. Just the power of the presidency, the State of the Union, and the whole country watching. Plus the president’s will. And AIPAC’s entire campaign to destroy America’s chance to reach an agreement with Iran crumbled. Within hours, three senators announced they were no longer co-sponsoring AIPAC’s bill to kill the […]
Sustainability Squared
by Polly Cleveland | Feb 7, 2014 | Economy(Source: Mother Jones) How can the world attain a decent, sustainable lifestyle, one that doesn’t wreck our land, water, and air? In fact, we already have the necessary technology, technology that can create more and better jobs. Here are examples from farms, cities, and businesses. Back in 1985, economists Yujiro Hayami and Vernon Ruttan estimated […]
What’s Wrong with Not Having a Job?
by Aaron Bornstein | Feb 7, 2014 | Politics(White House Press Secretary Jay Carney) The Congressional Budget Office predicted that one impact of the Affordable Care Act would be hundreds of thousands of people choosing to work fewer hours, or even not work at all. Republicans immediately attacked the president over this report, while many Congressional Democrats distanced themselves from the policy—Senator Joe […]