Archive
Government Spending Improves Lives - In China
Have you heard that China is sending people into space? Have you heard about China's high-speed rail lines linking their major cities? Have you heard that China has built the fastest supercompouter in the world? These are results of the dreaded "government spending"...
North Carolina State Senator Calls 'Moral Monday' Protesters 'Moral Morons'
"The appeal for each Moral Monday has been the same: urging legislators to govern for the good of the whole, rather than for the wealthy." — Rev. William Barber. Since April, North Carolina citizens have been gathering at the state capital in Raleigh for "Moral...
Snapping at SNAP: Hunger In The Name of Austerity
Starting today, Massachusetts Rep. James McGovern is joining the state’s Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz and other Massachusetts officials in the “SNAP challenge.” For the next seven days, they are going to be living off a food budget of $31.50,...
With The Closure of Its Public Broadcaster, Will Greece Fade to Black Under Austerity?
The IMF has "acknowledged major mistakes" in Greece's bailout, and admitted to seriously underestimating the severity of Greece's downturn. Yet the Greek government continues with draconian spending cuts, in order to comply with the austerity measures based upon those...
New "Pirates" Report On Corporate Tax Havens
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) has just released a report on tax havens, Corporate Pirates of the Caribbean. The report shows that the corporations engaged in the "Fix the Debt" austerity push would gain up to $173 billion in tax breaks from their proposal for...
Fighting For Our Classrooms, and For the Human Beings Inside Them
It seems as if the same battle is being fought in every aspect of American society. On one side are the forces of egalitarianism, economic opportunity and self-determination. On the other is a well-funded and entrenched elite bent on hijacking our media, our political...
Women Fighting For Their Homes Face Jail, While Bankers Go Free
Seven homeowners who have faced foreclosure by some of the nation’s biggest banks after doing the best they could to save their homes faced a D.C. Superior Court judge Tuesday. They were in court for the act of civil disobedience their financial plight had driven them...
The Great Grand Bargain Divergence
This is a fascinating account of how the Grand Bargain came to be the tired conventional wisdom among the Village wonk crowd. (I'm characterizing it that way, not the author, the esteemed Larry Mishel. ) It's required reading for anyone who has been following this story for the past few years.
A Conversation On Obama / Xi China 'Summit' Outcome
This week I hosted a blogger call to discuss the outcome of last week's Friday/Saturday meetings between President Obama and Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping. None of this matters much, unless you care about your job,...
Boehner's New Debt Limit Ransom: Cuts On Top Of Sequester
With the House Republican caucus still squabbling over what ransom they should demand for an increase in the debt limit, Speaker John Boehner issued his own threat yesterday. According to Roll Call, Boehner wants "another round of spending cuts beyond the sequester."...
