by Richard Eskow | May 12, 2015 | Blog, Retirement Security
For The Huffington Post's 10th anniversary I was asked to predict what Social Security might look like 10 years from now. That future is filled with both possibility and shadowed by danger. To understand exactly how rich those possibilities are, let's begin by looking...
by Terrance Heath | May 12, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Election 2016, This Is The GOP
UPDATE: Check out my latest post: 13 More of Ben Carson's Craziest Beliefs! In an increasingly crowded field, Republican presidential candidates and hopefuls are struggling to stand out, but Ben Carson stands out for all the wrong reasons. If he keeps it up, the famed...
by Bill Scher | May 12, 2015 | Uncategorized
High Noon For Fast Track Vote Suspense thick before Senate procedural vote on fast-track today. The Hill: "...with most Democrats now demanding that all four trade bills — fast-track, TAA, a customs enforcement bill and a package of trade preferences for African...
by Leo Gerard | May 12, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
America is in an abusive relationship with trade-obsessed politicians and corporations. Despite their long history of battering the U.S. middle class with bad trade deal after bad trade deal, these lawmakers and CEOs contend workers should believe that their new...
by Dave Johnson | May 12, 2015 | Blog
As the Senate begins consideration today of the "fast track" trade promotion authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Obama says that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expressing concerns because she is "a politician." The president's statement demeaning what...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 12, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
With Washington in paralysis over how to pay for billions of dollars in needed improvements to our transportation network, the conversation has increasingly turned to what are best called "deals with the Devil." Sometimes the deals involve turning over traditionally...
by Digby | May 11, 2015 | Conservatism
This story about a presidential visit to South Dakota: The motorcade wouldn’t pass for at least another hour, but already a small crowd was forming on the sidewalk. They huddled under blankets, carried signs and set up lawn chairs. “Am I wasting my time standing...
by Robert Reich | May 11, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
On Friday, President Obama chose Nike headquarters in Oregon to deliver a defense of his proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. It was an odd choice of venue. Nike isn’t the solution to the problem of stagnant wages in America. Nike is the problem. It’s true that over...
by Bill Scher | May 11, 2015 | Blog
In my pre-UK election explainer, I noted that projections showed Labour taking a net of about three dozen seats from the ruling Conservatives. That ended up being one. There are certainly reasons for UK Conservatives and US conservatives to cheer. The ruling party bet...
by Bill Scher | May 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
Fast Track Procedural Vote Tomorrow Full court press from WH before Tuesday fast track vote. NYT: "...after lobbying members of Congress in a campaign that has included rides on Air Force One, meetings in the West Wing, private vows of political support and public...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 11, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
A broad combination of labor, business and transportation advocacy organizations have declared this week to be “Infrastructure Week.” And the week is not off to a good start. The coalition behind the declaration wants to make this a time to show the need for, and the...
by Dave Johnson | May 8, 2015 | Blog
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled the voting process for trade promotion authority, commonly known as "fast track," to begin as early as Tuesday. If passed, fast track prohibits the Congress from amending trade agreements no matter what problems...
by Terrance Heath | May 8, 2015 | Conservatism, This Is The GOP
They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and it looks like that applies to right-wing freak-outs, too. Things in the Lone Star State have gotten so loony that every former Texas governor Rick Perry can’t make sense of it. On Monday morning, Americans were shocked by...
by Dave Johnson | May 8, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
Speaking at Nike's headquarters today, President Obama said this about the Trans-Pacific Partnership: "So when you look at a country like Vietnam, under this agreement, Vietnam would actually, for the first time, have to raise its labor standards. It would have to set...
by Dean Baker | May 8, 2015 | Current Issues, Financial Reform
This week marks the fifth anniversary of the flash crash. For those who don’t remember, the Flash Crash was when the stock market lost almost 9 percent of its value from its opening level, with most of this decline occurring in a 5-minute period. The market quickly...
by Sam Pizzigati | May 8, 2015 | Blog
Global economic inequality, the latest stats show, has reached astounding proportions. The world’s richest 1 percent last year held 48 percent of the world’s wealth, up from 44 percent in 2009. The world’s poorest 80 percent, for their part, hold a meager 5.5 percent...
by Bill Scher | May 8, 2015 | Uncategorized
BREAKING: Jobs Up, Wages Flat 223K new jobs in April. NYT: "The American job market rebounded in April, the government said Friday, as employers added 223,000 positions and the unemployment rate decreased to 5.4 percent ..." But austerity still holding us back, says...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 8, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
The April jobs report released today was good enough to prompt some in Wall Street and Washington to breathe a sigh of relief, but it is not nearly good enough to meet the standard of sustainable job and wage growth, and shared prosperity. As has been true for the...
by Mary Green Swig | Steven L. Swig | Richard Eskow | May 8, 2015 | Blog, Education
MaryGreenSwig Steven L.Swig RichardEskow “The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it.” – John Adams, 1785 Momentum is building for an exciting “new” idea, one which is in fact far older than...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Economy
In March I asked "Are Republicans Insane Enough To Propose a Balanced Budget?" because balancing the budget in 10 years without any tax increases would mean embracing politically suicidal cuts. The answer: Yes, they are! Republicans not only proposed it, they passed...
by Mary Bottari | May 7, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
New data out today indicates that the U.S. trade deficit has swelled to the highest level in more than six years. This flood of imports robs American workers of jobs and saps the economic recovery. Yet President Obama is escalating pressure on Congress to approve...
by Bill Scher | May 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
Nike Visit Roils Trade Debate Puzzlement over Obama's planned TPP stump speech at Nike HQ. HuffPost: "Nike, which is regarded as a pioneer in overseas outsourcing, has a long and checkered labor history in Vietnam ... Nike has helped make significant safety...
by Robert Borosage | May 7, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the famous New Democrat who clashed with progressive New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and blocked his pledge to raise the minimum wage in New York City, now writes in the New York Times that fast food workers need a raise. ...
by Dave Johnson | May 7, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
President Obama is scheduled to visit Nike's Oregon headquarters on Friday to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Yes, Nike – a company that grew to billions by outsourcing jobs to overseas sweatshops, a company that sets up P.O.-box subsidiaries in tax...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 7, 2015 | Conservatism
Here we go again. If you believe the latest emanations from the right-wing fever swamps, President Obama is coming to take away your Christmas lights. "Federal Agency to Regulate Christmas Lights," warns The Daily Signal, the Heritage Foundation news site....
by Terrance Heath | May 6, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Election 2016, This Is The GOP
The addition of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee — along with Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina — to the increasingly crowded field of GOP presidential hopefuls officially makes this the week of the long-shot GOP candidates. Huckabee’s path to the White House is a...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 6, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
Former Obama administration economist Jared Bernstein is taking his former White House colleagues to task in his new book, "The Reconnection Agenda," for a missed connection between trade policy and jobs. Specifically, Bernstein disagrees with the administration's...
by Dave Johnson | May 6, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
This week's news reports make it seem as if President Obama might be preparing to jump into the Republican presidential primaries, using trade as his issue. He should be careful, though: That's a (very) crowded field, and using trade to empower corporations over...
by Bill Scher | May 6, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
Thursday election in Great Britain will be a fascinating case study on multiple levels. Can an incumbent party survive a record of austerity? How can a party recover from past failures on the economy? Can the left side of the ideological spectrum come to agreement on...
by Bill Scher | May 6, 2015 | Uncategorized
Fast Track Heading To Senate Floor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sets up fast track vote. WSJ: "The Senate leader said Tuesday that he planned to bring the trade measure up for a vote after the chamber finishes work on a bill to give Congress final review...
by Isaiah J. Poole | May 5, 2015 | Economy, Tax Reform
"The effects of state tax policy on economic growth, entrepreneurship, and employment remain controversial," begins the abstract of a study of state tax policy just released by the Brookings/Urban Institute Tax Policy Center. But that's only in the same sense that the...
by Dave Johnson | May 5, 2015 | Blog, Trade
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the March goods and services trade deficit was $51.4 billion. This was an increase of $15.5 billion, or 43.1 percent, from the revised figure of $35.9 billion in February. March exports were $187.8 billion, up $1.6 billion...
by Terrance Heath | May 5, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Election 2016, This Is The GOP
For a brief, shining moment, Carly Fiorina was all over the media after announcing her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. That’s probably because she made a point of turning her presidential bid into “this weird girl fight” with Clinton, as...
by Bill Scher | May 5, 2015 | Uncategorized
Reid Moves To Filibuster Fast Track Sen. Harry Reid pledges to delay consideration of fast track. HuffPost: "Reid said he has spoken with his leadership team and is confident Democratic senators will stick together ... 'We're not going to lay over ... until we have...
by Terrance Heath | May 5, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Election 2016
Two more candidates joined the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday. Of the two, retired brain surgeon Ben Carson is the one likely to have the most impact. That makes it frightening how much Carson just doesn’t get. Carson went back to his roots...
by Hugh Espey | May 4, 2015 | Blog, Populist Majority, Progressive Vision
A few weeks ago, Hillary Clinton did a well-staged, two-day swing through Iowa, meeting with small groups of people and some media along the way. Afterwards she said we have some great ideas for a better future. She’s right about that, and she’s right that this...
by Dave Johnson | May 4, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
[fve]https://youtu.be/sDls5C4a_kU[/fve] The trade promotion authority bill – fast track – is expected to come to the floor of the Senate soon for debate and then a vote, possibly even this week. It could also reach the House floor sometime this month. This is the big...
by Robert Borosage | May 4, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
“Patriotism," as Samuel Johnson warned, "is the last refuge for a scoundrel.” As the administration has ratcheted up the pressure to pass fast track authority that will grease the skids for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)accords, it increasingly invokes national...
by Bill Scher | May 4, 2015 | Uncategorized
Students Demand Debt Relief "Sen. Warren Receives 240,000 Cancel All Student Debt Signatures" reports OurFuture.org's Roger Hickey: 240,000 signatures urging Washington to CANCEL ALL STUDENT DEBT were delivered last week to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a champion for...
by Richard Eskow | May 4, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Progressive Vision
When asked about Baltimore last week, President Obama said this: “... if we think that we’re just gonna send the police to do the dirty work of containing the problems that arise (in our inner cities), without as a nation and as a society saying what can we do to...
