by Bill Scher | Aug 25, 2011 | Blog
The latest bold stroke for the growing American Dream movement is this new ad campaign from Democracy for America: Don't Kill The Dream. The DFA campaign -- based at DontKillTheDream.com -- targets obstructionist Republicans who are standing the way of legislation...
by | Aug 24, 2011 | Blog
It looks like we have another outbreak of phony Randroid Rage to deal with. Apparently 67 wealthy fatcats who donated to Obama in 08 have donated to Romney this time around: One Wall Street executive, who requested anonymity, said he and some of his colleagues feel...
by | Aug 24, 2011 | Blog, Economy
The following is an excerpt from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka's address to the United Steelworkers' convention on August 17, 2011. Click here for the full transcript. Brothers and sisters, most of us in this hall still have the good fortune to live a middle-class...
by Bill Scher | Aug 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: "Helpless...
by Richard Eskow | Aug 24, 2011 | Blog
Call it "Helpless President Lit." A recent Ezra Klein column is the latest in a growing genre which celebrates our Commander-in-Chief, not as a powerful leader, but as a perennial victim. It portrays him as someone who's powerless over other people's actions, and...
by Sam Pizzigati | Aug 23, 2011 | Blog
The latest sign that our staggering gap between the rich and everybody else is really messing up modern life? Even purveyors of fine art are now starting to feel irked about inequality. Want to get some cold stares at an art world cocktail party? Just jiggle the ice...
by Dave Johnson | Aug 23, 2011 | Blog
Hey here's a real dog bites man story for you: a really, really rich guy says to readers of billionaire Murdoch's Wall Street Journal that he "deeply resents" paying taxes and whines about how the government does things he doesn't like. This in response to Warren...
by Roger Hickey | Aug 23, 2011 | Blog
The United Steelworkers Union’s new video, “Fighting Spirit” inspires us all to mobilize and fight back against the big money and right-wing forces that are attacking the rights of working people. The video, released at the USW convention, August 15-18. It is now...
by | Aug 23, 2011 | Blog
OK...I'll admit that saying the agreement will be gone by this Christmas is likely (but not necessarily) an overstatement. But saying that the "Budget Control Act" -- the debt ceiling increase/deficit reduction deal signed into law on August 2 -- isn't...
by Bill Scher | Aug 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Today's Big Idea...
by Terrance Heath | Aug 22, 2011 | Blog
We're living in a "Dropout Economy," and it's not the post-apocalyptic, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome fantasy that seems to fuel conservative dreams of a government-free utopia. This Dropout Economy comes at a huge cost in lost wages and lost revenue. A new study...
by Dave Johnson | Aug 22, 2011 | Blog
People are fed up and showing up, making their voices heard, taking action. You might not be seeing very much coverage in the "mainstream" (corporate) news outlets but his has been a summer of increasing action, all following up on the Wisconsin actions. Just a few...
by | Aug 22, 2011 | Blog, Economy
Well here's a shock. We know that after a year of shrieking about deficits, if Democrats propose anything that might actually create jobs the Republicans will have a hissy fit They don't care about the suffering of the people and they only believe in...
by Terrance Heath | Aug 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Today's Big Idea...
by Sam Pizzigati | Aug 20, 2011 | Blog
Investor Warren Buffett last week made an insightful case for higher taxes on America's rich. The reaction to that case, from our wealthy's most ardent defenders, offers insights, too — on our plutocracy. In the United States today, phenomenally rich people pay a...
by Robert Borosage | Aug 19, 2011 | Blog, Economy
President Obama is, in the lingo of the day, “pivoting to jobs.” His bus tour through the Midwest began the process, with the president recycling his current jobs-lite agenda: payroll tax cut extended, infrastructure bank, trade deals, tax cuts for companies that hire...
by | Aug 19, 2011 | Blog, Economy
My analysis of today’s new Bureau of Labor Statistics July data on state employment and jobs suggests that current labor market weakness could be far worse than believed. The BLS sample survey of business and government Establishments shows 31 states, D.C. and the...
by Dave Johnson | Aug 19, 2011 | Blog
Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry, threatening Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, over his efforts to boost the economy: “If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I dunno what y’all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty...
by Bill Scher | Aug 19, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Today's Big Idea...
by Richard Eskow | Aug 18, 2011 | Blog
The stock market's plunging as of this writing, as the global economy reels from the destructive consequences of austerity economics. Yet in Washington, politicians are moving full speed ahead in their determination to impose a rigorous new program of... austerity...
by | Aug 18, 2011 | Blog, Economy
Robert Reich will be a featured speaker at the Take Back the American Dream conference, convening in Washington D.C., from October 3 to 5. The following was originally published at RobertReich.com. The President is sounding like a fighter these days. He even says...
by Bill Scher | Aug 18, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Today's Big Idea:...
by | Aug 17, 2011 | Blog
I am watching the D.C. press fall for Rick Perry's macho swagger right before my eyes. And Democrats won't do anything about it because it might offend someone who identifies with him, so it's likely to go on for a little while, especially if he solidifies as the...
by Bill Scher | Aug 17, 2011 | Blog
In his first Iowa presidential campaign swing, Gov. Rick Perry made a bizarre and baseless accusation that the Obama admininstration was going to force farmers to get a commercial licenses if they drive their tractors across public roads. But perhaps even more...
by Richard Eskow | Aug 17, 2011 | Blog
Back in my corporate days I sat in a boardroom with one of the most powerful and fearsome CEOs in the country. He had called in the executives that designed his employee benefits program and asked them to propose changes to the corporation's retirement and health...
by Bill Scher | Aug 17, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Today's Big Idea...
by Bill Scher | Aug 16, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: What A Real Jobs...
by Richard Eskow | Aug 16, 2011 | Blog
The old folks used to say money was "the root of all evil." Anyone watching our economy over the last few years might be tempted to say that "evil is the root of all money," or to paraphrase that old John Lennon lyric about God and say that "Money is a concept by...
by Robert Borosage | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog
According to reports, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to announce today that his appointees to the super committee Gang of 12 will be Sens. John Kerry, Patty Murray and Max Baucus. Reid apparently has chosen not to appoint Sens. Bernie Sanders or Sherrod Brown...
by Bill Scher | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog
A precedent was set in the debt limit deal. If there is a crisis that so imminently threatens America's foundation that the well-being of our children and grandchildren is at risk, then we must suspend the effective supermajority requirement for passing legislation in...
by Richard Eskow | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog
An unelected and unrepresentative group they call the 'Super Committee' has been given extraordinary power over our own economic destiny. Think if it as a political Justice League of America, except that its mission is to rescue Treasury bonds, not people. Problem is,...
by Robert Borosage | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog
Today on "Democracy Now!", Robert Borosage discussed the "dangerously wrongheaded" path the Super Committee appears to be taking. Video is above and transcript is below. AMY GOODMAN: Talk about this "super committee," what its powers are, first. ROBERT BOROSAGE: Well,...
by | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog
Social Security has just turned 76. Although the program has been forced to fend off attacks over the past year, we’re proud to say it’s still here and working hard for the American people. Here are just a few of the gifts that Social Security has given us in its 76...
by | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog
As President Obama hits the road on his jobs agenda bus tour, millions of individuals trying to re-enter the job market, seeking to eke out a modest living so that they too can live the American Dream – or what’s left of it anyway – are stuck in a rut. They write...
by Dave Johnson | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog, Economy
Here is everything you need to know about how to fix the deficits and jobs problems. This is a chart of job creation over the last few years: There is a report in Saturday's New York Times, "White House Debates Fight on Economy," saying the Obama administration is...
by Bill Scher | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog
In his presidential campaign announcement speech on Saturday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry actually said this: We’re dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax. And you know the liberals out there are saying that we need to pay...
by Bill Scher | Aug 15, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Why Pawlenty Went...
by Bill Scher | Aug 14, 2011 | Blog
In 2007, I attended the biggest conservative annual confab, CPAC. One speaker after another tried to outdo each other for the biggest tall tale, the loudest embrace of Reagan or the most outrageous slander of liberals. But one speaker sought to challenge conservative...
by Sam Pizzigati | Aug 14, 2011 | Blog
What made last week's rioting in London all the more 'achingly sad'? The rioters weren't challenging greed. They were celebrating it. We really need to understand why. Oppressed people riot. Oppression and rioting have gone together for millennia. But the young...
by Terrance Heath | Aug 12, 2011 | Blog
It's come to this. As much as it pains me to say it, I wish we had more Republicans who think like Newt Gingrich. It pains me even more to say this, but I wish we had more Democrats who like Newt Gingrich. Ah, but I should be more specific. I wish we had more...
