by Eric Lotke | Dec 11, 2008 | Blog
China has opened a new subway system every y
by Bill Scher | Dec 11, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. Whither The Auto Rescue While the House passed a $15B temporary auto rescue plan last night, media coverage today focused on potential difficulties...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 10, 2008 | Blog
After the previous post, it seems appropriate to move delusion to delusion. So, let's look into the case of Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan. In what world does Peggy Noonan reside? And what color is the sky there?
by Robert Borosage | Dec 10, 2008 | Blog
Conservatives hail the incoming Obama administration appointments; progressives express misgivings. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill celebrates Barack Obama as "pragmatic," which she says may dismay some "on the left." David Corn says this isn't the change...
by Bill Scher | Dec 10, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. $900 Billion for Main Street More than 200 top economists and labor leaders rally behind Institute for America's Future's $900 billion, 2-year Main Street...
by Bill Scher | Dec 9, 2008 | Blog
Interesting speculation from Politico's Ben Smith: The [Obama-Biden] transition hasn't yet responded to questions about [Illinois Governor] Rod Blagojevich's indictment, but the key question is whether the transition was talking to prosecutors, whether Obama and...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Dec 9, 2008 | Blog
What could be the most important test the progressive movement will face in decades starts now. With the economy facing a historic crisis, the question is whether progressives can unite around a plan to make the economy work for working people again. If progressives...
by Bill Scher | Dec 9, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. ALERT: Major Economic News 2:30 PM ET Today Campaign for America's Future will announce major economic news at 2:30 PM ET today on OurFuture.org. "Bold Big...
by Sam Pizzigati | Dec 8, 2008 | Blog
'Tis the season to be vetted — if you’re angling for a high-ranking post in the incoming Obama administration. Obama transition officials are currently quizzing hundreds of hopefuls, working to get them to reveal the deep, dark personal secrets that, if...
by Bill Scher | Dec 8, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. "Build Baby Build" Calls Grow Louder LA Times notes reaction to Obama's Sat. pledge to "create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 8, 2008 | Blog
In a previous post we explored the spectacle of George W. Bush bungling through an attempt at an expression of remorse — this time over the state of the economy — as only he can. It's what you'd expect from a guy who believed he was on a mission from God,...
by Leo Gerard | Dec 5, 2008 | Blog, Making it in America
In 1941, car manufacturer Willys-Overland demonstrated the strength and sturdiness of its new Army scout vehicle — the Jeep — to Congress by driving it up the U.S. Capitol steps. Invented and manufactured in the USA, the Jeep would become an icon of American...
by Bill Scher | Dec 5, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. "Horrific" Jobs Report At 8:30 AM ET today, the Labor Dept. announced another 533,000 jobs were lost in November, making it 1.7 million 1.9 million jobs...
by Eric Lotke | Dec 4, 2008 | Blog
Previous posts and our report have discussed how America is falling apart. Collapsing bridges, high unemployment, and so forth. In this post I discuss how we are falling behind. China recently announced an economic stimulus package worth $586 billion, roughly 7% of...
by Bill Scher | Dec 4, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. Blizzard of Bad Econ News AP ledes are relentless, deepening the need for a massive economic recovery plan. "...the number of people continuing to receive...
by Robert Borosage | Dec 3, 2008 | Blog
Does President-elect Obama represent the change we need? His mainstream appointments — largely veterans of the Clinton administration — have sparked a clamor from worried supporters. But in one of the critical challenges facing the country — how to get the country out...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 3, 2008 | Blog
It's sad. So sad. It's a sad, sad situation. And it's getting more and more absurd... Oh, it seems to me, that 'sorry' seems to be the hardest word. Elton John, "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" Absurd. That seems like an appropriate word as we watch the "W" era...
by Bill Scher | Dec 3, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. Economic Recovery Plan: The Consensus Grows OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage, over at HuffPost: puts the focus on what should be in the upcoming economic...
by Alan Jenkins | Dec 2, 2008 | Blog, Economy
In his first 100 days, President-elect Obama plans to pass an economic stimulus package that will create or save 2.5 million jobs. Economists estimate that this may require almost $1 trillion in government financing, yet, across the political spectrum, they largely...
by Bill Scher | Dec 2, 2008 | Blog
Last month, I suggested that for their political viability, Republican politicians should join with Democrats around a "Build, Baby, Build" strategy of public investment to rebuild and revitalize our infrastructure. It was likely to happen with or without their...
by Bill Scher | Dec 2, 2008 | Blog
As the new Congress and president forge ahead on an economic recovery plan of at least $500 billion, don't be surprised if you hear conservatives wail that it amounts to wasting $280,000 for every job it creates. And don't believe it. Last week, former Bush...
by Bill Scher | Dec 2, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. Feel That? It's Your Economy Shrinking. The National Bureau of Economic Research declared we've been in recession since December 2007. Washington Monthly's...
by Sam Pizzigati | Dec 1, 2008 | Blog
All eyes this week will be on the return of the auto industry’s Big Three to Capitol Hill. No one knows for sure what will happen with the industry’s bailout request. But one thing seems certain: The Big Three’s CEOs couldn’t possibly give...
by Bill Scher | Dec 1, 2008 | Uncategorized
Progressive Breakfast is the morning roundup of what progressive movement members need to know to start the day. Meet The New Bosses. Obama and Biden to announce new national security team at 10:30 AM ET, expected to feature Sen. Clinton at State, Robert Gates to...
by Eric Lotke | Nov 26, 2008 | Blog
Everybody is saying the same thing. Stimulus plans don’t mean tax rebates worth a few tanks of gas and a restaurant dinner. Stimulus plans means new roads and bridges, aid to states so they won’t lay off nurses and teaching assistants, and a down payment on a new...
by Sam Pizzigati | Nov 25, 2008 | Blog
This hasn’t been a great fall for the brilliant, bright shining superstars who sit at the top of America’s economic ladder. Their genius suddenly seems suspect. From Wall Street to Silicon Valley to Hedge Fund America, the smart boys are reeling. Consider,...
by Bill Scher | Nov 25, 2008 | Blog
As we all know, Mitt Romney is the smartest and greatest businessman that ever graced our land. For some reason, I haven't heard him weigh in on the bailout of Citigroup. But since he already offered a plan for dealing with the struggling auto companies, I imagine we...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Nov 25, 2008 | Blog
In the deluge of financial news, one story that is emblematic of the colossal failure of the conservative approach to government has gotten too little attention: The Washington Post's in-depth look Sunday at the Office of Thrift Supervision. Like so many federal...
by Sara Robinson | Nov 25, 2008 | Blog, Economy, Minimum Wage, Rick Perlstein
Oh, Lordy. It is that time again. Thursday is Thanksgiving— the official kickoff event of the 2008 holiday season. For a lot of progressives, these festivities also mean that we're about to spend more quality time with our conservative relatives over the next six...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Nov 24, 2008 | Blog
Today there are new signs that President-elect Obama's economic team and the Democratic leadership in Congress are prepared to commit to an economic recovery plan that is suited to the scale of the problem. But the progressive movement will still have to push the...
by Bill Scher | Nov 24, 2008 | Blog
Today, the Washington Post casually warns that "the annual federal budget deficit already is spiraling toward $1 trillion -- about 7 percent of the gross domestic product -- a level not seen since the end of World War II," to raise concern about the size of any...
by Sara Robinson | Nov 21, 2008 | Blog
There's an e-mail making the rounds this week: STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS: By the end of Dec. 2008 as announced Circuit City Filed Bankruptcy, they promised to keep all stores open for the holiday season, but afterwards, they plan on closing 155 stores nationwide. Ann...
by Terrance Heath | Nov 21, 2008 | Blog
Reading the headlines over the past week, I'm beginning to wonder if there's a single agency in the United States government that conservatives haven't left in worse shape than they found it. I've been reading about demoralized government employees, under-resourced...
by Bill Scher | Nov 21, 2008 | Blog
Front page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette here in Northampton, MA offers some stark news. Unemployment lines have more than doubled since last year in the Western MA counties of Hampshire and Franklin, and the state unemployment offices don't have the staff yet to...
by Bill Scher | Nov 20, 2008 | Blog
Last week, the progressive mandate was felt in the Senate, as right-leaning Democratic Senator Max Baucus proposed
by Robert Borosage | Nov 19, 2008 | Blog
Free fall. The U.S. has lost private sector jobs for 10 straight months. One quarter of all businesses in the U.S. plan to cut payroll over the next year. Retail sales fell in October by the largest monthly drop on record. Auto sales have collapsed, driving the auto...
by Bill Scher | Nov 19, 2008 | Blog
Rick explored why Mitt Romney is compelled to bury his home state of Michigan and the automobile industry that generated his family's wealth. Let's also explore the fertilizer he's using. In his New York Times oped, Romney says: "First, [the US automakers'] huge...
by Bill Scher | Nov 18, 2008 | Blog
A safe prediction: Compared with the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration is going to invest more public dollars in rebuilding and modernizing American infrastructure. There will certainly be debate over how much investment by our government is needed . The...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Nov 18, 2008 | Blog
In a Library of Congress room across the street from the Capitol, about 100 Capitol Hill staffers, activists and experts gathered to build the case for upending the conventional political wisdom that America can't afford right now to invest in itself and its people....
by Bill Scher | Nov 17, 2008 | Blog
Bernie Horn is right that the most immediate fight we face is to prioritize massive public investment to get the economy back on track and de-prioritize short-term deficit reduction. One thing now is crystal clear: which side the President-Elect is on. On "60 Minutes"...
