by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 16, 2016 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
It's a distressingly familiar story: African-American unemployment nationwide remains more than twice that of white people: In the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute using Labor Department data, unemployment among...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 16, 2016 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
With the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's death Saturday, the court's ideologically conservative 5-4 majority is no more. One big case this affects is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which the conservative ideological majority on the...
by Leo Gerard | Feb 16, 2016 | Blog, Economy
One percenters have it all, extra houses, extra cars, even an exclusive legal defense if they kill, “affluenza,” to keep them out of jail. But until last week, they felt unfairly denied access to the benefits of social welfare organizations, United Way, Habitat for...
by People's Action | Feb 16, 2016 | Breakfast
Dems Jockey For African-American Vote Sanders gains on Clinton nationally. Politico: "...the latest national NBC News/SurveyMonkey weekly online tracking poll released Tuesday [shows] Hillary Clinton's advantage over Bernie Sanders has narrowed to its smallest in the...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 16, 2016 | Blog, Conservatism, Economy, Jobs and Growth
With one question, moderator Gwen Ifill flipped the script on race relations in America during the last Democratic presidential debate. Now, Democrats must learn how to answer it. Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff of PBS made history at the Democratic presidential debate...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 12, 2016 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
Give the feds credit. Playing the long game in the Oregon standoff worked. Not only did they bring in the last of the wannabe “militiamen” without giving them what they wanted, federal agents also nabbed the grandfather of them all. They were going to be hailed as...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 12, 2016 | Blog, Conservatism, Election 2016
Corporate conservatives have taken notice of the Bernie Sanders campaign, and has started accusing him of "buying votes" by "promising" "free stuff." Is it true? Here are some examples of what the corporate/billionaire-funded right is saying: ● American Thinker,...
by People's Action | Feb 12, 2016 | Breakfast
Nevada Presidential Forum Saturday Bernie Sanders and Clinton surrogate to appear Saturday, Feb. 13th 11:30 AM PT/2:30 PM PT, at forum organized by Nevada community groups. Click here for Livestream: Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Cory Booker (representing Hillary...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 12, 2016 | Blog, Election 2016, Progressive Vision
Thursday night’s Democratic debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin once more featured strong performances from both candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Each consolidated the support of his or her followers. Neither suffered a blow that would damage their...
by Eric Lotke | Feb 12, 2016 | Blog, Progressive Vision
Two centuries and nearly two decades ago, our fathers brought forth a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. We have improved since that time. "Men" has come to include women. African Americans have acquired...
by Larry Cohen | Feb 11, 2016 | Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
After seven years of secretive negotiations, the presidential primary has finally dragged the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from the shadows. And just in time. The TPP is called a “trade” deal, but it’s really a deal to make trade more profitable for corporations...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 11, 2016 | Blog, Education
What do Republicans have against school boards? That's a question to take away from a recent article in The Washington Post, in which education writer Lyndsey Layton reports that Republican governors and legislators in at least 11 states are in various stages of...
by Bill Scher | Feb 11, 2016 | Blog, Climate
While most of the political world was watching the New Hampshire returns, the Supreme Court Tuesday raised the possibility it would kill President Obama's ambitious plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants. On a 5-4 ruling along ideological lines, the Court...
by Bill Scher | Feb 11, 2016 | Uncategorized
Dem Debate Tonight Dems debate tonight on PBS at 9 PM ET. Sanders team thinks Clinton is cornered. The Atlantic's Ron Brownstein: "If she portrays Sanders’s agenda as unrealistic, they believe they can accuse her of limiting Democratic ambitions only to the ideas...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 11, 2016 | Blog, Election 2016, Progressive Vision
Robert Borosage explores the meaning for progressives of Bernie Sanders' resounding popular-vote win in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary and the political jockeying in the contests ahead. In this one-hour discussion sponsored by the Public Leadership...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 11, 2016 | Blog, Climate, Conservatism, Democracy, Economy, This Is The GOP
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan is just the tip of the iceberg. We are living in a nation of Flints, thanks to racial bias, economic inequality, austerity and conservative governance. We can’t afford to kid ourselves about what it will take to fix it. Clean water...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 10, 2016 | Blog, Democracy, Progressive Vision
Many say we should "run government like a business" and "save money" by "cutting spending" and "making government smaller." Does this work? Do We the People really save money by doing these things? Have you heard the phrase “penny-wise and pound-foolish”? How about "a...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 10, 2016 | Election 2016, Progressive Vision
Is Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) electable? As Sanders has surged in the polls, supporters of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are issuing increasingly dire warnings about his general election prospects. On websites like Vox, many political scientists agree:...
by Bill Scher | Feb 10, 2016 | Uncategorized
Establishment Upended in NH Establishment candidates rejected in NH. Politico: "If the country’s fatigue with the prospect of a Clinton-Bush presidential matchup has hovered above this 2016 race like a latent current of electricity, Tuesday’s New Hampshire results...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 10, 2016 | Blog, Election 2016, Progressive Vision
“We have sent a message that will resound from Wall Street to Washington,“ presidential candidate Bernie Sanders exulted last night, after drubbing Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary. On the Republican side, Donald Trump won convincingly as predicted. The...
by Hedrick Smith | Feb 9, 2016 | Democracy
In a stunning defeat for what one judge called “gerrymandering on steroids,” a three-judge federal court has ruled that the Republican gerrymandering of North Carolina’s congressional districts in 2011 was unconstitutional on grounds that it was racially driven...
by Stephen Lerner | Feb 9, 2016 | Blog, Democracy, Economy, Financial Reform, Progressive Vision
Hedge funds and their billionaire managers offer up a powerful symbol of the forces that are driving America’s political and economic inequality. Getting the names and faces of these hedge fund billionaires before the public can help us tell a vivid story of what’s...
by Bill Scher | Feb 9, 2016 | Blog
Which presidential candidate said this? If we don't adapt to the reality of a changing climate there could be serious repercussions ... I think the climate is changing. It is inconceivable to me that 5 billion people living on this planet don't have an impact on that...
by Leo Gerard | Feb 9, 2016 | Blog, Trans-Pacific Partnership
A century ago, Carl Sandburg dubbed Chicago the City of Big Shoulders: “hog butcher for the world, tool maker, stacker of wheat, player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler; stormy, husky brawling.” All of this was true of America itself as well: Nation of...
by People's Action | Feb 9, 2016 | Breakfast
NH Votes Politico lays out where the votes are for NH Dems: "About 30 percent of the potential voters in the state are different people than in 2008," ... explained Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center ... Voter-rich and filled with...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 9, 2016 | Blog, Election 2016, Retirement Security
As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is being celebrated by progressive Social Security advocates for posting a statement on Twitter late Friday that "I won't cut Social Security," let's not forget why it was important to get Clinton to go on the...
by Robert Reich | Feb 8, 2016 | Blog, Progressive Vision
Instead of “Yes we can,” many Democrats have adopted a new slogan this election year: “We shouldn’t even try.” We shouldn’t try for single-payer system, they say. We’ll be lucky if we prevent Republicans from repealing Obamacare. We shouldn’t try for a $15 an hour...
by Jim Hightower | Feb 8, 2016 | Blog, Climate, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
One big difference between the rich and the poor in our country is that the rich don’t tend to have their drinking water poisoned by their own governor. Not that Republican Governor Rick Snyder personally dumped poison into Flint, Michigan’s water. But by dumping his...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 8, 2016 | Blog, Election 2016, Financial Reform
Secretary Hillary Clinton has accepted millions in "speaking fees" and campaign contributions from interest groups – most notably Wall Street firms – that she will be in a position to help or hurt as president. She promises that the money will not influence her if she...
by People's Action | Feb 8, 2016 | Breakfast
NH Gets Heated For Dems Sanders defines his agenda as mainstream. W. Post quotes: "It is not a radical idea to say that public education should go through college ... We can afford these programs because we’re going to transfer some of that wealth back." Democratic...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 8, 2016 | Blog
[fve]https://youtu.be/Ro1XpTPXjV4[/fve] Economic inequality inspired Occupy Wall Street, a movement that in a few short months transformed our political discourse with the concept of the "1 percent" and the "99 percent." Today the presidential candidacy of Bernie...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 5, 2016 | Conservatism, This Is The GOP
Meet Ted Cruz, the Republican winner of the Iowa caucuses. He’s a liar, a jerk, and nobody who knows him remotely well — including his fellow Republicans and, quite possibly, his own family — appears to like him much. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) barely had time to bask in...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 5, 2016 | Blog, Trade
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday that the December goods and services trade deficit was an enormous, humongous $43.4 billion. Imports were up, exports were down. The cause was a "stronger" dollar, decreased demand around the world thanks to "austerity" policies...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 5, 2016 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
The headlines being generated by Friday's jobs report from the Labor Department – the unemployment rate falling below 5 percent for the first time since November 2007 – are a temptation to have policymakers and some politicians to pull their "Mission Accomplished"...
by People's Action | Feb 5, 2016 | Breakfast
Clinton, Sanders In Fierce Debate Clinton, Sanders debate who can best bring change. WSJ: "She described herself more as a battle-scarred veteran who has learned the hard way that it is best to do the work within the real world without, as she said, 'making promises...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 5, 2016 | Blog, Progressive Vision
The face-off between Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton last night in New Hampshire highlighted the strengths and vulnerabilities of both. Both put in impressive, strong performances. Both got their message out. Voters are left to decide whom they...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 4, 2016 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
From the moment he launched his presidential bid, conventional wisdom said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wouldn’t even get close to becoming president. This week Cruz won the Iowa Caucuses, and got a little closer to the White House. Here’s why that should scare you. Cruz’s...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 4, 2016 | Blog, Education
The big news about education policy in the presidential race is that there is no news. As Laura Moser writes for Slate, “None of the candidates are talking about education. Like, at all.” At Salon, parent and public school activist Bertis Downs argues that even the...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 4, 2016 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
Our government has been on a privatization binge for some time. Things that We the People used to just do federally or through state and local governments were closed down and private corporations were hired to do those things instead. This "saved money" because the...
by Bill Scher | Feb 4, 2016 | Blog
[fve]https://youtu.be/WIR9GZlmj7A[/fve] Today, Marco Rubio surrogate Rick Santorum was stumped when asked by MSNBC's Joe Scarborough to name one Rubio accomplishment. Santorum pleaded that Rubio's short time in the Senate was a period when "nothing got done" so of...
