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Robert Reich (View How Many People Read This)
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Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, has a new film, "Inequality for All," to be released September 27. He blogs at www.robertreich.org.
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Saturday, March 16, 2019
Trump Cornered In Trump's mind, congressional investigations that could cause him shame and humiliation, and quite possibly result in a prison sentence, will be countered by forces loyal to him: the police, the military, and vigilante groups like Bikers for Trump.
Saturday, March 16, 2019Trump Cornered In Trump's mind, congressional investigations that could cause him shame and humiliation, and quite possibly result in a prison sentence, will be countered by forces loyal to him: the police, the military, and vigilante groups like Bikers for Trump.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Republican's Big Lies About Jobs (And Why Obama Must Repudiate Them) To his credit, President Obama argued against Republican demands for extending the Bush tax cut for those making more than a quarter million. But as soon as Republicans pushed back he caved. And the President hasn't even mentioned that the $61 billion Republicans are demanding in budget cuts this fiscal year is what richer Americans would have paid in taxes had he not caved.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011The Republican's Big Lies About Jobs (And Why Obama Must Repudiate Them) To his credit, President Obama argued against Republican demands for extending the Bush tax cut for those making more than a quarter million. But as soon as Republicans pushed back he caved. And the President hasn't even mentioned that the $61 billion Republicans are demanding in budget cuts this fiscal year is what richer Americans would have paid in taxes had he not caved.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Paul Ryan Still Doesn't Get It The Ryan plan has put Republicans in a corner. Some, like Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and, briefly, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, are rejecting the plan altogether. Most, though, are holding on and holding their breath. After all, House Republicans approved it -- and voters don't especially like flip-floppers.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011Paul Ryan Still Doesn't Get It The Ryan plan has put Republicans in a corner. Some, like Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and, briefly, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, are rejecting the plan altogether. Most, though, are holding on and holding their breath. After all, House Republicans approved it -- and voters don't especially like flip-floppers.
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Friday, September 21, 2012
What Mitt Romney Really Represents Mitt Romney is not a traitor to his class. He is a sponsor of his class. He wants to cut their taxes by $3.7 trillion over the next decade, and hasn't even specified what "loopholes" he'd close to make up for this gigantic giveaway. And he wants to cut benefits that almost everyone else relies on -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, unemployment insurance, and housing assistance.
Friday, September 21, 2012What Mitt Romney Really Represents Mitt Romney is not a traitor to his class. He is a sponsor of his class. He wants to cut their taxes by $3.7 trillion over the next decade, and hasn't even specified what "loopholes" he'd close to make up for this gigantic giveaway. And he wants to cut benefits that almost everyone else relies on -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, unemployment insurance, and housing assistance.
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Monday, December 7, 2015
What to Do About Disloyal Corporations By deserting America, Pfizer relinquishes its right to influence American politics. If Pfizer or any other American corporation wants to leave America to avoid U.S. taxes, that's their business. But they should no longer get any of the benefits of American citizenship -- because they've stopped paying for them.
Monday, December 7, 2015What to Do About Disloyal Corporations By deserting America, Pfizer relinquishes its right to influence American politics. If Pfizer or any other American corporation wants to leave America to avoid U.S. taxes, that's their business. But they should no longer get any of the benefits of American citizenship -- because they've stopped paying for them.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Gas Wars Nothing drives voter sentiment like the price of gas -- now averaging $3.56 a gallon, up 30 cents from the start of the year. It's already hit $4 in some places. The last time gas topped $4 was 2008. And nothing energizes Republicans like rising energy prices. Last week House Speaker John Boehner told Republicans to take advantage of voters' looming anger over prices at the pump.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012The Gas Wars Nothing drives voter sentiment like the price of gas -- now averaging $3.56 a gallon, up 30 cents from the start of the year. It's already hit $4 in some places. The last time gas topped $4 was 2008. And nothing energizes Republicans like rising energy prices. Last week House Speaker John Boehner told Republicans to take advantage of voters' looming anger over prices at the pump.
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Friday, February 15, 2013
The Minimum Wage, Guns, Healthcare, and the Meaning of a Decent Society Every society must necessarily decide for itself what decency requires. That's the very meaning of a "society." The questions we face -- whether to raise the minimum wage, restrict the availability of guns, expand healthcare coverage, and countless other decisions -- inevitably require us to define what we mean by a decent society.
Friday, February 15, 2013The Minimum Wage, Guns, Healthcare, and the Meaning of a Decent Society Every society must necessarily decide for itself what decency requires. That's the very meaning of a "society." The questions we face -- whether to raise the minimum wage, restrict the availability of guns, expand healthcare coverage, and countless other decisions -- inevitably require us to define what we mean by a decent society.
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Sunday, April 10, 2011
Why the Right-Wing Bullies Will Hold The Nation Hostage Again and Again Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress refuse to refute the Republicans' big lie -- that spending cuts will lead to more jobs. In fact, spending cuts now will lead to fewer jobs. They'll slow down an already anemic recovery. That will cause immense and unnecessary suffering for millions of Americans.
Sunday, April 10, 2011Why the Right-Wing Bullies Will Hold The Nation Hostage Again and Again Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress refuse to refute the Republicans' big lie -- that spending cuts will lead to more jobs. In fact, spending cuts now will lead to fewer jobs. They'll slow down an already anemic recovery. That will cause immense and unnecessary suffering for millions of Americans.
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Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Decline of the Public Good Wall Street's entitlement is the biggest offered by the federal government, even though it doesn't show up in the budget. And it's not even a public good. It's just private gain. We have private goods available to the very rich, supported by the rest of us. Even Lady Thatcher would have been appalled.
Thursday, January 5, 2012The Decline of the Public Good Wall Street's entitlement is the biggest offered by the federal government, even though it doesn't show up in the budget. And it's not even a public good. It's just private gain. We have private goods available to the very rich, supported by the rest of us. Even Lady Thatcher would have been appalled.
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Sunday, July 8, 2012
The Wall Street Scandal of all Scandals Just when you thought the Street had hit bottom, an even deeper level of public-be-damned greed and corruption is revealed. Fatigue and cynicism are self-fulfilling; nothing will be done if we succumb to them. The question is whether the unfolding Libor scandal will provide enough ammunition and energy to finally get the job done.
Sunday, July 8, 2012The Wall Street Scandal of all Scandals Just when you thought the Street had hit bottom, an even deeper level of public-be-damned greed and corruption is revealed. Fatigue and cynicism are self-fulfilling; nothing will be done if we succumb to them. The question is whether the unfolding Libor scandal will provide enough ammunition and energy to finally get the job done.
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
Not Enough to Impeach Trump -- Entire Presidency Should Be Annulled Trump's presidency is not authorized under the United States Constitution. The only way I see the end of Trump is if there's overwhelming evidence he rigged the 2016 election. In which case impeachment isn't an adequate remedy. His presidency should be annulled.Let me explain.
Saturday, August 25, 2018Not Enough to Impeach Trump -- Entire Presidency Should Be Annulled Trump's presidency is not authorized under the United States Constitution. The only way I see the end of Trump is if there's overwhelming evidence he rigged the 2016 election. In which case impeachment isn't an adequate remedy. His presidency should be annulled.Let me explain.
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Saturday, July 28, 2018
6 Reasons For Hope In Trump Times Donald Trump has been a giant wake-up call that we can't take democracy for granted. The young people of America get this. I've been teaching for 40 years and I don't recall a generation as committed to social justice, reforming this country, and making it work for all and not just a few.
Saturday, July 28, 20186 Reasons For Hope In Trump Times Donald Trump has been a giant wake-up call that we can't take democracy for granted. The young people of America get this. I've been teaching for 40 years and I don't recall a generation as committed to social justice, reforming this country, and making it work for all and not just a few.
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Monday, April 4, 2011
Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich Some of the super rich will move their money to the Cayman Islands and other tax shelters. But paying taxes is a central obligation of citizenship, and those who take their money abroad in an effort to avoid paying American taxes should lose their American citizenship.
Monday, April 4, 2011Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich Some of the super rich will move their money to the Cayman Islands and other tax shelters. But paying taxes is a central obligation of citizenship, and those who take their money abroad in an effort to avoid paying American taxes should lose their American citizenship.
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012
How Romney Keeps Lying Through His Big White Teeth The Romney campaign has decided it won't be dictated by fact-checkers. But a society without trusted arbiters of what is true and what is false is vulnerable to every lie imaginable. Democracy cannot thrive in such a place. To the contrary, history teaches that this is where demagogues take root.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012How Romney Keeps Lying Through His Big White Teeth The Romney campaign has decided it won't be dictated by fact-checkers. But a society without trusted arbiters of what is true and what is false is vulnerable to every lie imaginable. Democracy cannot thrive in such a place. To the contrary, history teaches that this is where demagogues take root.
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Sunday, February 9, 2020
Michael Bloomberg is trying to buy the presidency - that should set off alarms The heart of Bloomberg's campaign message is that he has enough money to blow Trump out of the water. As if to demonstrate this, Bloomberg bought a $10m Super Bowl ad that slammed Trump in the middle of the big game.
Sunday, February 9, 2020Michael Bloomberg is trying to buy the presidency - that should set off alarms The heart of Bloomberg's campaign message is that he has enough money to blow Trump out of the water. As if to demonstrate this, Bloomberg bought a $10m Super Bowl ad that slammed Trump in the middle of the big game.
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Sunday, February 24, 2019
"You're fired!" America has already terminated Trump When the public fires a president before election day, as it did Jimmy Carter, Nixon and Herbert Hoover, they don't send him a letter telling him he's fired. They just make him irrelevant. Politics happens around him, despite him. He's not literally gone but he might as well be. It's happened to Trump. The courts and House Democrats are moving against him. Senate Republicans are quietly subverting him. He's fired.
Sunday, February 24, 2019"You're fired!" America has already terminated Trump When the public fires a president before election day, as it did Jimmy Carter, Nixon and Herbert Hoover, they don't send him a letter telling him he's fired. They just make him irrelevant. Politics happens around him, despite him. He's not literally gone but he might as well be. It's happened to Trump. The courts and House Democrats are moving against him. Senate Republicans are quietly subverting him. He's fired.
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Saturday, July 21, 2018
Is Trump A Traitor? Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki was a betrayal of the nation he has a sworn duty to protect. Never before has a President of the United States so brazenly sided with a ruthless dictator intent on destroying American democracy. If this is not treason, what is it?
Saturday, July 21, 2018Is Trump A Traitor? Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki was a betrayal of the nation he has a sworn duty to protect. Never before has a President of the United States so brazenly sided with a ruthless dictator intent on destroying American democracy. If this is not treason, what is it?
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
The Two Stories of This Terrible Economy, Yet Obama and the Dems Won't Tell Theirs Big business has used the Great Recession as an opportunity to slash payrolls and cut wages and is now sitting on a $1.8 trillion mountain of cash it refuses to use to create new jobs. We're in this mess because of big business and Wall Street. Government is needed to get us out of it.
Saturday, August 28, 2010The Two Stories of This Terrible Economy, Yet Obama and the Dems Won't Tell Theirs Big business has used the Great Recession as an opportunity to slash payrolls and cut wages and is now sitting on a $1.8 trillion mountain of cash it refuses to use to create new jobs. We're in this mess because of big business and Wall Street. Government is needed to get us out of it.
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Wednesday, July 11, 2018
What We Can Do About Trump's Escalating Lies Trump doesn't hold press conferences. He doesn't meet in public with anyone who disagrees with him. He denigrates the mainstream press. And he shuns experts. Instead, his lies go out to tens of millions of Americans every day unmediated. Over 50 million Americans receive his daily tweets, which are also brimming with lies.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018What We Can Do About Trump's Escalating Lies Trump doesn't hold press conferences. He doesn't meet in public with anyone who disagrees with him. He denigrates the mainstream press. And he shuns experts. Instead, his lies go out to tens of millions of Americans every day unmediated. Over 50 million Americans receive his daily tweets, which are also brimming with lies.
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Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Truth About the American Economy The fundamental economic challenge ahead is to restore the vast American middle class. That requires resurrecting the basic bargain linking wages to overall gains, and providing the middle class a share of economic gains sufficient to allow them to purchase more of what the economy can produce.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011The Truth About the American Economy The fundamental economic challenge ahead is to restore the vast American middle class. That requires resurrecting the basic bargain linking wages to overall gains, and providing the middle class a share of economic gains sufficient to allow them to purchase more of what the economy can produce.
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Wednesday, July 4, 2018
How To Prevent Future Trumps If America doesn't respond to the calamity that's befallen the working class, we will have Trumps as far as the eye can see. A few Democrats are getting the message -- pushing ambitious ideas like government-guaranteed full employment, single-payer health care, industry-wide collective bargaining, and a universal basic income.
Wednesday, July 4, 2018How To Prevent Future Trumps If America doesn't respond to the calamity that's befallen the working class, we will have Trumps as far as the eye can see. A few Democrats are getting the message -- pushing ambitious ideas like government-guaranteed full employment, single-payer health care, industry-wide collective bargaining, and a universal basic income.
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Saturday, March 3, 2018
Kushner's Unconscionable Conflicts Kushner is such an easy mark that officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways to manipulate him with financial deals, according to U.S. intelligence. Kushner is doing his own bit to destroy American democracy -- actions almost as treasonous as if he colluded with Russians to make his father-in-law president.
Saturday, March 3, 2018Kushner's Unconscionable Conflicts Kushner is such an easy mark that officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways to manipulate him with financial deals, according to U.S. intelligence. Kushner is doing his own bit to destroy American democracy -- actions almost as treasonous as if he colluded with Russians to make his father-in-law president.
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Saturday, February 16, 2019
Dictator Trump Trump's current attack on American democracy through his assertion of a fake national emergency is intended to distract from this larger attack on America. No matter. Both threaten the essence of the nation. There is only one answer: Donald Trump must be removed from office. Impeachment should start immediately.
Saturday, February 16, 2019Dictator Trump Trump's current attack on American democracy through his assertion of a fake national emergency is intended to distract from this larger attack on America. No matter. Both threaten the essence of the nation. There is only one answer: Donald Trump must be removed from office. Impeachment should start immediately.
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Friday, July 6, 2018
What are we going to do? The GOP itself is no longer a political party. It is now little more than Donald Trump, Fox News, a handful of billionaire funders and right-wing Christians who oppose a woman's right to choose, gay marriage and the Constitution's separation of church and state.
Friday, July 6, 2018What are we going to do? The GOP itself is no longer a political party. It is now little more than Donald Trump, Fox News, a handful of billionaire funders and right-wing Christians who oppose a woman's right to choose, gay marriage and the Constitution's separation of church and state.
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Saturday, December 16, 2017
A Guide to Why the Trump-Republican Tax Plan is a Disgrace (When you Confront Republican Uncle Bob During the Holidays) At a time when the richest 1 percent already have 40 percent of all the wealth in the country, it's immoral to give them even more -- especially when financed partly by 13 million low-income Americans who will lose their health coverage as a result of this tax plan.
Saturday, December 16, 2017A Guide to Why the Trump-Republican Tax Plan is a Disgrace (When you Confront Republican Uncle Bob During the Holidays) At a time when the richest 1 percent already have 40 percent of all the wealth in the country, it's immoral to give them even more -- especially when financed partly by 13 million low-income Americans who will lose their health coverage as a result of this tax plan.
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Thursday, November 22, 2012
Why You Shouldn't Shop at Walmart on Friday What happens at Walmart will have consequences extending far beyond the company. Other big box retailers are watching carefully. Walmart is their major competitor. Its pay scale and working conditions set the standard. The widening inequality reflected in the gap between the pay of Walmart workers and the returns to Walmart investors, including the Walton fammily, haunts the American economy.
Thursday, November 22, 2012Why You Shouldn't Shop at Walmart on Friday What happens at Walmart will have consequences extending far beyond the company. Other big box retailers are watching carefully. Walmart is their major competitor. Its pay scale and working conditions set the standard. The widening inequality reflected in the gap between the pay of Walmart workers and the returns to Walmart investors, including the Walton fammily, haunts the American economy.
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Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party The modern Democratic Party is not likely to embrace left-wing populism the way the GOP has embraced -- or, more accurately, been forced to embrace -- right-wing populism. Just follow the money, and remember history.
Saturday, October 8, 2011The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party The modern Democratic Party is not likely to embrace left-wing populism the way the GOP has embraced -- or, more accurately, been forced to embrace -- right-wing populism. Just follow the money, and remember history.
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Saturday, May 2, 2015
The Political Roots of Widening Inequality Corporate executives and Wall Street managers and traders have done everything possible to prevent the wages of most workers from rising in tandem with productivity gains, in order that more of the gains go instead toward corporate profits. Higher corporate profits have meant higher returns for shareholders and for the executives and bankers themselves.
Saturday, May 2, 2015The Political Roots of Widening Inequality Corporate executives and Wall Street managers and traders have done everything possible to prevent the wages of most workers from rising in tandem with productivity gains, in order that more of the gains go instead toward corporate profits. Higher corporate profits have meant higher returns for shareholders and for the executives and bankers themselves.
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Saturday, November 18, 2017
The Backlash Against the Bullies Sexual assault is one obvious assertion of dominance. Other forms include economic bullying and the stoking of bigotry to gain political power. Trump epitomizes it all. The revolt against Trump is a backlash against bullying in all its forms. Powerful and wealthy men who have felt free to impose their will on others, regardless of the pain they cause, may be in for a rude awakening.
Saturday, November 18, 2017The Backlash Against the Bullies Sexual assault is one obvious assertion of dominance. Other forms include economic bullying and the stoking of bigotry to gain political power. Trump epitomizes it all. The revolt against Trump is a backlash against bullying in all its forms. Powerful and wealthy men who have felt free to impose their will on others, regardless of the pain they cause, may be in for a rude awakening.
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Saturday, August 6, 2011
Why S&P Has No Business Downgrading the U.S. Pardon me for asking, but who gave Standard & Poor's the authority to tell America how much debt it has to shed, and how? If we pay our bills, we're a good credit risk. If we don't, or aren't likely to, we're a bad credit risk. When, how, and by how much we bring down the long term debt--or, more accurately, the ratio of debt to GDP--is none of S&P's business.
Saturday, August 6, 2011Why S&P Has No Business Downgrading the U.S. Pardon me for asking, but who gave Standard & Poor's the authority to tell America how much debt it has to shed, and how? If we pay our bills, we're a good credit risk. If we don't, or aren't likely to, we're a bad credit risk. When, how, and by how much we bring down the long term debt--or, more accurately, the ratio of debt to GDP--is none of S&P's business.
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
Trump And The Art Of The No Deal Donald Trump promised to be America's dealmaker-in-chief, touting his "extraordinary" ability to negotiate. But so far, Trump has shown he can't make a deal. Trump can't make deals. He can only pull out of deals already made, or pretend he's made deals that soon evaporate, or give away the store. He's perfected the art of the no deal.
Sunday, August 12, 2018Trump And The Art Of The No Deal Donald Trump promised to be America's dealmaker-in-chief, touting his "extraordinary" ability to negotiate. But so far, Trump has shown he can't make a deal. Trump can't make deals. He can only pull out of deals already made, or pretend he's made deals that soon evaporate, or give away the store. He's perfected the art of the no deal.
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
Why Obama Isn't Fighting the Budget Battle Obama's challenge in 2012 has nothing to do with Bill Clinton's in 1996. He must fight the Republican plans to cut the budget deficit this year and next, and explain to the public why he's doing so. And he must convince Americans that public spending during the next few years is necessary to get the economy moving, reduce the long-term debt as a portion of the total economy, and get jobs back.
Saturday, March 12, 2011Why Obama Isn't Fighting the Budget Battle Obama's challenge in 2012 has nothing to do with Bill Clinton's in 1996. He must fight the Republican plans to cut the budget deficit this year and next, and explain to the public why he's doing so. And he must convince Americans that public spending during the next few years is necessary to get the economy moving, reduce the long-term debt as a portion of the total economy, and get jobs back.
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Monday, September 12, 2011
The Oddness of the President's Upcoming Deficit-Reduction Plan If the President wants to show his creds on deficit reduction, at least put in a trigger that begins to lower the deficit only when unemployment falls to 6 percent. Our national crisis is joblessness and low wages, not the deficit.
Monday, September 12, 2011The Oddness of the President's Upcoming Deficit-Reduction Plan If the President wants to show his creds on deficit reduction, at least put in a trigger that begins to lower the deficit only when unemployment falls to 6 percent. Our national crisis is joblessness and low wages, not the deficit.
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Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Mr. President: Why Medicare Isn't the Problem, It's the Solution Estimates of how much would be saved by extending Medicare to cover the entire population range from $58-billion to $400-billion a year. More Americans would get quality health care, and the long-term budget crisis would be sharply reduced. Medicare isn't the problem. It's the solution.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011Mr. President: Why Medicare Isn't the Problem, It's the Solution Estimates of how much would be saved by extending Medicare to cover the entire population range from $58-billion to $400-billion a year. More Americans would get quality health care, and the long-term budget crisis would be sharply reduced. Medicare isn't the problem. It's the solution.
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Friday, January 6, 2017
The Three Big Reasons Republicans Can't Replace Obamacare The only practical answer to these three dilemmas is Medicare for all -- a single payer system. But Republicans would never go for it. So without Obamacare, Republicans are left with nothing. Zilch. Nada. Except the prospect of more than 20 million people losing their health insurance, and a huge redistribution from the working class to the very rich.
Friday, January 6, 2017The Three Big Reasons Republicans Can't Replace Obamacare The only practical answer to these three dilemmas is Medicare for all -- a single payer system. But Republicans would never go for it. So without Obamacare, Republicans are left with nothing. Zilch. Nada. Except the prospect of more than 20 million people losing their health insurance, and a huge redistribution from the working class to the very rich.
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Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Republican Strategy The Republican strategy is to split the vast middle and working class -- pitting unionized workers against non-unionized, public-sector workers against non-public, older workers within sight of Medicare and Social Security against younger workers who don't believe these programs will be there for them, and the poor against the working middle class.
Thursday, February 17, 2011The Republican Strategy The Republican strategy is to split the vast middle and working class -- pitting unionized workers against non-unionized, public-sector workers against non-public, older workers within sight of Medicare and Social Security against younger workers who don't believe these programs will be there for them, and the poor against the working middle class.
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Follow the Money: Behind Europe's Debt Crisis Lurks Another Giant Bailout of Wall Street Regulators still don't know what's happening on the Street. They have no clear picture of the derivatives exposure of giant U.S. financial institutions. Which is why Washington officials are terrified -- and why Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner keeps begging European officials to bail out Greece and the other deeply-indebted European nations.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011Follow the Money: Behind Europe's Debt Crisis Lurks Another Giant Bailout of Wall Street Regulators still don't know what's happening on the Street. They have no clear picture of the derivatives exposure of giant U.S. financial institutions. Which is why Washington officials are terrified -- and why Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner keeps begging European officials to bail out Greece and the other deeply-indebted European nations.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Newt's Tax Plan, and Why His Polls Rise the More Outrageous He Becomes Most forecasts of the budget deficit cover 10 years. The elusive goal of the White House and many on both sides of the aisle in Congress is to reduce that 10-year deficit by 3 to 4 trillion dollars. Newt goes in the other direction, with gusto. Increasing the deficit by $850 billion in a single year is beyond the wildest imaginings of the least responsible budget mavens within a radius of three thousand miles from Washington.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011Newt's Tax Plan, and Why His Polls Rise the More Outrageous He Becomes Most forecasts of the budget deficit cover 10 years. The elusive goal of the White House and many on both sides of the aisle in Congress is to reduce that 10-year deficit by 3 to 4 trillion dollars. Newt goes in the other direction, with gusto. Increasing the deficit by $850 billion in a single year is beyond the wildest imaginings of the least responsible budget mavens within a radius of three thousand miles from Washington.
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Tuesday, December 25, 2018
The US is on the edge of the economic precipice -- Trump may push it over The shutdown is stoking fears that Trump could do something even more alarming. He might fail to authorize an increase in government borrowing before the federal debt reaches the current limit, which Congress extended to 2 March. A default by the US on its obligations would be more calamitous than a government shutdown.
Tuesday, December 25, 2018The US is on the edge of the economic precipice -- Trump may push it over The shutdown is stoking fears that Trump could do something even more alarming. He might fail to authorize an increase in government borrowing before the federal debt reaches the current limit, which Congress extended to 2 March. A default by the US on its obligations would be more calamitous than a government shutdown.
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Monday, May 28, 2018
America's Megalomaniac Trump got excited about a summit with Kim when he thought it might win him praise, even possibly a Nobel Peace Prize. He got cold feet when he feared Kim might be setting him up for humiliating failure. Now he's back to dreaming about the Prize. The delicate balance in Trump's brain between glorification and mortification can tip either way at any moment, depending on his hunches.
Monday, May 28, 2018America's Megalomaniac Trump got excited about a summit with Kim when he thought it might win him praise, even possibly a Nobel Peace Prize. He got cold feet when he feared Kim might be setting him up for humiliating failure. Now he's back to dreaming about the Prize. The delicate balance in Trump's brain between glorification and mortification can tip either way at any moment, depending on his hunches.
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Saturday, November 25, 2017
Fools or Knaves? There are two kinds of liars -- fools and knaves. Fools lie because they don't know the truth. Knaves lie because they intend to mislead. Trump is both, because he doesn't even care enough about the truth to find out what it is. He'll say whatever he thinks will get people to believe what he wants them to believe.
Saturday, November 25, 2017Fools or Knaves? There are two kinds of liars -- fools and knaves. Fools lie because they don't know the truth. Knaves lie because they intend to mislead. Trump is both, because he doesn't even care enough about the truth to find out what it is. He'll say whatever he thinks will get people to believe what he wants them to believe.
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Sunday, May 26, 2019
Trump's wrecking ball assaults American government. Luckily, it is strongly built Americans have sharply different views about what government should do, whether on abortion, guns, immigration or any number of hot-button issues. But we broadly agree about how government should go about resolving our differences. This distinction between what we disagree about and how we settle those disagreements is crucial.
Sunday, May 26, 2019Trump's wrecking ball assaults American government. Luckily, it is strongly built Americans have sharply different views about what government should do, whether on abortion, guns, immigration or any number of hot-button issues. But we broadly agree about how government should go about resolving our differences. This distinction between what we disagree about and how we settle those disagreements is crucial.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
THE SEVEN BIGGEST ECONOMIC LIES Demagogues through history have known that big lies, repeated often enough, start being believed -- unless they're rebutted. These seven economic whoppers are just plain wrong. Make sure you know the truth -- and spread it on.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011THE SEVEN BIGGEST ECONOMIC LIES Demagogues through history have known that big lies, repeated often enough, start being believed -- unless they're rebutted. These seven economic whoppers are just plain wrong. Make sure you know the truth -- and spread it on.
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Saturday, May 28, 2011
The Republican Death Wish Let the GOP go after Medicare. That will do more to elect Democrats in 2012 than anything else. But it would be wise and politically astute for Democrats to go beyond just defending Medicare. Strengthen and build upon it. Use it to reform American health care and, not incidentally, rescue the federal budget.
Saturday, May 28, 2011The Republican Death Wish Let the GOP go after Medicare. That will do more to elect Democrats in 2012 than anything else. But it would be wise and politically astute for Democrats to go beyond just defending Medicare. Strengthen and build upon it. Use it to reform American health care and, not incidentally, rescue the federal budget.
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Monday, April 25, 2016
The Endgame of 2016's Anti-Establishment Politics Anyone who assumes a wholesale transfer of loyalty from Sanders's supporters to Clinton, or from Trump's to another Republican standard-bearer, may be in for a surprise. The anti-establishment fury in the election of 2016 may prove greater than supposed.
Monday, April 25, 2016The Endgame of 2016's Anti-Establishment Politics Anyone who assumes a wholesale transfer of loyalty from Sanders's supporters to Clinton, or from Trump's to another Republican standard-bearer, may be in for a surprise. The anti-establishment fury in the election of 2016 may prove greater than supposed.
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Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Donald Trump lies like most people breathe. The swamp was there before Trump got to Washington. One of the first tasks of the next president must be to drain the swamp and make sure our government works for the people, not corporations and special interests.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020Donald Trump lies like most people breathe. The swamp was there before Trump got to Washington. One of the first tasks of the next president must be to drain the swamp and make sure our government works for the people, not corporations and special interests.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2015
The Rise of the Working Poor and the Non-Working Rich The specter of an entire generation doing nothing for their money other than speed-dialing their wealth management advisers is not particularly attractive. It puts more and more responsibility for investing a substantial portion of the nation's assets into the hands of people who have never worked. It also endangers our democracy, as dynastic wealth inevitably and invariably accumulates political influence and power.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015The Rise of the Working Poor and the Non-Working Rich The specter of an entire generation doing nothing for their money other than speed-dialing their wealth management advisers is not particularly attractive. It puts more and more responsibility for investing a substantial portion of the nation's assets into the hands of people who have never worked. It also endangers our democracy, as dynastic wealth inevitably and invariably accumulates political influence and power.
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Saturday, July 3, 2010
Slouching Toward a Double Dip or a Lousy Recovery at Best The bank bailout, the stimulus, and the Fed brought us back from the brink just enough to dampen zeal for anything more. As a result, we are now slouching toward a tepid recovery that could just as well fall into a double dip recession, while a large portion of our population suffers immensely.
Saturday, July 3, 2010Slouching Toward a Double Dip or a Lousy Recovery at Best The bank bailout, the stimulus, and the Fed brought us back from the brink just enough to dampen zeal for anything more. As a result, we are now slouching toward a tepid recovery that could just as well fall into a double dip recession, while a large portion of our population suffers immensely.
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Friday, October 19, 2012
How Obama Can Smoke Out Mitt: Call for Breaking Up the Biggest Banks, and Resurrecting Glass-Steagall The President should counter Romney's extraordinary solicitude toward the Street with a proposal to cap the size of the nation's biggest banks so that no bank is ever again too big to fail. And to resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act, which once separated commercial from investment banking. This would smoke out Mitt Romney -- revealing clearly and decisively he's not on the side of most Americans.
Friday, October 19, 2012How Obama Can Smoke Out Mitt: Call for Breaking Up the Biggest Banks, and Resurrecting Glass-Steagall The President should counter Romney's extraordinary solicitude toward the Street with a proposal to cap the size of the nation's biggest banks so that no bank is ever again too big to fail. And to resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act, which once separated commercial from investment banking. This would smoke out Mitt Romney -- revealing clearly and decisively he's not on the side of most Americans.
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Sunday, January 19, 2020
Trump is on trial for abuse of power -- the Davos elites should be in the dock too As the Senate debates Donald Trump's future, chief executives, financiers and politicians will descend on Davos in the Swiss Alps for their annual self-congratulatory defense of global capitalism
Sunday, January 19, 2020Trump is on trial for abuse of power -- the Davos elites should be in the dock too As the Senate debates Donald Trump's future, chief executives, financiers and politicians will descend on Davos in the Swiss Alps for their annual self-congratulatory defense of global capitalism
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Saturday, January 13, 2018
Straight Talk About the Shithole President Normal presidents may exaggerate; some occasionally lie. But Trump has taken lying to an entirely new level. He lies like other people breath. Almost nothing that comes out of his mouth can assumed to be true. For Trump, lying is part of his overall strategy, his MO, and his pathology. Not to call them lies, or to deem him a liar, is itself misleading.
Saturday, January 13, 2018Straight Talk About the Shithole President Normal presidents may exaggerate; some occasionally lie. But Trump has taken lying to an entirely new level. He lies like other people breath. Almost nothing that comes out of his mouth can assumed to be true. For Trump, lying is part of his overall strategy, his MO, and his pathology. Not to call them lies, or to deem him a liar, is itself misleading.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
New Year Predictions: The Tea Party Strategy and U.S. Economy in 2011 Tea Party conservatives wouldn't mind a government shutdown over the health-care mandate. What will happen to the US economy in 2011? If you're referring to profits of big corporations and Wall Street, next year is likely to be a good one. But if you're referring to average American workers, far from good.
Thursday, December 30, 2010New Year Predictions: The Tea Party Strategy and U.S. Economy in 2011 Tea Party conservatives wouldn't mind a government shutdown over the health-care mandate. What will happen to the US economy in 2011? If you're referring to profits of big corporations and Wall Street, next year is likely to be a good one. But if you're referring to average American workers, far from good.
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Monday, March 9, 2015
The Conundrum of Corporation and Nation Most big American corporations have no particular allegiance to America. They don't want Americans to have better wages. Their only allegiance and responsibility to their shareholders -- which often requires lower wages to fuel larger profits and higher share prices.
Monday, March 9, 2015The Conundrum of Corporation and Nation Most big American corporations have no particular allegiance to America. They don't want Americans to have better wages. Their only allegiance and responsibility to their shareholders -- which often requires lower wages to fuel larger profits and higher share prices.
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Sunday, September 16, 2012
Why Romney and Ryan are Going Down Romney, Ryan, and the GOP don't seem to know how to satisfy their middle-aged white male base without at the same time turning off everyone who's not white, male, straight, or middle-aged. Unfortunately for Romney and Ryan, the people they're turning off are the majority.
Sunday, September 16, 2012Why Romney and Ryan are Going Down Romney, Ryan, and the GOP don't seem to know how to satisfy their middle-aged white male base without at the same time turning off everyone who's not white, male, straight, or middle-aged. Unfortunately for Romney and Ryan, the people they're turning off are the majority.
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Monday, October 15, 2018
The Truth About the Trump Economy Trump slashed taxes on the wealthy and promised everyone else a $4,000 wage boost. But the boost never happened. That's a big reason why Republicans aren't campaigning on their tax cut, which is just about their only legislative accomplishment.
Monday, October 15, 2018The Truth About the Trump Economy Trump slashed taxes on the wealthy and promised everyone else a $4,000 wage boost. But the boost never happened. That's a big reason why Republicans aren't campaigning on their tax cut, which is just about their only legislative accomplishment.
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Sunday, October 1, 2017
The Growing Irrelevance of President Trump Trump is still a dangerous showman and conman -- tweeting condemnations of critics and ranting before friendly crowds at his never-ending campaign rallies. He continues to fuel bigotry and meanness. He has reduced America's standing in the world. His outbursts could start a nuclear war. But when it comes to the actual work of governing America, Trump is becoming utterly and completely irrelevant.
Sunday, October 1, 2017The Growing Irrelevance of President Trump Trump is still a dangerous showman and conman -- tweeting condemnations of critics and ranting before friendly crowds at his never-ending campaign rallies. He continues to fuel bigotry and meanness. He has reduced America's standing in the world. His outbursts could start a nuclear war. But when it comes to the actual work of governing America, Trump is becoming utterly and completely irrelevant.
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Saturday, November 23, 2019
The Myth of Voter Fraud -- And the Truth About What's Threatening Our Elections Donald Trump and his enablers have been making claims of widespread voter fraud, alleging millions of people are voting illegally in order to rig our elections.
Saturday, November 23, 2019The Myth of Voter Fraud -- And the Truth About What's Threatening Our Elections Donald Trump and his enablers have been making claims of widespread voter fraud, alleging millions of people are voting illegally in order to rig our elections.
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Friday, October 6, 2017
Memo to Tillerson about the Moron Let Trump fire you. That would reveal what a moron he is. If you really want to serve the best interests of this nation, you might want to consider meeting with Mattis, Kelly, and Vice President Pence. Come up with a plan for getting most of the cabinet to join in a letter to Congress saying Trump is unable to discharge the duties of his office. Under the 25th Amendment, that would mean Trump is fired.
Friday, October 6, 2017Memo to Tillerson about the Moron Let Trump fire you. That would reveal what a moron he is. If you really want to serve the best interests of this nation, you might want to consider meeting with Mattis, Kelly, and Vice President Pence. Come up with a plan for getting most of the cabinet to join in a letter to Congress saying Trump is unable to discharge the duties of his office. Under the 25th Amendment, that would mean Trump is fired.
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Sunday, April 26, 2015
Why So Many Americans Feel So Powerless Our economy and society depend on most people feeling the system is working for them. But a growing sense of powerlessness in all aspects of our lives -- as workers, consumers, and voters -- is convincing most people the system is working only for those at the top.
Sunday, April 26, 2015Why So Many Americans Feel So Powerless Our economy and society depend on most people feeling the system is working for them. But a growing sense of powerlessness in all aspects of our lives -- as workers, consumers, and voters -- is convincing most people the system is working only for those at the top.
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Wednesday, December 14, 2011
An Offer to the President So here's the deal: We'll reelect you. We'll stand behind you. We'll give you a mandate to do all this -- and more -- in your second term. As long as you stand behind us.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011An Offer to the President So here's the deal: We'll reelect you. We'll stand behind you. We'll give you a mandate to do all this -- and more -- in your second term. As long as you stand behind us.
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Wednesday, February 12, 2020
5 Ways Donald Trump Has Not Drained the Swamp In order to truly stop the corruption of our democracy, we have to fix what's broken. We must get big money out of politics, end the flow of lobbyists in and out of government, and strengthen ethics laws.
Wednesday, February 12, 20205 Ways Donald Trump Has Not Drained the Swamp In order to truly stop the corruption of our democracy, we have to fix what's broken. We must get big money out of politics, end the flow of lobbyists in and out of government, and strengthen ethics laws.
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Thursday, March 29, 2018
Is Trump The Worst President In American History? A president's most fundamental legal and moral responsibility is to uphold and protect our system of government. Donald Trump has degraded that system. Donald Trump is degrading the core institutions and values of our democracy. But America is fighting back. In the face of the worst president in history, we are at our best when striving to strengthen our democracy.
Thursday, March 29, 2018Is Trump The Worst President In American History? A president's most fundamental legal and moral responsibility is to uphold and protect our system of government. Donald Trump has degraded that system. Donald Trump is degrading the core institutions and values of our democracy. But America is fighting back. In the face of the worst president in history, we are at our best when striving to strengthen our democracy.
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Saturday, March 4, 2017
The Unnerving Reasons for Trump's Rant Whatever the reason for Trump's rant, America is in deep trouble. We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid, or is making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason. Each of these possibilities is as worrying as the other.
Saturday, March 4, 2017The Unnerving Reasons for Trump's Rant Whatever the reason for Trump's rant, America is in deep trouble. We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid, or is making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason. Each of these possibilities is as worrying as the other.
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
The Growing Danger of Dynastic Wealth Maybe Gary Cohn is correct that only morons pay the estate tax. But if he and his boss were smart and they cared about America's future, they'd raise taxes on great wealth. Roosevelt's fear of an American dynasty is more applicable today than ever before.
Sunday, September 17, 2017The Growing Danger of Dynastic Wealth Maybe Gary Cohn is correct that only morons pay the estate tax. But if he and his boss were smart and they cared about America's future, they'd raise taxes on great wealth. Roosevelt's fear of an American dynasty is more applicable today than ever before.
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Sunday, November 10, 2019
Billionaires fear Warren and Sanders -- but they should fear us all If unearned income were treated the same as earned income under the tax code, America's non-working rich wouldn't be billionaires. And if capital gains weren't eliminated at death, their heirs wouldn't be, either.
Sunday, November 10, 2019Billionaires fear Warren and Sanders -- but they should fear us all If unearned income were treated the same as earned income under the tax code, America's non-working rich wouldn't be billionaires. And if capital gains weren't eliminated at death, their heirs wouldn't be, either.
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Monday, December 31, 2018
America's New Year's resolution: impeach Trump and remove him At least twice in the past month he has reportedly raged against his acting attorney general for allowing federal prosecutors to reference him in the crimes his former bagman Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to committing. This is potentially the most direct obstruction of justice yet.
Monday, December 31, 2018America's New Year's resolution: impeach Trump and remove him At least twice in the past month he has reportedly raged against his acting attorney general for allowing federal prosecutors to reference him in the crimes his former bagman Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to committing. This is potentially the most direct obstruction of justice yet.
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Saturday, April 6, 2019
Mitch McConnell is destroying the Senate -- and American government McConnell doesn't give a fig about the Senate, or about democracy. He cares only about winning. On the eve of the 2010 midterm elections he famously declared that his top priority was for Barack Obama "to be a one-term president."
Saturday, April 6, 2019Mitch McConnell is destroying the Senate -- and American government McConnell doesn't give a fig about the Senate, or about democracy. He cares only about winning. On the eve of the 2010 midterm elections he famously declared that his top priority was for Barack Obama "to be a one-term president."
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Tuesday, July 17, 2018
The Fog Of Truth Trump uses 5 tactics to create a fog of confusion and bewilderment, so we don't pay attention to the real damage he's doing -- undermining our democracy; rewarding the rich and hurting the working class, middle class, and the poor; stoking hatefulness; and undercutting America's standing in the world.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018The Fog Of Truth Trump uses 5 tactics to create a fog of confusion and bewilderment, so we don't pay attention to the real damage he's doing -- undermining our democracy; rewarding the rich and hurting the working class, middle class, and the poor; stoking hatefulness; and undercutting America's standing in the world.
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Sunday, April 29, 2018
How To Stop Trump... If America doesn't respond to the calamity that's befallen the working class, we'll have Trumps as far as the eye can see. A few Democrats are getting the message -- pushing ambitious ideas like government-guaranteed full employment, single-payer health care, industry-wide collective bargaining, and a universal basic income.
Sunday, April 29, 2018How To Stop Trump... If America doesn't respond to the calamity that's befallen the working class, we'll have Trumps as far as the eye can see. A few Democrats are getting the message -- pushing ambitious ideas like government-guaranteed full employment, single-payer health care, industry-wide collective bargaining, and a universal basic income.
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Saturday, July 29, 2017
Trump's Big Loss Trump doesn't want his base to perceive him as a loser. So be prepared for scorched-earth politics from the Oval Office, including more savage verbal attacks on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, more baseless charges of voter fraud in the 2016 election, and further escalation of the culture wars. Donald Trump has never been committed to the rule of law. For him, it's all about winning.
Saturday, July 29, 2017Trump's Big Loss Trump doesn't want his base to perceive him as a loser. So be prepared for scorched-earth politics from the Oval Office, including more savage verbal attacks on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, more baseless charges of voter fraud in the 2016 election, and further escalation of the culture wars. Donald Trump has never been committed to the rule of law. For him, it's all about winning.
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Trump's impeachment shows US officials at their best and his allies at their worst As a candidate in 2015, Donald Trump said he would surround himself "only with the best and most serious people." Not quite.
Sunday, November 24, 2019Trump's impeachment shows US officials at their best and his allies at their worst As a candidate in 2015, Donald Trump said he would surround himself "only with the best and most serious people." Not quite.
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Two Major Views About Why Romney is Losing, and Why the Second is More Convincing Romney's failing isn't that he's a bad candidate. To the contrary, he's giving this GOP exactly what it wants in a candidate. And that's exactly the problem for Romney -- as it is for every other Republican candidate -- because what the GOP wants is not at all what the rest of America wants.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012The Two Major Views About Why Romney is Losing, and Why the Second is More Convincing Romney's failing isn't that he's a bad candidate. To the contrary, he's giving this GOP exactly what it wants in a candidate. And that's exactly the problem for Romney -- as it is for every other Republican candidate -- because what the GOP wants is not at all what the rest of America wants.
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Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Rebirth of Social Darwinism Social Darwinism offered a moral justification for the wild inequities and social cruelties of the late nineteenth century. If one of the current crop of Republican hopefuls becomes president, and if regressive Republicans take over the House or Senate, or both, Social Darwinism is back.
Thursday, December 1, 2011The Rebirth of Social Darwinism Social Darwinism offered a moral justification for the wild inequities and social cruelties of the late nineteenth century. If one of the current crop of Republican hopefuls becomes president, and if regressive Republicans take over the House or Senate, or both, Social Darwinism is back.
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Sunday, December 29, 2019
The biggest business con of 2019: fleecing workers while bosses get rich American corporations are sacrificing workers and communities as never before, in order to further boost record profits and unprecedented CEO pay.
Sunday, December 29, 2019The biggest business con of 2019: fleecing workers while bosses get rich American corporations are sacrificing workers and communities as never before, in order to further boost record profits and unprecedented CEO pay.
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Monday, June 4, 2018
A Second American Civil War? Trump's immediate goal is to discredit Robert Mueller's investigation. But his strategy appears to go beyond that. In tweets and on Fox News, Trump's overall mission is repeatedly described as a "war on the deep state." The way Trump and his defenders are behaving, it's not absurd to imagine serious social unrest. That's how low he's taken us.
Monday, June 4, 2018A Second American Civil War? Trump's immediate goal is to discredit Robert Mueller's investigation. But his strategy appears to go beyond that. In tweets and on Fox News, Trump's overall mission is repeatedly described as a "war on the deep state." The way Trump and his defenders are behaving, it's not absurd to imagine serious social unrest. That's how low he's taken us.
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Saturday, November 4, 2017
Trump's Most Damning Legacy In a series of tweets Friday morning, Trump directly called on the Justice Department and the FBI to "do what is right and proper" by launching criminal probes of Hillary Clinton. Trump's obvious aim was to deflect attention from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of his campaign, and of the indictments issued against his campaign aides.
Saturday, November 4, 2017Trump's Most Damning Legacy In a series of tweets Friday morning, Trump directly called on the Justice Department and the FBI to "do what is right and proper" by launching criminal probes of Hillary Clinton. Trump's obvious aim was to deflect attention from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of his campaign, and of the indictments issued against his campaign aides.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018
6 Ways Millennials Will Clean Up The Mess Boomers Left Them A strong majority of Millennials think the country is on the wrong track. Most disapprove of both the Republican Party and the Democratic party. Virtually no Millennials -- only 6 percent -- strongly approve of Donald Trump, compared to 63 percent who disapprove. A strong majority -- 71 percent -- want a third major party to compete with Democrats and Republicans.
Wednesday, March 14, 20186 Ways Millennials Will Clean Up The Mess Boomers Left Them A strong majority of Millennials think the country is on the wrong track. Most disapprove of both the Republican Party and the Democratic party. Virtually no Millennials -- only 6 percent -- strongly approve of Donald Trump, compared to 63 percent who disapprove. A strong majority -- 71 percent -- want a third major party to compete with Democrats and Republicans.
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Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Tell The FCC Not To End Net Neutrality! Since its creation, the internet has been an open exchange of ideas and information, free from corporate control and influence. But corporations could soon have tremendous power over what we can access and share online, ending the internet as we know it.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017Tell The FCC Not To End Net Neutrality! Since its creation, the internet has been an open exchange of ideas and information, free from corporate control and influence. But corporations could soon have tremendous power over what we can access and share online, ending the internet as we know it.
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Monday, November 5, 2012
We the People, and the New American Civil War So we come to the end of a bitter election feeling as if we're two nations rather than one. The challenge -- not only for our president and representatives in Washington but for all of us -- is to rediscover the public good.
Monday, November 5, 2012We the People, and the New American Civil War So we come to the end of a bitter election feeling as if we're two nations rather than one. The challenge -- not only for our president and representatives in Washington but for all of us -- is to rediscover the public good.
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Saturday, September 17, 2011
The Election of 2012: Why the Most Important Issues May Be Off the Table (But Should Be On It) The presidential race isn't the only one occurring in 2012. More than a third of Senate seats and every House seat will be decided on, as well as numerous governorships and state races. Making a ruckus about these issues could push some candidates in this direction -- particularly since, as polls show, much of the public agrees.
Saturday, September 17, 2011The Election of 2012: Why the Most Important Issues May Be Off the Table (But Should Be On It) The presidential race isn't the only one occurring in 2012. More than a third of Senate seats and every House seat will be decided on, as well as numerous governorships and state races. Making a ruckus about these issues could push some candidates in this direction -- particularly since, as polls show, much of the public agrees.
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Sunday, May 3, 2015
Trans Pacific Trickle-Down Economics The Trans Pacific Partnership is being sold as a way to boost the U.S. economy, expand exports, and contain China's widening economic influence. In fact, it's just more trickle-down economics. The biggest beneficiaries would be giant American-based global corporations, along with their executives and major shareholders. What we should have learned about trickle-down economics is that nothing trickles down.
Sunday, May 3, 2015Trans Pacific Trickle-Down Economics The Trans Pacific Partnership is being sold as a way to boost the U.S. economy, expand exports, and contain China's widening economic influence. In fact, it's just more trickle-down economics. The biggest beneficiaries would be giant American-based global corporations, along with their executives and major shareholders. What we should have learned about trickle-down economics is that nothing trickles down.
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Friday, April 10, 2015
The Defining Moment, and Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Clinton should make the moral case about power: for taking it out of the hands of those with great wealth and putting it back into the hands of average working people. In these times, such a voice and message make sense politically. The 2016 election will be decided by turnout, and turnout will depend on enthusiasm.
Friday, April 10, 2015The Defining Moment, and Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Clinton should make the moral case about power: for taking it out of the hands of those with great wealth and putting it back into the hands of average working people. In these times, such a voice and message make sense politically. The 2016 election will be decided by turnout, and turnout will depend on enthusiasm.
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Friday, October 8, 2010
The Secret Big-Money Takeover of America Not only is income and wealth in America more concentrated in fewer hands than it's been in 80 years, but those hands are buying our democracy as never before -" and they're doing it behind closed doors.
Friday, October 8, 2010The Secret Big-Money Takeover of America Not only is income and wealth in America more concentrated in fewer hands than it's been in 80 years, but those hands are buying our democracy as never before -" and they're doing it behind closed doors.
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Saturday, March 23, 2019
Trump's Threats Grow More Ominous by the Day Throughout his campaign and presidency, Trump has given cover to some of the most vile bigots in America. As he grows more desperate, he is giving them encouragement. It is our job and the job of all senators and representatives in Congress, regardless of party, and of military leaders to condemn hatred and violence in all its forms, even when the president of the United States makes excuses for it.
Saturday, March 23, 2019Trump's Threats Grow More Ominous by the Day Throughout his campaign and presidency, Trump has given cover to some of the most vile bigots in America. As he grows more desperate, he is giving them encouragement. It is our job and the job of all senators and representatives in Congress, regardless of party, and of military leaders to condemn hatred and violence in all its forms, even when the president of the United States makes excuses for it.
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Monday, December 30, 2013
A New Year's Message Despite do-nothing congressional Republicans, we ARE making progress around the country because Americans are organizing and mobilizing. Together we can make 2014 the year we turn the tide on economic inequality.
Monday, December 30, 2013A New Year's Message Despite do-nothing congressional Republicans, we ARE making progress around the country because Americans are organizing and mobilizing. Together we can make 2014 the year we turn the tide on economic inequality.
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Monday, July 2, 2012
Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age The biggest players in this system have, like Romney, made their profits placing big bets with other people's money. If the bets go well, the players make out like bandits. If they go badly, the burden lands on average workers and taxpayers. Connect the dots of casino capitalism, and you get Mitt Romney.
Monday, July 2, 2012Mitt Romney and the New Gilded Age The biggest players in this system have, like Romney, made their profits placing big bets with other people's money. If the bets go well, the players make out like bandits. If they go badly, the burden lands on average workers and taxpayers. Connect the dots of casino capitalism, and you get Mitt Romney.
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Wednesday, March 27, 2019
The Real Trump Scandal Was Never Collusion The essence of Trump's failure is that he has sacrificed the processes and institutions of American democracy to achieve his goals. By saying and doing whatever it takes to win, he has abused the trust we place in a president to preserve and protect the nation's capacity for self-government. Controversy over the Mueller report must not obscure this basic reality.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019The Real Trump Scandal Was Never Collusion The essence of Trump's failure is that he has sacrificed the processes and institutions of American democracy to achieve his goals. By saying and doing whatever it takes to win, he has abused the trust we place in a president to preserve and protect the nation's capacity for self-government. Controversy over the Mueller report must not obscure this basic reality.
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Sunday, January 7, 2018
Seriously, How Dumb is Trump? Trump is a great political conman. He conned 62,979,879 Americans to vote for him in November 2016 by getting them to believe his lies about Mexicans, Muslims, African-Americans, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and all the "wonderful," "beautiful" things he'd do for the people who'd support him. And he's still conning most of them.
Sunday, January 7, 2018Seriously, How Dumb is Trump? Trump is a great political conman. He conned 62,979,879 Americans to vote for him in November 2016 by getting them to believe his lies about Mexicans, Muslims, African-Americans, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and all the "wonderful," "beautiful" things he'd do for the people who'd support him. And he's still conning most of them.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Why the New Healthcare Law Should Have Been Based on Medicare (And What Democrats Should Have Learned By Now) What do Obama and the Democrats do if the individual mandate in the new health-care law gets struck down by the Supreme Court? Immediately propose what they should have proposed right from the start -- universal health care based on Medicare for all, financed by payroll taxes. The public will be behind them, as will the courts.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011Why the New Healthcare Law Should Have Been Based on Medicare (And What Democrats Should Have Learned By Now) What do Obama and the Democrats do if the individual mandate in the new health-care law gets struck down by the Supreme Court? Immediately propose what they should have proposed right from the start -- universal health care based on Medicare for all, financed by payroll taxes. The public will be behind them, as will the courts.
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Wednesday, July 12, 2017
The Art of the (Trump and Putin) Deal Say you're Vladimir Putin, and you did a deal with Trump last year. Whether there was such a deal is being investigated. But if you are Putin and you did do a deal, what might Trump have agreed to do for you?
Wednesday, July 12, 2017The Art of the (Trump and Putin) Deal Say you're Vladimir Putin, and you did a deal with Trump last year. Whether there was such a deal is being investigated. But if you are Putin and you did do a deal, what might Trump have agreed to do for you?
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Saturday, July 15, 2017
The 10 Steps to Impeach a President Only two presidents so far have been impeached by the House and had that impeachment go to the Senate for trial. The first was Andrew Johnson, in 1868, when the Senate came one vote short of convicting him. The next was 131 years later, in 1999, when Bill Clinton's impeachment went to the Senate. Fifty Senators voted to convict Clinton, 17 votes short of what was needed.
Saturday, July 15, 2017The 10 Steps to Impeach a President Only two presidents so far have been impeached by the House and had that impeachment go to the Senate for trial. The first was Andrew Johnson, in 1868, when the Senate came one vote short of convicting him. The next was 131 years later, in 1999, when Bill Clinton's impeachment went to the Senate. Fifty Senators voted to convict Clinton, 17 votes short of what was needed.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2016
The Volcanic Core Fueling the 2016 Election I've known Hillary Clinton since she was 19 years old, and have nothing but respect for her. In my view, she's the most qualified candidate for president of the political system we now have. But Bernie Sanders is the most qualified candidate to create the political system we should have, because he's leading a political movement for change.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016The Volcanic Core Fueling the 2016 Election I've known Hillary Clinton since she was 19 years old, and have nothing but respect for her. In my view, she's the most qualified candidate for president of the political system we now have. But Bernie Sanders is the most qualified candidate to create the political system we should have, because he's leading a political movement for change.
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Sunday, November 17, 2019
Warren doesn't just frighten billionaires -- she scares the whole establishment Warren has repeatedly argued that taxing the super rich is the fairest and most efficient way to pay for critical needs. It would enable more parents to work, young people to become better educated, green technologies to take root, more access to healthcare, and the nation's infrastructure to be upgraded, would improve productivity.
Sunday, November 17, 2019Warren doesn't just frighten billionaires -- she scares the whole establishment Warren has repeatedly argued that taxing the super rich is the fairest and most efficient way to pay for critical needs. It would enable more parents to work, young people to become better educated, green technologies to take root, more access to healthcare, and the nation's infrastructure to be upgraded, would improve productivity.
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Flat-Tax Fraud, And The Necessity Of A Truly Progressive Tax Regressives are pushing the flat tax as a smokescreen. They'd rather not have anyone talk about the unfairness and fiscal absurdity of the current system. Rather than merely oppose the flat tax, sensible people should push for a truly progressive tax -- starting with a top rate of 70 percent on that portion of anyone's income exceeding $5 million, from whatever source.
Saturday, October 22, 2011The Flat-Tax Fraud, And The Necessity Of A Truly Progressive Tax Regressives are pushing the flat tax as a smokescreen. They'd rather not have anyone talk about the unfairness and fiscal absurdity of the current system. Rather than merely oppose the flat tax, sensible people should push for a truly progressive tax -- starting with a top rate of 70 percent on that portion of anyone's income exceeding $5 million, from whatever source.
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Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Great Decoupling of Corporate Profits from Jobs Higher corporate profits no longer lead to higher employment. We're witnessing a great decoupling of company profits from jobs. The next supply-side economist who tells you companies need more incentive (i.e. lower taxes) before they'll hire is living on another planet.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010The Great Decoupling of Corporate Profits from Jobs Higher corporate profits no longer lead to higher employment. We're witnessing a great decoupling of company profits from jobs. The next supply-side economist who tells you companies need more incentive (i.e. lower taxes) before they'll hire is living on another planet.
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Tuesday, June 5, 2012
The Big-Lie Coup d'Etat Obama isn't adding to the debt every day. The debt is growing because of obligations entered into long ago, many under George W. Bush -- including two giant tax cuts that went mostly to the very wealthy that were supposed to be temporary and which are still going, courtesy of Republican blackmail over raising the debt limit.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012The Big-Lie Coup d'Etat Obama isn't adding to the debt every day. The debt is growing because of obligations entered into long ago, many under George W. Bush -- including two giant tax cuts that went mostly to the very wealthy that were supposed to be temporary and which are still going, courtesy of Republican blackmail over raising the debt limit.
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Saturday, May 27, 2017
Making America Meaner A president contributes to setting the norms of our society. Trump is setting them at a new low.
Saturday, May 27, 2017Making America Meaner A president contributes to setting the norms of our society. Trump is setting them at a new low.
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Thursday, March 31, 2016
Why The Major Media Marginalize Bernie It's understandable, even if unjustifiable, that the major media haven't noticed how determined Americans are to reverse the increasing concentration of wealth and political power that have been eroding our economy and democracy. And it's understandable, even if unjustifiable, that they continue to marginalize Bernie Sanders.
Thursday, March 31, 2016Why The Major Media Marginalize Bernie It's understandable, even if unjustifiable, that the major media haven't noticed how determined Americans are to reverse the increasing concentration of wealth and political power that have been eroding our economy and democracy. And it's understandable, even if unjustifiable, that they continue to marginalize Bernie Sanders.
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Sunday, December 1, 2019
Trump won't lose his job -- but the impeachment inquiry is still essential Not even overwhelming evidence that Trump sought to bribe a foreign power to dig up dirt on his leading political opponent in 2020 and did so with American taxpayer dollars, while compromising American foreign policy will cause Trump to be removed from office.
Sunday, December 1, 2019Trump won't lose his job -- but the impeachment inquiry is still essential Not even overwhelming evidence that Trump sought to bribe a foreign power to dig up dirt on his leading political opponent in 2020 and did so with American taxpayer dollars, while compromising American foreign policy will cause Trump to be removed from office.
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Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Mike Bloomberg Takes The Debate So far Bloomberg has spent more than $300 million on campaign advertising. That's more than Hillary Clinton spent on advertising during her entire presidential run. It's multiples of what all other Democratic candidates have spent, including billionaire Tom Steyer. Bloomberg has already spent more on Facebook ads than Trump, and more than Biden, Warren, Sanders and Buttigieg combined.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020Mike Bloomberg Takes The Debate So far Bloomberg has spent more than $300 million on campaign advertising. That's more than Hillary Clinton spent on advertising during her entire presidential run. It's multiples of what all other Democratic candidates have spent, including billionaire Tom Steyer. Bloomberg has already spent more on Facebook ads than Trump, and more than Biden, Warren, Sanders and Buttigieg combined.
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Biggest Risk to the Economy in 2012, and What's the Economy For Anyway? onsumers and investers are doing increasingly well but job insecurity is on the rise, inequality is widening, communities are becoming less stable, and climate change is worsening. None of this is sustainable over the long term.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012The Biggest Risk to the Economy in 2012, and What's the Economy For Anyway? onsumers and investers are doing increasingly well but job insecurity is on the rise, inequality is widening, communities are becoming less stable, and climate change is worsening. None of this is sustainable over the long term.
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
Why John Boehner May Have More Leverage over the Tea Partiers in Congess Tuesday wasn't exactly a repudiation of the Tea Party, and the public's rejection of Tea Party extremism on social issues doesn't automatically translate into rejection of its doctrinaire economics. But the election may have been enough of a slap in the face to cause Tea Partiers to rethink their overall strategy of intransigence.
Thursday, November 8, 2012Why John Boehner May Have More Leverage over the Tea Partiers in Congess Tuesday wasn't exactly a repudiation of the Tea Party, and the public's rejection of Tea Party extremism on social issues doesn't automatically translate into rejection of its doctrinaire economics. But the election may have been enough of a slap in the face to cause Tea Partiers to rethink their overall strategy of intransigence.
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Saturday, November 23, 2013
How the Republican Tempest Over the Affordable Care Act Diverts Attention from Three Large Truths Republicans are hell-bent on destroying the Affordable Care Act in Americans' minds. The idea is to make the Act so detestable it becomes the fearsome centerpiece of the midterm elections of 2014 -- putting enough Democrats on the defensive they join in seeking its repeal or at least in amending it in ways that gut it.
Saturday, November 23, 2013How the Republican Tempest Over the Affordable Care Act Diverts Attention from Three Large Truths Republicans are hell-bent on destroying the Affordable Care Act in Americans' minds. The idea is to make the Act so detestable it becomes the fearsome centerpiece of the midterm elections of 2014 -- putting enough Democrats on the defensive they join in seeking its repeal or at least in amending it in ways that gut it.
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Thursday, September 26, 2019
Trump's Economy Revealed Donald Trump and his enablers are hoping that a strong economy will help the American people look past the damage they are doing to the country. That's why Trump is constantly crowing about job numbers and the stock market in order to paint a rosy picture of the economy. But when you look closer, the numbers reveal a very different story about Trump's economy.
Thursday, September 26, 2019Trump's Economy Revealed Donald Trump and his enablers are hoping that a strong economy will help the American people look past the damage they are doing to the country. That's why Trump is constantly crowing about job numbers and the stock market in order to paint a rosy picture of the economy. But when you look closer, the numbers reveal a very different story about Trump's economy.
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Saturday, October 5, 2019
Trump is the kid with his hand in the cookie jar -- and Republicans know it It's still unlikely Trump will be pushed out of office before the 2020 election but the odds are rising by the day. And Trump knows it, which is causing him to behave more like a wild child who deserves to be impeached.
Saturday, October 5, 2019Trump is the kid with his hand in the cookie jar -- and Republicans know it It's still unlikely Trump will be pushed out of office before the 2020 election but the odds are rising by the day. And Trump knows it, which is causing him to behave more like a wild child who deserves to be impeached.
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Thursday, January 16, 2020
A Perfect Recipe For Tyranny The system we now have featuring a president who lies through his teeth and two giant uncritical conveyors of those lies invites tyranny.
Thursday, January 16, 2020A Perfect Recipe For Tyranny The system we now have featuring a president who lies through his teeth and two giant uncritical conveyors of those lies invites tyranny.
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Friday, January 30, 2015
The Worst Trade Deal You Never Heard Of The Trans-Pacific Partnership, now headed to Congress, is a product of big corporations and Wall Street, seeking to circumvent regulations protecting workers, consumers, and the environment.
Friday, January 30, 2015The Worst Trade Deal You Never Heard Of The Trans-Pacific Partnership, now headed to Congress, is a product of big corporations and Wall Street, seeking to circumvent regulations protecting workers, consumers, and the environment.
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Monday, March 14, 2016
The New Truth About Free Trade Proponents say giant deals like the TPP are good for the growth of the United States economy. But that argument begs the question of whose growth they're talking about. Almost all the growth goes to the richest 1 percent. The rest of us can buy some products cheaper than before, but most of those gains would are offset by wage losses.
Monday, March 14, 2016The New Truth About Free Trade Proponents say giant deals like the TPP are good for the growth of the United States economy. But that argument begs the question of whose growth they're talking about. Almost all the growth goes to the richest 1 percent. The rest of us can buy some products cheaper than before, but most of those gains would are offset by wage losses.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Most Important Economic Speech of His Presidency Here, finally, is the Barack Obama many of us thought we had elected in 2008. Hopefully Obama will carry this message through 2012 -- and in his second term will take on the growing inequities and game-rigging practices that have been undermining the American economy and American democracy for years.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011The Most Important Economic Speech of His Presidency Here, finally, is the Barack Obama many of us thought we had elected in 2008. Hopefully Obama will carry this message through 2012 -- and in his second term will take on the growing inequities and game-rigging practices that have been undermining the American economy and American democracy for years.
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Sunday, February 16, 2020
In his assault on justice, Trump has out-Nixoned Nixon What occurred under Nixon is happening again. Trump neither understands nor cares about justice. He cares about nothing but himself. Like Nixon, he has usurped the independence of the Department of Justice for his own ends.
Sunday, February 16, 2020In his assault on justice, Trump has out-Nixoned Nixon What occurred under Nixon is happening again. Trump neither understands nor cares about justice. He cares about nothing but himself. Like Nixon, he has usurped the independence of the Department of Justice for his own ends.
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Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Trump is Selling Out America in Syria and Beyond Donald Trump is a xenophobe in public and international mobster in private. He has brazenly sought private gain from foreign governments at the expense of the American people. This is shameful and criminal. At the very least, it is impeachable.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019Trump is Selling Out America in Syria and Beyond Donald Trump is a xenophobe in public and international mobster in private. He has brazenly sought private gain from foreign governments at the expense of the American people. This is shameful and criminal. At the very least, it is impeachable.
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Saturday, February 3, 2018
20 broken promises of Donald Trump Trump said he'd use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants (one of them hired and fired in a little more than a week) that people there barely know who's in charge of what.
Saturday, February 3, 201820 broken promises of Donald Trump Trump said he'd use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants (one of them hired and fired in a little more than a week) that people there barely know who's in charge of what.
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Friday, September 4, 2015
What Happened to the Moral Center of American Capitalism? The Dodd-Frank bill was an attempt to rein in Wall Street, but Wall Street lobbyists have almost eviscerated that act and have been mercilessly attacking the regulations issued. Republicans have not even appropriated sufficient money to enforce the shards of the act that remain. The Glass-Steagall Act must be resurrected. There has to be a limit on the size of big banks.
Friday, September 4, 2015What Happened to the Moral Center of American Capitalism? The Dodd-Frank bill was an attempt to rein in Wall Street, but Wall Street lobbyists have almost eviscerated that act and have been mercilessly attacking the regulations issued. Republicans have not even appropriated sufficient money to enforce the shards of the act that remain. The Glass-Steagall Act must be resurrected. There has to be a limit on the size of big banks.
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Friday, December 22, 2017
The Big Picture Of How We Got Into This Mess And How We Get Out Of It There's too much yelling these days, so we made this a silent video. Hope you find it helpful. Best wishes for a 2018 that's better for America than 2017 was.
Friday, December 22, 2017The Big Picture Of How We Got Into This Mess And How We Get Out Of It There's too much yelling these days, so we made this a silent video. Hope you find it helpful. Best wishes for a 2018 that's better for America than 2017 was.
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Saturday, December 1, 2012
Organizing McDonalds and Walmart, and Why Austerity Economics Hurts Low-Wage Workers the Most Job growth must be the nation's number one priority. Not deficit reduction. Yet neither side in the current "fiscal cliff" negotiations is talking about America's low-wage workers. They're invisible in official Washington. There's no national association of low-wage workers. They don't contribute much to political campaigns. They have no Super-PAC.
Saturday, December 1, 2012Organizing McDonalds and Walmart, and Why Austerity Economics Hurts Low-Wage Workers the Most Job growth must be the nation's number one priority. Not deficit reduction. Yet neither side in the current "fiscal cliff" negotiations is talking about America's low-wage workers. They're invisible in official Washington. There's no national association of low-wage workers. They don't contribute much to political campaigns. They have no Super-PAC.
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Tuesday, January 3, 2017
The 15 Warnings Signs of Impending Tyranny Signs that we are in danger of being controlled by tyrants.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017The 15 Warnings Signs of Impending Tyranny Signs that we are in danger of being controlled by tyrants.
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Sunday, December 8, 2019
Trump is the natural consequence of our anti-democracy decade A second Trump term could make the anti-democracy decade a mere prelude to the wholesale destruction of American democracy.
Sunday, December 8, 2019Trump is the natural consequence of our anti-democracy decade A second Trump term could make the anti-democracy decade a mere prelude to the wholesale destruction of American democracy.
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Sunday, September 18, 2011
Taxing the Rich, the Obama Way When the President refers to his new initiative to raise taxes on millionaires as the "Buffett rule" we might expect he'd start the bargaining from a tough position. But this is Barack Obama, whose idea of negotiating is to give away half the house before he's even asked the other side for the bathroom sink.
Sunday, September 18, 2011Taxing the Rich, the Obama Way When the President refers to his new initiative to raise taxes on millionaires as the "Buffett rule" we might expect he'd start the bargaining from a tough position. But this is Barack Obama, whose idea of negotiating is to give away half the house before he's even asked the other side for the bathroom sink.
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Monday, March 18, 2019
Trump is cornered, with violence on his mind. We must be on red alert Throughout his campaign and presidency, Trump has given cover to some of the most vile bigots in America. As he grows more desperate, he is giving them encouragement. It is our job -- and the job of all senators and representatives in Congress, regardless of party, and of military leaders -- to condemn hatred and violence in all its forms, even when the president of the United States makes excuses for it.
Monday, March 18, 2019Trump is cornered, with violence on his mind. We must be on red alert Throughout his campaign and presidency, Trump has given cover to some of the most vile bigots in America. As he grows more desperate, he is giving them encouragement. It is our job -- and the job of all senators and representatives in Congress, regardless of party, and of military leaders -- to condemn hatred and violence in all its forms, even when the president of the United States makes excuses for it.
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Monday, July 6, 2015
The Choice Ahead: A Private Health-Insurance Monopoly or a Single Payer We'll soon have a health insurance system dominated by two or three mammoth for-profit corporations capable of squeezing employees and consumers for all they're worth -- and handing over the profits to their shareholders and executives. The alternative is a government-run single payer system -- such as is in place in almost every other advanced economy -- dedicated to lower premiums and better care.
Monday, July 6, 2015The Choice Ahead: A Private Health-Insurance Monopoly or a Single Payer We'll soon have a health insurance system dominated by two or three mammoth for-profit corporations capable of squeezing employees and consumers for all they're worth -- and handing over the profits to their shareholders and executives. The alternative is a government-run single payer system -- such as is in place in almost every other advanced economy -- dedicated to lower premiums and better care.
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Friday, November 2, 2018
Trump's 30 Broken Promises He said he'd use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. You bought it. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants that people there barely know who's in charge of what.
Friday, November 2, 2018Trump's 30 Broken Promises He said he'd use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. You bought it. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants that people there barely know who's in charge of what.
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Sunday, August 13, 2017
A National Calamity in the Making Donald Trump responded to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, by condemning hatred "on many sides." His refusal to call it what it is, and condemn the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and KKK members who perpetrated this violence, is a dangerous lie that fuels more hatred and violence.
Sunday, August 13, 2017A National Calamity in the Making Donald Trump responded to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, by condemning hatred "on many sides." His refusal to call it what it is, and condemn the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and KKK members who perpetrated this violence, is a dangerous lie that fuels more hatred and violence.
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Monday, March 23, 2015
Why College Isn't (and Shouldn't Have to be) for Everyone Not every young person is suited to four years of college. They may be bright and ambitious but they won't get much out of it. They'd rather be doing something else, like making money or painting murals. They feel compelled to go to college because they've been told over and over that a college degree is necessary. Yet if they start college and then drop out, they feel like total failures.
Monday, March 23, 2015Why College Isn't (and Shouldn't Have to be) for Everyone Not every young person is suited to four years of college. They may be bright and ambitious but they won't get much out of it. They'd rather be doing something else, like making money or painting murals. They feel compelled to go to college because they've been told over and over that a college degree is necessary. Yet if they start college and then drop out, they feel like total failures.
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Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Who Should Be The Next President? Our odds of defeating Trump are best with either Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, as is our chance to make America the nation it should and can be.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019Who Should Be The Next President? Our odds of defeating Trump are best with either Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, as is our chance to make America the nation it should and can be.
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Thursday, January 10, 2013
Debt Ceiling and Guns: Using Presidential Authority to the Fullest It's a fair argument that when the nation is jeopardized -- whether in danger of defaulting on its debts or succumbing to mass violence -- a president is justified in using his authority to the fullest. Republicans have not shied away from using whatever means available to them to get their way. The President should not be reluctant to play hardball, either.
Thursday, January 10, 2013Debt Ceiling and Guns: Using Presidential Authority to the Fullest It's a fair argument that when the nation is jeopardized -- whether in danger of defaulting on its debts or succumbing to mass violence -- a president is justified in using his authority to the fullest. Republicans have not shied away from using whatever means available to them to get their way. The President should not be reluctant to play hardball, either.
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Monday, April 1, 2019
Trump's Remorse (on April 1) Nearly breaking down, Mr. Trump expressed remorse "for sowing hate and division... in America." He said "I have put a cloud over this presidency and disgraced this great country, for which I will feel ashamed for the rest of my life." He then announced he was resigning the presidency effective immediately.
Monday, April 1, 2019Trump's Remorse (on April 1) Nearly breaking down, Mr. Trump expressed remorse "for sowing hate and division... in America." He said "I have put a cloud over this presidency and disgraced this great country, for which I will feel ashamed for the rest of my life." He then announced he was resigning the presidency effective immediately.
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Sunday, June 2, 2019
The gig is up: America's booming economy is built on hollow promises About half of New York's Uber drivers are supporting families with children, yet 40% depend on Medicaid and another 18% on food stamps. It's similar elsewhere in the new American economy. Last week, the New York Times reported that fewer than half of Google workers are full-time employees. Most are temps and contractors receiving a fraction of the wages and benefits of full-time Googlers, with no job security.
Sunday, June 2, 2019The gig is up: America's booming economy is built on hollow promises About half of New York's Uber drivers are supporting families with children, yet 40% depend on Medicaid and another 18% on food stamps. It's similar elsewhere in the new American economy. Last week, the New York Times reported that fewer than half of Google workers are full-time employees. Most are temps and contractors receiving a fraction of the wages and benefits of full-time Googlers, with no job security.
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Friday, November 2, 2012
The Three Biggest Democratic Takeaways from Election 2012 The overall lesson is simple, and Democrats used to know it. As Harry Truman put it in 1948, we need a government "that will work in the interests of the common people and not in the interests of the men who have all the money." That lesson needs to be relearned.
Friday, November 2, 2012The Three Biggest Democratic Takeaways from Election 2012 The overall lesson is simple, and Democrats used to know it. As Harry Truman put it in 1948, we need a government "that will work in the interests of the common people and not in the interests of the men who have all the money." That lesson needs to be relearned.
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Friday, February 28, 2020
The Democratic Establishment is Freaking Out About Bernie. It should Calm Down. As wealth and power have moved to the top and the middle class has shrunk, more Americans feel politically dis-empowered and economically insecure. Today's main divide isn't right versus left. It's establishment versus anti-establishment.
Friday, February 28, 2020The Democratic Establishment is Freaking Out About Bernie. It should Calm Down. As wealth and power have moved to the top and the middle class has shrunk, more Americans feel politically dis-empowered and economically insecure. Today's main divide isn't right versus left. It's establishment versus anti-establishment.
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Friday, July 15, 2011
Can Obama Pull a Clinton on the GOP? Will Barack Obama pull a Bill Clinton? His real problem is one Mr. Clinton didn't have to contend with: a continuing terrible economy. The recession in 1991-92 was relatively mild, and by the spring of 1995, the economy was averaging 200,000 new jobs per month. By early 1996, it was roaring--with 434,000 new jobs added in February alone.
Friday, July 15, 2011Can Obama Pull a Clinton on the GOP? Will Barack Obama pull a Bill Clinton? His real problem is one Mr. Clinton didn't have to contend with: a continuing terrible economy. The recession in 1991-92 was relatively mild, and by the spring of 1995, the economy was averaging 200,000 new jobs per month. By early 1996, it was roaring--with 434,000 new jobs added in February alone.
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Monday, December 2, 2019
Facts are under siege. Now, more than ever, we need to invest in journalism If enough people start to trust Trump's words more than the media's, he can get away with saying and doing anything. Guarding the independence of the press is essential to maintaining truth as a common good. And truth is essential to democracy.
Monday, December 2, 2019Facts are under siege. Now, more than ever, we need to invest in journalism If enough people start to trust Trump's words more than the media's, he can get away with saying and doing anything. Guarding the independence of the press is essential to maintaining truth as a common good. And truth is essential to democracy.
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Friday, February 17, 2012
Manufacturing Illusions In the 1950s, more than a third of American workers were represented by a union. Now, fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers have a union behind them. If there's a single reason why the median wage has dropped dramatically for non-college workers over the past three and a half decades, it's the decline of unions.
Friday, February 17, 2012Manufacturing Illusions In the 1950s, more than a third of American workers were represented by a union. Now, fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers have a union behind them. If there's a single reason why the median wage has dropped dramatically for non-college workers over the past three and a half decades, it's the decline of unions.
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Tuesday, January 28, 2020
The Biggest Political Party in America You've Never Heard Of If I asked you to name the biggest political party in the United States, what would be your answer? You probably have two guesses that come to mind: the Democratic party or the Republican party. Well, it's neither. It's the party of Non-Voters.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020The Biggest Political Party in America You've Never Heard Of If I asked you to name the biggest political party in the United States, what would be your answer? You probably have two guesses that come to mind: the Democratic party or the Republican party. Well, it's neither. It's the party of Non-Voters.
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Saturday, August 19, 2017
Remove Him Now We have endured Donald Trump for seven months. Although he has had few legislative victories, he has almost single-handedly destroyed the moral authority of the presidency of the United States at home and abroad, brought us to the brink of a nuclear war without consulting anyone, and sown division and hatred. How can this nation endure another 41 months of this man?
Saturday, August 19, 2017Remove Him Now We have endured Donald Trump for seven months. Although he has had few legislative victories, he has almost single-handedly destroyed the moral authority of the presidency of the United States at home and abroad, brought us to the brink of a nuclear war without consulting anyone, and sown division and hatred. How can this nation endure another 41 months of this man?
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Sunday, October 20, 2019
It's Warren, Sanders or Biden vs Trump -- all the other Democrats are irrelevant Americans deserve a full opportunity to assess these three candidates and decide which should take on Trump. It's not too late for the DNC to tighten the rules for who gets to debate next. The stakes could not be higher. This will be the most important election in modern American history. We, not just Democrats but all Americans, cannot afford to blow it.
Sunday, October 20, 2019It's Warren, Sanders or Biden vs Trump -- all the other Democrats are irrelevant Americans deserve a full opportunity to assess these three candidates and decide which should take on Trump. It's not too late for the DNC to tighten the rules for who gets to debate next. The stakes could not be higher. This will be the most important election in modern American history. We, not just Democrats but all Americans, cannot afford to blow it.
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Monday, August 7, 2017
Night Thoughts on Trump and America With Donald Trump away vacationing at one of his golf resorts, the rest of us may have a chance to relax. But in truth it's more like a short break in a continuing nightmare. Just enough time to turn on the light, look at the clock and ponder where we are, before the nightmare envelopes us again.
Monday, August 7, 2017Night Thoughts on Trump and America With Donald Trump away vacationing at one of his golf resorts, the rest of us may have a chance to relax. But in truth it's more like a short break in a continuing nightmare. Just enough time to turn on the light, look at the clock and ponder where we are, before the nightmare envelopes us again.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2014
The Government Problem The size of government isn't the problem. That's a canard used to hide the far larger problem. The larger problem is that much of government is no longer working for the vast majority it's intended to serve. It's working instead for a small minority at the top. If government were responding to the public's interest instead of the moneyed interests, it would be smaller and more efficient.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014The Government Problem The size of government isn't the problem. That's a canard used to hide the far larger problem. The larger problem is that much of government is no longer working for the vast majority it's intended to serve. It's working instead for a small minority at the top. If government were responding to the public's interest instead of the moneyed interests, it would be smaller and more efficient.
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Friday, February 21, 2020
How Democrats Clean Up the Messes Left By Republicans For decades, Democratic administrations have been cleaning up economic messes left to them by Republican administrations. Thanks to Donald Trump, they'll have to do so again.
Friday, February 21, 2020How Democrats Clean Up the Messes Left By Republicans For decades, Democratic administrations have been cleaning up economic messes left to them by Republican administrations. Thanks to Donald Trump, they'll have to do so again.
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Why the Republican Crackup is Bad For America America has had a long history of white Southern radicals who will stop at nothing to get their way -- seceding from the Union in 1861, refusing to obey Civil Rights legislation in the 1960s, shutting the government in 1995, and risking the full faith and credit of the United States in 2010. Gingrich's recent assertion that public officials aren't bound to follow the decisions of federal courts derives from the same tradition.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011Why the Republican Crackup is Bad For America America has had a long history of white Southern radicals who will stop at nothing to get their way -- seceding from the Union in 1861, refusing to obey Civil Rights legislation in the 1960s, shutting the government in 1995, and risking the full faith and credit of the United States in 2010. Gingrich's recent assertion that public officials aren't bound to follow the decisions of federal courts derives from the same tradition.
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Saturday, July 27, 2019
The Real Reason For Impeachment An impeachment inquiry in the House is unlikely to send Trump packing before Election Day 2020 because Senate Republicans won't convict him. And it's impossible to know whether an impeachment inquiry will hurt or help Trump's chances of being reelected. Does this mean impeachment should be off the table? No.
Saturday, July 27, 2019The Real Reason For Impeachment An impeachment inquiry in the House is unlikely to send Trump packing before Election Day 2020 because Senate Republicans won't convict him. And it's impossible to know whether an impeachment inquiry will hurt or help Trump's chances of being reelected. Does this mean impeachment should be off the table? No.
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Saturday, December 10, 2016
Trump's Creeping Tyranny Trump doesn't take kindly to anyone criticizing him -- not journalists (whom he refers to as "dishonest," "disgusting" and "scum" when they take him on), not corporate executives, not entertainers who satirize him, not local labor leaders, not a college student, no one. We must join together to condemn these acts. Has Trump no decency?
Saturday, December 10, 2016Trump's Creeping Tyranny Trump doesn't take kindly to anyone criticizing him -- not journalists (whom he refers to as "dishonest," "disgusting" and "scum" when they take him on), not corporate executives, not entertainers who satirize him, not local labor leaders, not a college student, no one. We must join together to condemn these acts. Has Trump no decency?
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Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Hillary Clinton's Glass-Steagall people who believe Hillary Clinton is still too close to Wall Street will not be reassured by her position on Glass-Steagall. Many will recall that her husband led the way to repealing Glass Steagall in 1999 at the request of the big Wall Street banks. It's a big mistake economically because the repeal of Glass-Steagall led directly to the 2008 Wall Street crash, and without it we're in danger of another one.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015Hillary Clinton's Glass-Steagall people who believe Hillary Clinton is still too close to Wall Street will not be reassured by her position on Glass-Steagall. Many will recall that her husband led the way to repealing Glass Steagall in 1999 at the request of the big Wall Street banks. It's a big mistake economically because the repeal of Glass-Steagall led directly to the 2008 Wall Street crash, and without it we're in danger of another one.
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Saturday, June 3, 2017
7 Reasons Why Trump's Corporate Tax Cut is completely Nuts Donald Trump wants to cut the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, in order to "make the United States more competitive." This is nonsense, for 7 reasons:
Saturday, June 3, 20177 Reasons Why Trump's Corporate Tax Cut is completely Nuts Donald Trump wants to cut the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, in order to "make the United States more competitive." This is nonsense, for 7 reasons:
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Tuesday, August 9, 2016
The Real Threat to American Sovereignty Donald Trump is right to worry about American sovereignty. But the real threat to our sovereignty isn't imports or immigrants. It's global money influencing our politics. Protecting our democracy requires two steps that Trump and his leading supporters oppose: First, enforce our laws against soliciting or receiving foreign money in our election campaigns. Second, reverse "Citizens United."
Tuesday, August 9, 2016The Real Threat to American Sovereignty Donald Trump is right to worry about American sovereignty. But the real threat to our sovereignty isn't imports or immigrants. It's global money influencing our politics. Protecting our democracy requires two steps that Trump and his leading supporters oppose: First, enforce our laws against soliciting or receiving foreign money in our election campaigns. Second, reverse "Citizens United."
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Saturday, August 31, 2019
Nine Ways to Stay Sane During the Primaries As the presidential primaries get underway, it's easy to get burnt out or overwhelmed by all the candidates and their platforms. Here are nine ways to stay sane through the madness of the presidential primaries.
Saturday, August 31, 2019Nine Ways to Stay Sane During the Primaries As the presidential primaries get underway, it's easy to get burnt out or overwhelmed by all the candidates and their platforms. Here are nine ways to stay sane through the madness of the presidential primaries.
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Sunday, March 1, 2020
Trump's Coronavirus Calamity A new and especially virulent contagious virus is bad enough. That it is spreading at a time when the US government is headed by an incompetent and vindictive paranoid who denies it, blames his opponents for it, and dismantles what's left of the institutions that could contain it, makes the danger far worse.
Sunday, March 1, 2020Trump's Coronavirus Calamity A new and especially virulent contagious virus is bad enough. That it is spreading at a time when the US government is headed by an incompetent and vindictive paranoid who denies it, blames his opponents for it, and dismantles what's left of the institutions that could contain it, makes the danger far worse.
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Saturday, February 4, 2017
A Yinnopoulos, Bannon, Trump Plot to Control American Universities? The events at Berkeley Wednesday night have been a boon to Milos Yiannopoulos, of Breitbart News, and to Steve Bannon, formerly head of Breitbart News and now Trump's consigliere. According to a promotional Breitbart story that ran before the event, Yiannopoulos was going to "call for the withdrawal of federal grants and the prosecution of university officials who endanger their students with their policies."
Saturday, February 4, 2017A Yinnopoulos, Bannon, Trump Plot to Control American Universities? The events at Berkeley Wednesday night have been a boon to Milos Yiannopoulos, of Breitbart News, and to Steve Bannon, formerly head of Breitbart News and now Trump's consigliere. According to a promotional Breitbart story that ran before the event, Yiannopoulos was going to "call for the withdrawal of federal grants and the prosecution of university officials who endanger their students with their policies."
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Saturday, September 9, 2017
Trump's Policy Catastrophe Trump decisions other than DACA -- banning transgender people from military service, siding in court with a businessman who doesn't want to sell his services to gay couples, weakening the standard for responding to sexual violence in universities, demanding money for his "wall," banning Syrian refugees and reducing by half the number of refugees admitted to the United States.
Saturday, September 9, 2017Trump's Policy Catastrophe Trump decisions other than DACA -- banning transgender people from military service, siding in court with a businessman who doesn't want to sell his services to gay couples, weakening the standard for responding to sexual violence in universities, demanding money for his "wall," banning Syrian refugees and reducing by half the number of refugees admitted to the United States.
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Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Why the Republican War on Workers' Rights Undermines the American Economy Republicans in Congress are taking aim at the National Labor Relations Board, which issued a relatively minor proposed rule change allowing workers to vote on whether to unionize soon after a union has been proposed, rather than allowing employers to delay the vote for years. Many employers have used the delaying tactics to retaliate against workers who try to organize, and intimidate others into rejecting a union.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011Why the Republican War on Workers' Rights Undermines the American Economy Republicans in Congress are taking aim at the National Labor Relations Board, which issued a relatively minor proposed rule change allowing workers to vote on whether to unionize soon after a union has been proposed, rather than allowing employers to delay the vote for years. Many employers have used the delaying tactics to retaliate against workers who try to organize, and intimidate others into rejecting a union.
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Sunday, December 11, 2011
The Remarkable Political Stupidity of the Street Wall Street is its own worst enemy. It should have welcomed new financial regulation as a means of restoring public trust. Instead, it's busily shredding new regulations and making the public more distrustful than ever.
Sunday, December 11, 2011The Remarkable Political Stupidity of the Street Wall Street is its own worst enemy. It should have welcomed new financial regulation as a means of restoring public trust. Instead, it's busily shredding new regulations and making the public more distrustful than ever.
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Sunday, May 10, 2020
Under Trump, American exceptionalism means poverty, misery and death America has the tragic distinction of accounting for about 30% of pandemic deaths so far. And it is the only advanced nation where the death rate is still climbing. Three thousand deaths per day are anticipated by 1 June. No other nation has loosened lock-downs and other social-distancing measures while deaths are increasing, as the US is now doing.
Sunday, May 10, 2020Under Trump, American exceptionalism means poverty, misery and death America has the tragic distinction of accounting for about 30% of pandemic deaths so far. And it is the only advanced nation where the death rate is still climbing. Three thousand deaths per day are anticipated by 1 June. No other nation has loosened lock-downs and other social-distancing measures while deaths are increasing, as the US is now doing.
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Donald Trump is no hero of the working class. And the GM strikers know it Donald Trump pretends to be a tribune of the working class, standing up for American jobs. Last week nearly 50,000 General Motors workers went on strike to get what they see as their fair share of its profits and stop further layoffs. Trump's response? A shrug.
Sunday, September 22, 2019Donald Trump is no hero of the working class. And the GM strikers know it Donald Trump pretends to be a tribune of the working class, standing up for American jobs. Last week nearly 50,000 General Motors workers went on strike to get what they see as their fair share of its profits and stop further layoffs. Trump's response? A shrug.
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Thursday, January 30, 2020
Presidential Primaries: What You Need to Know Every four years, our country holds a general election to decide who will be our next president. Before that happens, though, each party must choose its candidate through primary elections. But our system of primaries can be a bit confusing.
Thursday, January 30, 2020Presidential Primaries: What You Need to Know Every four years, our country holds a general election to decide who will be our next president. Before that happens, though, each party must choose its candidate through primary elections. But our system of primaries can be a bit confusing.
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
How Trump has betrayed the working class Democrats have an historic chance to do what they should have done years ago: create a multi-racial coalition of the working class, middle class, and poor, dedicated to reclaiming the economy for the vast majority and making democracy work for all.
Sunday, December 22, 2019How Trump has betrayed the working class Democrats have an historic chance to do what they should have done years ago: create a multi-racial coalition of the working class, middle class, and poor, dedicated to reclaiming the economy for the vast majority and making democracy work for all.
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Monday, January 26, 2015
Wall Street's Threat to the American Middle Class Do we really need reminding about what happened six years ago? The financial collapse crippled the middle class and poor -- consuming the savings of millions of average Americans, and causing 23 million to lose their jobs, 9.3 million to lose their health insurance, and some 1 million to lose their homes.
Monday, January 26, 2015Wall Street's Threat to the American Middle Class Do we really need reminding about what happened six years ago? The financial collapse crippled the middle class and poor -- consuming the savings of millions of average Americans, and causing 23 million to lose their jobs, 9.3 million to lose their health insurance, and some 1 million to lose their homes.
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Friday, June 1, 2018
Why the Only Answer is to Break Up the Biggest Wall Street Banks The real reason Wall Street has spent huge sums trying to water down the Volcker Rule is that far vaster sums can be made if the Rule is out of the way. If you took the greed out of Wall Street all you'd have left is pavement.
Friday, June 1, 2018Why the Only Answer is to Break Up the Biggest Wall Street Banks The real reason Wall Street has spent huge sums trying to water down the Volcker Rule is that far vaster sums can be made if the Rule is out of the way. If you took the greed out of Wall Street all you'd have left is pavement.
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Thursday, August 25, 2011
This Labor Day We Need Protest Marches Rather than Parades Washington is paralyzed, the President seems unwilling or unable to take on labor-bashing Republicans, and several Republican governors are mounting direct assaults on organized labor. So let's bag the picnics and parades this Labor Day. American workers should march in protest. They're getting the worst deal they've had since before Labor Day was invented -- and the economy is suffering as a result.
Thursday, August 25, 2011This Labor Day We Need Protest Marches Rather than Parades Washington is paralyzed, the President seems unwilling or unable to take on labor-bashing Republicans, and several Republican governors are mounting direct assaults on organized labor. So let's bag the picnics and parades this Labor Day. American workers should march in protest. They're getting the worst deal they've had since before Labor Day was invented -- and the economy is suffering as a result.
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Wednesday, December 25, 2019
5 Ways to Stop Corporations From Ruining the Future of Work Tackling big ambitious goals like transitioning to clean energy can encourage collaboration between different sectors of the economy. Backed by the right technologies, they can also be sources of the good jobs of the future.
Wednesday, December 25, 20195 Ways to Stop Corporations From Ruining the Future of Work Tackling big ambitious goals like transitioning to clean energy can encourage collaboration between different sectors of the economy. Backed by the right technologies, they can also be sources of the good jobs of the future.
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Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Why Corporate Tax Deserters Shouldn't Get The Benefits Of Being American Corporations Corporations are deserting America by hiding their profits abroad or even shifting their corporate headquarters to another nation because they want lower taxes abroad. And some politicians say the only way to stop these desertions is to reduce corporate tax rates in the U.S. so they won't leave.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016Why Corporate Tax Deserters Shouldn't Get The Benefits Of Being American Corporations Corporations are deserting America by hiding their profits abroad or even shifting their corporate headquarters to another nation because they want lower taxes abroad. And some politicians say the only way to stop these desertions is to reduce corporate tax rates in the U.S. so they won't leave.
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Saturday, July 16, 2016
Trustworthy Hillary The near tie is particularly astonishing given that Trump has no experience and offers no coherent set of policies or practical ideas but only venomous bigotry and mindless xenophobia, while Hillary Clinton has a boatload of experience, a storehouse of carefully-crafted policies, and a deep understanding of what the nation must do in order to come together and lead the world.
Saturday, July 16, 2016Trustworthy Hillary The near tie is particularly astonishing given that Trump has no experience and offers no coherent set of policies or practical ideas but only venomous bigotry and mindless xenophobia, while Hillary Clinton has a boatload of experience, a storehouse of carefully-crafted policies, and a deep understanding of what the nation must do in order to come together and lead the world.
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Thursday, May 7, 2015
Why Nike Is the Problem, Not the Solution Americans made only 1 percent of the products that generated Nike's $27.8 billion revenue last year. And Nike is moving ever more of its production abroad. Last year, a third of Nike's remaining 13,922 American production workers were laid off. Trade agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership protect corporate investors but lead to even more off-shoring of American jobs.
Thursday, May 7, 2015Why Nike Is the Problem, Not the Solution Americans made only 1 percent of the products that generated Nike's $27.8 billion revenue last year. And Nike is moving ever more of its production abroad. Last year, a third of Nike's remaining 13,922 American production workers were laid off. Trade agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership protect corporate investors but lead to even more off-shoring of American jobs.
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Thursday, November 22, 2018
Break Up Facebook (and, While We're At It, Google, Apple, and Amazon) Facebook and Google dominate advertising. They're the first stops for many Americans seeking news. Apple dominates smartphones and laptop computers. Amazon is now the first stop for a third of all American consumers seeking to buy anything.
Thursday, November 22, 2018Break Up Facebook (and, While We're At It, Google, Apple, and Amazon) Facebook and Google dominate advertising. They're the first stops for many Americans seeking news. Apple dominates smartphones and laptop computers. Amazon is now the first stop for a third of all American consumers seeking to buy anything.
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Sunday, July 21, 2019
Of course Donald Trump is a racist -- and his Wall Street enablers know it Wall Street is delighted with what Trump and Senate Republicans are giving it: tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks. Last year it saved JP Morgan and the other big banks $21bn. The result has been vastly more money for the Street. Last year's bonus pool totaled $27.5bn more than three times the combined incomes of the approximately 600,000 Americans earning the minimum wage.
Sunday, July 21, 2019Of course Donald Trump is a racist -- and his Wall Street enablers know it Wall Street is delighted with what Trump and Senate Republicans are giving it: tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks. Last year it saved JP Morgan and the other big banks $21bn. The result has been vastly more money for the Street. Last year's bonus pool totaled $27.5bn more than three times the combined incomes of the approximately 600,000 Americans earning the minimum wage.
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Wednesday, June 21, 2017
The Case for Obstruction of Justice Against Trump A decision to support an "inquiry of impeachment" resolution in the House -- to start an impeachment investigation -- doesn't depend on sufficient evidence to convict a person of obstruction of justice, but simply probable cause to believe a president may have obstructed justice. There's already more than enough evidence of probable cause to begin that impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017The Case for Obstruction of Justice Against Trump A decision to support an "inquiry of impeachment" resolution in the House -- to start an impeachment investigation -- doesn't depend on sufficient evidence to convict a person of obstruction of justice, but simply probable cause to believe a president may have obstructed justice. There's already more than enough evidence of probable cause to begin that impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump.
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Sunday, July 7, 2019
There is no "right" v "left": it is Trump and the oligarchs against the rest The oligarchs know politicians won't bite the hands that feed them. So as long as they control the money, they can be confident there will be no meaningful response to stagnant pay, climate change, military bloat or the soaring costs of health insurance, pharmaceuticals, college and housing. The only way to overcome the oligarchy and Trump's divide-and-conquer strategy is for us to join together and win America back.
Sunday, July 7, 2019There is no "right" v "left": it is Trump and the oligarchs against the rest The oligarchs know politicians won't bite the hands that feed them. So as long as they control the money, they can be confident there will be no meaningful response to stagnant pay, climate change, military bloat or the soaring costs of health insurance, pharmaceuticals, college and housing. The only way to overcome the oligarchy and Trump's divide-and-conquer strategy is for us to join together and win America back.
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Sunday, October 27, 2019
No wonder Wall Street fears Warren and Sanders -- they speak for the people The only way Democrats win is with an agenda of fundamental democratic and economic reform, such as provided by Warren and also by Sanders. Unless Democrats stand squarely on the side of democracy against oligarchy, the risk on election day is that too many Americans will either stand with Trump or stay home.
Sunday, October 27, 2019No wonder Wall Street fears Warren and Sanders -- they speak for the people The only way Democrats win is with an agenda of fundamental democratic and economic reform, such as provided by Warren and also by Sanders. Unless Democrats stand squarely on the side of democracy against oligarchy, the risk on election day is that too many Americans will either stand with Trump or stay home.
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Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Truth About the American Economy - Part 2 Washington's paralysis in the face of a stalled recovery is bad news - not just for average Americans but for the world. Ironically, it also worsens America's future budget crisis because it postpones the day when the debt begins to shrink as a proportion of the GDP. Yet as the 2012 election season looms, the prospects for sensible policy seem to decrease by the day.
Thursday, June 2, 2011The Truth About the American Economy - Part 2 Washington's paralysis in the face of a stalled recovery is bad news - not just for average Americans but for the world. Ironically, it also worsens America's future budget crisis because it postpones the day when the debt begins to shrink as a proportion of the GDP. Yet as the 2012 election season looms, the prospects for sensible policy seem to decrease by the day.
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Saturday, February 17, 2018
The Real Meaning of America We are not a race. We are not a creed. We are a conviction -- that all people are created equal, that people should be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, and that government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. Yet the common good seems to have disappeared. The phrase is rarely uttered today, not even by commencement speakers and politicians.
Saturday, February 17, 2018The Real Meaning of America We are not a race. We are not a creed. We are a conviction -- that all people are created equal, that people should be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, and that government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. Yet the common good seems to have disappeared. The phrase is rarely uttered today, not even by commencement speakers and politicians.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Free Enterprise on Trial Obama and the Democrats shouldn't allow Romney and the Republicans to act as defenders of risk-taking free enterprise. Americans need to know the truth. The only way the economy can thrive is if we have more risk-taking at the top, and more economic security below.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012Free Enterprise on Trial Obama and the Democrats shouldn't allow Romney and the Republicans to act as defenders of risk-taking free enterprise. Americans need to know the truth. The only way the economy can thrive is if we have more risk-taking at the top, and more economic security below.
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Saturday, August 2, 2014
Work and Worth What's the worth to society of social workers who put in long and difficult hours dealing with patients suffering from mental illness or substance abuse? Probably higher than their average pay of $18.14 an hour, which translates into less than $38,000 a year.
Saturday, August 2, 2014Work and Worth What's the worth to society of social workers who put in long and difficult hours dealing with patients suffering from mental illness or substance abuse? Probably higher than their average pay of $18.14 an hour, which translates into less than $38,000 a year.
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Saturday, October 6, 2012
The Politics of the Jobs Report Romney says we're not doing well enough, and he's right. But the prescriptions he's offering, the cuts he proposes in public investments like education and infrastructure, and safety nets like Medicare and Medicaid, will take money out of the pockets of people who not only desperately need it but whose spending is necessary to keep the tepid recovery going.
Saturday, October 6, 2012The Politics of the Jobs Report Romney says we're not doing well enough, and he's right. But the prescriptions he's offering, the cuts he proposes in public investments like education and infrastructure, and safety nets like Medicare and Medicaid, will take money out of the pockets of people who not only desperately need it but whose spending is necessary to keep the tepid recovery going.
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
The Real Lesson of Ukraine-gate: Trump Will Do Anything To Win in 2020 Trump has shown himself willing to trample any aspect of our democracy that gets in his way attacking the media, using the presidency for personal profit, packing the federal courts, verbally attacking judges, blasting the head of the Federal Reserve, spending money in ways Congress did not authorize, and subverting the separation of powers.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019The Real Lesson of Ukraine-gate: Trump Will Do Anything To Win in 2020 Trump has shown himself willing to trample any aspect of our democracy that gets in his way attacking the media, using the presidency for personal profit, packing the federal courts, verbally attacking judges, blasting the head of the Federal Reserve, spending money in ways Congress did not authorize, and subverting the separation of powers.
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Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Corporations Taking USA Back to the 19th Century Now we seem to be heading back to nineteenth century. Corporations are shifting full-time work onto temps, free-lancers, and contract workers who fall outside the labor protections established decades ago. The nation's biggest corporations and Wall Street banks are larger and more potent than ever. And labor union membership has shrunk to fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015Corporations Taking USA Back to the 19th Century Now we seem to be heading back to nineteenth century. Corporations are shifting full-time work onto temps, free-lancers, and contract workers who fall outside the labor protections established decades ago. The nation's biggest corporations and Wall Street banks are larger and more potent than ever. And labor union membership has shrunk to fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers.
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Sunday, May 3, 2020
Donald Trump's four-step plan to reopen the US economy -- and why it will be lethal Donald Trump is trying to force the economy to reopen in order to boost his electoral chances this November, and he's selling out Americans' health to seal the deal. This is beyond contemptible.
Sunday, May 3, 2020Donald Trump's four-step plan to reopen the US economy -- and why it will be lethal Donald Trump is trying to force the economy to reopen in order to boost his electoral chances this November, and he's selling out Americans' health to seal the deal. This is beyond contemptible.
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Saturday, September 15, 2012
Two Cheers for the Fed: At Least It's Not Obsessing About the Budget Deficit Hello? Can we please stop obsessing about the federal budget deficit? Repeat after me: America's #1 economic problem is unemployment. Our #1 goal should be to restore job growth. Period. The Federal Reserve Board understands this. And at least it's trying. But it can't succeed on its own. Global lenders are giving us a way out. Let's take advantage of the opportunity.
Saturday, September 15, 2012Two Cheers for the Fed: At Least It's Not Obsessing About the Budget Deficit Hello? Can we please stop obsessing about the federal budget deficit? Repeat after me: America's #1 economic problem is unemployment. Our #1 goal should be to restore job growth. Period. The Federal Reserve Board understands this. And at least it's trying. But it can't succeed on its own. Global lenders are giving us a way out. Let's take advantage of the opportunity.
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Monday, October 24, 2011
Why We Shouldn't Be Selling The Right To Live In America Rather than have the big banks carry all those non-performing mortgage loans on their books or be forced to write them down, we'll just goose the housing market by selling off the right to live in America. And the measure wouldn't allow in the world's riff-raff, because buyers would have to be rich enough to pay cash, and live here six months a year without working.
Monday, October 24, 2011Why We Shouldn't Be Selling The Right To Live In America Rather than have the big banks carry all those non-performing mortgage loans on their books or be forced to write them down, we'll just goose the housing market by selling off the right to live in America. And the measure wouldn't allow in the world's riff-raff, because buyers would have to be rich enough to pay cash, and live here six months a year without working.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2017
A Year With Trump America has had its share of crooks (Warren G. Harding, Richard Nixon), bigots (Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan), and incompetents (Andrew Johnson, George W. Bush). But never before Donald Trump have we had a president who combined all these nefarious qualities. In less than a year, he has degraded the core institutions and values of our democracy.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017A Year With Trump America has had its share of crooks (Warren G. Harding, Richard Nixon), bigots (Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan), and incompetents (Andrew Johnson, George W. Bush). But never before Donald Trump have we had a president who combined all these nefarious qualities. In less than a year, he has degraded the core institutions and values of our democracy.
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Sunday, November 30, 2014
Patrolling the Boundaries Inside America parents are intent on policing the boundaries, lest a child whose parents haven't paid the "tuition" reap the same advantages as their own child. Hell hath no fury like an upscale parent who thinks another kid is getting an unfair advantage by sneaking in under the fence.
Sunday, November 30, 2014Patrolling the Boundaries Inside America parents are intent on policing the boundaries, lest a child whose parents haven't paid the "tuition" reap the same advantages as their own child. Hell hath no fury like an upscale parent who thinks another kid is getting an unfair advantage by sneaking in under the fence.
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Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Trump is the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar The American workforce is hobbled by deteriorating schools, unaffordable college tuitions, decaying infrastructure, soaring healthcare costs and diminishing basic research.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020Trump is the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar The American workforce is hobbled by deteriorating schools, unaffordable college tuitions, decaying infrastructure, soaring healthcare costs and diminishing basic research.
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Thursday, July 5, 2012
How Not to Get Big Pharma to Change Its Ways There's no good reason why doctors should be allowed to accept any perks at all from companies whose drugs they write prescriptions for. It's an inherent conflict of interest. Codes of ethics that are supposed to limit such gifts obviously don't work. All perks should be banned, and doctors that accept them should be subject to potential loss of their licenses to practice.
Thursday, July 5, 2012How Not to Get Big Pharma to Change Its Ways There's no good reason why doctors should be allowed to accept any perks at all from companies whose drugs they write prescriptions for. It's an inherent conflict of interest. Codes of ethics that are supposed to limit such gifts obviously don't work. All perks should be banned, and doctors that accept them should be subject to potential loss of their licenses to practice.
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Friday, November 18, 2016
The Democratic Party Lost Its Soul. It's Time to Win it Back. Many vested interests don't want the Democratic party to change. Most of the money it raises ends up in the pockets of political consultants, pollsters, strategists, lawyers, advertising consultants and advertisers themselves, many of whom have become rich off the current arrangement. They naturally want to keep it.
Friday, November 18, 2016The Democratic Party Lost Its Soul. It's Time to Win it Back. Many vested interests don't want the Democratic party to change. Most of the money it raises ends up in the pockets of political consultants, pollsters, strategists, lawyers, advertising consultants and advertisers themselves, many of whom have become rich off the current arrangement. They naturally want to keep it.
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Friday, March 16, 2012
Why Republicans Aren't Mentioning the Real Cause of Rising Prices at the Gas Pump Wall Street is betting on higher oil prices in the future -- and that betting is causing prices to rise. The Street is laying odds that unrest in Syria will spill over into other countries or that tensions with Iran will affect the Persian Gulf, and that global demand will pick up as American consumers bounce back to life.
Friday, March 16, 2012Why Republicans Aren't Mentioning the Real Cause of Rising Prices at the Gas Pump Wall Street is betting on higher oil prices in the future -- and that betting is causing prices to rise. The Street is laying odds that unrest in Syria will spill over into other countries or that tensions with Iran will affect the Persian Gulf, and that global demand will pick up as American consumers bounce back to life.
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Saturday, February 15, 2020
Buying the Presidency Big money inevitably engulfs politics, which is why a handful of extremely rich people like Bloomberg have more influence than any comparable group since the robber barons of the early 20th century.
Saturday, February 15, 2020Buying the Presidency Big money inevitably engulfs politics, which is why a handful of extremely rich people like Bloomberg have more influence than any comparable group since the robber barons of the early 20th century.
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Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The Real Deal with Medicare for All Medicare for All is better than our present system, because it's based on the simple and proven idea that we shouldn't be paying private for-profit corporate insurers boatloads of money to get the insurance we need.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019The Real Deal with Medicare for All Medicare for All is better than our present system, because it's based on the simple and proven idea that we shouldn't be paying private for-profit corporate insurers boatloads of money to get the insurance we need.
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Sunday, June 21, 2020
Who's Really Looting America? Every year, American employers steal a combined $15 billion in income from their workers, whether white, black or brown. Corporations in America are also looting billions in taxes through loopholes, write-offs, and special exemptions they've successfully lobbied for.
Sunday, June 21, 2020Who's Really Looting America? Every year, American employers steal a combined $15 billion in income from their workers, whether white, black or brown. Corporations in America are also looting billions in taxes through loopholes, write-offs, and special exemptions they've successfully lobbied for.
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Sunday, September 29, 2019
Trump can do more damage than Nixon. His impeachment is imperative Regardless of how the impeachment turns out, Trump's predation can be constrained as long as his presidency can be ended with the 2020 election. If that election is distorted, and if this man is re-elected, all bets are off.
Sunday, September 29, 2019Trump can do more damage than Nixon. His impeachment is imperative Regardless of how the impeachment turns out, Trump's predation can be constrained as long as his presidency can be ended with the 2020 election. If that election is distorted, and if this man is re-elected, all bets are off.
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Monday, June 29, 2020
Donald Trump's re-election playbook: 25 ways he'll lie, cheat and abuse his power Beware Trump's playbook. Spread the truth. Stay vigilant. Fight for our democracy.
Monday, June 29, 2020Donald Trump's re-election playbook: 25 ways he'll lie, cheat and abuse his power Beware Trump's playbook. Spread the truth. Stay vigilant. Fight for our democracy.
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Saturday, July 23, 2011
Why Medicare Is the Solution -- Not the Problem Americans spend more on health care per person than any other advanced nation and get less for our money. Yearly public and private healthcare spending is $7,538 per person. That's almost two and a half times the average of other advanced nations. Medical costs are soaring because our health-care system is totally screwed up.
Saturday, July 23, 2011Why Medicare Is the Solution -- Not the Problem Americans spend more on health care per person than any other advanced nation and get less for our money. Yearly public and private healthcare spending is $7,538 per person. That's almost two and a half times the average of other advanced nations. Medical costs are soaring because our health-care system is totally screwed up.
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Tuesday, March 17, 2020
America has no real public health system -- coronavirus has a clear run The system would be failing even under a halfway competent president. The dirty little secret, which will soon become apparent to all, is that there is no real public health system in the United States.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020America has no real public health system -- coronavirus has a clear run The system would be failing even under a halfway competent president. The dirty little secret, which will soon become apparent to all, is that there is no real public health system in the United States.
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Saturday, October 26, 2019
Trump's Emoluments Mess Trump's violation of the emoluments clause should be added to the likely grounds for impeachment already being investigated, seeking the help of a foreign power in an election, and obstruction of justice.
Saturday, October 26, 2019Trump's Emoluments Mess Trump's violation of the emoluments clause should be added to the likely grounds for impeachment already being investigated, seeking the help of a foreign power in an election, and obstruction of justice.
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Friday, November 23, 2018
The Rule of Law Democracies depend on what's known as the "rule of law." No person is above the law, not even a president. Which means a president cannot stop an investigation into his alleged illegal acts. A president cannot prosecute political opponents or critics. Yet Trump has repeatedly pushed the Justice Department to bring charges against Hillary Clinton.
Friday, November 23, 2018The Rule of Law Democracies depend on what's known as the "rule of law." No person is above the law, not even a president. Which means a president cannot stop an investigation into his alleged illegal acts. A president cannot prosecute political opponents or critics. Yet Trump has repeatedly pushed the Justice Department to bring charges against Hillary Clinton.
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Sunday, October 13, 2019
Donald Trump: xenophobe in public, international mobster in private Donald Trump is a xenophobe in public and international mobster in private. He has brazenly sought private gain from foreign governments at the expense of the American people. This is shameful and criminal. At the very least, it is impeachable.
Sunday, October 13, 2019Donald Trump: xenophobe in public, international mobster in private Donald Trump is a xenophobe in public and international mobster in private. He has brazenly sought private gain from foreign governments at the expense of the American people. This is shameful and criminal. At the very least, it is impeachable.
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Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Trump's Trojan Horse Tax Cut The goal of Trump and the Republican leaders is to pull off a giant redistribution of over $1 trillion from the middle-class, working-class, and poor to the rich, who are already richer than ever. Republicans have just passed a budget that would cut nearly $1.5 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid to pay for these tax cuts.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017Trump's Trojan Horse Tax Cut The goal of Trump and the Republican leaders is to pull off a giant redistribution of over $1 trillion from the middle-class, working-class, and poor to the rich, who are already richer than ever. Republicans have just passed a budget that would cut nearly $1.5 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid to pay for these tax cuts.
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Monday, September 19, 2016
Why You Really Must Get Behind Hillary, Now The movement Bernie energized must not and will not end. But Donald Trump, were he to become president, would set back the cause for decades. There are just over seven weeks until Election Day. My request to those of you who still don't want to vote for Hillary Clinton: Please reconsider. It is no exaggeration to say the fate of the nation and the world are at stake.
Monday, September 19, 2016Why You Really Must Get Behind Hillary, Now The movement Bernie energized must not and will not end. But Donald Trump, were he to become president, would set back the cause for decades. There are just over seven weeks until Election Day. My request to those of you who still don't want to vote for Hillary Clinton: Please reconsider. It is no exaggeration to say the fate of the nation and the world are at stake.
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Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Year of the Great Redistribution The stock market ended 2013 at an all-time high -- giving stockholders their biggest annual gain in almost two decades. Most Americans didn't share in those gains, however, because most people haven't been able to save enough to invest in the stock market. More than two-thirds of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck.
Sunday, January 5, 2014The Year of the Great Redistribution The stock market ended 2013 at an all-time high -- giving stockholders their biggest annual gain in almost two decades. Most Americans didn't share in those gains, however, because most people haven't been able to save enough to invest in the stock market. More than two-thirds of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck.
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Sunday, August 12, 2012
The Ryan Choice In Ryan's views and policy judgments we find the true ideologue. More than any other politician today, Paul Ryan exemplifies the social Darwinism at the core of today's Republican Party: Reward the rich, penalize the poor, let everyone else fend for themselves. Dog eat dog.
Sunday, August 12, 2012The Ryan Choice In Ryan's views and policy judgments we find the true ideologue. More than any other politician today, Paul Ryan exemplifies the social Darwinism at the core of today's Republican Party: Reward the rich, penalize the poor, let everyone else fend for themselves. Dog eat dog.
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Friday, September 20, 2019
Trump is a Clear and Present Danger to America and the World We have to face the truth that no one seems to want to admit. This is no longer a case of excessive narcissism or grandiosity. We're not simply dealing with an unusually large ego. The president of the United States is seriously, frighteningly, dangerously unstable. And he's getting worse by the day. Such a person in the Oval Office can do serious damage.
Friday, September 20, 2019Trump is a Clear and Present Danger to America and the World We have to face the truth that no one seems to want to admit. This is no longer a case of excessive narcissism or grandiosity. We're not simply dealing with an unusually large ego. The president of the United States is seriously, frighteningly, dangerously unstable. And he's getting worse by the day. Such a person in the Oval Office can do serious damage.
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Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Trump's Theft Is Impeachable on Its Own Trump has been funneling government dollars into his own pockets ever since he was elected. The Doral deal was just too much even for his Republican enablers to stomach. Since he's been president, Trump has spent almost a third of his time at one or another of his resorts or commercial properties, costing taxpayers a bundle but giving those resorts incomparable publicity.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019Trump's Theft Is Impeachable on Its Own Trump has been funneling government dollars into his own pockets ever since he was elected. The Doral deal was just too much even for his Republican enablers to stomach. Since he's been president, Trump has spent almost a third of his time at one or another of his resorts or commercial properties, costing taxpayers a bundle but giving those resorts incomparable publicity.
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Monday, November 20, 2017
The New Poll Tax In nine states, Republican legislators have enacted laws that disenfranchise anyone with outstanding legal fees or court fines. For example, in Alabama more than 100,000 people who owe money -- roughly 3 percent of the state's voting-age population -- have been struck from voting rolls.
Monday, November 20, 2017The New Poll Tax In nine states, Republican legislators have enacted laws that disenfranchise anyone with outstanding legal fees or court fines. For example, in Alabama more than 100,000 people who owe money -- roughly 3 percent of the state's voting-age population -- have been struck from voting rolls.
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Monday, June 1, 2020
Fire, pestilence and a country at war with itself: the Trump presidency is over You'd be forgiven if you hadn't noticed. His verbal bombshells are louder than ever, but Donald J Trump is no longer president of the United States.
Monday, June 1, 2020Fire, pestilence and a country at war with itself: the Trump presidency is over You'd be forgiven if you hadn't noticed. His verbal bombshells are louder than ever, but Donald J Trump is no longer president of the United States.
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Sunday, June 30, 2019
Democrats must just bring down Trump -- for the sake of the world Imagine an opposition political party in a land being taken over by an oligarchy, headed by a would-be tyrant. The opposition party will soon face another election in which it could possibly depose the tyrant and overcome the oligarchy. But at the rate they are consolidating power over the courts, politics and the media this could be the opposition's last chance.
Sunday, June 30, 2019Democrats must just bring down Trump -- for the sake of the world Imagine an opposition political party in a land being taken over by an oligarchy, headed by a would-be tyrant. The opposition party will soon face another election in which it could possibly depose the tyrant and overcome the oligarchy. But at the rate they are consolidating power over the courts, politics and the media this could be the opposition's last chance.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Why No Responsible Democrat Should Want Newt Gingrich to Get the GOP Nomination Republicans are worried sick about Newt Gingrich's ascendance, while Democrats are tickled pink. Yet no responsible Democrat should be pleased at the prospect that Gingrich could get the GOP nomination. The future of America is too important to accept even a small risk of a Gingrich presidency.
Thursday, January 26, 2012Why No Responsible Democrat Should Want Newt Gingrich to Get the GOP Nomination Republicans are worried sick about Newt Gingrich's ascendance, while Democrats are tickled pink. Yet no responsible Democrat should be pleased at the prospect that Gingrich could get the GOP nomination. The future of America is too important to accept even a small risk of a Gingrich presidency.
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Saturday, August 20, 2011
Stock Tip: Be Worried. Workers are Consumers. We're slouching toward a double dip, and the stock market is imploding, because consumers -- whose spending is 70 percent of the economy -- have reached their limit.
Saturday, August 20, 2011Stock Tip: Be Worried. Workers are Consumers. We're slouching toward a double dip, and the stock market is imploding, because consumers -- whose spending is 70 percent of the economy -- have reached their limit.
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Saturday, December 2, 2017
The True Path to Prosperity The only way to grow the economy is by investing in the education, healthcare, and infrastructure that average Americans need in order to be more productive. Growth doesn't "trickle down." It rises up.
Saturday, December 2, 2017The True Path to Prosperity The only way to grow the economy is by investing in the education, healthcare, and infrastructure that average Americans need in order to be more productive. Growth doesn't "trickle down." It rises up.
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Wednesday, March 11, 2015
The 3 Biggest Myths Blinding Us to the Economic Truth We should worry most about the size of government. Wrong. We should worry about who government is for. When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics, all decisions relating to creating jobs and the choice between the "free market" or "government" become rigged against average working Americans.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015The 3 Biggest Myths Blinding Us to the Economic Truth We should worry most about the size of government. Wrong. We should worry about who government is for. When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics, all decisions relating to creating jobs and the choice between the "free market" or "government" become rigged against average working Americans.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Mitch McConnell's Do-Nothing Republicans. America used to have a Senate that served the people. But under Mitch McConnell's leadership, what was once the world's greatest deliberative body has become a partisan circus. He and his Republican colleagues have done nothing to benefit the American people, ignoring the voices of their constituents in order to serve the will of Donald Trump and Republican fat cats.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020Mitch McConnell's Do-Nothing Republicans. America used to have a Senate that served the people. But under Mitch McConnell's leadership, what was once the world's greatest deliberative body has become a partisan circus. He and his Republican colleagues have done nothing to benefit the American people, ignoring the voices of their constituents in order to serve the will of Donald Trump and Republican fat cats.
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Why Governor LePage Can't Erase History, and Why We Need a Fighter in the White House Pro-business goals are breaking out all over. Governors across America are slashing corporate taxes as they slash state budgets. House and Senate Republicans are intent on deregulating, privatizing, and cutting spending and taxes so their corporate and Wall Street patrons will do even better. But most Americans are still in desperate trouble. Few if any of the economic gains are trickling down.
Thursday, March 24, 2011Why Governor LePage Can't Erase History, and Why We Need a Fighter in the White House Pro-business goals are breaking out all over. Governors across America are slashing corporate taxes as they slash state budgets. House and Senate Republicans are intent on deregulating, privatizing, and cutting spending and taxes so their corporate and Wall Street patrons will do even better. But most Americans are still in desperate trouble. Few if any of the economic gains are trickling down.
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Friday, December 27, 2019
The Darth Vader of Washington As the walls close in around his Dear Leader next year, McConnell will only become more bold in subverting the will of the people to protect Trump's interests.
Friday, December 27, 2019The Darth Vader of Washington As the walls close in around his Dear Leader next year, McConnell will only become more bold in subverting the will of the people to protect Trump's interests.
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Sunday, February 2, 2020
The Real Reason America Is Divided The Great Divider knows how to pit native-born Americans against immigrants, the working class against the poor, whites against blacks and Latinos, evangelicals against secularists, keeping almost everyone stirred up by vilifying, disparaging, denouncing, defaming and accusing others of the worst. Trump thrives off disruption and division.
Sunday, February 2, 2020The Real Reason America Is Divided The Great Divider knows how to pit native-born Americans against immigrants, the working class against the poor, whites against blacks and Latinos, evangelicals against secularists, keeping almost everyone stirred up by vilifying, disparaging, denouncing, defaming and accusing others of the worst. Trump thrives off disruption and division.
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Saturday, June 17, 2017
Government Of, By, and For Trump The horrifying reality is that in Trumpworld, there is no real "public" role. It's all about protecting and benefiting Trump. When loyalty trumps integrity, we no longer have a government of laws. We have a government by and for Trump.
Saturday, June 17, 2017Government Of, By, and For Trump The horrifying reality is that in Trumpworld, there is no real "public" role. It's all about protecting and benefiting Trump. When loyalty trumps integrity, we no longer have a government of laws. We have a government by and for Trump.
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Monday, March 5, 2018
Trump's Brand is Ayn Rand Who is Ayn Rand and why does she matter? Ayn Rand -- best known for two highly-popular novels still widely read today -- "The Fountainhead," published in 1943, and "Atlas Shrugged," in 1957 -- didn't believe there was a common good. She wrote that selfishness is a virtue, and altruism is an evil that destroys nations. This utter selfishness, contempt for the public, this win-at-any-cost mentality is eroding American life.
Monday, March 5, 2018Trump's Brand is Ayn Rand Who is Ayn Rand and why does she matter? Ayn Rand -- best known for two highly-popular novels still widely read today -- "The Fountainhead," published in 1943, and "Atlas Shrugged," in 1957 -- didn't believe there was a common good. She wrote that selfishness is a virtue, and altruism is an evil that destroys nations. This utter selfishness, contempt for the public, this win-at-any-cost mentality is eroding American life.
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Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Will the Democratic Nominee for 2016 Take on the Moneyed Interests? The big unknown is whether the Democratic nominee will also take on the moneyed interests -- the large Wall Street banks, big corporations, and richest Americans -- which have been responsible for the largest upward redistribution of income and wealth in modern American history. Failure to take on the moneyed interests sacrifices the potential enthusiasm of millions of voters.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015Will the Democratic Nominee for 2016 Take on the Moneyed Interests? The big unknown is whether the Democratic nominee will also take on the moneyed interests -- the large Wall Street banks, big corporations, and richest Americans -- which have been responsible for the largest upward redistribution of income and wealth in modern American history. Failure to take on the moneyed interests sacrifices the potential enthusiasm of millions of voters.
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Tuesday, April 7, 2015
The Big Chill: How Big Money Is Buying Off Criticism of Big Money This isn't a matter of ideology. Wealthy progressives can exert as much quiet influence over the agendas of nonprofits as wealthy conservatives. Philanthropy is noble. But when it's mostly in the hands of a few super-rich and giant corporations, and is the only game available, it can easily be abused. Our democracy is directly threatened when the rich buy off politicians.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015The Big Chill: How Big Money Is Buying Off Criticism of Big Money This isn't a matter of ideology. Wealthy progressives can exert as much quiet influence over the agendas of nonprofits as wealthy conservatives. Philanthropy is noble. But when it's mostly in the hands of a few super-rich and giant corporations, and is the only game available, it can easily be abused. Our democracy is directly threatened when the rich buy off politicians.
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Friday, October 11, 2013
The Tea Party Republicans' Biggest Mistake: Confusing Government with Our System of Government Americans distrust big government, and always will. There's ample reason -- especially given the huge sums now bankrolling politicians, coming from a relative handful of billionaires, big corporations, and Wall Street. But we love our system of government. That's what must be strengthened. The Tea Partiers have overplayed their hand. If they don't stop their recklessness, they'll be out of the game.
Friday, October 11, 2013The Tea Party Republicans' Biggest Mistake: Confusing Government with Our System of Government Americans distrust big government, and always will. There's ample reason -- especially given the huge sums now bankrolling politicians, coming from a relative handful of billionaires, big corporations, and Wall Street. But we love our system of government. That's what must be strengthened. The Tea Partiers have overplayed their hand. If they don't stop their recklessness, they'll be out of the game.
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Thursday, May 14, 2015
Ten Ideas to Save the Economy #3: Expand Social Security Social Security will be there for you in your retirement. The problem is it won't pay you enough. That's why it's important to expand Social Security -- not cut Social Security benefits. How? We can afford to increase Social Security benefits, as well as help ensure the solvency of Social Security, by eliminating the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes.
Thursday, May 14, 2015Ten Ideas to Save the Economy #3: Expand Social Security Social Security will be there for you in your retirement. The problem is it won't pay you enough. That's why it's important to expand Social Security -- not cut Social Security benefits. How? We can afford to increase Social Security benefits, as well as help ensure the solvency of Social Security, by eliminating the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes.
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Wednesday, August 2, 2017
A Summer Survival Guide For The Trump Era See what resources you yourselves can offer to your community. Start a tool collective or teach a class in a library or out of someone's house. Tangible change can come from your hands, not only your votes. Remember, resistance works best when people come together and work together.
Wednesday, August 2, 2017A Summer Survival Guide For The Trump Era See what resources you yourselves can offer to your community. Start a tool collective or teach a class in a library or out of someone's house. Tangible change can come from your hands, not only your votes. Remember, resistance works best when people come together and work together.
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Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Should We Abolish Billionaires? America now has more billionaires than at any time in history, while most Americans are struggling to make ends meet. With such staggering inequality, it's fair to ask: should we abolish billionaires? Billionaires themselves aren't the problem. The real failure is in how our economy is organized.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019Should We Abolish Billionaires? America now has more billionaires than at any time in history, while most Americans are struggling to make ends meet. With such staggering inequality, it's fair to ask: should we abolish billionaires? Billionaires themselves aren't the problem. The real failure is in how our economy is organized.
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Wednesday, July 19, 2017
6-Month Update for Trump Voters He said he'd clean the Washington swamp. You bought it. But he's brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history, to make laws that will enrich their businesses, along with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who are crafting new policies for the same industries they recently worked for.
Wednesday, July 19, 20176-Month Update for Trump Voters He said he'd clean the Washington swamp. You bought it. But he's brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history, to make laws that will enrich their businesses, along with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who are crafting new policies for the same industries they recently worked for.
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Friday, November 1, 2013
Why Washington Is Cutting Safety Nets When Most Americans Are Still in the Great Recession It's easy to blame Republicans and the right-wing billionaires that bankroll them, and their unceasing demonization of "big government" as well as deficits. But Democrats in Washington bear some of the responsibility. In last year's fiscal cliff debate neither party pushed to extend the payroll tax holiday or find other ways to help the working middle class and poor.
Friday, November 1, 2013Why Washington Is Cutting Safety Nets When Most Americans Are Still in the Great Recession It's easy to blame Republicans and the right-wing billionaires that bankroll them, and their unceasing demonization of "big government" as well as deficits. But Democrats in Washington bear some of the responsibility. In last year's fiscal cliff debate neither party pushed to extend the payroll tax holiday or find other ways to help the working middle class and poor.
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Wednesday, August 21, 2019
The 5-Step CEO Pay Scam We must stop CEOs from corrupting American politics with big money. Get big money out of our democracy. Fight for campaign finance reform. Grossly widening inequalities of income and wealth cannot be separated from grossly widening inequalities of political power in America. This corruption must end.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019The 5-Step CEO Pay Scam We must stop CEOs from corrupting American politics with big money. Get big money out of our democracy. Fight for campaign finance reform. Grossly widening inequalities of income and wealth cannot be separated from grossly widening inequalities of political power in America. This corruption must end.
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Sunday, March 8, 2020
Why Young Voters Still Love Bernie When middle-aged and older people feel unsafe, they run to the familiar and reliable, even if it's deadly dull. Younger people who feel threatened are more likely to take risks in hopes of finding something better.
Sunday, March 8, 2020Why Young Voters Still Love Bernie When middle-aged and older people feel unsafe, they run to the familiar and reliable, even if it's deadly dull. Younger people who feel threatened are more likely to take risks in hopes of finding something better.
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Budget Baloney (1): Why Social Security Isn't a Problem for 26 Years, and the Best Way to Fix It Permanently Social Security isn't responsible for the federal deficit. Just the opposite. Until last year Social Security took in more payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits. It lent the surpluses to the rest of the government.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011Budget Baloney (1): Why Social Security Isn't a Problem for 26 Years, and the Best Way to Fix It Permanently Social Security isn't responsible for the federal deficit. Just the opposite. Until last year Social Security took in more payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits. It lent the surpluses to the rest of the government.
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Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Case Closed. There's No Question the Founding Fathers Would Impeach Trump Trump's entire presidency has been shadowed by questions of foreign interference favoring him. Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation documented extensive contacts between Trump's associates and Russian figures -- concluding that the Kremlin sought specifically to help Trump get elected, and that Trump's campaign welcomed Russia's help.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019Case Closed. There's No Question the Founding Fathers Would Impeach Trump Trump's entire presidency has been shadowed by questions of foreign interference favoring him. Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation documented extensive contacts between Trump's associates and Russian figures -- concluding that the Kremlin sought specifically to help Trump get elected, and that Trump's campaign welcomed Russia's help.
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Sunday, November 10, 2019
Power and Lies Facebook and Twitter aren't just participants in the information marketplace. They're quickly becoming the information marketplace. Antitrust law was designed to check the power of giant commercial entities. Its purpose wasn't just to hold down consumer prices but also to protect democracy. Antitrust should be used against Facebook and Twitter. They should be broken up.
Sunday, November 10, 2019Power and Lies Facebook and Twitter aren't just participants in the information marketplace. They're quickly becoming the information marketplace. Antitrust law was designed to check the power of giant commercial entities. Its purpose wasn't just to hold down consumer prices but also to protect democracy. Antitrust should be used against Facebook and Twitter. They should be broken up.
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Romney's Latest Lie, His Former Lies, and Why We Must Not Put Liars in the White House Anyone who tells or countenances lies such as Romney tells cannot be trusted to hold the highest office in our land, because he has no compunctions about feeding false information to the public. In recent memory we've had a president who told us there were "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, when in fact there were none. We dare not risk another George W. Bush.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012Romney's Latest Lie, His Former Lies, and Why We Must Not Put Liars in the White House Anyone who tells or countenances lies such as Romney tells cannot be trusted to hold the highest office in our land, because he has no compunctions about feeding false information to the public. In recent memory we've had a president who told us there were "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, when in fact there were none. We dare not risk another George W. Bush.
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Saturday, December 9, 2017
Why Making American Corporations More Competitive Doesn't Help Most Americans Most American corporations -- especially big ones that would get most of the planned corporate tax cuts -- have no particular allegiance to America. Their only allegiance is to their shareholders. So restoring their "competitive edge" has little or nothing to do with helping American workers.
Saturday, December 9, 2017Why Making American Corporations More Competitive Doesn't Help Most Americans Most American corporations -- especially big ones that would get most of the planned corporate tax cuts -- have no particular allegiance to America. Their only allegiance is to their shareholders. So restoring their "competitive edge" has little or nothing to do with helping American workers.
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Friday, August 10, 2012
Erasing W The GOP is counting on America's notoriously short-term memory to blot out the last time the nation put a Republican into the Oval Office, on the reasonable assumption that such a memory might cause voters to avoid making the same mistake twice. As whoever-it-was once said, "fool me once ..." (and then mangled the rest).
Friday, August 10, 2012Erasing W The GOP is counting on America's notoriously short-term memory to blot out the last time the nation put a Republican into the Oval Office, on the reasonable assumption that such a memory might cause voters to avoid making the same mistake twice. As whoever-it-was once said, "fool me once ..." (and then mangled the rest).
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Thursday, July 4, 2019
Moderates and Centrists Are No Safe Bet The country has been taken over by undocumented immigrants, Latinos, African-Americans, and a "deep state" of coastal liberals, intelligence agencies, and mainstream media. This is rubbish, of course, but the tyrant is masterful at telling big lies, and he is backed by the oligarchy's big money.
Thursday, July 4, 2019Moderates and Centrists Are No Safe Bet The country has been taken over by undocumented immigrants, Latinos, African-Americans, and a "deep state" of coastal liberals, intelligence agencies, and mainstream media. This is rubbish, of course, but the tyrant is masterful at telling big lies, and he is backed by the oligarchy's big money.
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Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Trump leaves Defense Department in disarray Surrounded by inexperienced "yes men" who cannot, or will not, control his worst impulses, Trump has brashly brought us to the brink of an international crisis.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020Trump leaves Defense Department in disarray Surrounded by inexperienced "yes men" who cannot, or will not, control his worst impulses, Trump has brashly brought us to the brink of an international crisis.
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Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Aetna Shows Why We Need a Single Payer The problem isn't Obamacare per se. It's in the structure of private markets for health insurance -- which creates powerful incentives to avoid sick people and attract healthy ones. Obamacare is just making the structural problem more obvious. Insurers that take in too many sick and too few healthy people are driven out of business.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016Aetna Shows Why We Need a Single Payer The problem isn't Obamacare per se. It's in the structure of private markets for health insurance -- which creates powerful incentives to avoid sick people and attract healthy ones. Obamacare is just making the structural problem more obvious. Insurers that take in too many sick and too few healthy people are driven out of business.
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Saturday, March 22, 2014
The Real Truth About ObamaCare Remedies could evolve. States might use their state-run exchanges to funnel so many applicants to a single, low-cost insurer that the insurer becomes, in effect, a single payer. Vermont is already moving in this direction. In this way, the Affordable Care Act could become a back door to a single-payer system -- every conservative's worst nightmare.
Saturday, March 22, 2014The Real Truth About ObamaCare Remedies could evolve. States might use their state-run exchanges to funnel so many applicants to a single, low-cost insurer that the insurer becomes, in effect, a single payer. Vermont is already moving in this direction. In this way, the Affordable Care Act could become a back door to a single-payer system -- every conservative's worst nightmare.
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Sunday, June 23, 2019
Forget China -- it's America's own economic system that's broken The American economic system is focused on maximizing shareholder returns. And it's achieving that goal: on Friday, the S&P 500 notched a new all-time high. But average Americans have seen no significant gains in their incomes for four decades, adjusted for inflation.
Sunday, June 23, 2019Forget China -- it's America's own economic system that's broken The American economic system is focused on maximizing shareholder returns. And it's achieving that goal: on Friday, the S&P 500 notched a new all-time high. But average Americans have seen no significant gains in their incomes for four decades, adjusted for inflation.
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Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Who is Worse: Donald Trump or Mitch McConnell? As to the question of who is worse, Trump or McConnell, the answer is that it's too close to call. The two of them have degraded and corrupted American democracy. We need them both out.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019Who is Worse: Donald Trump or Mitch McConnell? As to the question of who is worse, Trump or McConnell, the answer is that it's too close to call. The two of them have degraded and corrupted American democracy. We need them both out.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2016
"The Big Short" and Bernie's Plan to Bust Up Wall Street The only way to contain the Street's excesses is by taking on its economic and political power directly -- with reforms so big, bold, and public they can't be watered down. Starting with busting up the biggest banks, as Bernie Sanders proposes. Unless they're broken up and Glass-Steagall resurrected, we face substantial risk of another near-meltdown.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016"The Big Short" and Bernie's Plan to Bust Up Wall Street The only way to contain the Street's excesses is by taking on its economic and political power directly -- with reforms so big, bold, and public they can't be watered down. Starting with busting up the biggest banks, as Bernie Sanders proposes. Unless they're broken up and Glass-Steagall resurrected, we face substantial risk of another near-meltdown.
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Monday, September 5, 2016
A Message to Working People on Labor Day from a former labor secretary Your typical wage is below what it was in the late 1970s, in terms of what it can buy. Two-thirds of you are living paycheck to paycheck. Almost 30 percent of you don't have steady employment: You're working part-time or on contract, with none of the labor protections created over the last 80 years. Yet the American economy is twice as large as it was in the late 1970s.
Monday, September 5, 2016A Message to Working People on Labor Day from a former labor secretary Your typical wage is below what it was in the late 1970s, in terms of what it can buy. Two-thirds of you are living paycheck to paycheck. Almost 30 percent of you don't have steady employment: You're working part-time or on contract, with none of the labor protections created over the last 80 years. Yet the American economy is twice as large as it was in the late 1970s.
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Wednesday, January 22, 2020
How Trump Manufactured the Hunter Biden-Ukraine Scandal For months, Trump and his Republican enablers have been selling a counter-narrative, to distract from Trump's effort to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, and Russia's attempt in 2016 to help Trump win the election.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020How Trump Manufactured the Hunter Biden-Ukraine Scandal For months, Trump and his Republican enablers have been selling a counter-narrative, to distract from Trump's effort to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, and Russia's attempt in 2016 to help Trump win the election.
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Sunday, June 28, 2020
Layoffs While millions of Americans have lost their jobs during this pandemic, America's billionaires have grown their wealth by more than $500 billion. It's never been more clear: Profit-sharing needs to make a comeback.
Sunday, June 28, 2020Layoffs While millions of Americans have lost their jobs during this pandemic, America's billionaires have grown their wealth by more than $500 billion. It's never been more clear: Profit-sharing needs to make a comeback.
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Friday, October 13, 2017
Is Trump Unraveling? Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair, who wrote that the situation has gotten so out of control that Trump's chief of staff, John Kelly, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis have discussed ways to stop Trump should he order a nuclear attack. Kelly has tried to keep Trump focused by intercepting outside phone calls to the White House and restricting access to the Oval Office.
Friday, October 13, 2017Is Trump Unraveling? Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair, who wrote that the situation has gotten so out of control that Trump's chief of staff, John Kelly, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis have discussed ways to stop Trump should he order a nuclear attack. Kelly has tried to keep Trump focused by intercepting outside phone calls to the White House and restricting access to the Oval Office.
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Wednesday, June 7, 2017
The Real Leaky Problem The arrest of Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old federal contractor from Atlanta, Georgia, for leaking a National Security Agency report describing in far more detail than previously known Russian efforts to intrude in the 2016 election on behalf of Trump, comes in the midst of a deluge of Trump tweets and leaks.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017The Real Leaky Problem The arrest of Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old federal contractor from Atlanta, Georgia, for leaking a National Security Agency report describing in far more detail than previously known Russian efforts to intrude in the 2016 election on behalf of Trump, comes in the midst of a deluge of Trump tweets and leaks.
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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Romneyism Despite its contradictions and ellipses, Romneyism has an internal coherence. It is different from conservatism, because it does not intend to conserve or protect any particular institutions or values. It is also distinct from Republicanism, in that it is not rooted in traditional small-town American values, nationalism, or states' rights.
Saturday, November 3, 2012Romneyism Despite its contradictions and ellipses, Romneyism has an internal coherence. It is different from conservatism, because it does not intend to conserve or protect any particular institutions or values. It is also distinct from Republicanism, in that it is not rooted in traditional small-town American values, nationalism, or states' rights.
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Monday, August 1, 2016
The Real Reckoning Hillary Clinton said in her acceptance speech, "I believe that our economy isn't working the way it should because our democracy isn't working the way it should." She's correct, but she didn't finish the logic. Democracy is not working the way it should because it's being corrupted by big money. That big money is altering the rules of the game to generate even bigger money.
Monday, August 1, 2016The Real Reckoning Hillary Clinton said in her acceptance speech, "I believe that our economy isn't working the way it should because our democracy isn't working the way it should." She's correct, but she didn't finish the logic. Democracy is not working the way it should because it's being corrupted by big money. That big money is altering the rules of the game to generate even bigger money.
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Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Why 2020 Won't Be Won By Centrists Beating Donald Trump requires getting out the vote. And in order to get people to turn out and vote, a presidential candidate has to be inspiring. Which means big ideas, a vision of an America that could become a reality if we all got behind it, a sense of where we need to be heading.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019Why 2020 Won't Be Won By Centrists Beating Donald Trump requires getting out the vote. And in order to get people to turn out and vote, a presidential candidate has to be inspiring. Which means big ideas, a vision of an America that could become a reality if we all got behind it, a sense of where we need to be heading.
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Wednesday, January 1, 2020
The Sham of Corporate Social Responsibility American corporations are sacrificing workers and communities as never before, in order to further boost record profits and unprecedented CEO pay.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020The Sham of Corporate Social Responsibility American corporations are sacrificing workers and communities as never before, in order to further boost record profits and unprecedented CEO pay.
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Sunday, August 20, 2017
How to Remove Trump Inside the administration, there are moves to contain and isolate the manchild. On foreign policy, the Axis of Adults -- Chief of staff General John Kelly, national security advisor General H.R. McMaster, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson -- are asserting tighter control, especially after Trump's tweetstorm over North Korea.
Sunday, August 20, 2017How to Remove Trump Inside the administration, there are moves to contain and isolate the manchild. On foreign policy, the Axis of Adults -- Chief of staff General John Kelly, national security advisor General H.R. McMaster, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson -- are asserting tighter control, especially after Trump's tweetstorm over North Korea.
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Fanatical GOP Although the GOP crackup may bode well for Democrats this coming Election Day, it bodes ill for America. The capture of one of our great parties by fanatics is nothing to celebrate. A democracy needs at least two sane political parties.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012The Fanatical GOP Although the GOP crackup may bode well for Democrats this coming Election Day, it bodes ill for America. The capture of one of our great parties by fanatics is nothing to celebrate. A democracy needs at least two sane political parties.
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Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Trump's Obstruction Of Justice Obstruction of justice was among the articles of impeachment drafted against both Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The parallel between Nixon and Trump is almost exact. White House tapes revealed Nixon giving instructions to pressure the acting FBI director into halting the Watergate investigation.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017Trump's Obstruction Of Justice Obstruction of justice was among the articles of impeachment drafted against both Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The parallel between Nixon and Trump is almost exact. White House tapes revealed Nixon giving instructions to pressure the acting FBI director into halting the Watergate investigation.
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Saturday, January 11, 2020
American firms aren't beholden to America -- but that's news to Trump Even when it comes to technologies linked to national security, American firms have no particular allegiance to America. They'll make and sell anything, anywhere, unless US law stops them.
Saturday, January 11, 2020American firms aren't beholden to America -- but that's news to Trump Even when it comes to technologies linked to national security, American firms have no particular allegiance to America. They'll make and sell anything, anywhere, unless US law stops them.
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Sunday, March 18, 2018
Trump -- The Mad King Narcissists are dangerous because they think only about themselves. Megalomaniacs are dangerous because they think only about their power and invincibility. A narcissistic megalomaniac who's unconstrained -- and who's also president of the United States -- is about as dangerous as they come. World leaders are now taking Trump's braggadocio and ignorance for granted, acting as if America has no president.
Sunday, March 18, 2018Trump -- The Mad King Narcissists are dangerous because they think only about themselves. Megalomaniacs are dangerous because they think only about their power and invincibility. A narcissistic megalomaniac who's unconstrained -- and who's also president of the United States -- is about as dangerous as they come. World leaders are now taking Trump's braggadocio and ignorance for granted, acting as if America has no president.
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Sunday, March 31, 2019
Corporations are endangering Americans. Trump doesn't care Big money has had an inhibiting effect on regulators in several previous administrations. What's unique under Trump is the blatancy of it all, and the shameless willingness of Trump appointees to turn a blind eye to corporate wrongdoing.
Sunday, March 31, 2019Corporations are endangering Americans. Trump doesn't care Big money has had an inhibiting effect on regulators in several previous administrations. What's unique under Trump is the blatancy of it all, and the shameless willingness of Trump appointees to turn a blind eye to corporate wrongdoing.
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Monday, December 16, 2019
Donald Trump fears only one Democrat: Warren Sanders If the backers of both Sanders and Warren come together behind one of them, they'll have the votes to take the White House and even flip the Senate.
Monday, December 16, 2019Donald Trump fears only one Democrat: Warren Sanders If the backers of both Sanders and Warren come together behind one of them, they'll have the votes to take the White House and even flip the Senate.
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Saturday, November 2, 2019
Democrats Reject Oligarchy or Else In the conventional view of American politics, Joe Biden is a moderate while Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are on the left and Donald Trump is on the right. This conventional view is rubbish. Today's great divide is not between left and right. It's between democracy and oligarchy.
Saturday, November 2, 2019Democrats Reject Oligarchy or Else In the conventional view of American politics, Joe Biden is a moderate while Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are on the left and Donald Trump is on the right. This conventional view is rubbish. Today's great divide is not between left and right. It's between democracy and oligarchy.
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Sunday, January 17, 2016
Six Responses to Bernie Skeptics Bernie is the strongest Democratic candidate in the general election, defeating both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in hypothetical matchups. (The latest Real Clear Politics averages of all polls shows Bernie beating Trump by a larger margin than Hillary beats Trump, and Bernie beating Cruz while Hillary loses to Cruz.)
Sunday, January 17, 2016Six Responses to Bernie Skeptics Bernie is the strongest Democratic candidate in the general election, defeating both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in hypothetical matchups. (The latest Real Clear Politics averages of all polls shows Bernie beating Trump by a larger margin than Hillary beats Trump, and Bernie beating Cruz while Hillary loses to Cruz.)
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Tuesday, February 25, 2020
5 Ways William Barr is Turning America into a Dictatorship William Barr was installed as Attorney General specifically to turn the Department of Justice into an arm of the Trump Coverup. And we've seen him do exactly that. Barr has corrupted and politicized the Department of Justice, working hand in hand with Donald Trump to bend federal law enforcement to the president's will.
Tuesday, February 25, 20205 Ways William Barr is Turning America into a Dictatorship William Barr was installed as Attorney General specifically to turn the Department of Justice into an arm of the Trump Coverup. And we've seen him do exactly that. Barr has corrupted and politicized the Department of Justice, working hand in hand with Donald Trump to bend federal law enforcement to the president's will.
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Friday, August 24, 2012
Romney's Lying Machine Every campaign is guilty of exaggerations, embellishments, distortions, and half-truths. But this is another thing altogether. I've been directly involved in seven presidential campaigns, and I don't recall a presidential candidate lying with such audacity, over and over again. Why does Romney do it, and how can he get away with it?
Friday, August 24, 2012Romney's Lying Machine Every campaign is guilty of exaggerations, embellishments, distortions, and half-truths. But this is another thing altogether. I've been directly involved in seven presidential campaigns, and I don't recall a presidential candidate lying with such audacity, over and over again. Why does Romney do it, and how can he get away with it?
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Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The "iEverything" and the Redistributional Imperative Most of us will have less and less money to buy the dazzling array of products and services spawned by blockbuster technologies -- because those same technologies will be supplanting our jobs and driving down our pay. We need a new economic model.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015The "iEverything" and the Redistributional Imperative Most of us will have less and less money to buy the dazzling array of products and services spawned by blockbuster technologies -- because those same technologies will be supplanting our jobs and driving down our pay. We need a new economic model.
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
America Rejects Trumpism The nation has repudiated Trump, but do not believe for a moment that our national nightmare is over. Trump still occupies the White House and in all likelihood will be there for two more years. The Republican Party remains in control of the Senate.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018America Rejects Trumpism The nation has repudiated Trump, but do not believe for a moment that our national nightmare is over. Trump still occupies the White House and in all likelihood will be there for two more years. The Republican Party remains in control of the Senate.
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Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Attack on American Education Have we gone collectively out of our minds? Our young people -- their capacities to think, understand, investigate, and innovate -- are America's future. In the name of fiscal prudence we're endangering that future.
Thursday, December 23, 2010The Attack on American Education Have we gone collectively out of our minds? Our young people -- their capacities to think, understand, investigate, and innovate -- are America's future. In the name of fiscal prudence we're endangering that future.
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Sunday, February 22, 2015
Why We're All Becoming Independent Contractors Any corporation that accounts for at least 80 percent of the work someone does, or receives at least 20 percent of his or her earnings, should be presumed to be that person's "employer." Congress doesn't have to pass a new law to make this the test of employment. The Labor Department and the IRS have the power to do this on their own, through their rule making authority. They should do so. Now.
Sunday, February 22, 2015Why We're All Becoming Independent Contractors Any corporation that accounts for at least 80 percent of the work someone does, or receives at least 20 percent of his or her earnings, should be presumed to be that person's "employer." Congress doesn't have to pass a new law to make this the test of employment. The Labor Department and the IRS have the power to do this on their own, through their rule making authority. They should do so. Now.
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Sunday, February 23, 2020
The Real Cost of Doing Nothing We can no longer pretend that climate change, a wildly dysfunctional healthcare system and a yawning deficit in public investment pose insignificant challenges. Doing nothing or doing too little will make them far worse. Obsessing about the cost of addressing them without acknowledging the cost of failing to address them is dangerously irresponsible.
Sunday, February 23, 2020The Real Cost of Doing Nothing We can no longer pretend that climate change, a wildly dysfunctional healthcare system and a yawning deficit in public investment pose insignificant challenges. Doing nothing or doing too little will make them far worse. Obsessing about the cost of addressing them without acknowledging the cost of failing to address them is dangerously irresponsible.
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Austerity Death-Trap The only way out of this vicious cycle is for the government -- the spender of last resort -- to boost the economy. The regressives are all calling for the opposite. And if you think 2011 is bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011The Austerity Death-Trap The only way out of this vicious cycle is for the government -- the spender of last resort -- to boost the economy. The regressives are all calling for the opposite. And if you think 2011 is bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
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Sunday, May 31, 2015
10 Ways To Make The Economy Work For The Many, Not The Few: #7, Strengthen Unions, Pre-empt State "Right To Work" Laws American workers need a union to bargain on their behalf. Low-wage workers in big-box retail stores and fast-food chains need a union even more. If we want average Americans to get a fair share of the gains from economic growth, they need to be able to unionize.
Sunday, May 31, 201510 Ways To Make The Economy Work For The Many, Not The Few: #7, Strengthen Unions, Pre-empt State "Right To Work" Laws American workers need a union to bargain on their behalf. Low-wage workers in big-box retail stores and fast-food chains need a union even more. If we want average Americans to get a fair share of the gains from economic growth, they need to be able to unionize.
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Thursday, April 9, 2020
Dear Bernie Robert Reich thanks Bernie Sanders for all that he has done for this nation.
Thursday, April 9, 2020Dear Bernie Robert Reich thanks Bernie Sanders for all that he has done for this nation.
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Friday, August 31, 2012
Labor Day 2012 and the Election of 2012: It's Inequality, Stupid The most troubling economic trend facing America this Labor Day weekend is the increasing concentration of income, wealth, and political power at the very top -- among a handful of extraordinarily wealthy people -- and the steady decline of the great American middle class.
Friday, August 31, 2012Labor Day 2012 and the Election of 2012: It's Inequality, Stupid The most troubling economic trend facing America this Labor Day weekend is the increasing concentration of income, wealth, and political power at the very top -- among a handful of extraordinarily wealthy people -- and the steady decline of the great American middle class.
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Corporations Don't Need a Tax Cut, So Why Is Obama Proposing One? he federal budget deficit is ballooning, and in less than a year, major cuts are scheduled to slice everything from prenatal care to Medicare. So this would seem to be the ideal time to raise corporate taxes -- or at the very least close corporate tax loopholes without lowering corporate rates.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012Corporations Don't Need a Tax Cut, So Why Is Obama Proposing One? he federal budget deficit is ballooning, and in less than a year, major cuts are scheduled to slice everything from prenatal care to Medicare. So this would seem to be the ideal time to raise corporate taxes -- or at the very least close corporate tax loopholes without lowering corporate rates.
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Friday, June 19, 2020
7 Ways 2020 Has Exposed America We can no longer accept piecemeal reforms of our broken systems. We need to reimagine a political and economic system that values humanity and builds prosperity for every American. Let's get to work.
Friday, June 19, 20207 Ways 2020 Has Exposed America We can no longer accept piecemeal reforms of our broken systems. We need to reimagine a political and economic system that values humanity and builds prosperity for every American. Let's get to work.
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Sunday, April 21, 2019
Trump's moral squalor, not impeachment, will remove him from power Let's be real. Trump will not be removed by impeachment. No president has been. With a Republican Senate controlled by the most irresponsible political hack ever to be majority leader, the chances are nil. Which means Trump will have to be removed the old-fashioned way by voters in an election 19 months away.
Sunday, April 21, 2019Trump's moral squalor, not impeachment, will remove him from power Let's be real. Trump will not be removed by impeachment. No president has been. With a Republican Senate controlled by the most irresponsible political hack ever to be majority leader, the chances are nil. Which means Trump will have to be removed the old-fashioned way by voters in an election 19 months away.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Ignore the bankers -- the Trump economy is not worth more coronavirus deaths Donald Trump is concerned that a prolonged lockdown might harm his chances of re-election. "We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem," the president said last week, announcing that America would be "open for business" by Easter.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020Ignore the bankers -- the Trump economy is not worth more coronavirus deaths Donald Trump is concerned that a prolonged lockdown might harm his chances of re-election. "We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem," the president said last week, announcing that America would be "open for business" by Easter.
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Truth About the Economy Nobody In Washington Or On Wall Street Will Admit: We're Heading Back Toward a Double Dip There's no possibility government will make up for the coming shortfall in consumer spending. To the contrary, government is worsening the situation. State and local governments are slashing their budgets by roughly $110-billion this year. The federal stimulus is ending, and the federal government will end up cutting some $30-billion from this year's budget.
Thursday, March 31, 2011The Truth About the Economy Nobody In Washington Or On Wall Street Will Admit: We're Heading Back Toward a Double Dip There's no possibility government will make up for the coming shortfall in consumer spending. To the contrary, government is worsening the situation. State and local governments are slashing their budgets by roughly $110-billion this year. The federal stimulus is ending, and the federal government will end up cutting some $30-billion from this year's budget.
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Saturday, January 18, 2014
David Brooks' Utter Ignorance About Inequality Not only is there less money for good schools, job training, and social services, but the poor face a difficult challenge moving upward because the income ladder is longer than it used to be and its middle rungs have disappeared. That David Brooks, one of the most thoughtful of conservative pundits, doesn't see or acknowledge this is a sign of how far the right has moved away from the reality most Americans live in every day.
Saturday, January 18, 2014David Brooks' Utter Ignorance About Inequality Not only is there less money for good schools, job training, and social services, but the poor face a difficult challenge moving upward because the income ladder is longer than it used to be and its middle rungs have disappeared. That David Brooks, one of the most thoughtful of conservative pundits, doesn't see or acknowledge this is a sign of how far the right has moved away from the reality most Americans live in every day.
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Thursday, October 31, 2019
6 Ways Trump Has Sold Out America One of Donald Trump's main campaign promises was to put "America First" and defend American interests above all else. It was a theme that riled up his base at rallies across the country, but this has turned out to be yet another big lie.
Thursday, October 31, 20196 Ways Trump Has Sold Out America One of Donald Trump's main campaign promises was to put "America First" and defend American interests above all else. It was a theme that riled up his base at rallies across the country, but this has turned out to be yet another big lie.
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Saturday, August 14, 2010
America's Biggest Jobs Program -- the U.S. Military Wouldn't it be better to have a jobs program that created things we really need -- like light-rail trains, better school facilities, public parks, water and sewer systems, and non-carbon energy sources -- than things we don't, like obsolete weapons systems?
Saturday, August 14, 2010America's Biggest Jobs Program -- the U.S. Military Wouldn't it be better to have a jobs program that created things we really need -- like light-rail trains, better school facilities, public parks, water and sewer systems, and non-carbon energy sources -- than things we don't, like obsolete weapons systems?
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Thursday, July 14, 2016
A Citizen's Guide to the Upcoming Conventions Our two major political parties no longer nominate people to be president. Candidates choose themselves, they run in primaries, and the winners of the primaries become the parties' nominees. The parties have instead become giant machines for producing infomercials, raising big money and rewarding top sales reps with big bashes every four years.
Thursday, July 14, 2016A Citizen's Guide to the Upcoming Conventions Our two major political parties no longer nominate people to be president. Candidates choose themselves, they run in primaries, and the winners of the primaries become the parties' nominees. The parties have instead become giant machines for producing infomercials, raising big money and rewarding top sales reps with big bashes every four years.
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Monday, February 5, 2018
Trump's Divide-and-Conquer Strategy Trump has forced all of us to take sides, and to despise those on the other. There's no middle ground. The Republican Party used to stand for fiscal responsibility, state's rights, free trade, and a hard line against Russian aggression. Now it just stands for Trump.
Monday, February 5, 2018Trump's Divide-and-Conquer Strategy Trump has forced all of us to take sides, and to despise those on the other. There's no middle ground. The Republican Party used to stand for fiscal responsibility, state's rights, free trade, and a hard line against Russian aggression. Now it just stands for Trump.
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Saturday, March 10, 2018
America's Shkreli Problem Shkreli will do whatever it takes to win, regardless of the consequences for anyone else. He believes that the norms other people live by don't apply to him. His attitude toward the law is that anything he wants to do is okay unless it is clearly illegal -- and even if illegal, it's okay if he can get away with it. He is utterly shameless.
Saturday, March 10, 2018America's Shkreli Problem Shkreli will do whatever it takes to win, regardless of the consequences for anyone else. He believes that the norms other people live by don't apply to him. His attitude toward the law is that anything he wants to do is okay unless it is clearly illegal -- and even if illegal, it's okay if he can get away with it. He is utterly shameless.
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Monday, March 24, 2014
The New Tribalism and the Decline of the Nation State The world's "melting pot" is changing color. Between the 2000 and 2010 census, the share of the U.S. population calling itself white dropped from 69 to 64 percent, and more than half of the nation's population growth came from Hispanics. It's also becoming more divided by economic class. Increasingly, the rich seem to inhabit a different country than the rest.
Monday, March 24, 2014The New Tribalism and the Decline of the Nation State The world's "melting pot" is changing color. Between the 2000 and 2010 census, the share of the U.S. population calling itself white dropped from 69 to 64 percent, and more than half of the nation's population growth came from Hispanics. It's also becoming more divided by economic class. Increasingly, the rich seem to inhabit a different country than the rest.
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Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Four Reasons Why Millennials Don't Have Any Money Millennials aren't teenagers anymore. They're working hard, starting families and trying to build wealth. But as a generation, they're way behind. They're deeper in debt, only half as likely to own a home, and more likely to live in poverty than their parents.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020Four Reasons Why Millennials Don't Have Any Money Millennials aren't teenagers anymore. They're working hard, starting families and trying to build wealth. But as a generation, they're way behind. They're deeper in debt, only half as likely to own a home, and more likely to live in poverty than their parents.
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Sunday, March 8, 2020
Everyone got Super Tuesday wrong. The three biggest surprises: Neither Biden nor Bernie is a perfect candidate. Bernie's personality grates on some, while Biden's policy history turns off some. In the coming contest between Bernie and Biden, younger and older Democrats have very different ideas about who can best defeat Trump.
Sunday, March 8, 2020Everyone got Super Tuesday wrong. The three biggest surprises: Neither Biden nor Bernie is a perfect candidate. Bernie's personality grates on some, while Biden's policy history turns off some. In the coming contest between Bernie and Biden, younger and older Democrats have very different ideas about who can best defeat Trump.
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Should the Supreme Court Be Reformed? In recent years the legitimacy of the Supreme Court has come under question as Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Senate Republicans have bent the nomination process for their own political gain.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019Should the Supreme Court Be Reformed? In recent years the legitimacy of the Supreme Court has come under question as Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Senate Republicans have bent the nomination process for their own political gain.
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Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Trump's "Deep State" is Trump's Corrupt State Not since Warren G. Harding's sordid administration have as many grifters, crooks and cronies occupied high positions in Washington. Trump has installed a Star Wars Cantina of former lobbyists and con artists, including several whose exploits have already forced them to resign, such as Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Tom Price, and Michael Flynn. Many others remain.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019Trump's "Deep State" is Trump's Corrupt State Not since Warren G. Harding's sordid administration have as many grifters, crooks and cronies occupied high positions in Washington. Trump has installed a Star Wars Cantina of former lobbyists and con artists, including several whose exploits have already forced them to resign, such as Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Tom Price, and Michael Flynn. Many others remain.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Dear Trump Voter... Trump administration is rigging the system for the extremely wealthy from the inside. They want to make it easier for banks to once again gamble with your money and repeat our financial crisis. They want to cut health care for millions of you. They want to lower taxes on corporations and the rich. They want to get rid of rules that stop corporations from harming your health or safety.
Wednesday, August 23, 2017Dear Trump Voter... Trump administration is rigging the system for the extremely wealthy from the inside. They want to make it easier for banks to once again gamble with your money and repeat our financial crisis. They want to cut health care for millions of you. They want to lower taxes on corporations and the rich. They want to get rid of rules that stop corporations from harming your health or safety.
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Friday, May 11, 2012
How J.P. Morgan Chase Has Made the Case for Breaking Up The Big Banks and Resurrecting Glass-Steagall Let's also stop hoping Wall Street will mend itself. What just happened at J.P. Morgan -- along with its leader's cavalier dismissal followed by lame reassurance -- reveals how fragile and opaque the banking system continues to be, why Glass-Steagall must be resurrected, and why the Dallas Fed's recent recommendation that Wall Street's giant banks be broken up should be heeded.
Friday, May 11, 2012How J.P. Morgan Chase Has Made the Case for Breaking Up The Big Banks and Resurrecting Glass-Steagall Let's also stop hoping Wall Street will mend itself. What just happened at J.P. Morgan -- along with its leader's cavalier dismissal followed by lame reassurance -- reveals how fragile and opaque the banking system continues to be, why Glass-Steagall must be resurrected, and why the Dallas Fed's recent recommendation that Wall Street's giant banks be broken up should be heeded.
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Friday, November 27, 2015
Why The Sharing Economy Is Harming Workers -- And What Must Be Done Already two-thirds of American workers are living paycheck to paycheck. This trend shifts all economic risks onto workers. A downturn in demand, or sudden change in consumer needs, or a personal injury or sickness, can make it impossible to pay the bills. It eliminates labor protections such as the minimum wage, worker safety, family and medical leave, and overtime.
Friday, November 27, 2015Why The Sharing Economy Is Harming Workers -- And What Must Be Done Already two-thirds of American workers are living paycheck to paycheck. This trend shifts all economic risks onto workers. A downturn in demand, or sudden change in consumer needs, or a personal injury or sickness, can make it impossible to pay the bills. It eliminates labor protections such as the minimum wage, worker safety, family and medical leave, and overtime.
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Wednesday, March 22, 2017
My Visit to Trump's Washington Republicans (and their patrons in big business) no longer believe Trump will give them cover to do what they want to do. They're becoming afraid Trump is genuinely nuts, and he'll pull the party down with him.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017My Visit to Trump's Washington Republicans (and their patrons in big business) no longer believe Trump will give them cover to do what they want to do. They're becoming afraid Trump is genuinely nuts, and he'll pull the party down with him.
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Saturday, May 6, 2017
The Moral Travesty of Trumpcare Shame on every one of the 217 Republicans who voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, and substitute basically nothing. Trumpcare isn't a replacement of the Affordable Care Act. It's a transfer from the sick and poor to the rich and healthy.
Saturday, May 6, 2017The Moral Travesty of Trumpcare Shame on every one of the 217 Republicans who voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, and substitute basically nothing. Trumpcare isn't a replacement of the Affordable Care Act. It's a transfer from the sick and poor to the rich and healthy.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
The Coming Shutdowns and Showdowns: What's Really at Stake America is the richest nation in the world, and "we've" never been richer. There's no reason for us to turn on our teachers, our unionized workers, our poor and needy, and our elderly. The notion that "we" can no longer afford it is claptrap.
Monday, February 21, 2011The Coming Shutdowns and Showdowns: What's Really at Stake America is the richest nation in the world, and "we've" never been richer. There's no reason for us to turn on our teachers, our unionized workers, our poor and needy, and our elderly. The notion that "we" can no longer afford it is claptrap.
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Sunday, November 20, 2016
The First 100 Day Resistance Agenda rump's First 100 Day agenda includes repealing environmental regulations, Obamacare, and the Dodd-Frank Act, giving the rich a huge tax cut, and much worse. Here's the First 100 Day resistance agenda. We need investigative journalists to dig into the backgrounds of all of Trump's appointees, in the White House, the Cabinet, Ambassadors and judges.
Sunday, November 20, 2016The First 100 Day Resistance Agenda rump's First 100 Day agenda includes repealing environmental regulations, Obamacare, and the Dodd-Frank Act, giving the rich a huge tax cut, and much worse. Here's the First 100 Day resistance agenda. We need investigative journalists to dig into the backgrounds of all of Trump's appointees, in the White House, the Cabinet, Ambassadors and judges.
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Thursday, April 23, 2020
The solutions to the climate crisis no one is talking about Both our economy and the environment are in crisis. The climate crisis is worsening inequality, as those who are most economically vulnerable bear the brunt of flooding, fires, and disruptions of supplies of food, water, and power.
Thursday, April 23, 2020The solutions to the climate crisis no one is talking about Both our economy and the environment are in crisis. The climate crisis is worsening inequality, as those who are most economically vulnerable bear the brunt of flooding, fires, and disruptions of supplies of food, water, and power.
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Sunday, March 29, 2020
Listen To Doctors, Not Bankers When billionaires and corporate executives recommend Americans get back to work for the sake of the "economy," they're really urging that other people get sick, and possibly die, for the sake of their own stock portfolios.
Sunday, March 29, 2020Listen To Doctors, Not Bankers When billionaires and corporate executives recommend Americans get back to work for the sake of the "economy," they're really urging that other people get sick, and possibly die, for the sake of their own stock portfolios.
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Thursday, August 8, 2019
The Myth of the Rugged Individual Why is America still perpetuating the fallacy of the self-made individual? Because those in power want you to believe it. If everyone thinks they're on their own, it's easier for the powerful to dismantle unions, unravel safety nets, and slash taxes for the wealthy.
Thursday, August 8, 2019The Myth of the Rugged Individual Why is America still perpetuating the fallacy of the self-made individual? Because those in power want you to believe it. If everyone thinks they're on their own, it's easier for the powerful to dismantle unions, unravel safety nets, and slash taxes for the wealthy.
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Friday, June 28, 2019
Trump's Secret Tax on Ordinary Americans When the U.S. imposes tariffs on a country, like China, that raises costs for companies doing business there. And then those companies pass on their increased costs to you in the form of higher prices, as even Trump's own economic adviser Larry Kudlow acknowledged.
Friday, June 28, 2019Trump's Secret Tax on Ordinary Americans When the U.S. imposes tariffs on a country, like China, that raises costs for companies doing business there. And then those companies pass on their increased costs to you in the form of higher prices, as even Trump's own economic adviser Larry Kudlow acknowledged.
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Monday, December 19, 2011
The Defining Issue: Not Government's Size, but Who It's For If we want to get our democracy back we've got to get big money out of politics. We need real campaign finance reform. And a constitutional amendment reversing the Supreme Court's bizarre rulings that under the First Amendment money is speech and corporations are people.
Monday, December 19, 2011The Defining Issue: Not Government's Size, but Who It's For If we want to get our democracy back we've got to get big money out of politics. We need real campaign finance reform. And a constitutional amendment reversing the Supreme Court's bizarre rulings that under the First Amendment money is speech and corporations are people.
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Friday, September 15, 2017
Everything You've Always Wanted to Know about the Trump-Republican Tax Plan there's no Trump tax plan and no Republican tax plan? All they've come up with so far is a bunch of platitudes about how nice it would be to cut taxes, simplify the tax code, and spur economic growth. Corporate and Wall Street Republicans -- along with Donald Trump -- are most interested in cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthy. They have the backing the GOP's big business donors who will make a bundle off tax cuts.
Friday, September 15, 2017Everything You've Always Wanted to Know about the Trump-Republican Tax Plan there's no Trump tax plan and no Republican tax plan? All they've come up with so far is a bunch of platitudes about how nice it would be to cut taxes, simplify the tax code, and spur economic growth. Corporate and Wall Street Republicans -- along with Donald Trump -- are most interested in cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthy. They have the backing the GOP's big business donors who will make a bundle off tax cuts.
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Thursday, March 30, 2017
Trump's Fog Machine It may not matter what the FBI or the other intelligence agencies dredge up about Trump and his aides colluding with Russia because the public will be lost in that fog. If it turns out that Trump and his advisers colluded with Russia to hand him the presidency, Trump's administration will be shipwrecked on the shoals of American democracy. And he'll go down with the ship.
Thursday, March 30, 2017Trump's Fog Machine It may not matter what the FBI or the other intelligence agencies dredge up about Trump and his aides colluding with Russia because the public will be lost in that fog. If it turns out that Trump and his advisers colluded with Russia to hand him the presidency, Trump's administration will be shipwrecked on the shoals of American democracy. And he'll go down with the ship.
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Monday, September 9, 2019
It may feel like the world's ending -- but America has reason to hope The oligarchs and plutocrats would like nothing better than for the rest of us to give up and drop out. That way, they get it all. But we never have, and we never will. Preserving and expanding democracy has been America's central project since its founding. It's an unending fight. And no matter how bleak it may look, we will never stop fighting.
Monday, September 9, 2019It may feel like the world's ending -- but America has reason to hope The oligarchs and plutocrats would like nothing better than for the rest of us to give up and drop out. That way, they get it all. But we never have, and we never will. Preserving and expanding democracy has been America's central project since its founding. It's an unending fight. And no matter how bleak it may look, we will never stop fighting.
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Sunday, June 7, 2020
Trump's use of the military backfired -- but will it back him if he refuses to go? This past week, Donald Trump bet his political future on repression. Much of the rest of America, on the other hand, wants to liberate black people from police brutality and centuries of systemic racism. It looks like Trump is losing and America winning, but the contest is hardly over.
Sunday, June 7, 2020Trump's use of the military backfired -- but will it back him if he refuses to go? This past week, Donald Trump bet his political future on repression. Much of the rest of America, on the other hand, wants to liberate black people from police brutality and centuries of systemic racism. It looks like Trump is losing and America winning, but the contest is hardly over.
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Wednesday, December 26, 2018
The Megalomaniac and the Stock Market All modern economies depend on public confidence that politicians can't lower interest rates to serve their own purposes, such as getting short-term growth at the expense of long-term inflation and instability. (Which is exactly what Trump wants to do.)
Wednesday, December 26, 2018The Megalomaniac and the Stock Market All modern economies depend on public confidence that politicians can't lower interest rates to serve their own purposes, such as getting short-term growth at the expense of long-term inflation and instability. (Which is exactly what Trump wants to do.)
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Sunday, July 16, 2017
The Trump Standard Much ink has been spilled over the last six months documenting Trump's tin ear when it comes to all matters ethical: His refusal to put his business into a blind trust, as every one of his predecessors in recent memory has done. His refusal to reveal his tax returns, like his predecessors. The never-ending stream of lies that he continues to spew even after they're proven to be lies.
Sunday, July 16, 2017The Trump Standard Much ink has been spilled over the last six months documenting Trump's tin ear when it comes to all matters ethical: His refusal to put his business into a blind trust, as every one of his predecessors in recent memory has done. His refusal to reveal his tax returns, like his predecessors. The never-ending stream of lies that he continues to spew even after they're proven to be lies.
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Monday, December 9, 2013
JP Morgan Chase, the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, and the Corruption of America Never before has so much U.S. corporate and Wall-Street money poured into our nation's capital, as well as into our state capitals. Never before have so many Washington officials taken jobs in corporations, lobbying firms, trade associations, and on the Street immediately after leaving office. Our democracy is drowning in big money. Corruption is corruption, bribery is bribery, in whatever country or language it's transacted.
Monday, December 9, 2013JP Morgan Chase, the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, and the Corruption of America Never before has so much U.S. corporate and Wall-Street money poured into our nation's capital, as well as into our state capitals. Never before have so many Washington officials taken jobs in corporations, lobbying firms, trade associations, and on the Street immediately after leaving office. Our democracy is drowning in big money. Corruption is corruption, bribery is bribery, in whatever country or language it's transacted.
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Thursday, August 1, 2019
Where your tax dollars really go If Trump and Republicans in Congress aren't going to cut discretionary spending especially on the military the only places they can look to make way for more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. That's been their goal all along.
Thursday, August 1, 2019Where your tax dollars really go If Trump and Republicans in Congress aren't going to cut discretionary spending especially on the military the only places they can look to make way for more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. That's been their goal all along.
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Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Why Anyone Should Care that Bill O'Reilly Calls Me A Communist Debate all over America is disappearing. All we're left with is a nasty residue. Democrats and Republicans no longer even talk. They just vent charges and counter-charges. Across the nation, conservatives right-wingers and liberal or progressive lefties have stopped debating their respective views, or even listening to anyone they disagree with. They just find broadcasters and bloggers who confirm their views.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012Why Anyone Should Care that Bill O'Reilly Calls Me A Communist Debate all over America is disappearing. All we're left with is a nasty residue. Democrats and Republicans no longer even talk. They just vent charges and counter-charges. Across the nation, conservatives right-wingers and liberal or progressive lefties have stopped debating their respective views, or even listening to anyone they disagree with. They just find broadcasters and bloggers who confirm their views.
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Saturday, October 1, 2011
The American Jobs Depression, and How to Get Out of It Any long-term strategy for rescuing the American economy must therefore seek to reverse the widening gap in income and wealth. It would be better for President Obama to assume that he will get no Republican support this year and next, and build his 2012 election campaign around a bold plan to revive jobs and the American middle class -- and end the American Jobs Depression.
Saturday, October 1, 2011The American Jobs Depression, and How to Get Out of It Any long-term strategy for rescuing the American economy must therefore seek to reverse the widening gap in income and wealth. It would be better for President Obama to assume that he will get no Republican support this year and next, and build his 2012 election campaign around a bold plan to revive jobs and the American middle class -- and end the American Jobs Depression.
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Sunday, June 9, 2019
Elizabeth Warren's economic nationalism vision shows there's a better way Elizabeth Warren's new Plan for Economic Patriotism, unveiled on Tuesday, marks a stunningly ambitious version of American industrial policy. Industrial policy centers on a social contract between the public and business: corporations get extra resources to grow bigger and more innovative. In return, those corporations create high-paying jobs in the nation, and focus on sectors promising the greatest social returns.
Sunday, June 9, 2019Elizabeth Warren's economic nationalism vision shows there's a better way Elizabeth Warren's new Plan for Economic Patriotism, unveiled on Tuesday, marks a stunningly ambitious version of American industrial policy. Industrial policy centers on a social contract between the public and business: corporations get extra resources to grow bigger and more innovative. In return, those corporations create high-paying jobs in the nation, and focus on sectors promising the greatest social returns.
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Monday, January 5, 2015
Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is a Pending Disaster The TPP is a Trojan horse in a global race to the bottom, giving big corporations and Wall Street banks a way to eliminate any and all laws and regulations that get in the way of their profits. The Trans Pacific Partnership is the wrong remedy to the wrong problem. Any way you look at it, it's just plain wrong.
Monday, January 5, 2015Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is a Pending Disaster The TPP is a Trojan horse in a global race to the bottom, giving big corporations and Wall Street banks a way to eliminate any and all laws and regulations that get in the way of their profits. The Trans Pacific Partnership is the wrong remedy to the wrong problem. Any way you look at it, it's just plain wrong.
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Sunday, January 5, 2020
Trump's lawless thuggery is corrupting justice in America Impartial justice is the keystone of a democracy. Even if the Senate fails to remove Trump for impeachable offenses, American voters must do so next November.
Sunday, January 5, 2020Trump's lawless thuggery is corrupting justice in America Impartial justice is the keystone of a democracy. Even if the Senate fails to remove Trump for impeachable offenses, American voters must do so next November.
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Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Jamie Dimon, spare us your crocodile tears about inequality If Dimon and the others were serious about helping most American workers whose real wages have been going nowhere for decades and job security is dwindling, they could use their outsized political influence to push for laws requiring CEOs to consider all their stakeholders, not just shareholders.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019Jamie Dimon, spare us your crocodile tears about inequality If Dimon and the others were serious about helping most American workers whose real wages have been going nowhere for decades and job security is dwindling, they could use their outsized political influence to push for laws requiring CEOs to consider all their stakeholders, not just shareholders.
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Sunday, July 22, 2018
A Time for Integrity What is America to do? We will exercise our right to vote on November 6. But by that time our system may be compromised. The President must be constrained, now. Putin's aggression must be stopped, now. Elected lawmakers did not pledge their souls to their Parties, but to America. Now is the time to deliver on that pledge.
Sunday, July 22, 2018A Time for Integrity What is America to do? We will exercise our right to vote on November 6. But by that time our system may be compromised. The President must be constrained, now. Putin's aggression must be stopped, now. Elected lawmakers did not pledge their souls to their Parties, but to America. Now is the time to deliver on that pledge.
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Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Hill Republicans: Trump is Fritzing Out Twenty-fifth amendment! Read it! A Cabinet can get rid of a president who's nuts. Trump thinks they've been preparing a palace coup. So one by one, he's firing them. Trump is fritzing out. Having manic delusions. He's actually going nuts.
Tuesday, August 1, 2017Hill Republicans: Trump is Fritzing Out Twenty-fifth amendment! Read it! A Cabinet can get rid of a president who's nuts. Trump thinks they've been preparing a palace coup. So one by one, he's firing them. Trump is fritzing out. Having manic delusions. He's actually going nuts.
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Thursday, September 5, 2019
The 5 Biggest Corporate Lies about Unions Wealthy corporations and their enablers have spread five big lies about unions in order to stop workers from organizing and to protect their own bottom-lines. Know the truth and spread the truth.
Thursday, September 5, 2019The 5 Biggest Corporate Lies about Unions Wealthy corporations and their enablers have spread five big lies about unions in order to stop workers from organizing and to protect their own bottom-lines. Know the truth and spread the truth.
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Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Why a Single-Payer Healthcare System is Inevitable Insurers that take in too many sick and too few healthy people are driven out of business. If insurers had no idea who'd be sick and who'd be healthy when they sign up for insurance (and keep them insured at the same price even after they become sick), this wouldn't be a problem. But they do know -- and they're developing more and more sophisticated ways of finding out.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016Why a Single-Payer Healthcare System is Inevitable Insurers that take in too many sick and too few healthy people are driven out of business. If insurers had no idea who'd be sick and who'd be healthy when they sign up for insurance (and keep them insured at the same price even after they become sick), this wouldn't be a problem. But they do know -- and they're developing more and more sophisticated ways of finding out.
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Thursday, October 4, 2012
The First Presidential Debate In Wednesday night's debate, Romney won on style while Obama won on substance. Romney sounded as if he had conviction, which means he's either convinced himself that the lies he tells are true or he's a fabulous actor.
Thursday, October 4, 2012The First Presidential Debate In Wednesday night's debate, Romney won on style while Obama won on substance. Romney sounded as if he had conviction, which means he's either convinced himself that the lies he tells are true or he's a fabulous actor.
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Monday, June 1, 2015
State of Disaster Texans have elected people who seem not to have a clue. Indeed, Texas has done more in recent years to institutionalize irrationality than almost anywhere else in America -- thereby imposing a huge burden on its citizens. How many natural disasters will it take for the Lone Star State to wake up to the disaster of its elected officials?
Monday, June 1, 2015State of Disaster Texans have elected people who seem not to have a clue. Indeed, Texas has done more in recent years to institutionalize irrationality than almost anywhere else in America -- thereby imposing a huge burden on its citizens. How many natural disasters will it take for the Lone Star State to wake up to the disaster of its elected officials?
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Tuesday, December 6, 2016
The Art of the Autocrat This isn't public policy making. It's not about changing market incentives. It has nothing to do with lawmaking. It's a drop in the bucket in terms of jobs. In reality, it's the arbitrary and capricious use of personal power -- hitting stock prices and turning public opinion against companies Trump doesn't like, and raising stock prices and public opinion toward companies Trump does like.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016The Art of the Autocrat This isn't public policy making. It's not about changing market incentives. It has nothing to do with lawmaking. It's a drop in the bucket in terms of jobs. In reality, it's the arbitrary and capricious use of personal power -- hitting stock prices and turning public opinion against companies Trump doesn't like, and raising stock prices and public opinion toward companies Trump does like.
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Sunday, February 11, 2018
Trump's Big Buyback Bamboozle Buybacks used to be illegal. The Securities and Exchange considered them unlawful means of manipulating stock prices, in violation of the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934. But under Ronald Reagan, who rhapsodized about the "magic of the market," the SEC legalized buybacks. After that, buybacks took off.
Sunday, February 11, 2018Trump's Big Buyback Bamboozle Buybacks used to be illegal. The Securities and Exchange considered them unlawful means of manipulating stock prices, in violation of the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934. But under Ronald Reagan, who rhapsodized about the "magic of the market," the SEC legalized buybacks. After that, buybacks took off.
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Wednesday, September 27, 2017
How to Make the Electoral College Irrelevant Article II of the Constitution says states can award their electors any way they want. So all that's needed in order to make the Electoral College irrelevant is for states with a total of at least 270 electors to agree to award all their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017How to Make the Electoral College Irrelevant Article II of the Constitution says states can award their electors any way they want. So all that's needed in order to make the Electoral College irrelevant is for states with a total of at least 270 electors to agree to award all their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote.
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Monday, October 11, 2010
Why Democrats Should Not Join In Economic Scapegoating Our jobs crisis is due to the collapse of demand in the U.S. after the housing bubble burst. No longer able to borrow against the rising value of their homes, the vast American middle and working class can no longer spend enough to keep the economy going.
Monday, October 11, 2010Why Democrats Should Not Join In Economic Scapegoating Our jobs crisis is due to the collapse of demand in the U.S. after the housing bubble burst. No longer able to borrow against the rising value of their homes, the vast American middle and working class can no longer spend enough to keep the economy going.
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Friday, September 30, 2016
Why We'll Need a Universal Basic Income In recent years, evidence has shown that giving people cash as a way to address poverty actually works. In study after study, people don't stop working and they don't drink it away. As new technologies replace work, the question for the future is how best to provide economic security for all. A universal basic income will almost certainly be part of the answer.
Friday, September 30, 2016Why We'll Need a Universal Basic Income In recent years, evidence has shown that giving people cash as a way to address poverty actually works. In study after study, people don't stop working and they don't drink it away. As new technologies replace work, the question for the future is how best to provide economic security for all. A universal basic income will almost certainly be part of the answer.
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Wednesday, December 17, 2014
The Coin of the Realm: How Inside Traders Are Rigging America If a CEO tells his golf buddy that his company is being taken over, and his buddy makes a killing on that information, no problem. If his buddy leaks the information to a hedge-fund manager like Chiasson, and doesn't tell Chiasson where it comes from, Chiasson can also use the information to make a bundle.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014The Coin of the Realm: How Inside Traders Are Rigging America If a CEO tells his golf buddy that his company is being taken over, and his buddy makes a killing on that information, no problem. If his buddy leaks the information to a hedge-fund manager like Chiasson, and doesn't tell Chiasson where it comes from, Chiasson can also use the information to make a bundle.
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Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Stalled Recovery, Smoke and Mirrors, and the Carnage on the Street Insiders on the Street are always the first to bail when they sense they've been overselling, as they started to do a few weeks ago. This gives them a second opportunity to make money off small investors -- by selling short.
Saturday, June 11, 2011The Stalled Recovery, Smoke and Mirrors, and the Carnage on the Street Insiders on the Street are always the first to bail when they sense they've been overselling, as they started to do a few weeks ago. This gives them a second opportunity to make money off small investors -- by selling short.
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Sunday, January 26, 2020
Trump impeachment trial: what you need to know Trump will claim that his forthcoming acquittal by the Senate clears him of all charges, just as he claimed attorney general William Barr's whitewash of the Mueller report absolved him of charges that he sought Russian help in 2016. He'll use both as "proof" that Democrats fabricated a plot to remove him from office.
Sunday, January 26, 2020Trump impeachment trial: what you need to know Trump will claim that his forthcoming acquittal by the Senate clears him of all charges, just as he claimed attorney general William Barr's whitewash of the Mueller report absolved him of charges that he sought Russian help in 2016. He'll use both as "proof" that Democrats fabricated a plot to remove him from office.
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Saturday, May 11, 2019
There are many reasons not to impeach Trump. The House should do it anyway By directing the attorney general, the justice department, the FBI, and the secretary of the treasury to act in his own personal interest rather than in the interests of the American people, Trump is saying that a president can run the government on his own. Adios, constitution. Impeachment may not be the practical political thing to do. But it is the right thing to do.
Saturday, May 11, 2019There are many reasons not to impeach Trump. The House should do it anyway By directing the attorney general, the justice department, the FBI, and the secretary of the treasury to act in his own personal interest rather than in the interests of the American people, Trump is saying that a president can run the government on his own. Adios, constitution. Impeachment may not be the practical political thing to do. But it is the right thing to do.
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Monday, August 28, 2017
Trump's Labor Day In his first seven months as president, Trump has done nothing for American workers. In fact, his attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act, his retreat from Labor Department regulations boosting overtime pay, and his proposed tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations will make most workers worse off. But he is in office because of their anger and distrust, and he's still feeding off it.
Monday, August 28, 2017Trump's Labor Day In his first seven months as president, Trump has done nothing for American workers. In fact, his attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act, his retreat from Labor Department regulations boosting overtime pay, and his proposed tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations will make most workers worse off. But he is in office because of their anger and distrust, and he's still feeding off it.
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Sunday, November 3, 2019
Facebook and Twitter spread Trump's lies, so we must break them up Donald Trump lies like most people breathe. As he's been cornered, his lies have grown more vicious and dangerous. This would be hard enough for a democracy to handle without Facebook sending Trump's unfiltered lies to the 45% of Americans for whom it is the main source of news. Twitter sends them to 66 million users every day.
Sunday, November 3, 2019Facebook and Twitter spread Trump's lies, so we must break them up Donald Trump lies like most people breathe. As he's been cornered, his lies have grown more vicious and dangerous. This would be hard enough for a democracy to handle without Facebook sending Trump's unfiltered lies to the 45% of Americans for whom it is the main source of news. Twitter sends them to 66 million users every day.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
A Landslide "What about all the people who'll be voting for Trump?" "What about them?" he asked, cautiously. "After Trump loses, they'll still be out there, right?" "Of course." "And they'll be madder than hell, poisoned with Trump's venom. They'll be a ready-made constituency for the next demagogue..."
Saturday, August 27, 2016A Landslide "What about all the people who'll be voting for Trump?" "What about them?" he asked, cautiously. "After Trump loses, they'll still be out there, right?" "Of course." "And they'll be madder than hell, poisoned with Trump's venom. They'll be a ready-made constituency for the next demagogue..."
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Thursday, October 26, 2017
America Now Has Six Political Parties The old Democratic and Republican parties are exploding. When you take a closer look, America actually has six political parties right now. Whoever can put together elements of a governing coalition among these six parties will win future elections.
Thursday, October 26, 2017America Now Has Six Political Parties The old Democratic and Republican parties are exploding. When you take a closer look, America actually has six political parties right now. Whoever can put together elements of a governing coalition among these six parties will win future elections.
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Saturday, September 17, 2016
Trump's Yuge Bamboozle Trickle-down economics has proven itself a cruel hoax. It's cruel because it rewards people at the top who least need it and hurts those below who are in greatest need. It's a hoax because nothing trickles down. Trump's "yuge" trickle-down economics would be an even bigger bamboozle.
Saturday, September 17, 2016Trump's Yuge Bamboozle Trickle-down economics has proven itself a cruel hoax. It's cruel because it rewards people at the top who least need it and hurts those below who are in greatest need. It's a hoax because nothing trickles down. Trump's "yuge" trickle-down economics would be an even bigger bamboozle.
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Sunday, April 8, 2018
Five Reasons The NRA Is Wrong The NRA is a special interest group with a stranglehold on the Republican Party. In 2016, the group spent a record $55 million on elections. Their real goal is to protect a few big gun manufacturers who want to enlarge their profits. America is better than the NRA. America is the young people from Parkland, Florida, who are telling legislators to act like adults. It's time all of us to listen.
Sunday, April 8, 2018Five Reasons The NRA Is Wrong The NRA is a special interest group with a stranglehold on the Republican Party. In 2016, the group spent a record $55 million on elections. Their real goal is to protect a few big gun manufacturers who want to enlarge their profits. America is better than the NRA. America is the young people from Parkland, Florida, who are telling legislators to act like adults. It's time all of us to listen.
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Saturday, July 16, 2016
Mike Pence for vice president Mike Pence -- Donald Trump's pick for vice president -- is one of the most extreme right-wing officials in America.
Saturday, July 16, 2016Mike Pence for vice president Mike Pence -- Donald Trump's pick for vice president -- is one of the most extreme right-wing officials in America.
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Wednesday, May 15, 2019
The House Now Has A Constitutional Duty to Impeach Trump Trump surely appears to be usurping the powers of the other branches. Under these circumstances, the Constitution mandates that the House undertake an impeachment inquiry and present evidence to the Senate. This may not be the practical political thing to do. But it is the right thing to do.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019The House Now Has A Constitutional Duty to Impeach Trump Trump surely appears to be usurping the powers of the other branches. Under these circumstances, the Constitution mandates that the House undertake an impeachment inquiry and present evidence to the Senate. This may not be the practical political thing to do. But it is the right thing to do.
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
My New Year's Wish for Donald Trump The man who is about to become President of the United States continues to exhibit a mean-spirited, thin-skinned, narcissistic and vindictive character. Trump sees the world in terms of personal wins or losses, enemies or friends, supporters or critics.
Sunday, January 1, 2017My New Year's Wish for Donald Trump The man who is about to become President of the United States continues to exhibit a mean-spirited, thin-skinned, narcissistic and vindictive character. Trump sees the world in terms of personal wins or losses, enemies or friends, supporters or critics.
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Saturday, December 15, 2018
The Truth About Privatization Privatization too often only boosts corporate bottom lines. Private for-profit corporations can do certain tasks very efficiently. And some privatization has worked. But the goal of corporations is to maximize profits for shareholders, not to serve the public interest.
Saturday, December 15, 2018The Truth About Privatization Privatization too often only boosts corporate bottom lines. Private for-profit corporations can do certain tasks very efficiently. And some privatization has worked. But the goal of corporations is to maximize profits for shareholders, not to serve the public interest.
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Monday, March 19, 2018
Trump's Stock Buyback Bamboozle Trump and Republicans branded their huge corporate tax cut as a way to make American corporations more profitable so they'd invest in more and better jobs. But they're buying back their stock instead. Now that the new corporate tax cut is pumping up profits, buybacks are on track to hit a record $800 billion this year.
Monday, March 19, 2018Trump's Stock Buyback Bamboozle Trump and Republicans branded their huge corporate tax cut as a way to make American corporations more profitable so they'd invest in more and better jobs. But they're buying back their stock instead. Now that the new corporate tax cut is pumping up profits, buybacks are on track to hit a record $800 billion this year.
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Saturday, March 31, 2018
Dollars for Decency Companies are spending huge amounts seeking to connect their goods to consumers' values. They know more about those values than anyone. Which suggests that Americans may have had enough cruelty -- coming from Laura Ingraham, from Fox News, from Donald Trump, from the Harvey Weinsteins of the land, from whomever.
Saturday, March 31, 2018Dollars for Decency Companies are spending huge amounts seeking to connect their goods to consumers' values. They know more about those values than anyone. Which suggests that Americans may have had enough cruelty -- coming from Laura Ingraham, from Fox News, from Donald Trump, from the Harvey Weinsteins of the land, from whomever.
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Tuesday, August 28, 2012
George W. Bush as Hurricane Isaac We're still living with George W. Bush's legacy -- the last Republican to occupy the White House -- which is a truth that Romney is desperate to put out of our minds. He wants to blame the bad economy, and most of everything else, on Obama.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012George W. Bush as Hurricane Isaac We're still living with George W. Bush's legacy -- the last Republican to occupy the White House -- which is a truth that Romney is desperate to put out of our minds. He wants to blame the bad economy, and most of everything else, on Obama.
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Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Practical Choice: Not American Capitalism or "Welfare State Socialism" but an Economy That's Working for a Few or Many The fact is, we're falling behind. While median per capita income in the United States has stagnated since 2000, it's up significantly in Canada and Northern Europe. Their typical worker's income is now higher than ours, and their disposable income -- after taxes -- higher still.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014Practical Choice: Not American Capitalism or "Welfare State Socialism" but an Economy That's Working for a Few or Many The fact is, we're falling behind. While median per capita income in the United States has stagnated since 2000, it's up significantly in Canada and Northern Europe. Their typical worker's income is now higher than ours, and their disposable income -- after taxes -- higher still.
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Thursday, October 25, 2012
If You Succumb to Cynicism, The Regressives Win it All Cynicism is understandable. But cynicism is a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you succumb to it, the regressives who want to take this nation back to the 19th century win it all.
Thursday, October 25, 2012If You Succumb to Cynicism, The Regressives Win it All Cynicism is understandable. But cynicism is a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you succumb to it, the regressives who want to take this nation back to the 19th century win it all.
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Sunday, June 14, 2020
Corporate America's performative activism Systemic injustices can be remedied only when power is redistributed. And power will be redistributed only when the vast majority - white, Black and brown - join together to make it so.
Sunday, June 14, 2020Corporate America's performative activism Systemic injustices can be remedied only when power is redistributed. And power will be redistributed only when the vast majority - white, Black and brown - join together to make it so.
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Sunday, November 11, 2018
How Blue States Help Red States he Trump administration is proposing to lump many social programs under a new agency with the word "welfare" in its title. A recent White House report on imposing work requirements, for example, put Medicaid, food assistance, and housing aid into a rebranded program called "noncash welfare."
Sunday, November 11, 2018How Blue States Help Red States he Trump administration is proposing to lump many social programs under a new agency with the word "welfare" in its title. A recent White House report on imposing work requirements, for example, put Medicaid, food assistance, and housing aid into a rebranded program called "noncash welfare."
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
It's Now Time for Medicare for All Why is health care so much cheaper in other nations? Partly because their governments negotiate lower rates with health care providers. In France, the average cost of a magnetic resonance imaging exam is $363. In the United States, it's $1,121. There, an appendectomy costs $4,463. Here, it's $13,851. Medicare for all would avoid all these problems and get lower prices and better care.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017It's Now Time for Medicare for All Why is health care so much cheaper in other nations? Partly because their governments negotiate lower rates with health care providers. In France, the average cost of a magnetic resonance imaging exam is $363. In the United States, it's $1,121. There, an appendectomy costs $4,463. Here, it's $13,851. Medicare for all would avoid all these problems and get lower prices and better care.
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Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Make America Hate Again A smaller version of the civil war extends even into the White House, where Bannon and his proteges are doing battle with leveler heads. Let's hope the leveler heads win the civil war in the White House. Let's pray the leveler heads in our society prevent the civil war Trump and Bannon want to instigate in America.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017Make America Hate Again A smaller version of the civil war extends even into the White House, where Bannon and his proteges are doing battle with leveler heads. Let's hope the leveler heads win the civil war in the White House. Let's pray the leveler heads in our society prevent the civil war Trump and Bannon want to instigate in America.
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Sunday, June 23, 2019
The "Center" of American Politics Is on the Left Just remember: the "center" is not halfway between what most Americans want and what big corporations, Wall Street, and the super-wealthy want. The "center" is what the vast majority of Americans want.
Sunday, June 23, 2019The "Center" of American Politics Is on the Left Just remember: the "center" is not halfway between what most Americans want and what big corporations, Wall Street, and the super-wealthy want. The "center" is what the vast majority of Americans want.
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Friday, November 16, 2018
What Amazon HQ2 tells us about America's great divide Amazon could easily have decided to locate its second headquarters in, say, Indianapolis, Indiana. After all, Indianapolis was one of the finalists in Amazon's search for a second headquarters, and the city vigorously courted the firm. Not incidentally, Indianapolis is a Republican city in a bright red Republican state.
Friday, November 16, 2018What Amazon HQ2 tells us about America's great divide Amazon could easily have decided to locate its second headquarters in, say, Indianapolis, Indiana. After all, Indianapolis was one of the finalists in Amazon's search for a second headquarters, and the city vigorously courted the firm. Not incidentally, Indianapolis is a Republican city in a bright red Republican state.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The First Amendment Upside Down. Why We Must Occupy Democracy When the freedom of speech goes to the highest bidder, moneyed interests have a disproportionate say. Now more than ever, the First Amendment needs to be put right side up. Nothing less than the future of our democracy is at stake.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011The First Amendment Upside Down. Why We Must Occupy Democracy When the freedom of speech goes to the highest bidder, moneyed interests have a disproportionate say. Now more than ever, the First Amendment needs to be put right side up. Nothing less than the future of our democracy is at stake.
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A Good Fight The President has vowed to veto any plan to tame the debt that doesn't increase taxes on the rich. The Republicans have vowed to oppose any tax increases on the rich. It's a good fight to have.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011A Good Fight The President has vowed to veto any plan to tame the debt that doesn't increase taxes on the rich. The Republicans have vowed to oppose any tax increases on the rich. It's a good fight to have.
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Friday, October 19, 2018
Three Easy Fixes to Social Security and Medicare that Republicans Don't Want You to Know About The basic reason why Social Security and Medicare are running out of money is the American population continues to age and live longer -- leaving a relatively smaller working population to pay into Social Security and Medicare.
Friday, October 19, 2018Three Easy Fixes to Social Security and Medicare that Republicans Don't Want You to Know About The basic reason why Social Security and Medicare are running out of money is the American population continues to age and live longer -- leaving a relatively smaller working population to pay into Social Security and Medicare.
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Monday, November 26, 2012
Why is the White House's Council of Economic Advisers Helping the Republicans? If the President's strategy is to hold his ground and demand from Republicans tax increases on the wealthy, presumably his strongest bargaining position would be to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire on schedule come January -- causing taxes to rise automatically, especially on the wealthy.
Monday, November 26, 2012Why is the White House's Council of Economic Advisers Helping the Republicans? If the President's strategy is to hold his ground and demand from Republicans tax increases on the wealthy, presumably his strongest bargaining position would be to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire on schedule come January -- causing taxes to rise automatically, especially on the wealthy.
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Saturday, September 3, 2016
The Reality of Free Trade Deals Winners don't compensate the losers. Most of the losers from trade, the millions whose good jobs have been lost, don't even have access to unemployment insurance. Trade adjustment assistance is a joke. America invests less in jobs training as a percent of our economy than almost any other advanced nation.
Saturday, September 3, 2016The Reality of Free Trade Deals Winners don't compensate the losers. Most of the losers from trade, the millions whose good jobs have been lost, don't even have access to unemployment insurance. Trade adjustment assistance is a joke. America invests less in jobs training as a percent of our economy than almost any other advanced nation.
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Saturday, July 20, 2013
Detroit, and the Bankruptcy of America's Social Contract Unemployment is staggeringly high. One out of three residents is in poverty; more than half of all children in the city are impoverished. Between 2000 and 2010, Detroit lost a quarter of its population as the middle-class and whites fled to the suburbs. That left it with depressed property values, abandoned neighborhoods, empty buildings, lousy schools, high crime, and a dramatically-shrinking tax base.
Saturday, July 20, 2013Detroit, and the Bankruptcy of America's Social Contract Unemployment is staggeringly high. One out of three residents is in poverty; more than half of all children in the city are impoverished. Between 2000 and 2010, Detroit lost a quarter of its population as the middle-class and whites fled to the suburbs. That left it with depressed property values, abandoned neighborhoods, empty buildings, lousy schools, high crime, and a dramatically-shrinking tax base.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Why America Can't Respond to the Current Crisis The system would be failing even under a halfway competent president. The dirty little secret, which will soon become apparent to all, is that there is no real public health system in the United States.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020Why America Can't Respond to the Current Crisis The system would be failing even under a halfway competent president. The dirty little secret, which will soon become apparent to all, is that there is no real public health system in the United States.
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Thursday, September 7, 2017
Why We Should Abolish The Debt Ceiling Today's debt is about 77 percent of our total national product. The reason it's a problem is it's growing faster than the economy is growing, so it's on the way to becoming larger and larger in proportion. This is what we ought to be focusing on. Fighting over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling is a meaningless and dangerous distraction. So abolish it.
Thursday, September 7, 2017Why We Should Abolish The Debt Ceiling Today's debt is about 77 percent of our total national product. The reason it's a problem is it's growing faster than the economy is growing, so it's on the way to becoming larger and larger in proportion. This is what we ought to be focusing on. Fighting over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling is a meaningless and dangerous distraction. So abolish it.
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Saturday, January 14, 2017
Six Reasons Why Trump's Wall is Even Dumber Than Most of Trump's Other Ideas At his turbulent his news event last Wednesday (I won't dignify it by calling it a news conference), Trump reiterated that he will build a wall along the Mexican border. "It's not a fence. It's a wall," he said, and "Mexico will pay for the wall." Trump's wall is an even dumber idea than most of his others.
Saturday, January 14, 2017Six Reasons Why Trump's Wall is Even Dumber Than Most of Trump's Other Ideas At his turbulent his news event last Wednesday (I won't dignify it by calling it a news conference), Trump reiterated that he will build a wall along the Mexican border. "It's not a fence. It's a wall," he said, and "Mexico will pay for the wall." Trump's wall is an even dumber idea than most of his others.
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Monday, October 9, 2017
Trump and Weinstein At least 15 women have publicly accused Trump of sexual harassment and assault. Trump and Weinstein are both sexual harassers and predators. But Trump is also president of the United States. That makes him even more dangerous to women.
Monday, October 9, 2017Trump and Weinstein At least 15 women have publicly accused Trump of sexual harassment and assault. Trump and Weinstein are both sexual harassers and predators. But Trump is also president of the United States. That makes him even more dangerous to women.
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Sunday, October 2, 2016
Focus on Trump Shouldn't Give Other Republicans a Free Pass A singular focus on Trump poses risks for what happens after Hillary wins. It reduces her presidential coattails that might otherwise help Democratic candidates now running for the Senate and House. Portraying Trump as an aberration from normal Republicanism gives their Republican opponents a free pass. All they have to do is distance themselves from him.
Sunday, October 2, 2016Focus on Trump Shouldn't Give Other Republicans a Free Pass A singular focus on Trump poses risks for what happens after Hillary wins. It reduces her presidential coattails that might otherwise help Democratic candidates now running for the Senate and House. Portraying Trump as an aberration from normal Republicanism gives their Republican opponents a free pass. All they have to do is distance themselves from him.
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Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Trump Takes on General Motors (And Guess Who Wins?) The real challenge is to make American workers great again. They don't just need any job. They need good jobs, akin to those that GM's unionized workers had a half-century ago. Most Americans haven't had a raise in decades, considering inflation.
Wednesday, December 5, 2018Trump Takes on General Motors (And Guess Who Wins?) The real challenge is to make American workers great again. They don't just need any job. They need good jobs, akin to those that GM's unionized workers had a half-century ago. Most Americans haven't had a raise in decades, considering inflation.
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Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Paul Ryan's Plan, the Coming Shutdown, and What's Really at Stake The President needs to remind us that as members of the same society we have obligations to one another -- that the wealthiest among us must pay their fair share of taxes, that any of us who loses our jobs or homes or gets terribly sick can count on the rest of us, and that we have collective obligations to our elderly, our children, and the rest of the planet.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011Paul Ryan's Plan, the Coming Shutdown, and What's Really at Stake The President needs to remind us that as members of the same society we have obligations to one another -- that the wealthiest among us must pay their fair share of taxes, that any of us who loses our jobs or homes or gets terribly sick can count on the rest of us, and that we have collective obligations to our elderly, our children, and the rest of the planet.
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Saturday, June 15, 2019
Welcome to Trump's Corrupt State -- the Star Wars cantina of world politics Trump and his Republican enablers are magicians who distract us by shouting "look here!" at the paranoid fantasy of a Deep State, while creating a Corrupt State under our noses. But it's not a party trick. It's the dirtiest trick of our time, enabled by the most corrupt party in living memory.
Saturday, June 15, 2019Welcome to Trump's Corrupt State -- the Star Wars cantina of world politics Trump and his Republican enablers are magicians who distract us by shouting "look here!" at the paranoid fantasy of a Deep State, while creating a Corrupt State under our noses. But it's not a party trick. It's the dirtiest trick of our time, enabled by the most corrupt party in living memory.
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Tuesday, March 10, 2020
How to Respond to the National Emergency CEOs of the major Wall Street banks have been summoned to the White House to discuss the coronavirus its economic fallout. I'm told the Trump administration is considering more corporate tax cuts, tax cuts targeted to the airlines and hospitality industries, and a temporary payroll tax cut.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020How to Respond to the National Emergency CEOs of the major Wall Street banks have been summoned to the White House to discuss the coronavirus its economic fallout. I'm told the Trump administration is considering more corporate tax cuts, tax cuts targeted to the airlines and hospitality industries, and a temporary payroll tax cut.
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Friday, December 29, 2017
New Year's Update for Trump Voters Trump said he'd use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants (one of them hired and fired in a little more than a week) that people there barely know who's in charge of what.
Friday, December 29, 2017New Year's Update for Trump Voters Trump said he'd use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. But he has created the most dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, and has already fired and replaced so many assistants (one of them hired and fired in a little more than a week) that people there barely know who's in charge of what.
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Sunday, May 19, 2019
The Trump economy is hurting most Americans. Statistics won't fool voters Trump is the least popular president to run for re-election in the history of polling but Mulvaney thinks Americans will vote for him anyway because unemployment has hit a 50-year low, wages are rising and economic growth exceeds 3%. A CNN poll released in early May shows 56% of Americans approve Trump's handling of the economy.
Sunday, May 19, 2019The Trump economy is hurting most Americans. Statistics won't fool voters Trump is the least popular president to run for re-election in the history of polling but Mulvaney thinks Americans will vote for him anyway because unemployment has hit a 50-year low, wages are rising and economic growth exceeds 3%. A CNN poll released in early May shows 56% of Americans approve Trump's handling of the economy.
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Thursday, June 28, 2012
Roberts' Switch As Alexander Hamilton pointed out when the Constitution was being written, the Supreme Court is the "least dangerous branch" of government. It has only the trust and confidence of average citizens. If it is viewed as politically partisan, that trust is in jeopardy. As Chief Justice, Roberts has a particular responsibility to maintain and enhance that trust.
Thursday, June 28, 2012Roberts' Switch As Alexander Hamilton pointed out when the Constitution was being written, the Supreme Court is the "least dangerous branch" of government. It has only the trust and confidence of average citizens. If it is viewed as politically partisan, that trust is in jeopardy. As Chief Justice, Roberts has a particular responsibility to maintain and enhance that trust.
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Monday, April 24, 2017
First 100 Days: Trump and the Degradation of the Presidency Trump's failure to accomplish little or any of his agenda during his first 100 days is striking. But we should not forget the vast harm he has done in this comparatively short time -- especially his degradation of the presidency.
Monday, April 24, 2017First 100 Days: Trump and the Degradation of the Presidency Trump's failure to accomplish little or any of his agenda during his first 100 days is striking. But we should not forget the vast harm he has done in this comparatively short time -- especially his degradation of the presidency.
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Tuesday, June 9, 2020
The deadly Fox News-Trump syndicate Trump spouts a shocking amount of misinformation from his bully pulpit, but it's Fox News' equally misleading coverage of the dual crises that closes the lethal circuit of lies.
Tuesday, June 9, 2020The deadly Fox News-Trump syndicate Trump spouts a shocking amount of misinformation from his bully pulpit, but it's Fox News' equally misleading coverage of the dual crises that closes the lethal circuit of lies.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2020
No bailout for Big Oil Both our economy and the environment are in crisis. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few while the majority of Americans struggle to get by. The climate crisis is worsening inequality, as those who are most economically vulnerable bear the brunt of flooding, fires, and disruptions to supplies of food, water, and power.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020No bailout for Big Oil Both our economy and the environment are in crisis. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few while the majority of Americans struggle to get by. The climate crisis is worsening inequality, as those who are most economically vulnerable bear the brunt of flooding, fires, and disruptions to supplies of food, water, and power.
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Saturday, June 6, 2015
Making The Economy Work For The Many, Not The Few: #8 Raise The Estate Tax On The Very Rich Today the estate tax reaches only the richest two-tenths of one percent, and applies only to dollars in excess of $10.86 million for married couples or $5.43 million for individuals. That means if a couple leaves to their heirs $10,860,001, they now pay the estate tax on $1. The current estate tax rate is 40%, so that would be 40 cents. Yet according to these members of Congress, that's still too much.
Saturday, June 6, 2015Making The Economy Work For The Many, Not The Few: #8 Raise The Estate Tax On The Very Rich Today the estate tax reaches only the richest two-tenths of one percent, and applies only to dollars in excess of $10.86 million for married couples or $5.43 million for individuals. That means if a couple leaves to their heirs $10,860,001, they now pay the estate tax on $1. The current estate tax rate is 40%, so that would be 40 cents. Yet according to these members of Congress, that's still too much.
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Wednesday, December 28, 2016
My Wishes for Obama's Parting Shots President-elect Donald Trump is accusing President Obama of putting up "roadblocks" to a smooth transition. In reality, I think President Obama has been too cooperative with Trump.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016My Wishes for Obama's Parting Shots President-elect Donald Trump is accusing President Obama of putting up "roadblocks" to a smooth transition. In reality, I think President Obama has been too cooperative with Trump.
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Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Moral Question We're in the worst economy since the Great Depression -- with lower-income families and kids are bearing the worst of it -- and what are Republicans doing? Cutting programs Americans desperately need to get through it.
Thursday, September 29, 2011The Moral Question We're in the worst economy since the Great Depression -- with lower-income families and kids are bearing the worst of it -- and what are Republicans doing? Cutting programs Americans desperately need to get through it.
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Monday, October 17, 2016
Hillary Clinton, Paul Ryan, and the Crisis of American Capitalism While the Clinton-Ryan years won't be marked by the same kind of petulant gridlock we've witnessed over the last eight, the ascendance of Ryan and Clinton will mark a win for big business and Wall Street over the strongest anti-establishment surge America has witnessed since Great Depression.
Monday, October 17, 2016Hillary Clinton, Paul Ryan, and the Crisis of American Capitalism While the Clinton-Ryan years won't be marked by the same kind of petulant gridlock we've witnessed over the last eight, the ascendance of Ryan and Clinton will mark a win for big business and Wall Street over the strongest anti-establishment surge America has witnessed since Great Depression.
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Monday, May 15, 2017
The End of Trump The question is no longer whether there are grounds to impeach Donald Trump. It is when enough Republicans will put their loyalty to America ahead of their loyalty to their party.
Monday, May 15, 2017The End of Trump The question is no longer whether there are grounds to impeach Donald Trump. It is when enough Republicans will put their loyalty to America ahead of their loyalty to their party.
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Downward Mobility of the American Middle Class, and Why Mitt Romney Doesn't Know Romney and other Republicans have cause and effect backwards. The reason for the rise in benefits is Americans got clobbered in 2008 and many are still sinking. They and their families need whatever help they can get.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012The Downward Mobility of the American Middle Class, and Why Mitt Romney Doesn't Know Romney and other Republicans have cause and effect backwards. The reason for the rise in benefits is Americans got clobbered in 2008 and many are still sinking. They and their families need whatever help they can get.
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Saturday, June 29, 2019
Dems Cave on the Border While attention has been focused on the Democratic debate in which most contenders are pushing progressive policies, congressional Democrats have moved in the opposite direction. They caved on an emergency border supplemental appropriation that can now be used by Trump to make the border situation worse, not better.
Saturday, June 29, 2019Dems Cave on the Border While attention has been focused on the Democratic debate in which most contenders are pushing progressive policies, congressional Democrats have moved in the opposite direction. They caved on an emergency border supplemental appropriation that can now be used by Trump to make the border situation worse, not better.
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Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Dog That Didn't Bark: Obama on JPMorgan The dog that didn't bark this week, let alone bite, was the President's response to JP Morgan Chase's bombshell admission of losing more than $2 billion in risky derivative trades that should never have been made. Twenty years ago, the 10 largest banks on the Street held 10 percent of America's total bank assets. Now they hold over 70 percent.
Thursday, May 17, 2012The Dog That Didn't Bark: Obama on JPMorgan The dog that didn't bark this week, let alone bite, was the President's response to JP Morgan Chase's bombshell admission of losing more than $2 billion in risky derivative trades that should never have been made. Twenty years ago, the 10 largest banks on the Street held 10 percent of America's total bank assets. Now they hold over 70 percent.
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Wednesday, August 1, 2018
The Two Kinds of Trump Lies Trump is ramping up both kinds of lies -- lies about the facts, and lies about those who are reporting the truth. Both categories of lies are dangerous to a democracy. The first misleads the public. The second undermines the capacity of the public to discover they are being misled.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018The Two Kinds of Trump Lies Trump is ramping up both kinds of lies -- lies about the facts, and lies about those who are reporting the truth. Both categories of lies are dangerous to a democracy. The first misleads the public. The second undermines the capacity of the public to discover they are being misled.
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Friday, September 29, 2017
Six Reasons Why American Corporations Shouldn't Get a Tax Cut Corporate tax receipts are the lowest percentage of the economy since just after World War II. If corporate taxes are cut, you will have to pay even more in taxes in order to make up the difference. A corporate tax cut is the wrong solution to the wrong problem. We need higher corporate taxes, not lower.
Friday, September 29, 2017Six Reasons Why American Corporations Shouldn't Get a Tax Cut Corporate tax receipts are the lowest percentage of the economy since just after World War II. If corporate taxes are cut, you will have to pay even more in taxes in order to make up the difference. A corporate tax cut is the wrong solution to the wrong problem. We need higher corporate taxes, not lower.
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Sunday, September 24, 2017
Why We Must Raise Taxes on Corporations and the Wealthy, Not Lower Them When Barack Obama was president, congressional Republicans were deficit hawks. They opposed almost everything Obama wanted to do by arguing it would increase the federal budget deficit. But now that Republicans are planning giant tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, they've stopped worrying about deficits.
Sunday, September 24, 2017Why We Must Raise Taxes on Corporations and the Wealthy, Not Lower Them When Barack Obama was president, congressional Republicans were deficit hawks. They opposed almost everything Obama wanted to do by arguing it would increase the federal budget deficit. But now that Republicans are planning giant tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, they've stopped worrying about deficits.
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Sunday, July 3, 2016
The Five Principles of Patriotism patriots don't pander to divisiveness. They don't fuel racist or religious or ethnic divisions. They aren't homophobic or sexist or racist. To the contrary, true patriots seek to confirm and strengthen and celebrate the "we" in "we the people of the United States."
Sunday, July 3, 2016The Five Principles of Patriotism patriots don't pander to divisiveness. They don't fuel racist or religious or ethnic divisions. They aren't homophobic or sexist or racist. To the contrary, true patriots seek to confirm and strengthen and celebrate the "we" in "we the people of the United States."
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Friday, April 27, 2012
The GOP's Death Wish: Why Republicans Can't Stop Pissing Off Hispanics, Women, and Young People How can a political party be so dumb as to piss off Hispanics, women, and young people? Because the core of its base is middle-aged white men -- and it doesn't seem to know how to satisfy its base without at the same time turning off everyone who's not white, male, and middle-aged.
Friday, April 27, 2012The GOP's Death Wish: Why Republicans Can't Stop Pissing Off Hispanics, Women, and Young People How can a political party be so dumb as to piss off Hispanics, women, and young people? Because the core of its base is middle-aged white men -- and it doesn't seem to know how to satisfy its base without at the same time turning off everyone who's not white, male, and middle-aged.
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Sunday, September 15, 2019
Trump is seriously, frighteningly unstable -- the world is in danger We have to face the truth that no one seems to want to admit. This is no longer a case of excessive narcissism or grandiosity. We're not simply dealing with an unusually large ego. The president of the United States is seriously, frighteningly, dangerously unstable. And he's getting worse by the day.
Sunday, September 15, 2019Trump is seriously, frighteningly unstable -- the world is in danger We have to face the truth that no one seems to want to admit. This is no longer a case of excessive narcissism or grandiosity. We're not simply dealing with an unusually large ego. The president of the United States is seriously, frighteningly, dangerously unstable. And he's getting worse by the day.
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Friday, January 11, 2019
Trump is using the government as a bargaining chip -- like a dictator would Trump's entire presidency to date has sacrificed the means of democracy to preserve his personal power, and the shutdown over the border is no different. Democracy is about means, not ends. If we all agreed on the ends (such as whether to build a wall along the Mexican border) there'd be no need for democracy.
Friday, January 11, 2019Trump is using the government as a bargaining chip -- like a dictator would Trump's entire presidency to date has sacrificed the means of democracy to preserve his personal power, and the shutdown over the border is no different. Democracy is about means, not ends. If we all agreed on the ends (such as whether to build a wall along the Mexican border) there'd be no need for democracy.
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Google, Trump, and the Arrogance of Power Google and Trump are wildly different, of course, but they've been playing much the same game. They've used their clout to stifle criticism, paid members of Congress to pull their punches, and bought fake or at least questionable facts to support of their goals. Such abuse of power is morally wrong.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017Google, Trump, and the Arrogance of Power Google and Trump are wildly different, of course, but they've been playing much the same game. They've used their clout to stifle criticism, paid members of Congress to pull their punches, and bought fake or at least questionable facts to support of their goals. Such abuse of power is morally wrong.
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Why There's a Bull Market for Stocks And Bear Market for Workers We are a long way from economic health. Rarely before in American history have public policies so blatantly helped the most fortunate among us, so cruelly harmed the least fortunate, and exposed so many average working Americans to such widespread insecurity.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013Why There's a Bull Market for Stocks And Bear Market for Workers We are a long way from economic health. Rarely before in American history have public policies so blatantly helped the most fortunate among us, so cruelly harmed the least fortunate, and exposed so many average working Americans to such widespread insecurity.
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Monday, June 19, 2017
Talking With My Friend About Trump "I can't take it any more," my friend Tom said about Trump. "I don't need this. He's a selfish, greedy, narcissistic, fascistic, unhinged, bigot. And to think he's running this great country makes me want to puke."
Monday, June 19, 2017Talking With My Friend About Trump "I can't take it any more," my friend Tom said about Trump. "I don't need this. He's a selfish, greedy, narcissistic, fascistic, unhinged, bigot. And to think he's running this great country makes me want to puke."
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Sunday, January 22, 2017
Trump's Two-Step Strategy To Take Over the Truth Trump's strategy is to denigrate and disparage the press in the public's mind -- seeking to convince the public that the press is engaged in a conspiracy against him. And he wants to use his tweets, rallies, and videos to make himself the only credible source of public information about what is happening and what he's doing.
Sunday, January 22, 2017Trump's Two-Step Strategy To Take Over the Truth Trump's strategy is to denigrate and disparage the press in the public's mind -- seeking to convince the public that the press is engaged in a conspiracy against him. And he wants to use his tweets, rallies, and videos to make himself the only credible source of public information about what is happening and what he's doing.
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Sunday, April 12, 2020
Billionaires Won't Save Us We are the outlier among the world's advanced nations in subjecting our citizens to perpetual insecurity. We are also the outlier in possessing a billionaire class that, in controlling much of our politics, has kept such proposals off the public agenda.
Sunday, April 12, 2020Billionaires Won't Save Us We are the outlier among the world's advanced nations in subjecting our citizens to perpetual insecurity. We are also the outlier in possessing a billionaire class that, in controlling much of our politics, has kept such proposals off the public agenda.
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Saturday, March 17, 2012
If You Took the Greed Out of Wall Street, All You'd Have Left Is Pavement: Why Greg Smith's Critique is Way Too Narrow If Mr. Smith believes his experience at Goldman is something new, he doesn't know history. In 1928, Goldman Sachs and Company created the Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation, which promptly went on a speculative binge, luring innocent investors along the way. In the Great Crash of 1929, Goldman's investors lost their shirts but Goldman kept its hefty fees.
Saturday, March 17, 2012If You Took the Greed Out of Wall Street, All You'd Have Left Is Pavement: Why Greg Smith's Critique is Way Too Narrow If Mr. Smith believes his experience at Goldman is something new, he doesn't know history. In 1928, Goldman Sachs and Company created the Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation, which promptly went on a speculative binge, luring innocent investors along the way. In the Great Crash of 1929, Goldman's investors lost their shirts but Goldman kept its hefty fees.
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Tuesday, August 29, 2017
What Do Democrats Stand For? If Democrats stand for one thing, it must be overcoming this unprecedented economic imbalance and creating a multi-racial, multi-ethnic coalition of the bottom 90 percent, to take back our economy and politics.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017What Do Democrats Stand For? If Democrats stand for one thing, it must be overcoming this unprecedented economic imbalance and creating a multi-racial, multi-ethnic coalition of the bottom 90 percent, to take back our economy and politics.
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Sunday, March 3, 2013
Sequestration Nation, and Remembering Robert Kennedy The issue is still social justice. In the months (or years) ahead, federal money will be reduced for poor schools, child nutrition, preschools, and mental-health services. Some 3.8 million who have been unemployed for more than six months will see their jobless benefits cut. Some 600,000 low-income women and children will no longer benefit from the federal nutrition program for women and toddlers.
Sunday, March 3, 2013Sequestration Nation, and Remembering Robert Kennedy The issue is still social justice. In the months (or years) ahead, federal money will be reduced for poor schools, child nutrition, preschools, and mental-health services. Some 3.8 million who have been unemployed for more than six months will see their jobless benefits cut. Some 600,000 low-income women and children will no longer benefit from the federal nutrition program for women and toddlers.
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Wednesday, May 29, 2019
What does oligarchy mean? Even a system that calls itself a democracy can become an oligarchy if power becomes concentrated in the hands of a few very wealthy people a corporate and financial elite. Their power and wealth increase over time as they make laws that favor themselves, manipulate financial markets to their advantage, and create or exploit economic monopolies that put even more wealth into their pockets.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019What does oligarchy mean? Even a system that calls itself a democracy can become an oligarchy if power becomes concentrated in the hands of a few very wealthy people a corporate and financial elite. Their power and wealth increase over time as they make laws that favor themselves, manipulate financial markets to their advantage, and create or exploit economic monopolies that put even more wealth into their pockets.
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Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Why we need to break up big tech The combined wealth of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Google's Sergey Brin, and Larry Page is larger than the combined wealth of the bottom half of the American population. They are the leaders of a second Gilded Age ushered in by semiconductors, software and the internet which has spawned a handful of hi-tech behemoths and crushed competition.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019Why we need to break up big tech The combined wealth of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Google's Sergey Brin, and Larry Page is larger than the combined wealth of the bottom half of the American population. They are the leaders of a second Gilded Age ushered in by semiconductors, software and the internet which has spawned a handful of hi-tech behemoths and crushed competition.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Stop Starving Public Universities and Shrinking the Middle Class Over just the last year, 41 states have cut spending for public higher education. That's on top of deep cuts in 2009 and 2010. Some public universities have lost over 40 percent of their state funding; the University of Washington, 26 percent; Florida's public university system, 25 percent. The children of middle and lower-income families are hardest hit.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012Stop Starving Public Universities and Shrinking the Middle Class Over just the last year, 41 states have cut spending for public higher education. That's on top of deep cuts in 2009 and 2010. Some public universities have lost over 40 percent of their state funding; the University of Washington, 26 percent; Florida's public university system, 25 percent. The children of middle and lower-income families are hardest hit.
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Monday, December 18, 2017
The Triumph of the Oligarchs By passing the tax plan, Republican donors will save billions -- paying a lower top tax rate, doubling the amount their heirs can receive tax-free, and treating themselves as "pass-through" businesses able to deduct 20 percent of their income (effectively allowing Trump to cut his tax rate in half, if and when he pays taxes).
Monday, December 18, 2017The Triumph of the Oligarchs By passing the tax plan, Republican donors will save billions -- paying a lower top tax rate, doubling the amount their heirs can receive tax-free, and treating themselves as "pass-through" businesses able to deduct 20 percent of their income (effectively allowing Trump to cut his tax rate in half, if and when he pays taxes).
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Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Why Trump's Private Transactions are Terrifying As we enter the third year of his presidency, Trump's utter blindness to the public interest is a terrifying possibility. At least a scoundrel knows when he is doing bad things. A megalomaniac who only sees the art of the deal, doesn't.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018Why Trump's Private Transactions are Terrifying As we enter the third year of his presidency, Trump's utter blindness to the public interest is a terrifying possibility. At least a scoundrel knows when he is doing bad things. A megalomaniac who only sees the art of the deal, doesn't.
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Saturday, June 24, 2017
The Secret Republican Plan to Unravel Medicaid Bad enough that the Republican Senate bill would repeal much of the Affordable Care Act. Even worse, it unravels the Medicaid Act of 1965 -- which, even before Obamacare, provided health insurance to millions of poor households and elderly.
Saturday, June 24, 2017The Secret Republican Plan to Unravel Medicaid Bad enough that the Republican Senate bill would repeal much of the Affordable Care Act. Even worse, it unravels the Medicaid Act of 1965 -- which, even before Obamacare, provided health insurance to millions of poor households and elderly.
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Friday, April 20, 2018
A Third Party? How Not To Settle For The Lesser Of Two Evils If a party establishment has a chokehold on the primaries -- the answer isn't to go with a third party and end up with the worse of two evils, but to organize and mobilize inside the party to break that chokehold, as some would say the Tea Party has done in the GOP.
Friday, April 20, 2018A Third Party? How Not To Settle For The Lesser Of Two Evils If a party establishment has a chokehold on the primaries -- the answer isn't to go with a third party and end up with the worse of two evils, but to organize and mobilize inside the party to break that chokehold, as some would say the Tea Party has done in the GOP.
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Thursday, May 7, 2020
Donald Trump Is Getting Nervous Internal polls show Trump losing in November unless the economy comes roaring back. But much of the economy remains closed because of the pandemic. The number of infections and deaths continue to climb. So what is Trump's re-election strategy? Reopen the economy anyway, despite the risks.
Thursday, May 7, 2020Donald Trump Is Getting Nervous Internal polls show Trump losing in November unless the economy comes roaring back. But much of the economy remains closed because of the pandemic. The number of infections and deaths continue to climb. So what is Trump's re-election strategy? Reopen the economy anyway, despite the risks.
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Monday, September 30, 2013
Why Obama and the Democrats Shouldn't Negotiate with Extortionists We don't repeal laws by holding hostage the entire US government. The bullies are a faction inside the Republican Party--extremists who are threatening more reasonable Republicans with primary challenges if they don't go along. And where are the Tea Party extremists getting their dough? From even bigger bullies--a handful of hugely wealthy Americans who are sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into this extortion racket.
Monday, September 30, 2013Why Obama and the Democrats Shouldn't Negotiate with Extortionists We don't repeal laws by holding hostage the entire US government. The bullies are a faction inside the Republican Party--extremists who are threatening more reasonable Republicans with primary challenges if they don't go along. And where are the Tea Party extremists getting their dough? From even bigger bullies--a handful of hugely wealthy Americans who are sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into this extortion racket.
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Monday, July 3, 2017
Trump's Escalating Assault on the Press Trump began his presidency attacking the press for "fake news." Then he called the networks and publications that criticized him "enemies of the people." His new attacks seem to be going a step farther -- mobilizing his supporters against media personalities and executives that are critical of him.
Monday, July 3, 2017Trump's Escalating Assault on the Press Trump began his presidency attacking the press for "fake news." Then he called the networks and publications that criticized him "enemies of the people." His new attacks seem to be going a step farther -- mobilizing his supporters against media personalities and executives that are critical of him.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Corporate Hypocrisy on Racism Wall Street banks and corporate executives have wasted no time trying to establish themselves as allies of the Black Lives Matter movement, professing support for the historic protests against police killings of Black people.
Tuesday, July 14, 2020Corporate Hypocrisy on Racism Wall Street banks and corporate executives have wasted no time trying to establish themselves as allies of the Black Lives Matter movement, professing support for the historic protests against police killings of Black people.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2020
The Deathly Tragedy of American Exceptionalism No other nation has endured as much death from Covid-19 nor nearly as a high a death rate as has the United States. And it is the only advanced nation where the death rate is still climbing. Three thousand deaths per day are anticipated by June 1st.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020The Deathly Tragedy of American Exceptionalism No other nation has endured as much death from Covid-19 nor nearly as a high a death rate as has the United States. And it is the only advanced nation where the death rate is still climbing. Three thousand deaths per day are anticipated by June 1st.
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Saturday, July 4, 2015
Why We Shouldn't Pay for the Political Spending of Federal Contractors When government contractors do the spending, American taxpayers foot the bill twice over. Our tax dollars are spent on their lobbying and campaign contributions. And if their lobbying and contributing is successful, our tax dollars are spent on federal contracts we often don't need.
Saturday, July 4, 2015Why We Shouldn't Pay for the Political Spending of Federal Contractors When government contractors do the spending, American taxpayers foot the bill twice over. Our tax dollars are spent on their lobbying and campaign contributions. And if their lobbying and contributing is successful, our tax dollars are spent on federal contracts we often don't need.
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Monday, March 6, 2017
The Old Trump is Back. In Fact, He Never Left The old Trump has been there all along, and he will always be there. He's unhinged and dangerous. The sooner congressional Republicans accept this, and take action to remove him -- whether through impeachment or the 25th Amendment -- the better for all of us.
Monday, March 6, 2017The Old Trump is Back. In Fact, He Never Left The old Trump has been there all along, and he will always be there. He's unhinged and dangerous. The sooner congressional Republicans accept this, and take action to remove him -- whether through impeachment or the 25th Amendment -- the better for all of us.
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Friday, February 17, 2017
Trump's Most Shameful Act So Far What do we do when we have a president and White House surrogates, along with enablers in the right-wing media, who continuously lie about something as fundamental to our democracy as whether we've got massive voter fraud? The answer is we find the truth. We spread the truth. We continue to speak the truth. And we demand that big lies like this be corrected.
Friday, February 17, 2017Trump's Most Shameful Act So Far What do we do when we have a president and White House surrogates, along with enablers in the right-wing media, who continuously lie about something as fundamental to our democracy as whether we've got massive voter fraud? The answer is we find the truth. We spread the truth. We continue to speak the truth. And we demand that big lies like this be corrected.
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Friday, February 22, 2013
Why Customers are Disappearing, Higher Unemployment, Many in Washington Don't Have Half A Brain Unless Republicans and Democrats reach a budget agreement before next Friday, another $85 billion of spending cuts go into effect this year. They'll begin almost immediately. With consumers and government both spending less, businesses won't hire more workers; they'll fire more workers. Anyone with half a brain should be able to understand all this. But apparently many in Washington don't have half a brain.
Friday, February 22, 2013Why Customers are Disappearing, Higher Unemployment, Many in Washington Don't Have Half A Brain Unless Republicans and Democrats reach a budget agreement before next Friday, another $85 billion of spending cuts go into effect this year. They'll begin almost immediately. With consumers and government both spending less, businesses won't hire more workers; they'll fire more workers. Anyone with half a brain should be able to understand all this. But apparently many in Washington don't have half a brain.
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Thursday, August 13, 2020
Betsy DeVos' Deadly Plan to Reopen Schools Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos is heading the administration's effort to force schools to reopen in the fall for in-person instruction. What's her plan to reopen safely? She doesn't have one.
Thursday, August 13, 2020Betsy DeVos' Deadly Plan to Reopen Schools Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos is heading the administration's effort to force schools to reopen in the fall for in-person instruction. What's her plan to reopen safely? She doesn't have one.
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Wednesday, July 17, 2019
How Corporate Welfare Hurts You When corporations get special handouts from the government, it costs the rest of us. So the next time you hear conservatives railing against welfare handouts for the poor, remind them that we should really be cutting corporate welfare unnecessary and unwarranted aid for dependent corporations.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019How Corporate Welfare Hurts You When corporations get special handouts from the government, it costs the rest of us. So the next time you hear conservatives railing against welfare handouts for the poor, remind them that we should really be cutting corporate welfare unnecessary and unwarranted aid for dependent corporations.
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Thursday, August 11, 2016
Why a Tax on Wall Street Trades is an Even Better Idea Than You Know Why aren't politicians of all stripes supporting a tax on financial transactions? Because the financial transactions tax directly threatens a major source of Wall Street's revenue. And if you hadn't noticed, the Street uses a portion of its vast revenues to gain political clout. Which may be one of the best reasons for enacting it.
Thursday, August 11, 2016Why a Tax on Wall Street Trades is an Even Better Idea Than You Know Why aren't politicians of all stripes supporting a tax on financial transactions? Because the financial transactions tax directly threatens a major source of Wall Street's revenue. And if you hadn't noticed, the Street uses a portion of its vast revenues to gain political clout. Which may be one of the best reasons for enacting it.
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Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Why the Shake-up at the Democratic National Committee Is Doomed The Democratic National Committee -- like the Republican National Committee -- has become little more than a giant machine designed to suck up big money from wealthy individuals, lobbyists bundlers, and corporate and Wall Street PACs. The DNC has to turn itself -- and the Democratic Party -- into a grass-roots membership organization.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016Why the Shake-up at the Democratic National Committee Is Doomed The Democratic National Committee -- like the Republican National Committee -- has become little more than a giant machine designed to suck up big money from wealthy individuals, lobbyists bundlers, and corporate and Wall Street PACs. The DNC has to turn itself -- and the Democratic Party -- into a grass-roots membership organization.
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Monday, September 10, 2012
The Biggest Economic Challenge of Obama's Second Term The wealthy don't create jobs, and giving them additional tax cuts won't bring unemployment down. America's rich are already garnering a bigger share of American income than they have in 80 years. They're using much of it to speculate in the stock market. All this has done is drive stock prices higher.
Monday, September 10, 2012The Biggest Economic Challenge of Obama's Second Term The wealthy don't create jobs, and giving them additional tax cuts won't bring unemployment down. America's rich are already garnering a bigger share of American income than they have in 80 years. They're using much of it to speculate in the stock market. All this has done is drive stock prices higher.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2020
The Trump recession is coming Last week, corporations got a $500 billion windfall of taxpayer money as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus emergency relief package. Meanwhile, working Americans got a measly one-time $1,200 check to get them through this months-long crisis.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020The Trump recession is coming Last week, corporations got a $500 billion windfall of taxpayer money as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus emergency relief package. Meanwhile, working Americans got a measly one-time $1,200 check to get them through this months-long crisis.
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Monday, July 9, 2018
Trump's Art of the No Deal (revised and updated) Trump promised to be America's deal-maker in chief. "That's what I do, is deals," he said in May. "I know deals, I think, better than anybody knows deals." All he really knows is how to bully friends, stage photo ops with enemies, and claim victory.
Monday, July 9, 2018Trump's Art of the No Deal (revised and updated) Trump promised to be America's deal-maker in chief. "That's what I do, is deals," he said in May. "I know deals, I think, better than anybody knows deals." All he really knows is how to bully friends, stage photo ops with enemies, and claim victory.
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Monday, June 5, 2017
The World According to Trump Trump is now the single most powerful person on the planet, with the ability to order the destruction of the world in just over four minutes. It is necessary to get him out of the White House, peacefully and legally, as quickly as possible.
Monday, June 5, 2017The World According to Trump Trump is now the single most powerful person on the planet, with the ability to order the destruction of the world in just over four minutes. It is necessary to get him out of the White House, peacefully and legally, as quickly as possible.
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Saturday, November 17, 2012
Why BP Isn't a Criminal The perfidious notion that corporations are people can lead to even more bizarre results. If corporations are people and they're headquartered in the United States, then presumably corporations are citizens. That means they have a right to vote as well. I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.
Saturday, November 17, 2012Why BP Isn't a Criminal The perfidious notion that corporations are people can lead to even more bizarre results. If corporations are people and they're headquartered in the United States, then presumably corporations are citizens. That means they have a right to vote as well. I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2020
The Real State of the Union The Trump-Republican tax cut has been a huge failure. Nothing has trickled down to average workers. To the contrary, If fully implemented the 2017 tax cut will result in tax increases for most households in the bottom 80 percent.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020The Real State of the Union The Trump-Republican tax cut has been a huge failure. Nothing has trickled down to average workers. To the contrary, If fully implemented the 2017 tax cut will result in tax increases for most households in the bottom 80 percent.
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Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Why we must legalize marijuana Donald Trump and his administration are trying to turn back the clock. They've even formed a task force to weaken public support for legalization and help spread misinformation about so-called "marijuana threats." It's time to legalize marijuana.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019Why we must legalize marijuana Donald Trump and his administration are trying to turn back the clock. They've even formed a task force to weaken public support for legalization and help spread misinformation about so-called "marijuana threats." It's time to legalize marijuana.
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Thursday, June 9, 2011
Why the President Must Come Up With Demand-Side Solutions, And Not Go Over to the Supply Side In seeking Republican votes, Obama is putting forth Republican supply-side ideas -- lowering the employer costs of hiring, cutting corporate taxes -- that have nothing to do with this demand-side crisis. He may attract some Republican votes for these, but what's the point if they're irrelevant to the real problem?
Thursday, June 9, 2011Why the President Must Come Up With Demand-Side Solutions, And Not Go Over to the Supply Side In seeking Republican votes, Obama is putting forth Republican supply-side ideas -- lowering the employer costs of hiring, cutting corporate taxes -- that have nothing to do with this demand-side crisis. He may attract some Republican votes for these, but what's the point if they're irrelevant to the real problem?
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Thursday, June 1, 2017
The Art of the Putin-Trump Deal Say you're Vladimir Putin, and you did a deal with Trump last year. I'm not suggesting there was any such deal, mind you. But if you are Putin and you did do a deal, what did Trump agree to do?
Thursday, June 1, 2017The Art of the Putin-Trump Deal Say you're Vladimir Putin, and you did a deal with Trump last year. I'm not suggesting there was any such deal, mind you. But if you are Putin and you did do a deal, what did Trump agree to do?
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Monday, May 25, 2020
No, Donald Trump, Americans are not dying to work -- work may cause them to die The pressure to reopen the economy is coming from businesses that want to return to profitability, and from Trump, who wants to run for re-election in an economy that appears to be recovering. Neither is reason enough.
Monday, May 25, 2020No, Donald Trump, Americans are not dying to work -- work may cause them to die The pressure to reopen the economy is coming from businesses that want to return to profitability, and from Trump, who wants to run for re-election in an economy that appears to be recovering. Neither is reason enough.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Trump and Kodak The White House is distributing billions in subsidies and loans to select corporations -- enabling CEOs and boards to load up on stocks and stock options just before deals are announced, then rake in fat profits after stock prices surge.
Tuesday, August 11, 2020Trump and Kodak The White House is distributing billions in subsidies and loans to select corporations -- enabling CEOs and boards to load up on stocks and stock options just before deals are announced, then rake in fat profits after stock prices surge.
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Monday, April 6, 2020
To Donald Trump, coronavirus is just one more chance for a power grab Trump has told governors to find life-saving equipment on their own. He refuses to create a central bargaining agent, arguing the federal government is "not a shipping clerk." This has left states and cities bidding against each other, driving up prices.
Monday, April 6, 2020To Donald Trump, coronavirus is just one more chance for a power grab Trump has told governors to find life-saving equipment on their own. He refuses to create a central bargaining agent, arguing the federal government is "not a shipping clerk." This has left states and cities bidding against each other, driving up prices.
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Tuesday, January 8, 2013
TARP is Over, But the Bailouts Will Continue Until the Big Banks are Broken Up -- And Washington Knows It It's necessary to limit the size of the banks and break up the biggest. The timing is right. The oven is ready. All we need is another multi-billion dollar banking loss -- like JP Morgan Chase's last year -- and the biggest banks are cooked.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013TARP is Over, But the Bailouts Will Continue Until the Big Banks are Broken Up -- And Washington Knows It It's necessary to limit the size of the banks and break up the biggest. The timing is right. The oven is ready. All we need is another multi-billion dollar banking loss -- like JP Morgan Chase's last year -- and the biggest banks are cooked.
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Thursday, November 15, 2018
The Next Crash The combination of stagnant wages with most economic gains going to the top is once again endangering the economy. Most Americans are still living in the shadow of the Great Recession that started in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009. More have jobs, to be sure. But they haven't seen any rise in their wages, adjusted for inflation.
Thursday, November 15, 2018The Next Crash The combination of stagnant wages with most economic gains going to the top is once again endangering the economy. Most Americans are still living in the shadow of the Great Recession that started in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009. More have jobs, to be sure. But they haven't seen any rise in their wages, adjusted for inflation.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Safety on the Cheap Profit-making corporations have every incentive to underestimate these probabilities and low-ball the likely harms. This is why it's necessary to have such things as government regulators, why regulators must be independent of the industries they regulate, and why regulators need enough resources to enforce the regulations.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011Safety on the Cheap Profit-making corporations have every incentive to underestimate these probabilities and low-ball the likely harms. This is why it's necessary to have such things as government regulators, why regulators must be independent of the industries they regulate, and why regulators need enough resources to enforce the regulations.
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Saturday, June 30, 2018
What Must We Do Now? Only 27 percent of Americans are Republican, and the vast majority of Americans disapprove of Trump. The GOP itself is now little more than Trump, Fox News, a handful of billionaire funders, and evangelicals who oppose a woman's right to choose, gay marriage, and the Constitution's separation of church and state.
Saturday, June 30, 2018What Must We Do Now? Only 27 percent of Americans are Republican, and the vast majority of Americans disapprove of Trump. The GOP itself is now little more than Trump, Fox News, a handful of billionaire funders, and evangelicals who oppose a woman's right to choose, gay marriage, and the Constitution's separation of church and state.
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Friday, June 8, 2012
Why the Public's Growing Disdain for the Supreme Court May Help Obamacare The latest New York Times CBS Poll shows just 44 percent of Americans approve the job the Supreme Court is doing. Fully three-quarters say justices' decisions are sometimes influenced by their personal political views. The trend is clearly downward. Approval of the Court reached 66 percent in the late 1980s, and by 2000 had slipped to around 50 percent.
Friday, June 8, 2012Why the Public's Growing Disdain for the Supreme Court May Help Obamacare The latest New York Times CBS Poll shows just 44 percent of Americans approve the job the Supreme Court is doing. Fully three-quarters say justices' decisions are sometimes influenced by their personal political views. The trend is clearly downward. Approval of the Court reached 66 percent in the late 1980s, and by 2000 had slipped to around 50 percent.
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Sunday, June 28, 2015
Why We Must Fight Economic Apartheid in America Americans are segregating ever more by income in terms of where we live. Because a disproportionate number of the nation's poor are black or Latino, that means we're experiencing racial segregation on a much larger geographical scale than ever before -- a kind of economic apartheid.
Sunday, June 28, 2015Why We Must Fight Economic Apartheid in America Americans are segregating ever more by income in terms of where we live. Because a disproportionate number of the nation's poor are black or Latino, that means we're experiencing racial segregation on a much larger geographical scale than ever before -- a kind of economic apartheid.
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Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Bernie's Seven Legacies If it doesn't act on these critical issues that Bernie Sanders has provided, the Democratic Party will become irrelevant to the future of America, and a third party will emerge to address them. Bernie, we thank you for your courage, your inspiration, your tireless dedication, and your vision. And we will continue the fight.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016Bernie's Seven Legacies If it doesn't act on these critical issues that Bernie Sanders has provided, the Democratic Party will become irrelevant to the future of America, and a third party will emerge to address them. Bernie, we thank you for your courage, your inspiration, your tireless dedication, and your vision. And we will continue the fight.
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Saturday, June 4, 2016
It's Not Over Until It's Over The goals Bernie has enunciated in his campaign are essential to our future: big money out of politics and reversing widening inequality; a single-payer healthcare system and free tuition at public universities (both financed by higher taxes on the richest Americans and on Wall Street); a $15 minimum wage; decriminalization of marijuana and an end to mass incarceration; a new voting rights act; immigration and a carbon tax.
Saturday, June 4, 2016It's Not Over Until It's Over The goals Bernie has enunciated in his campaign are essential to our future: big money out of politics and reversing widening inequality; a single-payer healthcare system and free tuition at public universities (both financed by higher taxes on the richest Americans and on Wall Street); a $15 minimum wage; decriminalization of marijuana and an end to mass incarceration; a new voting rights act; immigration and a carbon tax.
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Friday, March 13, 2020
Trump's Chaotic Response to Coronavirus and What's Next for Democrats The coronavirus outbreak has officially been labeled a pandemic by the World Health Organization, potentially grinding the global economy to a halt. Yet every step of the way, the Trump administration's response has been to deny, blame, obfuscate, and generally cover up.
Friday, March 13, 2020Trump's Chaotic Response to Coronavirus and What's Next for Democrats The coronavirus outbreak has officially been labeled a pandemic by the World Health Organization, potentially grinding the global economy to a halt. Yet every step of the way, the Trump administration's response has been to deny, blame, obfuscate, and generally cover up.
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Why CEOs are Turning on Trump Trump's unwillingness to strongly condemn the neo-Nazi's and white supremacists in Charlottesville caused business leaders to stampede off his advisory councils. Now Trump's cruel plan to end DACA, the Obama-era program that allows unauthorized immigrants who arrived in America as children to remain here, is mobilizing CEOs to make the program permanent.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017Why CEOs are Turning on Trump Trump's unwillingness to strongly condemn the neo-Nazi's and white supremacists in Charlottesville caused business leaders to stampede off his advisory councils. Now Trump's cruel plan to end DACA, the Obama-era program that allows unauthorized immigrants who arrived in America as children to remain here, is mobilizing CEOs to make the program permanent.
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Monday, March 23, 2020
It's morally repulsive how corporations are exploiting this crisis. Workers will suffer Walmart, the largest employer in America, doesn't give its employees paid sick leave, and limits its 500,000 part-time workers to 48 hours paid time off per year. This Burring policy is now threatening countless lives. (On one survey, 88% of Walmart employees report sometimes coming to work when sick.)
Monday, March 23, 2020It's morally repulsive how corporations are exploiting this crisis. Workers will suffer Walmart, the largest employer in America, doesn't give its employees paid sick leave, and limits its 500,000 part-time workers to 48 hours paid time off per year. This Burring policy is now threatening countless lives. (On one survey, 88% of Walmart employees report sometimes coming to work when sick.)
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Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The Choice in 2012: Social Darwinism or a Decent Society The Republican budget plan is the most radical reverse-Robin Hood proposal propounded by any political party in modern America. It would save millionaires at least $150,000 a year in taxes while gutting Medicaid, Medicare, Food Stamps, transportation, child nutrition, college aid, and almost everything else average and lower-income Americans depend on.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012The Choice in 2012: Social Darwinism or a Decent Society The Republican budget plan is the most radical reverse-Robin Hood proposal propounded by any political party in modern America. It would save millionaires at least $150,000 a year in taxes while gutting Medicaid, Medicare, Food Stamps, transportation, child nutrition, college aid, and almost everything else average and lower-income Americans depend on.
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Saturday, September 13, 2014
Harvard Business School's Role in Widening Inequality Starting in the late 1970s, a new vision of the corporation and the role of CEOs emerged -- prodded by corporate "raiders," hostile takeovers, junk bonds, and leveraged buyouts. Shareholders began to predominate over other stakeholders. And CEOs began to view their primary role as driving up share prices. To do this, they had to cut costs -- especially payrolls, which constituted their largest expense.
Saturday, September 13, 2014Harvard Business School's Role in Widening Inequality Starting in the late 1970s, a new vision of the corporation and the role of CEOs emerged -- prodded by corporate "raiders," hostile takeovers, junk bonds, and leveraged buyouts. Shareholders began to predominate over other stakeholders. And CEOs began to view their primary role as driving up share prices. To do this, they had to cut costs -- especially payrolls, which constituted their largest expense.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Trump's Personal Gain Trumps All Trump called his impeachment a "hoax" and initially called the coronavirus a "hoax." But the real hoax is his commitment to America. In reality he will do anything -- anything -- to hold on to power.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020Trump's Personal Gain Trumps All Trump called his impeachment a "hoax" and initially called the coronavirus a "hoax." But the real hoax is his commitment to America. In reality he will do anything -- anything -- to hold on to power.
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Friday, May 31, 2013
Economic Storm Clouds Ahead The main reason stock prices have risen is corporate profits have soared. But that's largely because corporations have slashed their payrolls and keep them low. Which brings us full circle, back to the fundamental fact that wages that are going nowhere for most people.
Friday, May 31, 2013Economic Storm Clouds Ahead The main reason stock prices have risen is corporate profits have soared. But that's largely because corporations have slashed their payrolls and keep them low. Which brings us full circle, back to the fundamental fact that wages that are going nowhere for most people.
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Tuesday, April 21, 2015
How the New Flexible Economy is Making Workers' Lives Hell Employers assign workers tentative shifts, and then notify them a half-hour or 10 minutes before the shift is scheduled to begin whether they're actually needed. Some even require workers to check in by phone, email, or text shortly before the shift starts.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015How the New Flexible Economy is Making Workers' Lives Hell Employers assign workers tentative shifts, and then notify them a half-hour or 10 minutes before the shift is scheduled to begin whether they're actually needed. Some even require workers to check in by phone, email, or text shortly before the shift starts.
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Monday, December 10, 2012
As Washington Fiddles over the Fiscal Cliff, the Real Battle Over Inequality Is Happening in the Heartland With a shrinking share of total income and wealth, the middle class and poor simply don't have the purchasing power to get the economy back on solid footing. Consumer spending -- fully 70 percent of economic activity -- isn't up to the task of keeping the economy going. This puts greater pressure on government to be purchaser of last resort.
Monday, December 10, 2012As Washington Fiddles over the Fiscal Cliff, the Real Battle Over Inequality Is Happening in the Heartland With a shrinking share of total income and wealth, the middle class and poor simply don't have the purchasing power to get the economy back on solid footing. Consumer spending -- fully 70 percent of economic activity -- isn't up to the task of keeping the economy going. This puts greater pressure on government to be purchaser of last resort.
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Thursday, August 6, 2020
The painful truth about COVID and the economy -- Trump is to blame Pesky facts have never stopped Trump. Having lied for five months about the coronavirus, he's now filling social media and the airwaves with untruths about the economy so he can dupe his way to election day.
Thursday, August 6, 2020The painful truth about COVID and the economy -- Trump is to blame Pesky facts have never stopped Trump. Having lied for five months about the coronavirus, he's now filling social media and the airwaves with untruths about the economy so he can dupe his way to election day.
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Saturday, June 8, 2013
The Quiet Closing of Washington Conservative Republicans in our nation's capital have managed to accomplish something they only dreamed of when Tea Partiers streamed into Congress at the start of 2011: They've basically shut Congress down. No jobs agenda. No budget. No grand bargain on the deficit. No background checks on guns. Nothing on climate change. No tax reform. No hike in the minimum wage. Nothing so far on immigration reform.
Saturday, June 8, 2013The Quiet Closing of Washington Conservative Republicans in our nation's capital have managed to accomplish something they only dreamed of when Tea Partiers streamed into Congress at the start of 2011: They've basically shut Congress down. No jobs agenda. No budget. No grand bargain on the deficit. No background checks on guns. Nothing on climate change. No tax reform. No hike in the minimum wage. Nothing so far on immigration reform.
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Monday, June 26, 2017
The Secret Healthcare Bill The Senate's bill is not a healthcare bill. It's a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, paid for by a dramatic reduction in healthcare funding for approximately 23 million poor, disabled, and working middle class Americans. If enacted, it would be the largest single transfer of wealth to the rich from the middle class and poor in American history.
Monday, June 26, 2017The Secret Healthcare Bill The Senate's bill is not a healthcare bill. It's a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, paid for by a dramatic reduction in healthcare funding for approximately 23 million poor, disabled, and working middle class Americans. If enacted, it would be the largest single transfer of wealth to the rich from the middle class and poor in American history.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2020
America is Exceptional in All the Wrong Ways It's decades of America's failure to provide its people the basic support they need, decades of putting corporations' bottom lines ahead of workers' paychecks, decades of letting the rich and powerful pull the strings as the rest of us barely get by.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020America is Exceptional in All the Wrong Ways It's decades of America's failure to provide its people the basic support they need, decades of putting corporations' bottom lines ahead of workers' paychecks, decades of letting the rich and powerful pull the strings as the rest of us barely get by.
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Saturday, June 10, 2017
Trump's Infrastructure Investment Scam We shouldn't have to pay twice over for the wrong infrastructure. To really make America great again we need the correct infrastructure in the right places -- infrastructure that's for the public, not for big developers and investors.
Saturday, June 10, 2017Trump's Infrastructure Investment Scam We shouldn't have to pay twice over for the wrong infrastructure. To really make America great again we need the correct infrastructure in the right places -- infrastructure that's for the public, not for big developers and investors.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2016
The Death of the Republican Party Without a Party, anyone runs who's able to raise (or already possesses) the requisite money -- even if he happens to be a pathological narcissist who has never before held public office, even if he's a knave detested by all his Republican colleagues. Without a Republican Party, it's just us and them. And one of them could even become the next President of the United States.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016The Death of the Republican Party Without a Party, anyone runs who's able to raise (or already possesses) the requisite money -- even if he happens to be a pathological narcissist who has never before held public office, even if he's a knave detested by all his Republican colleagues. Without a Republican Party, it's just us and them. And one of them could even become the next President of the United States.
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Friday, December 6, 2013
One Answer to Low-Wage Work: Redistributing the Gains without some redistribution, America's growing army of low-wage workers may fall prey to demagogues on the right or left who offer convenient scapegoats for their frustrations. In other words, we can finance much of this redistribution to the working poor by ending unnecessary redistributions to the wealthy.
Friday, December 6, 2013One Answer to Low-Wage Work: Redistributing the Gains without some redistribution, America's growing army of low-wage workers may fall prey to demagogues on the right or left who offer convenient scapegoats for their frustrations. In other words, we can finance much of this redistribution to the working poor by ending unnecessary redistributions to the wealthy.
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Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Political Jujitsu: Now's The Time For Medicare For All As Republicans in Congress move to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Democrats are moving toward Medicare for All -- a single-payer plan that builds on Medicare and would cover everyone at far lower cost. Most House Democrats are already supporting a Medicare for All bill.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017Political Jujitsu: Now's The Time For Medicare For All As Republicans in Congress move to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Democrats are moving toward Medicare for All -- a single-payer plan that builds on Medicare and would cover everyone at far lower cost. Most House Democrats are already supporting a Medicare for All bill.
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Monday, January 29, 2018
Trump's America: Open to Global Capital, Not People Global capital wants just one thing: A high return on its investment. Global capital doesn't care how it gets a high return. If it can get it by slashing wages, outsourcing to contract workers, polluting air and water, defrauding investors, or destroying communities, it will.
Monday, January 29, 2018Trump's America: Open to Global Capital, Not People Global capital wants just one thing: A high return on its investment. Global capital doesn't care how it gets a high return. If it can get it by slashing wages, outsourcing to contract workers, polluting air and water, defrauding investors, or destroying communities, it will.
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Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Three Terrifying Reasons for Trump's Latest Rant We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid who's making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason, or is willing to sacrifice public trust in our basic institutions to further his selfish goals. Each of these possible reasons is as terrifying as the other.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017Three Terrifying Reasons for Trump's Latest Rant We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid who's making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason, or is willing to sacrifice public trust in our basic institutions to further his selfish goals. Each of these possible reasons is as terrifying as the other.
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Monday, April 20, 2020
CEOs, not the unemployed, are America's real "moral hazard" By saving the backsides of big corporations and their CEOs, the bailouts have rewarded corporate America's obsession with short-term profits regardless of longer-term risks to the corporation, its employees, and the overall economy.
Monday, April 20, 2020CEOs, not the unemployed, are America's real "moral hazard" By saving the backsides of big corporations and their CEOs, the bailouts have rewarded corporate America's obsession with short-term profits regardless of longer-term risks to the corporation, its employees, and the overall economy.
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Trump's War on the Courts, the Press, and the States For Trump, evidence is irrelevant. California needs to be taught a lesson -- just as do Judge Robart and other members of the federal judiciary who defy him, just as do journalists and media outlets that criticize him. And what is that lesson? That they dare not cross Trump.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017Trump's War on the Courts, the Press, and the States For Trump, evidence is irrelevant. California needs to be taught a lesson -- just as do Judge Robart and other members of the federal judiciary who defy him, just as do journalists and media outlets that criticize him. And what is that lesson? That they dare not cross Trump.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017
7 Signs of Tyranny As tyrants take control, they exaggerate their mandate to govern... turn the public against journalists or media outlets that criticize them...repeatedly lie to the public...blame economic stresses on immigrants or racial or religious minorities...attack the motives of anyone who opposes them, including judges...appoint family members to high positions of authority...keep their personal finances secret. Sound familiar?
Tuesday, February 21, 20177 Signs of Tyranny As tyrants take control, they exaggerate their mandate to govern... turn the public against journalists or media outlets that criticize them...repeatedly lie to the public...blame economic stresses on immigrants or racial or religious minorities...attack the motives of anyone who opposes them, including judges...appoint family members to high positions of authority...keep their personal finances secret. Sound familiar?
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Wednesday, November 8, 2017
A Year Without a President A president who's governing doesn't leave the top departments and agencies empty for almost a year. He doesn't publicly tell his Secretary of State he's wasting time trying to open relations with North Korea. Any president with the slightest interest in governing would already know and approve of what his Secretary of State was doing. He doesn't fire half his key White House staff in the first nine months, creating chaos.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017A Year Without a President A president who's governing doesn't leave the top departments and agencies empty for almost a year. He doesn't publicly tell his Secretary of State he's wasting time trying to open relations with North Korea. Any president with the slightest interest in governing would already know and approve of what his Secretary of State was doing. He doesn't fire half his key White House staff in the first nine months, creating chaos.
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Friday, June 9, 2017
Impeach Him Now Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is already drafting articles of impeachment related to Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, believing there's enough evidence of Trump's obstruction of justice to begin an impeachment inquiry (not to mention Trump's blatant violation of the Constitutions emoluments clause by profiting off his presidency, and much else). But Democratic leaders are pushing back
Friday, June 9, 2017Impeach Him Now Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is already drafting articles of impeachment related to Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, believing there's enough evidence of Trump's obstruction of justice to begin an impeachment inquiry (not to mention Trump's blatant violation of the Constitutions emoluments clause by profiting off his presidency, and much else). But Democratic leaders are pushing back
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Friday, February 23, 2018
Why the Common Good Disappeared (And How We Get it Back) We have never been a perfect union; our finest moments have been when we sought to become more perfect than we had been. We can help restore the common good by striving for it and showing others it's worth the effort.
Friday, February 23, 2018Why the Common Good Disappeared (And How We Get it Back) We have never been a perfect union; our finest moments have been when we sought to become more perfect than we had been. We can help restore the common good by striving for it and showing others it's worth the effort.
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Sunday, May 22, 2016
Why Trump Might Win That most Americans don't particularly like Trump is irrelevant. As one Midwesterner told me a few weeks ago, "He may be a jerk, but he's our jerk." By the same token, in this era of anti-politics, any candidate who appears to be the political establishment is at a strong disadvantage. This may be Hillary Clinton's biggest handicap.
Sunday, May 22, 2016Why Trump Might Win That most Americans don't particularly like Trump is irrelevant. As one Midwesterner told me a few weeks ago, "He may be a jerk, but he's our jerk." By the same token, in this era of anti-politics, any candidate who appears to be the political establishment is at a strong disadvantage. This may be Hillary Clinton's biggest handicap.
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
It's Mueller time but don't forget: Trump has undermined the very idea of America Trump has sacrificed the processes and institutions of American democracy to achieve his goals. By saying and doing whatever it takes to win, he has abused the trust we place in a president to preserve and protect the nation's capacity for self-government.
Sunday, March 24, 2019It's Mueller time but don't forget: Trump has undermined the very idea of America Trump has sacrificed the processes and institutions of American democracy to achieve his goals. By saying and doing whatever it takes to win, he has abused the trust we place in a president to preserve and protect the nation's capacity for self-government.
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Wednesday, September 18, 2019
The Secret GOP Plan to Keep Power As demographics change and America becomes more diverse and more liberal the GOP has responded by implementing policies that will take away power from the American people. Rather than changing with the times, they've got another plan: minority rule by them.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019The Secret GOP Plan to Keep Power As demographics change and America becomes more diverse and more liberal the GOP has responded by implementing policies that will take away power from the American people. Rather than changing with the times, they've got another plan: minority rule by them.
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Monday, May 5, 2014
The Four Biggest Right-Wing Lies About Inequality At the least, the rich must pay higher taxes in order to pay for better-quality education for kids from poor and middle-class families. Labor unions must be strengthened, especially in lower-wage occupations, in order to give workers the bargaining power they need to get better pay. And the minimum wage must be raised. Don't listen to the right-wing lies about inequality. Know the truth, and act on it.
Monday, May 5, 2014The Four Biggest Right-Wing Lies About Inequality At the least, the rich must pay higher taxes in order to pay for better-quality education for kids from poor and middle-class families. Labor unions must be strengthened, especially in lower-wage occupations, in order to give workers the bargaining power they need to get better pay. And the minimum wage must be raised. Don't listen to the right-wing lies about inequality. Know the truth, and act on it.
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Monday, May 7, 2012
A Question of Timing: What America Can Learn from the Revolt in Europe The first priority in America and in Europe must be growth and jobs. That means rejecting austerity economics for now, while at the same time demanding that corporations and the rich pay their fair share of the cost of keeping everyone else afloat. The proper sequence is for government to keep spending until jobs and growth are restored, and only then to take out the budget axe.
Monday, May 7, 2012A Question of Timing: What America Can Learn from the Revolt in Europe The first priority in America and in Europe must be growth and jobs. That means rejecting austerity economics for now, while at the same time demanding that corporations and the rich pay their fair share of the cost of keeping everyone else afloat. The proper sequence is for government to keep spending until jobs and growth are restored, and only then to take out the budget axe.
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Saturday, February 15, 2014
America's "We" Problem Being rich in today's America means not having to come across anyone who isn't. Exclusive prep schools, elite colleges, private jets, gated communities, tony resorts, symphony halls and opera houses, and vacation homes in the Hamptons and other exclusive vacation sites all insulate them from the rabble.
Saturday, February 15, 2014America's "We" Problem Being rich in today's America means not having to come across anyone who isn't. Exclusive prep schools, elite colleges, private jets, gated communities, tony resorts, symphony halls and opera houses, and vacation homes in the Hamptons and other exclusive vacation sites all insulate them from the rabble.
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Friday, May 26, 2017
Why Trumpcare is Giving Senate Republicans... Very soon Senate Republicans will have to decide what to do about Trumpcare. Their choice is severely limited.
Friday, May 26, 2017Why Trumpcare is Giving Senate Republicans... Very soon Senate Republicans will have to decide what to do about Trumpcare. Their choice is severely limited.
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Friday, June 27, 2014
Break The Koch Machine The Koch political machine would be troubling in any circumstance. But it's especially dangerous in present-day America, where wealth is more concentrated than it's been in over a century and the Supreme Court has opened the floodgates to big money.
Friday, June 27, 2014Break The Koch Machine The Koch political machine would be troubling in any circumstance. But it's especially dangerous in present-day America, where wealth is more concentrated than it's been in over a century and the Supreme Court has opened the floodgates to big money.
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Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Trump Is America's Most Dangerous Export As in the 1930s, economic strains are fueling the rise of demagogues who direct anger and resentment toward scapegoats such as immigrants and minorities - lying about them with impunity.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018Trump Is America's Most Dangerous Export As in the 1930s, economic strains are fueling the rise of demagogues who direct anger and resentment toward scapegoats such as immigrants and minorities - lying about them with impunity.
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Friday, September 16, 2011
The Republican Weapon of Mass Cynicism The GOP has pioneered new ways to circumvent campaign finance laws, blocked all attempts at reform, and appointed and confirmed Supreme Court justices who believe corporations have First Amendment rights to spend whatever they want to corrupt our politics.
Friday, September 16, 2011The Republican Weapon of Mass Cynicism The GOP has pioneered new ways to circumvent campaign finance laws, blocked all attempts at reform, and appointed and confirmed Supreme Court justices who believe corporations have First Amendment rights to spend whatever they want to corrupt our politics.
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Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Brace Yourself for Trump's Great Recession The wave of evictions and foreclosures in the next two months will be unlike anything America has experienced since the Great Depression. And unless Congress extends extra unemployment benefits beyond July 31, we're also going to have unparalleled hunger.
Wednesday, July 8, 2020Brace Yourself for Trump's Great Recession The wave of evictions and foreclosures in the next two months will be unlike anything America has experienced since the Great Depression. And unless Congress extends extra unemployment benefits beyond July 31, we're also going to have unparalleled hunger.
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Thursday, June 7, 2012
Why We Have To Raise Taxes On The Rich And End The Bush Tax Cuts For The Wealthy (And Bill Clinton Agrees) Romney and the Republicans are pushing a reverse-Robin Hood plan that takes from the middle class and the poor while rewarding the rich. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, Romney's tax plan would boost the incomes of people earning more than $1 million a year by an average of $295,874 annually.
Thursday, June 7, 2012Why We Have To Raise Taxes On The Rich And End The Bush Tax Cuts For The Wealthy (And Bill Clinton Agrees) Romney and the Republicans are pushing a reverse-Robin Hood plan that takes from the middle class and the poor while rewarding the rich. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, Romney's tax plan would boost the incomes of people earning more than $1 million a year by an average of $295,874 annually.
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Sunday, October 28, 2012
The Final Days, the Biggest Issue, and the Clearest Choice The top tax rate is now only 35 percent and the tax on capital gains (increases in the value of investments) is only 15 percent. Since so much of what they earn is from capital gains, many of the super-rich, like Mitt Romney himself, pay 14 percent or less. That's a lower tax rate than many middle-class Americans pay.
Sunday, October 28, 2012The Final Days, the Biggest Issue, and the Clearest Choice The top tax rate is now only 35 percent and the tax on capital gains (increases in the value of investments) is only 15 percent. Since so much of what they earn is from capital gains, many of the super-rich, like Mitt Romney himself, pay 14 percent or less. That's a lower tax rate than many middle-class Americans pay.
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Thursday, March 29, 2012
Break Up The Big Banks, Says the Dallas Fed As Republicans make the repeal of "Obamacare" their primary objective (and Alito, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and perhaps Kennedy sharpen their knives) another drama is taking place at the Fed. The question is whether Bernanke and company in Washington will heed the warnings coming from its Dallas branch, and amplify the message.
Thursday, March 29, 2012Break Up The Big Banks, Says the Dallas Fed As Republicans make the repeal of "Obamacare" their primary objective (and Alito, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and perhaps Kennedy sharpen their knives) another drama is taking place at the Fed. The question is whether Bernanke and company in Washington will heed the warnings coming from its Dallas branch, and amplify the message.
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Thursday, March 14, 2019
The Yuge Republican Lie About The Deficit Trump and Republicans in Congress claimed that their tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations would pay for themselves by boosting economic growth. It's the same trickle-down fairy tale they've been telling for decades. But according to the Congressional Budget Office, they haven't paid for themselves, and the deficit continues to balloon.
Thursday, March 14, 2019The Yuge Republican Lie About The Deficit Trump and Republicans in Congress claimed that their tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations would pay for themselves by boosting economic growth. It's the same trickle-down fairy tale they've been telling for decades. But according to the Congressional Budget Office, they haven't paid for themselves, and the deficit continues to balloon.
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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wall Street Is Still Out Of Control, And Why Obama Should Call For Glass-Steagall And A Breakup Of Big Banks I doubt the President will be condemning the Street's antics, or calling for a resurrection of Glass-Steagall and a breakup of the biggest banks. Democrats are still too dependent on the Street's campaign money. That's too bad. You don't have to be an occupier of Wall Street to conclude the Street is still out of control. And that's dangerous for all of us.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011Wall Street Is Still Out Of Control, And Why Obama Should Call For Glass-Steagall And A Breakup Of Big Banks I doubt the President will be condemning the Street's antics, or calling for a resurrection of Glass-Steagall and a breakup of the biggest banks. Democrats are still too dependent on the Street's campaign money. That's too bad. You don't have to be an occupier of Wall Street to conclude the Street is still out of control. And that's dangerous for all of us.
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Sunday, July 26, 2020
Trump can't shift public attention from coronavirus to the streets of America The president shows no leadership on public health but wants to be a strongman on law and order. Voters won't buy it.
Sunday, July 26, 2020Trump can't shift public attention from coronavirus to the streets of America The president shows no leadership on public health but wants to be a strongman on law and order. Voters won't buy it.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2017
It's Time for Medicare for All American spending on healthcare per person is more than twice the average in the world's 35 advanced economies. Yet Americans are sicker, our lives are shorter, and we have more chronic illnesses than in any other advanced nation. That's because medical care is so expensive for the typical American that many put off seeing a doctor until their health has seriously deteriorated.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017It's Time for Medicare for All American spending on healthcare per person is more than twice the average in the world's 35 advanced economies. Yet Americans are sicker, our lives are shorter, and we have more chronic illnesses than in any other advanced nation. That's because medical care is so expensive for the typical American that many put off seeing a doctor until their health has seriously deteriorated.
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Friday, October 12, 2018
Living in a New Gilded Age Unless government un-rigs the market through bold antitrust action to restore competition, the hidden upward distributions from consumers and workers to corporate chieftains and major investors will grow even larger. If Democrats ever get back in power, one of the first things they need to do is revive antitrust.
Friday, October 12, 2018Living in a New Gilded Age Unless government un-rigs the market through bold antitrust action to restore competition, the hidden upward distributions from consumers and workers to corporate chieftains and major investors will grow even larger. If Democrats ever get back in power, one of the first things they need to do is revive antitrust.
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Monday, October 31, 2011
The Occupiers' Responsive Chord A combination of police crackdowns and bad weather are testing the young Occupy movement. But rumors of its demise are premature, to say the least. Although numbers are hard to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests the movement is growing. As importantly, the movement has already changed the public debate in America.
Monday, October 31, 2011The Occupiers' Responsive Chord A combination of police crackdowns and bad weather are testing the young Occupy movement. But rumors of its demise are premature, to say the least. Although numbers are hard to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests the movement is growing. As importantly, the movement has already changed the public debate in America.
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Friday, June 13, 2014
The Three Biggest Right-Wing Lies About Poverty The share of Americans in poverty remains around 15 percent. That's even higher than it was in the early 1970s. How can the economy have grown so much while most people's wages go nowhere and the poor remain poor? Because almost all the gains have gone to the top.
Friday, June 13, 2014The Three Biggest Right-Wing Lies About Poverty The share of Americans in poverty remains around 15 percent. That's even higher than it was in the early 1970s. How can the economy have grown so much while most people's wages go nowhere and the poor remain poor? Because almost all the gains have gone to the top.
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Sunday, September 4, 2011
Why Inequality is the Real Cause of Our Ongoing Terrible Economy The rich are now being bitten by their own success. Those at the top would be better off with a smaller share of a rapidly growing economy than a large share of one that's almost dead in the water.
Sunday, September 4, 2011Why Inequality is the Real Cause of Our Ongoing Terrible Economy The rich are now being bitten by their own success. Those at the top would be better off with a smaller share of a rapidly growing economy than a large share of one that's almost dead in the water.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Trump's "Law and Order" Campaign is a Distraction Trump has refused to act to contain the coronavirus, opting to sit on the sidelines as the pandemic ravages the country. But when it comes to waging violence against his own people, he's quickly risen to the occasion.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020Trump's "Law and Order" Campaign is a Distraction Trump has refused to act to contain the coronavirus, opting to sit on the sidelines as the pandemic ravages the country. But when it comes to waging violence against his own people, he's quickly risen to the occasion.
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Sunday, November 27, 2016
Trump's Seven Techniques to Control the Media Responsible media hold the powerful accountable by asking them hard questions and reporting on what they do. Apparently Trump wants to eliminate such intermediaries. Historically, these seven techniques have been used by demagogues to erode the freedom and independence of the press. Even before he's sworn in, Trump seems intent on doing exactly this.
Sunday, November 27, 2016Trump's Seven Techniques to Control the Media Responsible media hold the powerful accountable by asking them hard questions and reporting on what they do. Apparently Trump wants to eliminate such intermediaries. Historically, these seven techniques have been used by demagogues to erode the freedom and independence of the press. Even before he's sworn in, Trump seems intent on doing exactly this.
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Sunday, August 9, 2020
Trump has no problem letting billionaires profit off the pandemic Since the start of the pandemic, American billionaires have been cleaning up. Trump has no problem letting billionaires illegally profit off the pandemic. He thinks that as long as they buoy the stock market, they're helping the American economy.
Sunday, August 9, 2020Trump has no problem letting billionaires profit off the pandemic Since the start of the pandemic, American billionaires have been cleaning up. Trump has no problem letting billionaires illegally profit off the pandemic. He thinks that as long as they buoy the stock market, they're helping the American economy.
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Thursday, March 26, 2020
The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It The coronavirus has starkly revealed what most of us already knew: The concentration of wealth in America has created a a health care system in which the wealthy can buy care others can't.
Thursday, March 26, 2020The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It The coronavirus has starkly revealed what most of us already knew: The concentration of wealth in America has created a a health care system in which the wealthy can buy care others can't.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Trump's Infrastructure Scam Rather than taxing the wealthy and then using the money to fix our dangerously outdated roads, bridges, airports, water systems, Trump wants to give rich developers and Wall Street investors tax credits to encourage them to do it That means that for every dollar they put into a project, they'd actually pay only 18 cents and we would contribute the other 82 cents through our tax dollars.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017Trump's Infrastructure Scam Rather than taxing the wealthy and then using the money to fix our dangerously outdated roads, bridges, airports, water systems, Trump wants to give rich developers and Wall Street investors tax credits to encourage them to do it That means that for every dollar they put into a project, they'd actually pay only 18 cents and we would contribute the other 82 cents through our tax dollars.
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Friday, September 1, 2017
When Big Money Buys Off Criticism of Big Money According to the New York Times, one of New America's initiatives called Open Markets has been critical of the market power of tech giants like Google. Recently, the researcher who heads that initiative posted a statement on the New America Foundation website praising the European Union's penalty against Google.
Friday, September 1, 2017When Big Money Buys Off Criticism of Big Money According to the New York Times, one of New America's initiatives called Open Markets has been critical of the market power of tech giants like Google. Recently, the researcher who heads that initiative posted a statement on the New America Foundation website praising the European Union's penalty against Google.
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Thursday, August 17, 2017
Trump's Civil War Trump even tweeted a video clip of himself in a WWE professional wrestling match slamming a CNN avatar to the ground and pounding him with punches and elbows to the head. Hateful violence is hardly new to America. But never before has a president licensed it as a political strategy or considered haters part of his political base.
Thursday, August 17, 2017Trump's Civil War Trump even tweeted a video clip of himself in a WWE professional wrestling match slamming a CNN avatar to the ground and pounding him with punches and elbows to the head. Hateful violence is hardly new to America. But never before has a president licensed it as a political strategy or considered haters part of his political base.
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Sunday, September 25, 2016
Time for Congress to Stop Hollering at CEOs and Take Action Shaming before congressional committees tends to reassure the public Congress is taking action. But -- especially with Republicans in charge -- Congress is doing nothing to prevent the wrongdoing from recurring. Can we be clear? CEOs have only one goal in mind -- making money. If they can make more money by misleading or price gouging, they'll continue to do so until it's no longer as profitable.
Sunday, September 25, 2016Time for Congress to Stop Hollering at CEOs and Take Action Shaming before congressional committees tends to reassure the public Congress is taking action. But -- especially with Republicans in charge -- Congress is doing nothing to prevent the wrongdoing from recurring. Can we be clear? CEOs have only one goal in mind -- making money. If they can make more money by misleading or price gouging, they'll continue to do so until it's no longer as profitable.
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Sunday, August 23, 2020
Amid fire and pestilence, floods and storms, the personal is political: Trump must go Americans face existential challenges. The president has done nothing to help and much to make things worse.
Sunday, August 23, 2020Amid fire and pestilence, floods and storms, the personal is political: Trump must go Americans face existential challenges. The president has done nothing to help and much to make things worse.
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Monday, July 30, 2018
Why Wages Are Going Nowhere The federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, and is now about where it was in 1950 when adjusted for inflation. Trump's labor department is busily repealing many rules and regulations designed to protect workers.
Monday, July 30, 2018Why Wages Are Going Nowhere The federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, and is now about where it was in 1950 when adjusted for inflation. Trump's labor department is busily repealing many rules and regulations designed to protect workers.
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Sunday, November 17, 2013
What Walmart Could Learn from Henry Ford Walmart isn't your average mom-and-pop operation. It's the largest employer in America. As such, it's the trendsetter for millions of other employers of low-wage workers. As long as Walmart keeps its wages at or near the bottom, other low-wage employers keep wages there, too. All they need do is offer $8.85 an hour to have their pick.
Sunday, November 17, 2013What Walmart Could Learn from Henry Ford Walmart isn't your average mom-and-pop operation. It's the largest employer in America. As such, it's the trendsetter for millions of other employers of low-wage workers. As long as Walmart keeps its wages at or near the bottom, other low-wage employers keep wages there, too. All they need do is offer $8.85 an hour to have their pick.
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Why We Should Raise Taxes on the Super-Rich and Lower Them on the Middle Class Some critics worry that if the marginal tax is raised too high, the very rich will simply take their money to a more hospitable jurisdiction. That's surely possible. Some already do. But paying taxes is a central obligation of citizenship. Those who take their money abroad in an effort to avoid paying American taxes should lose their American citizenship.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011Why We Should Raise Taxes on the Super-Rich and Lower Them on the Middle Class Some critics worry that if the marginal tax is raised too high, the very rich will simply take their money to a more hospitable jurisdiction. That's surely possible. Some already do. But paying taxes is a central obligation of citizenship. Those who take their money abroad in an effort to avoid paying American taxes should lose their American citizenship.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2020
The Privileged and Powerful in the Pandemic Those in power must stop viewing the pandemic as an obstacle to personal ambition. Over 300,000 people around the world have lost their lives in just four months, including more than 90,000 Americans.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020The Privileged and Powerful in the Pandemic Those in power must stop viewing the pandemic as an obstacle to personal ambition. Over 300,000 people around the world have lost their lives in just four months, including more than 90,000 Americans.
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Sunday, October 8, 2017
Why We Need Sanctuary States A dragnet aimed at finding and deporting all of America's 11 million unauthorized immigrants is cruel, costly, and contemptible. It turns this country into more of a police state, breaks up families, and hurts the economy.
Sunday, October 8, 2017Why We Need Sanctuary States A dragnet aimed at finding and deporting all of America's 11 million unauthorized immigrants is cruel, costly, and contemptible. It turns this country into more of a police state, breaks up families, and hurts the economy.
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Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Corporate Pledge of Allegiance By flooding our democracy with their shareholders' money, big corporations are violating their shareholders' First Amendment rights because shareholders aren't consulted. They're simultaneously suppressing the First Amendment rights of the rest of us because, given how much money they're throwing around, we don't have enough money to be heard.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011The Corporate Pledge of Allegiance By flooding our democracy with their shareholders' money, big corporations are violating their shareholders' First Amendment rights because shareholders aren't consulted. They're simultaneously suppressing the First Amendment rights of the rest of us because, given how much money they're throwing around, we don't have enough money to be heard.
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Sunday, September 22, 2013
American Bile Most people are on a downward escalator. Although jobs are slowly returning, pay is not. Most jobs created since the start of the recovery in 2009, pay less than the jobs that were lost during the Great Recession. This means many people are working harder than ever, but still getting nowhere. They're increasingly pessimistic about their chances of ever doing better.
Sunday, September 22, 2013American Bile Most people are on a downward escalator. Although jobs are slowly returning, pay is not. Most jobs created since the start of the recovery in 2009, pay less than the jobs that were lost during the Great Recession. This means many people are working harder than ever, but still getting nowhere. They're increasingly pessimistic about their chances of ever doing better.
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Monday, August 18, 2014
The Disease of American Democracy If we give up on politics, we're done for. Powerlessness is a self-fulfilling prophesy. The only way back toward a democracy and economy that work for the majority is for most of us to get politically active once again, becoming organized and mobilized. We need to do what we can do best -- use our voices, our vigor, and our votes.
Monday, August 18, 2014The Disease of American Democracy If we give up on politics, we're done for. Powerlessness is a self-fulfilling prophesy. The only way back toward a democracy and economy that work for the majority is for most of us to get politically active once again, becoming organized and mobilized. We need to do what we can do best -- use our voices, our vigor, and our votes.
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Thursday, September 20, 2012
Four Reasons Why Romney Might Still Win The GOP is encouraging what can only be termed "voter vigilante" groups to "monitor polling stations to prevent fraud" -- which means intimidating minorities who have every right to vote. We can't know at this point how successful these efforts may be but it's a dangerous wildcard. And what about those Diebold voting machines? So don't for a moment believe "Romney's dead," and don't be complacent.
Thursday, September 20, 2012Four Reasons Why Romney Might Still Win The GOP is encouraging what can only be termed "voter vigilante" groups to "monitor polling stations to prevent fraud" -- which means intimidating minorities who have every right to vote. We can't know at this point how successful these efforts may be but it's a dangerous wildcard. And what about those Diebold voting machines? So don't for a moment believe "Romney's dead," and don't be complacent.
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Friday, April 28, 2017
Trump's Unconstitutional Assault on the Judiciary) One way dictators take over democracies is by threatening the independence of a nation's courts. Donald Trump is doing just this. Connect the following dots:
Friday, April 28, 2017Trump's Unconstitutional Assault on the Judiciary) One way dictators take over democracies is by threatening the independence of a nation's courts. Donald Trump is doing just this. Connect the following dots:
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Sunday, June 14, 2015
Why the Trans Pacific Partnership is Nearly Dead America's real-life distributional game is analogous, as a few at the top gain increasing political power to alter the rules of the game to their advantage. If the American economy continues to create a few big winners and many who feel like losers by comparison, opposition to free trade won't be the only casualty. Losers are likely to find many other ways to say "no deal."
Sunday, June 14, 2015Why the Trans Pacific Partnership is Nearly Dead America's real-life distributional game is analogous, as a few at the top gain increasing political power to alter the rules of the game to their advantage. If the American economy continues to create a few big winners and many who feel like losers by comparison, opposition to free trade won't be the only casualty. Losers are likely to find many other ways to say "no deal."
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Sunday, April 15, 2012
Why a Fair Economy is Not Incompatible with Growth but Essential to It What we should have learned over the last half century is that growth doesn't trickle down from the top. It percolates upward from working people who are adequately educated, healthy, sufficiently rewarded, and who feel they have a fair chance to make it in America. Fairness isn't incompatible with growth. It's necessary for it.
Sunday, April 15, 2012Why a Fair Economy is Not Incompatible with Growth but Essential to It What we should have learned over the last half century is that growth doesn't trickle down from the top. It percolates upward from working people who are adequately educated, healthy, sufficiently rewarded, and who feel they have a fair chance to make it in America. Fairness isn't incompatible with growth. It's necessary for it.
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Oil Company Gusher Let's not fool ourselves--or be fooled. There's no reason to continue to give giant oil companies a $4 billion a year tax windfall. Nor any reason to expand drilling on federal lands or on our seashores. But there are strong reasons to invest in renewable energy--even in a time of budget austerity. Use the $4 billion this way. Why not a windfall profits tax to the oil companies, to be used for renewable energy?
Thursday, April 28, 2011The Oil Company Gusher Let's not fool ourselves--or be fooled. There's no reason to continue to give giant oil companies a $4 billion a year tax windfall. Nor any reason to expand drilling on federal lands or on our seashores. But there are strong reasons to invest in renewable energy--even in a time of budget austerity. Use the $4 billion this way. Why not a windfall profits tax to the oil companies, to be used for renewable energy?
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Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Trump's Art of the No Deal Trump promised to be America's dealmaker in chief, touting his "extraordinary" ability to negotiate. But so far -- whether he's dealing with foreign governments or with Congress -- Trump has shown that he can't make a deal. He only pretends he's made deals that soon evaporate. He's perfected the art of the no deal.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018Trump's Art of the No Deal Trump promised to be America's dealmaker in chief, touting his "extraordinary" ability to negotiate. But so far -- whether he's dealing with foreign governments or with Congress -- Trump has shown that he can't make a deal. He only pretends he's made deals that soon evaporate. He's perfected the art of the no deal.
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Friday, October 20, 2017
Why We Must All Fight for the Dream Act These kids grew up in America. To enter the DACA program they already had to step forward and show that they were contributing to their communities and then prove it again every two years to stay in the program. It is immoral to now put them in the crosshairs of deportation. The DACA fight is my fight, and I stand with the dreamers -- and I hope you will too.
Friday, October 20, 2017Why We Must All Fight for the Dream Act These kids grew up in America. To enter the DACA program they already had to step forward and show that they were contributing to their communities and then prove it again every two years to stay in the program. It is immoral to now put them in the crosshairs of deportation. The DACA fight is my fight, and I stand with the dreamers -- and I hope you will too.
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Thursday, May 25, 2017
Trump's Cruel and Deviant Budget For years, conservatives warned that liberals were "defining deviancy downward." They said that by tolerating bad social behavior, liberals in effect lowered what was deemed acceptable behavior overall -- allowing social norms to decline. There was never a lot of evidence for that view, but there's little question that Donald Trump is actively defining deviancy downward for the nation as a whole
Thursday, May 25, 2017Trump's Cruel and Deviant Budget For years, conservatives warned that liberals were "defining deviancy downward." They said that by tolerating bad social behavior, liberals in effect lowered what was deemed acceptable behavior overall -- allowing social norms to decline. There was never a lot of evidence for that view, but there's little question that Donald Trump is actively defining deviancy downward for the nation as a whole
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Sunday, November 11, 2018
Amazon, and America's Real Divide Amazon's business isn't just selling stuff over the Internet. It's getting consumers anything they want, faster and better. To do so, it depends on a continuous flow of great new ideas.
Sunday, November 11, 2018Amazon, and America's Real Divide Amazon's business isn't just selling stuff over the Internet. It's getting consumers anything they want, faster and better. To do so, it depends on a continuous flow of great new ideas.
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Thursday, January 12, 2017
Five Ways Trump's "News Conference" Wasn't a News Conference In his news conference, Trump continued calling the media "dishonest." This is part of his continuing effort to discredit the press and to reduce public confidence in it. He condemned individual news outlets. Trump criticized CNN for dispensing "fake news," called Buzzfeed "a pile of garbage," and sarcastically called the BBC "another beauty."
Thursday, January 12, 2017Five Ways Trump's "News Conference" Wasn't a News Conference In his news conference, Trump continued calling the media "dishonest." This is part of his continuing effort to discredit the press and to reduce public confidence in it. He condemned individual news outlets. Trump criticized CNN for dispensing "fake news," called Buzzfeed "a pile of garbage," and sarcastically called the BBC "another beauty."
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Monday, July 30, 2012
The Terrible Economy and the Anti-Election of 2012 Polls give Obama a slight edge in the critical eight or so battleground states, so, the thinking goes in the Obama camp, why say anything that might give Romney and the GOP a target? Besides, polls also show Romney isn't well-liked by the electorate. So Obama has decided to campaign as the anti-Romney.
Monday, July 30, 2012The Terrible Economy and the Anti-Election of 2012 Polls give Obama a slight edge in the critical eight or so battleground states, so, the thinking goes in the Obama camp, why say anything that might give Romney and the GOP a target? Besides, polls also show Romney isn't well-liked by the electorate. So Obama has decided to campaign as the anti-Romney.
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Wednesday, May 27, 2020
My Advice to the Class of 2020 Here's my message to the Class of 2020: I'm not going to beat around the bush. These are hard times. You're graduating into the worst economy in 80 years, and we don't have any idea when or how the economy will recover. Much depends on the course of this tragic pandemic.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020My Advice to the Class of 2020 Here's my message to the Class of 2020: I'm not going to beat around the bush. These are hard times. You're graduating into the worst economy in 80 years, and we don't have any idea when or how the economy will recover. Much depends on the course of this tragic pandemic.
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Friday, August 5, 2011
The Republican's Double-Dip, and What Must Be Done We need a bold jobs bill to restart the economy. Give employers tax credits for net new jobs. Extend unemployment insurance. Provide partial unemployment benefits to people who have lost part-time jobs. Start an infrastructure bank. The jobs bill should be number one on the nation's agenda. It should have been all along.
Friday, August 5, 2011The Republican's Double-Dip, and What Must Be Done We need a bold jobs bill to restart the economy. Give employers tax credits for net new jobs. Extend unemployment insurance. Provide partial unemployment benefits to people who have lost part-time jobs. Start an infrastructure bank. The jobs bill should be number one on the nation's agenda. It should have been all along.
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Monday, January 22, 2018
How Trump is Destroying the GOP America has never had a president as deeply unpopular at this stage of his presidency, or one who has sucked up more political oxygen. This isn't good news for the Republican Party this November or in the future, because, after a year with the raving man-child who now occupies the White House, the GOP has sold its soul to Trump.
Monday, January 22, 2018How Trump is Destroying the GOP America has never had a president as deeply unpopular at this stage of his presidency, or one who has sucked up more political oxygen. This isn't good news for the Republican Party this November or in the future, because, after a year with the raving man-child who now occupies the White House, the GOP has sold its soul to Trump.
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Sunday, October 23, 2016
The Trust Destroyers There is a vicious cycle of public distrust. Our economic and political systems appear to be rigged, because, to an increasing extent, they are. Which makes the public ever more cynical -- and, ironically, more willing to believe half-baked conspiracy theories such as Trump's bizarre claim that the upcoming election is rigged.
Sunday, October 23, 2016The Trust Destroyers There is a vicious cycle of public distrust. Our economic and political systems appear to be rigged, because, to an increasing extent, they are. Which makes the public ever more cynical -- and, ironically, more willing to believe half-baked conspiracy theories such as Trump's bizarre claim that the upcoming election is rigged.
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Monday, August 15, 2016
Why President Hillary Clinton Will Need Bernie's "Political Revolution" to Get Anything Done Hillary Clinton has been relying on big money to finance her presidential campaign, but she's always been a pragmatist about governing. Which means that once she enters the Oval Office, she'll need the countervailing power of a progressive movement -- ironically, much like the one her primary opponent championed.
Monday, August 15, 2016Why President Hillary Clinton Will Need Bernie's "Political Revolution" to Get Anything Done Hillary Clinton has been relying on big money to finance her presidential campaign, but she's always been a pragmatist about governing. Which means that once she enters the Oval Office, she'll need the countervailing power of a progressive movement -- ironically, much like the one her primary opponent championed.
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Thursday, September 8, 2016
There's One Big Unfinished Promise By Bill Clinton that Hillary Should Put to Bed When Bill Clinton first proposed his plan, compensation for CEOs at America's 350 largest corporations averaged $4.9 million. By the end of the Clinton administration, it had ballooned to $20.3 million. Since then, it's gone into the stratosphere. And because corporations can deduct all this from their corporate income taxes, you and I and other taxpayers have been subsidizing this growing bonanza.
Thursday, September 8, 2016There's One Big Unfinished Promise By Bill Clinton that Hillary Should Put to Bed When Bill Clinton first proposed his plan, compensation for CEOs at America's 350 largest corporations averaged $4.9 million. By the end of the Clinton administration, it had ballooned to $20.3 million. Since then, it's gone into the stratosphere. And because corporations can deduct all this from their corporate income taxes, you and I and other taxpayers have been subsidizing this growing bonanza.
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Monday, July 6, 2020
Trump Rushed to Reopen America. Now Covid is Closing in on Him Donald Trump said last Thursday's jobs report, which showed an uptick in June, proves the economy is "roaring back." What's roaring back is Covid-19. Until it's tamed, the economy doesn't stand a chance.
Monday, July 6, 2020Trump Rushed to Reopen America. Now Covid is Closing in on Him Donald Trump said last Thursday's jobs report, which showed an uptick in June, proves the economy is "roaring back." What's roaring back is Covid-19. Until it's tamed, the economy doesn't stand a chance.
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Friday, May 4, 2012
The Stall Has Arrived We've still got a terrible cyclical problem -- we can't get out of the gravitational pull of the Great Recession. There's no way to put the mask back on. We've got to face the truth. Obama and the Democrats have to explain to the American people why inequality isn't just unfair; it's also economically unsustainable.
Friday, May 4, 2012The Stall Has Arrived We've still got a terrible cyclical problem -- we can't get out of the gravitational pull of the Great Recession. There's no way to put the mask back on. We've got to face the truth. Obama and the Democrats have to explain to the American people why inequality isn't just unfair; it's also economically unsustainable.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The Revolt of Small Business Republicans Big corporations have extended their dominance over large swaths of the economy. They've expanded their intellectual property, merged with or acquired other companies in the same industry, and gained control over networks and platforms that have become industry standards.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015The Revolt of Small Business Republicans Big corporations have extended their dominance over large swaths of the economy. They've expanded their intellectual property, merged with or acquired other companies in the same industry, and gained control over networks and platforms that have become industry standards.
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Monday, March 26, 2018
The Real Uses of Trump's Fanatics Now that Trump is being pushed into a corner, he's reorganizing his team for an epic marketing battle. This requires purging naysayers from his Cabinet and White House staff because naysayers are terrible at marketing, and replacing them with tried-and-true salespeople, like Bolton and Kudlow. Fox News -- Trump's propaganda arm -- is being reorganized for the same battle.
Monday, March 26, 2018The Real Uses of Trump's Fanatics Now that Trump is being pushed into a corner, he's reorganizing his team for an epic marketing battle. This requires purging naysayers from his Cabinet and White House staff because naysayers are terrible at marketing, and replacing them with tried-and-true salespeople, like Bolton and Kudlow. Fox News -- Trump's propaganda arm -- is being reorganized for the same battle.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
No Longer Home Sweet Home: The Ongoing Housing Crisis and the End of an Era The biggest continuing problem for most Americans is their homes. Houses are the major assets of the American middle class. Most Americans are therefore far poorer than they were six years ago. Almost one out of three homeowners with a mortgage is now "underwater," owing more to the banks than their homes are worth on the market.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012No Longer Home Sweet Home: The Ongoing Housing Crisis and the End of an Era The biggest continuing problem for most Americans is their homes. Houses are the major assets of the American middle class. Most Americans are therefore far poorer than they were six years ago. Almost one out of three homeowners with a mortgage is now "underwater," owing more to the banks than their homes are worth on the market.
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Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Where Trump Sees Foreign Danger The attribute we must hold most secure because it defines who we are and what we strive for -- is a system of government "of the people, by the people, for the people," as Lincoln put it. Trump cares more about unauthorized immigrants and Chinese imports than about the sanctity of our democracy. This is a tragic mistake.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018Where Trump Sees Foreign Danger The attribute we must hold most secure because it defines who we are and what we strive for -- is a system of government "of the people, by the people, for the people," as Lincoln put it. Trump cares more about unauthorized immigrants and Chinese imports than about the sanctity of our democracy. This is a tragic mistake.
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Wednesday, June 6, 2018
The Unconstitutional Census Power Grab It's no secret that immigrants with the right to vote tend to vote for Democrats. So undercounting neighborhoods that are heavily Latino or Asian would mean fewer Democratic members of Congress. This is nothing but a Republican power grab orchestrated by the White House.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018The Unconstitutional Census Power Grab It's no secret that immigrants with the right to vote tend to vote for Democrats. So undercounting neighborhoods that are heavily Latino or Asian would mean fewer Democratic members of Congress. This is nothing but a Republican power grab orchestrated by the White House.
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
Republican Economics as Social Darwinism Republicans have wanted to destroy Social Security since it was invented in 1935 by my predecessor as labor secretary, the great Frances Perkins. Remember George W. Bush's proposal to privatize it? Had America agreed with him, millions of retirees would have been impoverished in 2008 when the stock market imploded.
Sunday, September 26, 2010Republican Economics as Social Darwinism Republicans have wanted to destroy Social Security since it was invented in 1935 by my predecessor as labor secretary, the great Frances Perkins. Remember George W. Bush's proposal to privatize it? Had America agreed with him, millions of retirees would have been impoverished in 2008 when the stock market imploded.
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Saturday, March 2, 2013
The Sequester and the Tea Party Plot The President should let the public see the Tea Partiers for who they are -- a small, radical minority intent on dismantling the government of the United States. As long as they are allowed to dictate the terms of public debate they will continue to hold the rest of us hostage to their extremism.
Saturday, March 2, 2013The Sequester and the Tea Party Plot The President should let the public see the Tea Partiers for who they are -- a small, radical minority intent on dismantling the government of the United States. As long as they are allowed to dictate the terms of public debate they will continue to hold the rest of us hostage to their extremism.
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Monday, June 10, 2019
The Same Old Scare Tactic About Socialism If we don't want to live in a survival-of-the-fittest society in which only the richest and most powerful can endure, government has to do three basic things: regulate corporations, provide social insurance against unforeseen hardships, and support public investments such as schools and public transportation.
Monday, June 10, 2019The Same Old Scare Tactic About Socialism If we don't want to live in a survival-of-the-fittest society in which only the richest and most powerful can endure, government has to do three basic things: regulate corporations, provide social insurance against unforeseen hardships, and support public investments such as schools and public transportation.
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Thursday, March 19, 2020
What's Missing From the Coronavirus Bill Corporate tax cuts won't save us. The coronavirus doesn't distinguish between rich and poor. We are in this imminent health and economic emergency together, and our own health and well-being are dependent on the health and well-being of everyone else.
Thursday, March 19, 2020What's Missing From the Coronavirus Bill Corporate tax cuts won't save us. The coronavirus doesn't distinguish between rich and poor. We are in this imminent health and economic emergency together, and our own health and well-being are dependent on the health and well-being of everyone else.
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Fraud on the Street While financial reform is needed, there's no reason to wait for it. Sarbanes-Oxley is already there. It's not the law, but the will to enforce it that we lack.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010Fraud on the Street While financial reform is needed, there's no reason to wait for it. Sarbanes-Oxley is already there. It's not the law, but the will to enforce it that we lack.
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Sunday, October 13, 2013
Why Giving Republican Bullies a Bloody Nose Isn't Enough Now is the time to lance the boil of Republican extremism once and for all. Since Barack Obama became president, the extremists who have taken over the Republican Party have escalated their demands every time he's caved, using the entire government of the United States as their bargaining chit.
Sunday, October 13, 2013Why Giving Republican Bullies a Bloody Nose Isn't Enough Now is the time to lance the boil of Republican extremism once and for all. Since Barack Obama became president, the extremists who have taken over the Republican Party have escalated their demands every time he's caved, using the entire government of the United States as their bargaining chit.
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Friday, November 11, 2016
Why We Need a New Democratic Party We need a people's party -- a party capable of organizing and mobilizing Americans in opposition to Donald Trump's Republican party, which is about to take over all three branches of the U.S. government. We need a New Democratic Party that will fight against intolerance and widening inequality.
Friday, November 11, 2016Why We Need a New Democratic Party We need a people's party -- a party capable of organizing and mobilizing Americans in opposition to Donald Trump's Republican party, which is about to take over all three branches of the U.S. government. We need a New Democratic Party that will fight against intolerance and widening inequality.
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Tuesday, May 8, 2018
The Financial Hardships of Trump's Friends In contrast to their argument that the poor need less help in order to work harder, Trump and his enablers justify regulatory and tax handouts to Carl Icahn and his ilk by arguing the rich need more in order to work harder. Trumponomics is a thin veneer of an excuse for giving America's rich -- already richer than ever -- whatever they want, while sticking it to everyone else.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018The Financial Hardships of Trump's Friends In contrast to their argument that the poor need less help in order to work harder, Trump and his enablers justify regulatory and tax handouts to Carl Icahn and his ilk by arguing the rich need more in order to work harder. Trumponomics is a thin veneer of an excuse for giving America's rich -- already richer than ever -- whatever they want, while sticking it to everyone else.
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Saturday, April 21, 2018
Can Trump Fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller? Justice Department regulations issued in 1999, in the wake of Kenneth Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton, say that only an Attorney General can remove a special counsel, and not just for any reason. Such a removal must be based on a finding that the special counsel was guilty of "misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies."
Saturday, April 21, 2018Can Trump Fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller? Justice Department regulations issued in 1999, in the wake of Kenneth Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton, say that only an Attorney General can remove a special counsel, and not just for any reason. Such a removal must be based on a finding that the special counsel was guilty of "misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies."
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Wednesday, January 31, 2018
The Next Big Fight Fresh off passing massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, Trump and congressional Republicans want to use the deficit they've created to justify huge cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Medicaid is also a vital lifeline for America's elderly and the poor. Yet the Trump administration has already started whittling it away by encouraging states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018The Next Big Fight Fresh off passing massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, Trump and congressional Republicans want to use the deficit they've created to justify huge cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Medicaid is also a vital lifeline for America's elderly and the poor. Yet the Trump administration has already started whittling it away by encouraging states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients.
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Friday, January 19, 2018
Trump's Shareholder Bonanza The expectation of a big corporate tax cut have caused shares to soar. Because the richest 1 percent of Americans owns 40 percent of all shares of stock, and the richest fifth owns 80 percent, this is great news for the wealthy. It's not great news for anyone else.
Friday, January 19, 2018Trump's Shareholder Bonanza The expectation of a big corporate tax cut have caused shares to soar. Because the richest 1 percent of Americans owns 40 percent of all shares of stock, and the richest fifth owns 80 percent, this is great news for the wealthy. It's not great news for anyone else.
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Republican Shakedown You can't fight something with nothing. But as long as Democrats refuse to talk about the almost unprecedented buildup of income, wealth, and power at the top -- and the refusal of the super-rich to pay their fair share of the nation's bills -- Republicans will convince people it's all about government and unions.
Thursday, February 24, 2011The Republican Shakedown You can't fight something with nothing. But as long as Democrats refuse to talk about the almost unprecedented buildup of income, wealth, and power at the top -- and the refusal of the super-rich to pay their fair share of the nation's bills -- Republicans will convince people it's all about government and unions.
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Saturday, December 1, 2018
What's A Subpoena -- And Should Trump Fear It? A subpoena is a legal command from a court or from one or both houses of Congress to do something -- like testify or present information. The term "subpoena" literally means "under penalty." Someone who receives a subpoena but doesn't comply with it may be subject to civil or criminal penalties.
Saturday, December 1, 2018What's A Subpoena -- And Should Trump Fear It? A subpoena is a legal command from a court or from one or both houses of Congress to do something -- like testify or present information. The term "subpoena" literally means "under penalty." Someone who receives a subpoena but doesn't comply with it may be subject to civil or criminal penalties.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The Three Choices When it Comes to Trump This coming November 6, 34 senate seats, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 36 governorships will be up for election or re-election. Support primary candidates who will resist Trump. Mobilize to get out the vote. Organize so that November 6 becomes a total repudiation of Donald Trump and all he stands for.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018The Three Choices When it Comes to Trump This coming November 6, 34 senate seats, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 36 governorships will be up for election or re-election. Support primary candidates who will resist Trump. Mobilize to get out the vote. Organize so that November 6 becomes a total repudiation of Donald Trump and all he stands for.
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Mitt One of my regrets in life is losing the chance to debate Mitt Romney and whip his ass. Mitt Romney's great strength is he looks, sounds, and acts presidential. Mitt Romney is the perfect candidate for people uncomfortable that their president is black. Mitt is their great white hope.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011The Unbearable Lightness of Being Mitt One of my regrets in life is losing the chance to debate Mitt Romney and whip his ass. Mitt Romney's great strength is he looks, sounds, and acts presidential. Mitt Romney is the perfect candidate for people uncomfortable that their president is black. Mitt is their great white hope.
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Sunday, June 19, 2016
A Big Idea for Hillary Will Hillary Clinton make restoring democracy her big idea? When she announced her candidacy she said "the deck is stacked in favor of those at the top" and that she wants to be the "champion" of "everyday Americans." The best way to ensure everyday Americans get a fair deal is to make our democracy work again.
Sunday, June 19, 2016A Big Idea for Hillary Will Hillary Clinton make restoring democracy her big idea? When she announced her candidacy she said "the deck is stacked in favor of those at the top" and that she wants to be the "champion" of "everyday Americans." The best way to ensure everyday Americans get a fair deal is to make our democracy work again.
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Bain of Capitalism None of these Republican candidates has exactly distinguished himself with new ideas for giving Americans more economic security. To the contrary -- until the assault on Romney and Bain Capital -- every one of them has been a cheerleader for financial capitalism of the most brutal sort.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012The Bain of Capitalism None of these Republican candidates has exactly distinguished himself with new ideas for giving Americans more economic security. To the contrary -- until the assault on Romney and Bain Capital -- every one of them has been a cheerleader for financial capitalism of the most brutal sort.
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Monday, September 6, 2010
The Wealthy Have Enough Money -- It's Time to Put Some Cash in Your Pocket This crisis began decades ago when a new wave of technology -- things like satellite communications, container ships, computers and eventually the Internet -- made it cheaper for American employers to use low-wage labor abroad or labor-replacing software here at home than to continue paying the typical worker a middle-class wage.
Monday, September 6, 2010The Wealthy Have Enough Money -- It's Time to Put Some Cash in Your Pocket This crisis began decades ago when a new wave of technology -- things like satellite communications, container ships, computers and eventually the Internet -- made it cheaper for American employers to use low-wage labor abroad or labor-replacing software here at home than to continue paying the typical worker a middle-class wage.
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Monday, June 8, 2015
Anticipatory Bribery Former government officials, including members of Congress, shouldn't be able to lobby or take jobs in industries over which they had some oversight, for at least three years after leaving office. Once they declare, even their spouses should desist from collecting big bucks that could look like anticipatory bribes.
Monday, June 8, 2015Anticipatory Bribery Former government officials, including members of Congress, shouldn't be able to lobby or take jobs in industries over which they had some oversight, for at least three years after leaving office. Once they declare, even their spouses should desist from collecting big bucks that could look like anticipatory bribes.
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Monday, January 16, 2017
Trump's Plan to Neuter the White House Press Corps, and Neuter Our Democracy The incoming Trump administration is considering evicting the White House press corps from the press room inside the White House and moving them -- and news conferences -- to a conference center or to the Old Executive Office Building. The Trump administration is intent on neutering the White House press corps. If it happens it will be another step toward neutering our democracy.
Monday, January 16, 2017Trump's Plan to Neuter the White House Press Corps, and Neuter Our Democracy The incoming Trump administration is considering evicting the White House press corps from the press room inside the White House and moving them -- and news conferences -- to a conference center or to the Old Executive Office Building. The Trump administration is intent on neutering the White House press corps. If it happens it will be another step toward neutering our democracy.
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Monday, January 30, 2017
Trump and Bannon's "America First" Trump is unhinged and ignorant. Bannon is nuts and malicious. If not supervised by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, their decisions could endanger the world. In Trump's and Bannon's view, foreign relations is a zero-sum game. If another nation gains, we lose. Unsupervised by people who know what they're doing, Trump and Bannon could bring the world closer to a nuclear holocaust.
Monday, January 30, 2017Trump and Bannon's "America First" Trump is unhinged and ignorant. Bannon is nuts and malicious. If not supervised by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, their decisions could endanger the world. In Trump's and Bannon's view, foreign relations is a zero-sum game. If another nation gains, we lose. Unsupervised by people who know what they're doing, Trump and Bannon could bring the world closer to a nuclear holocaust.
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Why The Republican Tax Plan Is More Failed Trickle-Down Economics* Trump and conservatives in Congress are planning a big tax cut for millionaires and billionaires. To justify it they're using the oldest song in their playbook, claiming tax cuts on the rich will trickle down to working families in the form of stronger economic growth. Baloney. Trickle-down economics is a cruel joke.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017Why The Republican Tax Plan Is More Failed Trickle-Down Economics* Trump and conservatives in Congress are planning a big tax cut for millionaires and billionaires. To justify it they're using the oldest song in their playbook, claiming tax cuts on the rich will trickle down to working families in the form of stronger economic growth. Baloney. Trickle-down economics is a cruel joke.
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Monday, October 18, 2010
The Perfect Storm We're back to the late 19th century when the lackeys of robber barons literally deposited sacks of cash on the desks of friendly legislators. The public never knew who was bribing whom. Most Americans are in trouble. Their jobs, incomes, savings, and even homes are on the line. They need a government that's working for them, not for the privileged and the powerful.
Monday, October 18, 2010The Perfect Storm We're back to the late 19th century when the lackeys of robber barons literally deposited sacks of cash on the desks of friendly legislators. The public never knew who was bribing whom. Most Americans are in trouble. Their jobs, incomes, savings, and even homes are on the line. They need a government that's working for them, not for the privileged and the powerful.
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Saturday, February 25, 2017
Boycotting Trump Both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, among other retailers, have dropped Trump brands, both Ivanka's and her father's. Their decisions came amid calls for a boycott against retailers that carry Trump products.
Saturday, February 25, 2017Boycotting Trump Both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, among other retailers, have dropped Trump brands, both Ivanka's and her father's. Their decisions came amid calls for a boycott against retailers that carry Trump products.
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Sunday, May 24, 2020
A Tale of Two Pandemics No description of the coronavirus is more misleading than calling it "the great equalizer." The horrific truth is that Native Americans, Latinos, and African-Americans are dying at much higher rates than white people -- and we don't know the half of it.
Sunday, May 24, 2020A Tale of Two Pandemics No description of the coronavirus is more misleading than calling it "the great equalizer." The horrific truth is that Native Americans, Latinos, and African-Americans are dying at much higher rates than white people -- and we don't know the half of it.
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Monday, January 7, 2013
The Hoax of Entitlement Reform Taming future deficits requires three steps having nothing to do with entitlements: Limiting the growth of overall healthcare costs, cutting our bloated military, and ending corporate welfare (tax breaks and subsidies targeted to particular firms and industries). Obsessing about "entitlement reform" only serves to distract us from these more important endeavors.
Monday, January 7, 2013The Hoax of Entitlement Reform Taming future deficits requires three steps having nothing to do with entitlements: Limiting the growth of overall healthcare costs, cutting our bloated military, and ending corporate welfare (tax breaks and subsidies targeted to particular firms and industries). Obsessing about "entitlement reform" only serves to distract us from these more important endeavors.
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Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Mitch McConnell's GOP Is Destroying America Senate Republicans' shameful priorities are on full display as the nation continues to grapple with an unprecedented health and economic crisis.
Wednesday, August 5, 2020Mitch McConnell's GOP Is Destroying America Senate Republicans' shameful priorities are on full display as the nation continues to grapple with an unprecedented health and economic crisis.
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Monday, April 27, 2020
Covid-19 pandemic shines a light on a new kind of class divide and its inequalities If the Forgotten remain forgotten, no one is secure. Covid-19 will continue to spread sickness and death for months, if not years to come.
Monday, April 27, 2020Covid-19 pandemic shines a light on a new kind of class divide and its inequalities If the Forgotten remain forgotten, no one is secure. Covid-19 will continue to spread sickness and death for months, if not years to come.
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Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Time For Medicare For All Most Americans support expanding access to quality, affordable care through Medicare for All. Yet Trump and the Republicans continue to try to gut the Affordable Care Act and take away care from tens of millions. It's time for Medicare for All.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018Time For Medicare For All Most Americans support expanding access to quality, affordable care through Medicare for All. Yet Trump and the Republicans continue to try to gut the Affordable Care Act and take away care from tens of millions. It's time for Medicare for All.
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Thursday, December 12, 2013
When Charity Begins at Home (Particularly the Homes of the Wealthy) A while ago, New York's Lincoln Center held a fund-raising gala supported by the charitable contributions of hedge fund industry leaders, some of whom take home $1 billion a year. I may be missing something but this doesn't strike me as charity, either. Poor New Yorkers rarely attend concerts at Lincoln Center. Congress might consider limiting the charitable deduction to real charities.
Thursday, December 12, 2013When Charity Begins at Home (Particularly the Homes of the Wealthy) A while ago, New York's Lincoln Center held a fund-raising gala supported by the charitable contributions of hedge fund industry leaders, some of whom take home $1 billion a year. I may be missing something but this doesn't strike me as charity, either. Poor New Yorkers rarely attend concerts at Lincoln Center. Congress might consider limiting the charitable deduction to real charities.
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Friday, October 29, 2010
Halliburton and the Upcoming Election Halliburton has not sat out this election. Last May, as Congress began investigating its role in the disaster, its political action committee made 14 contributions -- 13 to Republicans and one to a Democrat. Halliburton isn't on the ballot next Tuesday, but it might as well be.
Friday, October 29, 2010Halliburton and the Upcoming Election Halliburton has not sat out this election. Last May, as Congress began investigating its role in the disaster, its political action committee made 14 contributions -- 13 to Republicans and one to a Democrat. Halliburton isn't on the ballot next Tuesday, but it might as well be.
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Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Why We Need Rise-Up Economics, Not Trickle-Down In the three decades following World War II, we made huge investments in education, health, and infrastructure. The result was rising median incomes. Since then, public investments have lagged, and median incomes have stagnated. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush's tax cuts on the top didn't raise incomes, and neither will Donald Trump's. Trickle-down economics is a hoax.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018Why We Need Rise-Up Economics, Not Trickle-Down In the three decades following World War II, we made huge investments in education, health, and infrastructure. The result was rising median incomes. Since then, public investments have lagged, and median incomes have stagnated. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush's tax cuts on the top didn't raise incomes, and neither will Donald Trump's. Trickle-down economics is a hoax.
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Sunday, December 10, 2017
SLAPP Lawsuits: The Biggest Threat To The Resistance You Never Heard Of Winning isn't necessarily the goal of SLAPP suits. Just by filing the suits, Energy Transfer Partners and Resolute are trying to drain environmental groups of time, energy, and resources they need, so they can't continue to fight to protect the environment. If the goal is to silence public-interest groups, the rest of us must speak out. Wealthy corporations must know they can't SLAPP the public into silence.
Sunday, December 10, 2017SLAPP Lawsuits: The Biggest Threat To The Resistance You Never Heard Of Winning isn't necessarily the goal of SLAPP suits. Just by filing the suits, Energy Transfer Partners and Resolute are trying to drain environmental groups of time, energy, and resources they need, so they can't continue to fight to protect the environment. If the goal is to silence public-interest groups, the rest of us must speak out. Wealthy corporations must know they can't SLAPP the public into silence.
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Monday, September 16, 2019
Reasons for Optimism The arc of American history reveals an unmistakable pattern. Whenever privilege and power conspire to pull us backward, we eventually rally and move forward.
Monday, September 16, 2019Reasons for Optimism The arc of American history reveals an unmistakable pattern. Whenever privilege and power conspire to pull us backward, we eventually rally and move forward.
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Thursday, August 20, 2015
Corporate Welfare In California Back in 1978, corporations paid 44 percent of all property taxes and homeowners paid 56 percent. Now, after exploiting this loophole for years, corporations pay only 28 percent of property taxes, while homeowners pick up 72 percent of the tab.
Thursday, August 20, 2015Corporate Welfare In California Back in 1978, corporations paid 44 percent of all property taxes and homeowners paid 56 percent. Now, after exploiting this loophole for years, corporations pay only 28 percent of property taxes, while homeowners pick up 72 percent of the tab.
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Friday, October 14, 2011
The Triumph of Dogma, and a Sad Goodbye to David Frum The Republican Party has become so extreme that it's more and more difficult for anyone to rationally "represent" its views. As Frum put in in a post on his website, FrumForum, "Under the pressure of the current crisis -- intoxicated by anti-Obama feelings and incited by talk radio and Fox -- Republicans have staked out an extreme position on the role of government."
Friday, October 14, 2011The Triumph of Dogma, and a Sad Goodbye to David Frum The Republican Party has become so extreme that it's more and more difficult for anyone to rationally "represent" its views. As Frum put in in a post on his website, FrumForum, "Under the pressure of the current crisis -- intoxicated by anti-Obama feelings and incited by talk radio and Fox -- Republicans have staked out an extreme position on the role of government."
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Monday, August 17, 2020
Voters can replace a party that knows how to fight with one that knows how to govern The Democratic party is basically a governing party, organized around developing and implementing public policies. The Republican party has become an attack party, organized around developing and implementing political vitriol.
Monday, August 17, 2020Voters can replace a party that knows how to fight with one that knows how to govern The Democratic party is basically a governing party, organized around developing and implementing public policies. The Republican party has become an attack party, organized around developing and implementing political vitriol.
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Monday, January 19, 2015
The New Compassionate Conservatism and Trickle-Down Economics When Jeb Bush admits that the income gap is real but that "only conservative principles can solve it," one has to wonder what principles he's talking about if not these. And when Mitt Romney promises to run a different campaign than he did in 2012 and focus on "opportunity for all people," the real question is whether he'll run on different economic principles.
Monday, January 19, 2015The New Compassionate Conservatism and Trickle-Down Economics When Jeb Bush admits that the income gap is real but that "only conservative principles can solve it," one has to wonder what principles he's talking about if not these. And when Mitt Romney promises to run a different campaign than he did in 2012 and focus on "opportunity for all people," the real question is whether he'll run on different economic principles.
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Saturday, February 11, 2017
Who Lacks Respect for the Office of the President? Donald Trump lacks respect for and recognition of the dignity of the office of the president. Trump continues to rake in money from his businesses that benefit from his being president. Every day that goes by, Trump further disgraces the office he holds. His lack of respect for the presidency knows no bounds.
Saturday, February 11, 2017Who Lacks Respect for the Office of the President? Donald Trump lacks respect for and recognition of the dignity of the office of the president. Trump continues to rake in money from his businesses that benefit from his being president. Every day that goes by, Trump further disgraces the office he holds. His lack of respect for the presidency knows no bounds.
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tax Jujitsu: Why Democrats Should Propose a "People's Tax Cut" Republicans are calling the Democrat's proposal to end the Bush tax cuts on the richest 3 percent a "tax increase." This is baloney. Democrats should call it the People's Tax Cut, and let Republicans explain why they're against it.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010Tax Jujitsu: Why Democrats Should Propose a "People's Tax Cut" Republicans are calling the Democrat's proposal to end the Bush tax cuts on the richest 3 percent a "tax increase." This is baloney. Democrats should call it the People's Tax Cut, and let Republicans explain why they're against it.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Trump's Failed Coronavirus Response Trump's priority was never public health. It was about making the virus seem like less of a nuisance so that the "numbers" would "look good" for his reelection.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020Trump's Failed Coronavirus Response Trump's priority was never public health. It was about making the virus seem like less of a nuisance so that the "numbers" would "look good" for his reelection.
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
Cliff Hanger: The President's Unnecessary and Unwise Concessions The President is offering to continue Bush tax cuts for people earning between $250,000 and $400,000, and cut Social Security by reducing cost-of-living adjustments. These concessions aren't necessary. If the nation goes over the so-called "fiscal cliff" and tax rates return to what they were under Clinton, Democrats can then introduce a tax cut for everyone earning under $250,000, retroactive to the start of the year.
Thursday, December 20, 2012Cliff Hanger: The President's Unnecessary and Unwise Concessions The President is offering to continue Bush tax cuts for people earning between $250,000 and $400,000, and cut Social Security by reducing cost-of-living adjustments. These concessions aren't necessary. If the nation goes over the so-called "fiscal cliff" and tax rates return to what they were under Clinton, Democrats can then introduce a tax cut for everyone earning under $250,000, retroactive to the start of the year.
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Biggest Republican Lie Republicans who say the budget deficit is responsible for this are living on another planet. Consumers still don't have the jobs and wages, nor ability to borrow, they had before the recession. So their belts are still tight. To make matters worse, the temporary cut in Social Security taxes ended January 1, subtracting an additional $1,000 from the typical American paycheck.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013The Biggest Republican Lie Republicans who say the budget deficit is responsible for this are living on another planet. Consumers still don't have the jobs and wages, nor ability to borrow, they had before the recession. So their belts are still tight. To make matters worse, the temporary cut in Social Security taxes ended January 1, subtracting an additional $1,000 from the typical American paycheck.
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Sunday, December 27, 2020
Trump's Vilest Legacy Most of the 74,222,957 Americans who voted to reelect Donald Trump -- 46.8 percent of the votes cast in the 2020 presidential election -- don't hold Trump accountable for what he's done to America. Their acceptance of Trump's behavior will be his vilest legacy.
Sunday, December 27, 2020Trump's Vilest Legacy Most of the 74,222,957 Americans who voted to reelect Donald Trump -- 46.8 percent of the votes cast in the 2020 presidential election -- don't hold Trump accountable for what he's done to America. Their acceptance of Trump's behavior will be his vilest legacy.
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Saturday, July 14, 2018
7 Truths About Immigration Trump's claim that undocumented immigrants generate more crime is dead wrong. Both legal and undocumented immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States. Violent crime rates in America are actually at historical lows, with the homicide rate back to its level from the early 1960s.
Saturday, July 14, 20187 Truths About Immigration Trump's claim that undocumented immigrants generate more crime is dead wrong. Both legal and undocumented immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States. Violent crime rates in America are actually at historical lows, with the homicide rate back to its level from the early 1960s.
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
Obama Shouldn't Allow Republicans to Frame the Debate as How Much Spending Should Be Cut Obama pours gas on the Republican flame by proposing a 2012 federal budget that cuts the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion over 10 years. About $400 billion of this will come from a five-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending--including all sorts of programs for poor and working-class Americans, such as heating assistance to low-income people. Most of the rest from additional spending cuts.
Sunday, February 13, 2011Obama Shouldn't Allow Republicans to Frame the Debate as How Much Spending Should Be Cut Obama pours gas on the Republican flame by proposing a 2012 federal budget that cuts the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion over 10 years. About $400 billion of this will come from a five-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending--including all sorts of programs for poor and working-class Americans, such as heating assistance to low-income people. Most of the rest from additional spending cuts.
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Thursday, March 2, 2017
Trump's 10 Steps for Turning Lies into Half-Truths Donald Trump is the most lying president we've ever had, and he seems to get away with it. Don't let Trump's lies become near truths. Be vigilant. Know the truth, and spread it. The media should stop mincing words. Report Trump's lies as lies.
Thursday, March 2, 2017Trump's 10 Steps for Turning Lies into Half-Truths Donald Trump is the most lying president we've ever had, and he seems to get away with it. Don't let Trump's lies become near truths. Be vigilant. Know the truth, and spread it. The media should stop mincing words. Report Trump's lies as lies.
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Friday, March 16, 2018
Trump's Humongous Infrastructure Con It's the biggest Trump con since he told Americans the tax cut would help them more than the rich. He's calling for a $1.5 trillion boost in infrastructure spending -- but he's proposing just $200 billion in federal funding. So where does the rest come from? Tax hikes on the middle-class and poor, and from private investors.
Friday, March 16, 2018Trump's Humongous Infrastructure Con It's the biggest Trump con since he told Americans the tax cut would help them more than the rich. He's calling for a $1.5 trillion boost in infrastructure spending -- but he's proposing just $200 billion in federal funding. So where does the rest come from? Tax hikes on the middle-class and poor, and from private investors.
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Sunday, July 24, 2016
Does Hillary Get It? Hillary Clinton doesn't need to move toward the "middle." In fact, such a move could hurt her if it's perceived to be compromising the stances she took in the primaries in order to be more acceptable to Democratic movers and shakers. She must make clear the best way to end crony capitalism and make America work for the many is to strengthen American democracy.
Sunday, July 24, 2016Does Hillary Get It? Hillary Clinton doesn't need to move toward the "middle." In fact, such a move could hurt her if it's perceived to be compromising the stances she took in the primaries in order to be more acceptable to Democratic movers and shakers. She must make clear the best way to end crony capitalism and make America work for the many is to strengthen American democracy.
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Saturday, September 24, 2011
When Will Wall Street Call for More Federal Spending? The crack in the Republican Party between its establishment and Tea Party wings is viewed politically as a contest between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. But in reality it's a brewing fight between economic pragmatists and right-wing ideologues.
Saturday, September 24, 2011When Will Wall Street Call for More Federal Spending? The crack in the Republican Party between its establishment and Tea Party wings is viewed politically as a contest between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. But in reality it's a brewing fight between economic pragmatists and right-wing ideologues.
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Friday, July 13, 2012
The Selling of American Democracy: The Perfect Storm Compared to what the GOP is doing this year, Democrats are conducting a high-school bake sale. The mega-selling of American democracy is a Republican invention, and Romney and the GOP are its major beneficiaries. Losers aren't just Democrats. They're the American people. Make a ruckus. Don't fall into the seductive trap of cynicism. That's what the sellers of American democracy are counting on. We give up, they win everything.
Friday, July 13, 2012The Selling of American Democracy: The Perfect Storm Compared to what the GOP is doing this year, Democrats are conducting a high-school bake sale. The mega-selling of American democracy is a Republican invention, and Romney and the GOP are its major beneficiaries. Losers aren't just Democrats. They're the American people. Make a ruckus. Don't fall into the seductive trap of cynicism. That's what the sellers of American democracy are counting on. We give up, they win everything.
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Saturday, January 21, 2017
The Life of the Party: 7 Truths for Democrats The ongoing contest between the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders wings of the Democratic Party continues to divide Democrats. It's urgent Democrats stop squabbling. The future is bleak unless the Party radically reforms itself. If Republicans do well in the 2018 midterms, they'll control Congress and the Supreme Court for years. If they continue to hold most statehouses, they could entrench themselves for a generation.
Saturday, January 21, 2017The Life of the Party: 7 Truths for Democrats The ongoing contest between the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders wings of the Democratic Party continues to divide Democrats. It's urgent Democrats stop squabbling. The future is bleak unless the Party radically reforms itself. If Republicans do well in the 2018 midterms, they'll control Congress and the Supreme Court for years. If they continue to hold most statehouses, they could entrench themselves for a generation.
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Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Wrong Way to Save Money on Health Care The profits are largely due to lower corporate costs, especially when it comes to their payrolls. Employer-provided health and pension contributions are shrinking, and the real median wage continues to drop. High unemployment has given companies more bargaining leverage over their workers, who have to accept lower real pay and benefits or risk losing their jobs.
Thursday, September 13, 2012The Wrong Way to Save Money on Health Care The profits are largely due to lower corporate costs, especially when it comes to their payrolls. Employer-provided health and pension contributions are shrinking, and the real median wage continues to drop. High unemployment has given companies more bargaining leverage over their workers, who have to accept lower real pay and benefits or risk losing their jobs.
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Thursday, February 9, 2017
A Good Idea, Even if It's From Republicans A group of former Republican officials (including James A. Baker, Henry Paulson, George P. Shultz, Marty Feldstein and Greg Mankiw) is proposing a carbon tax starting the tax at $40 per ton, that would gradually increase. The proceeds of the tax would be distributed to every American.
Thursday, February 9, 2017A Good Idea, Even if It's From Republicans A group of former Republican officials (including James A. Baker, Henry Paulson, George P. Shultz, Marty Feldstein and Greg Mankiw) is proposing a carbon tax starting the tax at $40 per ton, that would gradually increase. The proceeds of the tax would be distributed to every American.
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Saturday, November 10, 2012
The Next Game of Economic Chicken: Not on the Deficit But Over Taxing the Rich Republicans would have to choose between a tax cut on the middle class or no tax cut at all. Democrats believe Republicans would have to take the deal. Even Grover Norquist would be hard-pressed to come up with an argument against it.
Saturday, November 10, 2012The Next Game of Economic Chicken: Not on the Deficit But Over Taxing the Rich Republicans would have to choose between a tax cut on the middle class or no tax cut at all. Democrats believe Republicans would have to take the deal. Even Grover Norquist would be hard-pressed to come up with an argument against it.
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Monday, July 28, 2014
The Increasing Irrelevance of Corporate Nationality Since 2000, almost every big American multi-national corporation has created more jobs outside the United States than inside. If you add in their foreign sub-contractors, the foreign total is even higher. Let's stop worrying about whether big global corporations are "American." We can't win that game. Focus instead on what we want global corporations of whatever nationality to do in America, and how we can get them to do it.
Monday, July 28, 2014The Increasing Irrelevance of Corporate Nationality Since 2000, almost every big American multi-national corporation has created more jobs outside the United States than inside. If you add in their foreign sub-contractors, the foreign total is even higher. Let's stop worrying about whether big global corporations are "American." We can't win that game. Focus instead on what we want global corporations of whatever nationality to do in America, and how we can get them to do it.
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Monday, November 13, 2017
Patriotism, Taxes, and Trump A slew of analyses show that the GOP plan will raise taxes on many middle-class families. It will also require cuts in government programs that middle and lower-income Americans depend on, such as Medicare and Medicaid. And the plan will almost certainly explode the national debt, eventually causing many middle class and poor families to pay higher interest.
Monday, November 13, 2017Patriotism, Taxes, and Trump A slew of analyses show that the GOP plan will raise taxes on many middle-class families. It will also require cuts in government programs that middle and lower-income Americans depend on, such as Medicare and Medicaid. And the plan will almost certainly explode the national debt, eventually causing many middle class and poor families to pay higher interest.
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Monday, October 3, 2016
The Real Scandal of Trump Paying No Taxes Bankruptcy is also easy to utilize, if you're wealthy enough to find a good bankruptcy lawyer who can use the bankruptcy code repeatedly to shelter your fortune and avoid paying your debts. Trump has used bankruptcy to stiff his creditors at least four times. The real scandal here is that Trump and other hugely wealthy people can get away with this, and do so all the time.
Monday, October 3, 2016The Real Scandal of Trump Paying No Taxes Bankruptcy is also easy to utilize, if you're wealthy enough to find a good bankruptcy lawyer who can use the bankruptcy code repeatedly to shelter your fortune and avoid paying your debts. Trump has used bankruptcy to stiff his creditors at least four times. The real scandal here is that Trump and other hugely wealthy people can get away with this, and do so all the time.
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Sunday, June 21, 2015
#10. End Mass Incarceration Now Black people are incarcerated at a rate five times that of whites, and Latinos incarcerated at a rate double that of white Americans. Instead of locking people up unjustly, and then locking them out of the economy for the rest of their lives, we need to stop wasting human talent and start opening doors of opportunity -- to everyone.
Sunday, June 21, 2015#10. End Mass Incarceration Now Black people are incarcerated at a rate five times that of whites, and Latinos incarcerated at a rate double that of white Americans. Instead of locking people up unjustly, and then locking them out of the economy for the rest of their lives, we need to stop wasting human talent and start opening doors of opportunity -- to everyone.
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Sunday, August 10, 2014
The Rebirth of Stakeholder Capitalism? In the 1980s, corporate raiders began mounting unfriendly takeovers of companies that could deliver higher returns to their shareholders -- if they abandoned their other stakeholders. You might conclude we went a bit overboard with shareholder capitalism.
Sunday, August 10, 2014The Rebirth of Stakeholder Capitalism? In the 1980s, corporate raiders began mounting unfriendly takeovers of companies that could deliver higher returns to their shareholders -- if they abandoned their other stakeholders. You might conclude we went a bit overboard with shareholder capitalism.
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Saturday, July 18, 2020
Trump Rush to Reopen America is Causing a COVID Resurgence The economy isn't roaring back. Just over half of working-age Americans have jobs now, the lowest ratio in over 70 years. What's roaring back is COVID-19.
Saturday, July 18, 2020Trump Rush to Reopen America is Causing a COVID Resurgence The economy isn't roaring back. Just over half of working-age Americans have jobs now, the lowest ratio in over 70 years. What's roaring back is COVID-19.
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Friday, April 15, 2011
President Obama's Real Proposal (And Why It's Risky) The underlying problem isn't the budget deficit. It's that so much income and wealth are going to the top that most Americans don't have the purchasing power to sustain a strong recovery.
Friday, April 15, 2011President Obama's Real Proposal (And Why It's Risky) The underlying problem isn't the budget deficit. It's that so much income and wealth are going to the top that most Americans don't have the purchasing power to sustain a strong recovery.
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Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Democrats: Don't Go High or Low. Go Big and Bold Tyrants create cults of personality. Trump is beyond that. He equates America with himself, and disloyalty to him with insufficient patriotism. In his mind, a giant "Trump" sign hangs over the nation. "We" are his supporters, acolytes, and toadies. "They" are the rest of us.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018Democrats: Don't Go High or Low. Go Big and Bold Tyrants create cults of personality. Trump is beyond that. He equates America with himself, and disloyalty to him with insufficient patriotism. In his mind, a giant "Trump" sign hangs over the nation. "We" are his supporters, acolytes, and toadies. "They" are the rest of us.
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Sunday, September 27, 2015
Why Big Tech May Be Getting Too Big Economic and political power can't be separated because dominant corporations gain political influence over how markets are maintained and enforced, which enlarges their economic power further. One of the original goals of antitrust law was to prevent this.
Sunday, September 27, 2015Why Big Tech May Be Getting Too Big Economic and political power can't be separated because dominant corporations gain political influence over how markets are maintained and enforced, which enlarges their economic power further. One of the original goals of antitrust law was to prevent this.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2018
While China Picks Winners, Trump Picks Losers America has always had an industrial policy. The real question is whether it's forward-looking (the Internet, solar, zero-emissions buses) or backwards (coal). Trump wants a backwards industrial policy. That's not surprising, given that everything else he and his administration are doing is designed to take us backwards.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018While China Picks Winners, Trump Picks Losers America has always had an industrial policy. The real question is whether it's forward-looking (the Internet, solar, zero-emissions buses) or backwards (coal). Trump wants a backwards industrial policy. That's not surprising, given that everything else he and his administration are doing is designed to take us backwards.
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Monday, October 23, 2017
How to End Crony Capitalism Big money is buying giant tax cuts, allowing Russia to interfere in future elections, and killing Americans. That's just the tip of the corrupt iceberg that's sinking our democracy. Republicans may be taking more big money, but both parties have been raking it in.
Monday, October 23, 2017How to End Crony Capitalism Big money is buying giant tax cuts, allowing Russia to interfere in future elections, and killing Americans. That's just the tip of the corrupt iceberg that's sinking our democracy. Republicans may be taking more big money, but both parties have been raking it in.
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Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Beware Capitalist Tools Businesses need consumers in order to prosper and grow. Consumers are the real job creators. In the United States, 70 percent of economic activity is personal consumption. Unless the vast middle class, and everyone seeking to join it, have enough money in their pockets -- and share sufficiently in the gains from growth -- businesses cannot possibly do well. The real job creators are the middle class.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013Beware Capitalist Tools Businesses need consumers in order to prosper and grow. Consumers are the real job creators. In the United States, 70 percent of economic activity is personal consumption. Unless the vast middle class, and everyone seeking to join it, have enough money in their pockets -- and share sufficiently in the gains from growth -- businesses cannot possibly do well. The real job creators are the middle class.
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Monday, September 2, 2013
Before the Battles Resume in Washington: A Reminder about What's Really at Stake As wealth and income rise to the top, moreover, so does political power. This continues to squeeze public budgets, corrupt government, and undermine our democracy. The issue is not and has never been the size of our government; it's who the government is for. Government has become less responsive to the needs of most citizens and more responsive to the demands of the monied interests.
Monday, September 2, 2013Before the Battles Resume in Washington: A Reminder about What's Really at Stake As wealth and income rise to the top, moreover, so does political power. This continues to squeeze public budgets, corrupt government, and undermine our democracy. The issue is not and has never been the size of our government; it's who the government is for. Government has become less responsive to the needs of most citizens and more responsive to the demands of the monied interests.
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Thursday, March 3, 2016
Why the Critics of Bernienomics Are Wrong Not a day goes by, it seems, without the mainstream media bashing Bernie Sanders's economic plan -- quoting certain economists as saying his numbers don't add up. (The New York Times did it again just yesterday.) They're wrong. You need to know the truth, and spread it.
Thursday, March 3, 2016Why the Critics of Bernienomics Are Wrong Not a day goes by, it seems, without the mainstream media bashing Bernie Sanders's economic plan -- quoting certain economists as saying his numbers don't add up. (The New York Times did it again just yesterday.) They're wrong. You need to know the truth, and spread it.
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Friday, September 28, 2012
Romney's Goal For The Companies Bain Acquired: "Harvest Them At Significant Profit" For years, higher corporate profits have come at the expense of fewer jobs and lower wages. Business leaders and financiers have been "harvesting" like mad, leaving most Americans behind in the dirt. WFor years, higher corporate profits have come at the expense of fewer jobs and lower wages. Business leaders and financiers have been "harvesting" like mad, leaving most Americans behind in the dirt.
Friday, September 28, 2012Romney's Goal For The Companies Bain Acquired: "Harvest Them At Significant Profit" For years, higher corporate profits have come at the expense of fewer jobs and lower wages. Business leaders and financiers have been "harvesting" like mad, leaving most Americans behind in the dirt. WFor years, higher corporate profits have come at the expense of fewer jobs and lower wages. Business leaders and financiers have been "harvesting" like mad, leaving most Americans behind in the dirt.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2016
The Choice of Patriotism Donald Trump famously wants to ban all Muslims from coming to America, and to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep out Mexicans. Exclusive patriotism is not welcoming or generous. Since the war in Syria began in 2011, we've allowed in only 3,127 out of the more than 4 million refugees who have fled that nation.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016The Choice of Patriotism Donald Trump famously wants to ban all Muslims from coming to America, and to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep out Mexicans. Exclusive patriotism is not welcoming or generous. Since the war in Syria began in 2011, we've allowed in only 3,127 out of the more than 4 million refugees who have fled that nation.
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Sunday, January 8, 2017
The First 100 Days Resistance Agenda Trump's First 100 Day agenda includes repealing environmental regulations, Obamacare, and the Dodd-Frank Act, giving the rich and big corporations a huge tax cut, and putting in place a cabinet that doesn't believe in the Voting Rights Act or public schools or Medicare or the Fair Housing Act. Our 100 days of resistance begins a sustained and powerful opposition.
Sunday, January 8, 2017The First 100 Days Resistance Agenda Trump's First 100 Day agenda includes repealing environmental regulations, Obamacare, and the Dodd-Frank Act, giving the rich and big corporations a huge tax cut, and putting in place a cabinet that doesn't believe in the Voting Rights Act or public schools or Medicare or the Fair Housing Act. Our 100 days of resistance begins a sustained and powerful opposition.
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Take Back The Senate! Many Democrats on the ballot this year are progressives who have been fighting to raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security, provide paid sick leave and paid parental leave. Win five of these races and we'd have a chance for a Supreme Court that would prioritize the rights and needs of average Americans rather than big corporations and overturn Citizens United!
Wednesday, October 19, 2016Take Back The Senate! Many Democrats on the ballot this year are progressives who have been fighting to raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security, provide paid sick leave and paid parental leave. Win five of these races and we'd have a chance for a Supreme Court that would prioritize the rights and needs of average Americans rather than big corporations and overturn Citizens United!
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Friday, June 15, 2018
The Military Industrial Drain Since 2001, the Pentagon budget has soared from $456 billion--in today's dollars--to $700 billion, including the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other national security expenses. When you include spending on the military and war, veterans' benefits, and homeland security, military-related spending now eats up 67 percent of all federal discretionary spending.
Friday, June 15, 2018The Military Industrial Drain Since 2001, the Pentagon budget has soared from $456 billion--in today's dollars--to $700 billion, including the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other national security expenses. When you include spending on the military and war, veterans' benefits, and homeland security, military-related spending now eats up 67 percent of all federal discretionary spending.
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Sunday, April 26, 2020
More Bailout Money for Corporations Than for Hospitals Corporate welfare is bad enough in normal times. Now, in a national emergency, it's morally repugnant. We must stop bailing out corporations. It's time we bail out people.
Sunday, April 26, 2020More Bailout Money for Corporations Than for Hospitals Corporate welfare is bad enough in normal times. Now, in a national emergency, it's morally repugnant. We must stop bailing out corporations. It's time we bail out people.
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Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Why We Should Stop Subsidizing Sky-High CEO Pay Between 2007 and 2010, a total of $121.5 billion in executive compensation was deducted from corporate earnings, and roughly 55 percent of this total was for performance-based compensation. Given all the games, it's likely much of this "performance" was baloney.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013Why We Should Stop Subsidizing Sky-High CEO Pay Between 2007 and 2010, a total of $121.5 billion in executive compensation was deducted from corporate earnings, and roughly 55 percent of this total was for performance-based compensation. Given all the games, it's likely much of this "performance" was baloney.
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Saturday, July 25, 2015
Happy Birthday Medicare Medicare turns 50 next week. It was signed into law July 30, 1965 -- the crowning achievement of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. It's more popular than ever. Yet Medicare continues to be blamed for America's present and future budget problems. That's baloney. Medicare isn't the problem. In fact, it's the solution.
Saturday, July 25, 2015Happy Birthday Medicare Medicare turns 50 next week. It was signed into law July 30, 1965 -- the crowning achievement of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. It's more popular than ever. Yet Medicare continues to be blamed for America's present and future budget problems. That's baloney. Medicare isn't the problem. In fact, it's the solution.
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Fable of the Century Imagine the candidacy of the private equity manager (and all the money he and his friends use to try to sell their lies) has the opposite effect. It awakens the citizens of the country to what is happening to their economy and their democracy. It ignites a movement among the citizens to take it all back. Just a fable, of course. But the ending is up to you.
Thursday, April 5, 2012The Fable of the Century Imagine the candidacy of the private equity manager (and all the money he and his friends use to try to sell their lies) has the opposite effect. It awakens the citizens of the country to what is happening to their economy and their democracy. It ignites a movement among the citizens to take it all back. Just a fable, of course. But the ending is up to you.
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Occupiers Occupied: The Hijacking of the First Amendment This tsunami of big money into politics is the real public nuisance. It's making it almost impossible for the voices of average Americans to be heard because most of us don't have the dough to break through.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011Occupiers Occupied: The Hijacking of the First Amendment This tsunami of big money into politics is the real public nuisance. It's making it almost impossible for the voices of average Americans to be heard because most of us don't have the dough to break through.
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Sunday, January 3, 2021
Sedition Eleven Republican senators and senators-elect said today they will vote to reject President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory next Wednesday when Congress meets to formally certify it.
Sunday, January 3, 2021Sedition Eleven Republican senators and senators-elect said today they will vote to reject President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory next Wednesday when Congress meets to formally certify it.
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Wednesday, July 6, 2016
The Huckster Populist The real Donald Trump thinks U.S. wages are too high, and has fought against the unionization of his hotel employees. His businesses outsource abroad like mad. Most of the suits, ties and cuff links he peddles are made in China; his luxury line of furniture comes from Turkey; the crystal for his Trump Home line is produced in Slovenia. The real Trump isn't a populist. He's a plutocrat.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016The Huckster Populist The real Donald Trump thinks U.S. wages are too high, and has fought against the unionization of his hotel employees. His businesses outsource abroad like mad. Most of the suits, ties and cuff links he peddles are made in China; his luxury line of furniture comes from Turkey; the crystal for his Trump Home line is produced in Slovenia. The real Trump isn't a populist. He's a plutocrat.
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Saturday, December 10, 2016
Why Liberal States Won America's Tax Experiment Economic success depends on tax revenues that go into public investments, and regulations that protect the environment and public health. And true economic success results in high wages. The next time you hear a conservative say "low taxes, few regulations, and low wages are the keys to economic business-friendly success, just remember Kansas, Texas, and California. The conservative formula is wrong.
Saturday, December 10, 2016Why Liberal States Won America's Tax Experiment Economic success depends on tax revenues that go into public investments, and regulations that protect the environment and public health. And true economic success results in high wages. The next time you hear a conservative say "low taxes, few regulations, and low wages are the keys to economic business-friendly success, just remember Kansas, Texas, and California. The conservative formula is wrong.
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Thursday, July 30, 2020
5 Key Demands for the New Coronavirus Bill Congress has just days left to pass legislation that will keep struggling Americans afloat and stave off economic catastrophe.
Thursday, July 30, 20205 Key Demands for the New Coronavirus Bill Congress has just days left to pass legislation that will keep struggling Americans afloat and stave off economic catastrophe.
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Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Time After Trump This has been the strangest election year in modern history, partly because such a large swath of Americans -- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents -- have concluded the system is rigged in favor of the privileged and powerful. Trumpism will continue after Trump loses. The open question is whether anything good can be salvaged from its wreckage.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016Time After Trump This has been the strangest election year in modern history, partly because such a large swath of Americans -- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents -- have concluded the system is rigged in favor of the privileged and powerful. Trumpism will continue after Trump loses. The open question is whether anything good can be salvaged from its wreckage.
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Monday, November 10, 2014
The Choice of the Century What the President and other Democrats failed to communicate wasn't their accomplishments. It was their understanding that the economy is failing most Americans and big money is overrunning our democracy. And they failed to convey their commitment to an economy and a democracy that serve the vast majority rather than a minority at the top. Some Democrats even ran on not being Barack Obama.
Monday, November 10, 2014The Choice of the Century What the President and other Democrats failed to communicate wasn't their accomplishments. It was their understanding that the economy is failing most Americans and big money is overrunning our democracy. And they failed to convey their commitment to an economy and a democracy that serve the vast majority rather than a minority at the top. Some Democrats even ran on not being Barack Obama.
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Friday, December 23, 2016
Trump's Attack on the Freedom of the Press The word "media" comes from "intermediate" between the powerful and the public. The media hold the powerful accountable by correcting their mis-statements, asking them hard questions, and reporting on what they do. Apparently Trump wants to eliminate such intermediaries.
Friday, December 23, 2016Trump's Attack on the Freedom of the Press The word "media" comes from "intermediate" between the powerful and the public. The media hold the powerful accountable by correcting their mis-statements, asking them hard questions, and reporting on what they do. Apparently Trump wants to eliminate such intermediaries.
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014
The New Billionaire Political Bosses In using their vast wealth to change those rules and laws in order to fit their political views, the Koch brothers are undermining our democracy. That's a betrayal of the most precious thing Americans share. The only way to stop this is through concerted political action. Yet the only large-scale political action we're witnessing is that of Charles and David Koch, and their billionaire imitators.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014The New Billionaire Political Bosses In using their vast wealth to change those rules and laws in order to fit their political views, the Koch brothers are undermining our democracy. That's a betrayal of the most precious thing Americans share. The only way to stop this is through concerted political action. Yet the only large-scale political action we're witnessing is that of Charles and David Koch, and their billionaire imitators.
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Monday, September 28, 2015
Donald Trump Proves What's Wrong With Bankruptcy Laws in America In America, people with lots of money can easily avoid the consequences of bad bets and big losses by cashing out at the first sign of trouble. Bankruptcy laws protect them. But workers who move to a place like Atlantic City for a job, invest in a home there, and build their skills have no such protection.
Monday, September 28, 2015Donald Trump Proves What's Wrong With Bankruptcy Laws in America In America, people with lots of money can easily avoid the consequences of bad bets and big losses by cashing out at the first sign of trouble. Bankruptcy laws protect them. But workers who move to a place like Atlantic City for a job, invest in a home there, and build their skills have no such protection.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Can Bernie Sanders repeat his surprising success this time around? In recent years, the American oligarchy has returned. Sanders has done more than any other politician in modern America to sound the alarm, and mobilize the public to reclaim our democracy and economy. For that alone, we are in his enduring debt.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019Can Bernie Sanders repeat his surprising success this time around? In recent years, the American oligarchy has returned. Sanders has done more than any other politician in modern America to sound the alarm, and mobilize the public to reclaim our democracy and economy. For that alone, we are in his enduring debt.
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Standing up to Apple For years, Washington lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have attacked big corporations for avoiding taxes by parking their profits overseas. Last week the European Union did something about it. The European Union's executive commission ordered Ireland to collect $14.5 billion in back taxes from Apple. But rather than congratulate Europe for standing up to Apple, official Washington is outraged.
Thursday, September 1, 2016Standing up to Apple For years, Washington lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have attacked big corporations for avoiding taxes by parking their profits overseas. Last week the European Union did something about it. The European Union's executive commission ordered Ireland to collect $14.5 billion in back taxes from Apple. But rather than congratulate Europe for standing up to Apple, official Washington is outraged.
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Monday, May 2, 2016
The Third Way: Share-the-Gains Capitalism The vast majority of American companies are still locked in the old hyper-capitalist model that views workers as costs to be cut rather than as partners to share in success. That's largely because Wall Street still looks unfavorably on such collaboration. The Street's analysts don't believe hourly workers have much to contribute to the bottom line.
Monday, May 2, 2016The Third Way: Share-the-Gains Capitalism The vast majority of American companies are still locked in the old hyper-capitalist model that views workers as costs to be cut rather than as partners to share in success. That's largely because Wall Street still looks unfavorably on such collaboration. The Street's analysts don't believe hourly workers have much to contribute to the bottom line.
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Wednesday, January 9, 2019
The Big Economic Switcheroo The rich used to pay higher taxes to the government. Now, the government pays the rich interest on a swelling debt, caused largely by lower taxes on the rich. Which means a growing portion of everyone else's taxes are now paying the rich interest on those loans, instead of paying for government services everyone needs. The big switcheroo should be reversed.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019The Big Economic Switcheroo The rich used to pay higher taxes to the government. Now, the government pays the rich interest on a swelling debt, caused largely by lower taxes on the rich. Which means a growing portion of everyone else's taxes are now paying the rich interest on those loans, instead of paying for government services everyone needs. The big switcheroo should be reversed.
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Tuesday, June 11, 2019
The Seven Biggest Failures of Trumponomics The real recipe for economic growth is to invest in Americans -- in their health, education, job training, and infrastructure. But Trumponomics has exploded the deficit, hurt ordinary Americans, and lined the pockets of the wealthy and corporations. Don't let Trump and Republicans claim otherwise.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019The Seven Biggest Failures of Trumponomics The real recipe for economic growth is to invest in Americans -- in their health, education, job training, and infrastructure. But Trumponomics has exploded the deficit, hurt ordinary Americans, and lined the pockets of the wealthy and corporations. Don't let Trump and Republicans claim otherwise.
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Monday, November 5, 2018
Why We Must Vote Every Republican Out of Office Trump has made this election into a referendum on him. He is an historic anomaly -- a president who lies incessantly; who generates fear and fuels hatefulness; who viciously attacks the free press, political opponents, all who disagree with him; who uses his office for personal gain; and who cozies up to dictators while abandoning America's historic friends.
Monday, November 5, 2018Why We Must Vote Every Republican Out of Office Trump has made this election into a referendum on him. He is an historic anomaly -- a president who lies incessantly; who generates fear and fuels hatefulness; who viciously attacks the free press, political opponents, all who disagree with him; who uses his office for personal gain; and who cozies up to dictators while abandoning America's historic friends.
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Friday, September 6, 2013
Syria and the Reality at Home in America While attention is focused on Syria, food stamps for the nation's poor are being cut. House Republicans would eliminate food stamps for more than 800,000 Americans who now receive them but still do not get enough to eat or have only a barely adequate diet. Funds for the nation's poorest schools are being slashed. While attention is focused on Syrian, low-income housing is disappearing.
Friday, September 6, 2013Syria and the Reality at Home in America While attention is focused on Syria, food stamps for the nation's poor are being cut. House Republicans would eliminate food stamps for more than 800,000 Americans who now receive them but still do not get enough to eat or have only a barely adequate diet. Funds for the nation's poorest schools are being slashed. While attention is focused on Syrian, low-income housing is disappearing.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2020
The Real Choice: Social Control or Social Investment Social-control societies put substantial resources into police, prisons, surveillance, immigration enforcement, and the military. Social-investment societies put more resources into healthcare, education, affordable housing, jobless benefits, and children.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020The Real Choice: Social Control or Social Investment Social-control societies put substantial resources into police, prisons, surveillance, immigration enforcement, and the military. Social-investment societies put more resources into healthcare, education, affordable housing, jobless benefits, and children.
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Monday, April 5, 2010
Greenspan, Summers, and Why the Economy Is So Out of Whack Alan Greenspan is now being interviewed. He says he bore no responsibility for the housing bubble that catapulted the nation into a financial crisis in 2008 because no one could have known about the bubble when he chaired the Fed in the years before it burst. What? If any single person is most responsible for the financial crisis, it's Alan Greenspan.
Monday, April 5, 2010Greenspan, Summers, and Why the Economy Is So Out of Whack Alan Greenspan is now being interviewed. He says he bore no responsibility for the housing bubble that catapulted the nation into a financial crisis in 2008 because no one could have known about the bubble when he chaired the Fed in the years before it burst. What? If any single person is most responsible for the financial crisis, it's Alan Greenspan.
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Thursday, January 19, 2017
Four Takeaways from Trump's Latest Tweet Tantrum The huge corporate tax cuts and military buildup Trump is pushing will give congressional Republicans a rationale to cut Medicare and Social Security, in order to avoid bigger budget deficits. All told, Trump's tweet tantrum reveals a great deal about the man who's soon to be president of the United States. None of it inspires confidence.
Thursday, January 19, 2017Four Takeaways from Trump's Latest Tweet Tantrum The huge corporate tax cuts and military buildup Trump is pushing will give congressional Republicans a rationale to cut Medicare and Social Security, in order to avoid bigger budget deficits. All told, Trump's tweet tantrum reveals a great deal about the man who's soon to be president of the United States. None of it inspires confidence.
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Friday, December 18, 2020
Joe Biden's Biggest Challenge A return to "normal" would be disastrous. We can't give in to the allure of "normal" -- because normal is what got us here. Normal led to Trump.
Friday, December 18, 2020Joe Biden's Biggest Challenge A return to "normal" would be disastrous. We can't give in to the allure of "normal" -- because normal is what got us here. Normal led to Trump.
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012
A Diabolical Mix: U.S. Wages and European Austerity Since the start of the recession, the share of total US national income going to profits has risen even as the share going to the workforce has plunged. Profits in the US corporate sector are now at a 45-year high.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012A Diabolical Mix: U.S. Wages and European Austerity Since the start of the recession, the share of total US national income going to profits has risen even as the share going to the workforce has plunged. Profits in the US corporate sector are now at a 45-year high.
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Monday, February 18, 2019
Why is the media showering Howard Schultz with free airtime? It's not clear if Bloomberg will run. If he does, he'll run as a Democrat. But Schultz is planning to run as an independent, so he won't even have to go through the gauntlet of primary battles. Which means Schultz could deliver the 2020 election to Trump by siphoning off votes from the Democratic candidate.
Monday, February 18, 2019Why is the media showering Howard Schultz with free airtime? It's not clear if Bloomberg will run. If he does, he'll run as a Democrat. But Schultz is planning to run as an independent, so he won't even have to go through the gauntlet of primary battles. Which means Schultz could deliver the 2020 election to Trump by siphoning off votes from the Democratic candidate.
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Friday, March 10, 2017
Trump's War on the Truth Tellers The only way we're going to understand the true dimensions of problems real people face is with data about them from sources the public trusts. If the public stops believing those sources are reliable, where else can it look? Presumably, only Trump himself. Trump and his administration aren't just telling big lies. They're also waging war on the institutions we depend on as sources of truth.
Friday, March 10, 2017Trump's War on the Truth Tellers The only way we're going to understand the true dimensions of problems real people face is with data about them from sources the public trusts. If the public stops believing those sources are reliable, where else can it look? Presumably, only Trump himself. Trump and his administration aren't just telling big lies. They're also waging war on the institutions we depend on as sources of truth.
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Tuesday, April 24, 2018
The Shameful Silence of the CEOs Big corporations and Wall Street essentially own the Republican Party. In the 2016 campaign cycle, they contributed $34 to candidates from both parties for every $1 donated by labor unions and all public interest organizations combined. If the leaders of American business remain silent about what Trump's is doing to American democracy, they will be complicit in its demise.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018The Shameful Silence of the CEOs Big corporations and Wall Street essentially own the Republican Party. In the 2016 campaign cycle, they contributed $34 to candidates from both parties for every $1 donated by labor unions and all public interest organizations combined. If the leaders of American business remain silent about what Trump's is doing to American democracy, they will be complicit in its demise.
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Saturday, June 16, 2018
To the Press, after 18 Months of Trump Keep track of what his Cabinet is doing -- Sessions's attacks on civil rights, civil liberties, voting rights, and immigrants; DeVos's efforts to undermine public education, Pruitt's and Zinke's efforts to gut the environment; all their conflicts of interest, and the industry lobbyists they've put in high positions.
Saturday, June 16, 2018To the Press, after 18 Months of Trump Keep track of what his Cabinet is doing -- Sessions's attacks on civil rights, civil liberties, voting rights, and immigrants; DeVos's efforts to undermine public education, Pruitt's and Zinke's efforts to gut the environment; all their conflicts of interest, and the industry lobbyists they've put in high positions.
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Saturday, May 2, 2020
From Ukraine to Coronavirus: Trump's Abuse of Power Continues As the death toll continues to climb and states are left scrambling for protective gear and crucial resources, Trump is focused on only one thing: himself. It doesn't matter that this is a global pandemic. Abusing his power for personal gain is Trump's MO.
Saturday, May 2, 2020From Ukraine to Coronavirus: Trump's Abuse of Power Continues As the death toll continues to climb and states are left scrambling for protective gear and crucial resources, Trump is focused on only one thing: himself. It doesn't matter that this is a global pandemic. Abusing his power for personal gain is Trump's MO.
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Thursday, January 3, 2019
Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? A wall is being erected around the nation, an outer perimeter, separating the United States from the Third World. So far, our national wall extends along only 64 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, but Congress has appropriated funds for lengthening it and also fortifying it.
Thursday, January 3, 2019Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? A wall is being erected around the nation, an outer perimeter, separating the United States from the Third World. So far, our national wall extends along only 64 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, but Congress has appropriated funds for lengthening it and also fortifying it.
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Wednesday, March 22, 2017
The Crisis of Governance we have as president an unhinged narcissistic child who tweets absurd lies and holds rallies to prop up his fragile ego, whose conflicts of financial interest are ubiquitous, and whose presidency is under a "gray cloud" of suspicion. He's advised by his daughter, his son-in-law, and an oddball who once ran a white supremacist fake-news outlet.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017The Crisis of Governance we have as president an unhinged narcissistic child who tweets absurd lies and holds rallies to prop up his fragile ego, whose conflicts of financial interest are ubiquitous, and whose presidency is under a "gray cloud" of suspicion. He's advised by his daughter, his son-in-law, and an oddball who once ran a white supremacist fake-news outlet.
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Friday, July 3, 2015
On Patriotism Real patriotism is not cheap. It requires taking on a fair share of the burdens of keeping America going -- being willing to pay taxes in full rather than seeking tax loopholes and squirreling away money abroad. Patriotism is about preserving and protecting our democracy, not inundating it with big money and buying off politicians.
Friday, July 3, 2015On Patriotism Real patriotism is not cheap. It requires taking on a fair share of the burdens of keeping America going -- being willing to pay taxes in full rather than seeking tax loopholes and squirreling away money abroad. Patriotism is about preserving and protecting our democracy, not inundating it with big money and buying off politicians.
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Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Donald Trump has unified America -- against him The president's assault on decency has created an emerging coalition, across boundaries of race, class and partisan politics.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020Donald Trump has unified America -- against him The president's assault on decency has created an emerging coalition, across boundaries of race, class and partisan politics.
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Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Empathy Deficit Disorder Almost two-thirds of working Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. And they're worried sick about whether their kids will ever make it. They need leaders who understand their plight instead of denying it. They deserve politicians who want to fix it rather than blame it on those who have to depend on public assistance, or who need a higher minimum wage, in order to get by.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014Empathy Deficit Disorder Almost two-thirds of working Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. And they're worried sick about whether their kids will ever make it. They need leaders who understand their plight instead of denying it. They deserve politicians who want to fix it rather than blame it on those who have to depend on public assistance, or who need a higher minimum wage, in order to get by.
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Friday, March 14, 2014
The 'Paid-What-You're-Worth' Myth It's often assumed that people are paid what they're worth. According to this logic, minimum wage workers aren't worth more than the $7.25 an hour they now receive. According to this same logic, CEOs of big companies are worth their giant compensation packages, now averaging 300 times pay of the typical American worker. "Paid-what-you're-worth" is a dangerous myth.
Friday, March 14, 2014The 'Paid-What-You're-Worth' Myth It's often assumed that people are paid what they're worth. According to this logic, minimum wage workers aren't worth more than the $7.25 an hour they now receive. According to this same logic, CEOs of big companies are worth their giant compensation packages, now averaging 300 times pay of the typical American worker. "Paid-what-you're-worth" is a dangerous myth.
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Saturday, July 18, 2015
How Goldman Sachs Profited from the Greek Debt Crisis Goldman Sachs and the other giant Wall Street banks are masterful at selling complex deals by exaggerating their benefits and minimizing their costs and risks. That's how they earn giant fees. When a client gets into trouble -- whether that client is an American homeowner, a US city, or Greece -- Goldman ducks and hides behind legal formalities and shareholder interests.
Saturday, July 18, 2015How Goldman Sachs Profited from the Greek Debt Crisis Goldman Sachs and the other giant Wall Street banks are masterful at selling complex deals by exaggerating their benefits and minimizing their costs and risks. That's how they earn giant fees. When a client gets into trouble -- whether that client is an American homeowner, a US city, or Greece -- Goldman ducks and hides behind legal formalities and shareholder interests.
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Sunday, October 27, 2013
Democrat's Health Insurance Cheaper, Simpler, More Popular (Why Enact the Republican Version and Why Are They So Upset?) There's a deep irony to all this. Had Democrats stuck to the original Democratic vision and built comprehensive health insurance on Social Security and Medicare, it would have been cheaper, simpler, and more widely accepted by the public. And Republicans would be hollering anyway.
Sunday, October 27, 2013Democrat's Health Insurance Cheaper, Simpler, More Popular (Why Enact the Republican Version and Why Are They So Upset?) There's a deep irony to all this. Had Democrats stuck to the original Democratic vision and built comprehensive health insurance on Social Security and Medicare, it would have been cheaper, simpler, and more widely accepted by the public. And Republicans would be hollering anyway.
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Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Two Centers of Unaccountable Power in America, and Their Consequences It is rare in these harshly partisan times for the political left and right to agree on much of anything. But the reason, I think, both are worried about the encroachments of the NSA on the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, as well as the depredations of "too big to fail or jail" Wall Street banks on our economy, is fundamentally the same.
Thursday, June 13, 2013The Two Centers of Unaccountable Power in America, and Their Consequences It is rare in these harshly partisan times for the political left and right to agree on much of anything. But the reason, I think, both are worried about the encroachments of the NSA on the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, as well as the depredations of "too big to fail or jail" Wall Street banks on our economy, is fundamentally the same.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Why College Is Necessary But Gets You Nowhere A college degree no longer guarantees a good job. The main reason it pays better than the job of someone without a degree is the latter's wages are dropping. In fact, it's likely that new college graduates will spend some years in jobs for which they're overqualified.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014Why College Is Necessary But Gets You Nowhere A college degree no longer guarantees a good job. The main reason it pays better than the job of someone without a degree is the latter's wages are dropping. In fact, it's likely that new college graduates will spend some years in jobs for which they're overqualified.
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Thursday, July 28, 2011
Don't Fall for the GOP Lie: There is No Budget Crisis. There's a Job and Growth Crisis The federal budget deficit has no economic relationship to the debt limit. Repeat after me: The federal deficit is not the nation's biggest problem. The anemic recovery, huge unemployment, falling wages, and declining home prices are bigger problems. We don't have a budget crisis. We have a jobs and growth crisis.
Thursday, July 28, 2011Don't Fall for the GOP Lie: There is No Budget Crisis. There's a Job and Growth Crisis The federal budget deficit has no economic relationship to the debt limit. Repeat after me: The federal deficit is not the nation's biggest problem. The anemic recovery, huge unemployment, falling wages, and declining home prices are bigger problems. We don't have a budget crisis. We have a jobs and growth crisis.
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Saturday, March 25, 2017
No, Paul, It Wasn't Because of "Growing Pains" Apparently Ryan doesn't grasp that he put forward a terrible bill to begin with. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, it would have resulted in 24 million Americans losing health coverage over the next decade, hardly make a dent in the federal debt, and transfer over $600 billion to the wealthiest members of American society.
Saturday, March 25, 2017No, Paul, It Wasn't Because of "Growing Pains" Apparently Ryan doesn't grasp that he put forward a terrible bill to begin with. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, it would have resulted in 24 million Americans losing health coverage over the next decade, hardly make a dent in the federal debt, and transfer over $600 billion to the wealthiest members of American society.
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Saturday, September 6, 2014
The Bankruptcy of Detroit and the Division of America Detroit is the largest city ever to seek bankruptcy protection, so its bankruptcy is seen as a potential model for other American cities now teetering on the edge. But Detroit is really a model for how wealthier and whiter Americans escape the costs of public goods they'd otherwise share with poorer and darker Americans.
Saturday, September 6, 2014The Bankruptcy of Detroit and the Division of America Detroit is the largest city ever to seek bankruptcy protection, so its bankruptcy is seen as a potential model for other American cities now teetering on the edge. But Detroit is really a model for how wealthier and whiter Americans escape the costs of public goods they'd otherwise share with poorer and darker Americans.
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Tuesday, April 7, 2020
How CEOs Are Ruining America CEOs are in business to make a profit and maximize their share prices, not to serve America. And yet these CEOs dominate American politics and essentially run the system.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020How CEOs Are Ruining America CEOs are in business to make a profit and maximize their share prices, not to serve America. And yet these CEOs dominate American politics and essentially run the system.
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Biggest Driver in the Deficit Battle: Standard & Poor's If Standard & Poor's had been doing the job it was supposed to be doing between 2000 and 2008, the federal budget wouldn't be in a crisis -- and Standard & Poor's wouldn't be threatening the United States with a downgrade if we didn't come up with a credible plan for lopping $4 trillion off it.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011The Biggest Driver in the Deficit Battle: Standard & Poor's If Standard & Poor's had been doing the job it was supposed to be doing between 2000 and 2008, the federal budget wouldn't be in a crisis -- and Standard & Poor's wouldn't be threatening the United States with a downgrade if we didn't come up with a credible plan for lopping $4 trillion off it.
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Sunday, July 12, 2020
Trump and McConnell are the twin tribunes of America's ruin -- vote them out Fate has been unkind to the United States. The nation is grappling simultaneously with a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 130,000; and mind-numbing police brutality, which has generated the largest outpouring of grief and anger against systemic racism in memory.
Sunday, July 12, 2020Trump and McConnell are the twin tribunes of America's ruin -- vote them out Fate has been unkind to the United States. The nation is grappling simultaneously with a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 130,000; and mind-numbing police brutality, which has generated the largest outpouring of grief and anger against systemic racism in memory.
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Saturday, December 3, 2016
Trump's Trickle-Down Populism If Donald Trump is serious about reviving good jobs in America, he'd give workers more bargaining power by strengthening trade unions, upgrading lifelong education and training, and simultaneously making it harder for Wall Street investors to take over "underperforming" companies. But Trump won't do any of this, as is evident by his cabinet choices for key economic posts.
Saturday, December 3, 2016Trump's Trickle-Down Populism If Donald Trump is serious about reviving good jobs in America, he'd give workers more bargaining power by strengthening trade unions, upgrading lifelong education and training, and simultaneously making it harder for Wall Street investors to take over "underperforming" companies. But Trump won't do any of this, as is evident by his cabinet choices for key economic posts.
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Thursday, June 9, 2016
A Public Note to my Friend, Bernie Sanders Bernie, regardless of what you decide to do now, you have ignited a movement that will fight onward. We will fight to put more progressives into the House and Senate. We will fight at the state level. We will organize for the 2020 presidential election. We will not succumb to cynicism. We are in it for the long haul. We will never give up.
Thursday, June 9, 2016A Public Note to my Friend, Bernie Sanders Bernie, regardless of what you decide to do now, you have ignited a movement that will fight onward. We will fight to put more progressives into the House and Senate. We will fight at the state level. We will organize for the 2020 presidential election. We will not succumb to cynicism. We are in it for the long haul. We will never give up.
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Sunday, February 19, 2017
The Republican Tax Sham Republicans are pushing a new corporate tax plan that will end up costing most of you a bundle. The tax plan is dressed up as a way to make America more competitive. But underneath it's just a typical Republican plan that redistributes from the poor and middle class to corporations and the wealthy.
Sunday, February 19, 2017The Republican Tax Sham Republicans are pushing a new corporate tax plan that will end up costing most of you a bundle. The tax plan is dressed up as a way to make America more competitive. But underneath it's just a typical Republican plan that redistributes from the poor and middle class to corporations and the wealthy.
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Sunday, February 21, 2016
4 Reasons Ted Cruz is Even More Dangerous than Donald Trump Cruz denies the existence of man-made climate change, rejects same-sex marriage, wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, believes the 2nd amendment guarantees everyone a right to guns. He doesn't believe in a constitutional divide between church and state, favors the death penalty, rejects immigration reform, demands the repeal of Obamacare, and takes a strict "originalist" view of the meaning of the Constitution.
Sunday, February 21, 20164 Reasons Ted Cruz is Even More Dangerous than Donald Trump Cruz denies the existence of man-made climate change, rejects same-sex marriage, wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, believes the 2nd amendment guarantees everyone a right to guns. He doesn't believe in a constitutional divide between church and state, favors the death penalty, rejects immigration reform, demands the repeal of Obamacare, and takes a strict "originalist" view of the meaning of the Constitution.
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Will Hillary Clinton Get America Back on Track? Bernie Sanders -- the unlikeliest of presidential candidates -- won 22 states and 46 percent of the pledged delegates in the Democratic primaries, and pushed Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party to adopt many of his proposals. If Donald Trump is elected next week, all bets are off. But if Hillary Clinton assumes the presidency, could she become another Teddy or Franklin D. Roosevelt?
Tuesday, November 1, 2016Will Hillary Clinton Get America Back on Track? Bernie Sanders -- the unlikeliest of presidential candidates -- won 22 states and 46 percent of the pledged delegates in the Democratic primaries, and pushed Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party to adopt many of his proposals. If Donald Trump is elected next week, all bets are off. But if Hillary Clinton assumes the presidency, could she become another Teddy or Franklin D. Roosevelt?
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Thursday, July 9, 2020
Monopoly Mayhem: Corporations Win, Workers Lose This is all about power. The good news is that rebalancing the power of workers and corporations can create an economy and a democracy that works for all, not just a privileged few.
Thursday, July 9, 2020Monopoly Mayhem: Corporations Win, Workers Lose This is all about power. The good news is that rebalancing the power of workers and corporations can create an economy and a democracy that works for all, not just a privileged few.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Billionaires' Long Game If and when they eventually win, these billionaires will clean up. Their taxes will plummet, many laws constraining their profits will disappear, and what's left of labor unions will no longer intrude on their bottom lines. And they have enough dough to keep betting until they eventually win. That's what it means to be a billionaire political investor: You're able to keep playing the odds until you get the golden ring.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012The Billionaires' Long Game If and when they eventually win, these billionaires will clean up. Their taxes will plummet, many laws constraining their profits will disappear, and what's left of labor unions will no longer intrude on their bottom lines. And they have enough dough to keep betting until they eventually win. That's what it means to be a billionaire political investor: You're able to keep playing the odds until you get the golden ring.
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Monday, August 13, 2018
How Trump's War on Regulation is Trickle-Down Economics We may not know for years the extent we're unprotected -- until the next financial collapse, next public health crisis, next upsurge in fraud, or next floods or droughts because the EPA failed to do what it could to slow and reverse climate change. Trump's attack on regulation is just another form of trickle-down economics -- where the gains go the top, and the risks and losses trickle down.
Monday, August 13, 2018How Trump's War on Regulation is Trickle-Down Economics We may not know for years the extent we're unprotected -- until the next financial collapse, next public health crisis, next upsurge in fraud, or next floods or droughts because the EPA failed to do what it could to slow and reverse climate change. Trump's attack on regulation is just another form of trickle-down economics -- where the gains go the top, and the risks and losses trickle down.
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Why America's Two Economies Continue to Drift Apart, and What Washington Isn't Doing About It Wall Street is back. Bonuses on the Street are expected to rise about 5 percent this year, according to a survey by compensation consultants Johnson Associates Inc. But nothing is trickling down to the Average Worker economy. Job growth is still anemic. At October's rate of only 50,000 new private-sector jobs, unemployment won't get down to pre-recession levels for twenty years.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010Why America's Two Economies Continue to Drift Apart, and What Washington Isn't Doing About It Wall Street is back. Bonuses on the Street are expected to rise about 5 percent this year, according to a survey by compensation consultants Johnson Associates Inc. But nothing is trickling down to the Average Worker economy. Job growth is still anemic. At October's rate of only 50,000 new private-sector jobs, unemployment won't get down to pre-recession levels for twenty years.
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Friday, October 12, 2012
Why Biden Won Overall it was Biden's night. He not only trounced Ryan, but also, in the process, trounced Romney. Joe Biden is an average Joe solidly grounded in America's working middle class -- nothing pretentious or devious about him -- in contrast to the plutocrat who heads the Republican ticket, and the billionaires who are backing him.
Friday, October 12, 2012Why Biden Won Overall it was Biden's night. He not only trounced Ryan, but also, in the process, trounced Romney. Joe Biden is an average Joe solidly grounded in America's working middle class -- nothing pretentious or devious about him -- in contrast to the plutocrat who heads the Republican ticket, and the billionaires who are backing him.
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Saturday, January 25, 2014
Why There’s No Outcry Change is coming anyway. We cannot abide an ever-greater share of the nation's income and wealth going to the top while median household incomes continue too drop, one out of five of our children living in dire poverty, and big money taking over our democracy. Reform is less risky than revolution, but the longer we wait the more likely it will be the latter.
Saturday, January 25, 2014Why There’s No Outcry Change is coming anyway. We cannot abide an ever-greater share of the nation's income and wealth going to the top while median household incomes continue too drop, one out of five of our children living in dire poverty, and big money taking over our democracy. Reform is less risky than revolution, but the longer we wait the more likely it will be the latter.
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Sunday, December 18, 2016
Why President Trump Will Continue Holding Rallies Rather than shift from campaigning to governing, Trump's post-election rallies were almost identical to the rallies he held when he was a candidate -- the same format, same condemnations of the "dishonest" media, identical pledges ("We will build a great wall!"). They also elicited many of the same audience responses, such as "Lock her up! Lock her up!"
Sunday, December 18, 2016Why President Trump Will Continue Holding Rallies Rather than shift from campaigning to governing, Trump's post-election rallies were almost identical to the rallies he held when he was a candidate -- the same format, same condemnations of the "dishonest" media, identical pledges ("We will build a great wall!"). They also elicited many of the same audience responses, such as "Lock her up! Lock her up!"
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Sunday, December 16, 2018
How to Hold Corporations Accountable In the 1980's, the only goal of large corporations became maximizing profits and returns for shareholders. Corporate profits are now a higher share of the economy than they were for most of the past century, and workers' share of the total economy is the lowest. Corporations are now amassing huge control over our economy and fueling widening economic inequality. Corporate profits are now a higher share of the economy.
Sunday, December 16, 2018How to Hold Corporations Accountable In the 1980's, the only goal of large corporations became maximizing profits and returns for shareholders. Corporate profits are now a higher share of the economy than they were for most of the past century, and workers' share of the total economy is the lowest. Corporations are now amassing huge control over our economy and fueling widening economic inequality. Corporate profits are now a higher share of the economy.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Why The Economy Can't Get Out of First Gear Rarely in history has the cause of a major economic problem been so clear yet have so few been willing to see it. The answer is in front of our faces. It's because American consumers, whose spending is 70 percent of economic activity, don't have the dough to buy enough to boost the economy -- and they can no longer borrow like they could before the crash of 2008.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012Why The Economy Can't Get Out of First Gear Rarely in history has the cause of a major economic problem been so clear yet have so few been willing to see it. The answer is in front of our faces. It's because American consumers, whose spending is 70 percent of economic activity, don't have the dough to buy enough to boost the economy -- and they can no longer borrow like they could before the crash of 2008.
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Monday, July 25, 2011
Vicious Cycles: Why Washington is About to Make the Jobs Crisis Worse As more and more Americans lose faith that their government can do anything to bring back jobs and wages, they are becoming more susceptible to the Republican's oft-repeated lie that the problem is government -- that if we shrink government, jobs will return, wages will rise, and it will be morning in America again. The parallel universes are about to crash, and average Americans will be all the worse for it.
Monday, July 25, 2011Vicious Cycles: Why Washington is About to Make the Jobs Crisis Worse As more and more Americans lose faith that their government can do anything to bring back jobs and wages, they are becoming more susceptible to the Republican's oft-repeated lie that the problem is government -- that if we shrink government, jobs will return, wages will rise, and it will be morning in America again. The parallel universes are about to crash, and average Americans will be all the worse for it.
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Wednesday, November 23, 2016
California versus Trumpland At one end of the scale are Kansas and Texas, with among the nation's lowest taxes, least regulations, and lowest wages. At the other end is California, with among the nation's highest taxes, especially on the wealthy; toughest regulations, particularly when it comes to the environment; most ambitious healthcare system, that insures more than 12 million poor Californians, in partnership with Medicaid; and high wages.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016California versus Trumpland At one end of the scale are Kansas and Texas, with among the nation's lowest taxes, least regulations, and lowest wages. At the other end is California, with among the nation's highest taxes, especially on the wealthy; toughest regulations, particularly when it comes to the environment; most ambitious healthcare system, that insures more than 12 million poor Californians, in partnership with Medicaid; and high wages.
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Saturday, May 19, 2018
How To End Partisan Gerrymandering One of the biggest challenges to our democracy occurs when states draw congressional district lines with the principal goal of helping one political party and hurting the other. It's called "partisan gerrymandering." If you want your state to end gerrymandering, you're going to have to get actively involved, and demand it. After all, this is our democracy. It's up to us to make it work.
Saturday, May 19, 2018How To End Partisan Gerrymandering One of the biggest challenges to our democracy occurs when states draw congressional district lines with the principal goal of helping one political party and hurting the other. It's called "partisan gerrymandering." If you want your state to end gerrymandering, you're going to have to get actively involved, and demand it. After all, this is our democracy. It's up to us to make it work.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Why All Progressives Must Vote For Hillary The movement Bernie Sanders energized must not and will not end. But Donald Trump, were he to become president, would set back that cause for decades. There are only a few weeks until Election Day. My request to those of you who still don't want to vote for Hillary Clinton: Please reconsider. It is no exaggeration to say the fate of the nation and the world are at stake.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016Why All Progressives Must Vote For Hillary The movement Bernie Sanders energized must not and will not end. But Donald Trump, were he to become president, would set back that cause for decades. There are only a few weeks until Election Day. My request to those of you who still don't want to vote for Hillary Clinton: Please reconsider. It is no exaggeration to say the fate of the nation and the world are at stake.
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Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Socialism for the Rich, Capitalism for the Rest To the conservative mind, the specter of socialism conjures up a society in which no one is held accountable, and no one has to work for what they receive. Yet, that's exactly the society Trump and the Republicans are promoting for the rich. Meanwhile, most Americans are subject to an increasingly harsh and arbitrary capitalism.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019Socialism for the Rich, Capitalism for the Rest To the conservative mind, the specter of socialism conjures up a society in which no one is held accountable, and no one has to work for what they receive. Yet, that's exactly the society Trump and the Republicans are promoting for the rich. Meanwhile, most Americans are subject to an increasingly harsh and arbitrary capitalism.
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Sunday, October 4, 2020
Trump's Covid: Empathy for the World's Least Empathetic Person? Trump and his enablers will do anything to retain and enlarge their power. It's possible to be sympathetic toward Trump during his "battle" with COVID-19 while acknowledging that he is subjecting America to a profound moral test in the weeks and perhaps months ahead.
Sunday, October 4, 2020Trump's Covid: Empathy for the World's Least Empathetic Person? Trump and his enablers will do anything to retain and enlarge their power. It's possible to be sympathetic toward Trump during his "battle" with COVID-19 while acknowledging that he is subjecting America to a profound moral test in the weeks and perhaps months ahead.
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Saturday, February 18, 2017
Trump's Nutty "America First" Economics Trump's "America First" economics is pure demagoguery. We get a first-class workforce by investing in Americans' education, training, infrastructure, and healthcare -- and rewarding them with high union wages. We don't boost the competitiveness of American workers through xenophobic grandstanding.
Saturday, February 18, 2017Trump's Nutty "America First" Economics Trump's "America First" economics is pure demagoguery. We get a first-class workforce by investing in Americans' education, training, infrastructure, and healthcare -- and rewarding them with high union wages. We don't boost the competitiveness of American workers through xenophobic grandstanding.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Thinking Beyond Trump: Why We Need a Federal Jobs Guarantee The federal government now spends over $150 billion a year because workers aren't earning enough to get out of poverty. Doesn't it make more sense to use this money to create guaranteed jobs at a living wage? So, let's think beyond Trump -- to what Americans need. Few things are more important than a decent job. Full employment through a federal job guarantee makes sense -- for workers, for the economy, for America.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018Thinking Beyond Trump: Why We Need a Federal Jobs Guarantee The federal government now spends over $150 billion a year because workers aren't earning enough to get out of poverty. Doesn't it make more sense to use this money to create guaranteed jobs at a living wage? So, let's think beyond Trump -- to what Americans need. Few things are more important than a decent job. Full employment through a federal job guarantee makes sense -- for workers, for the economy, for America.
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Saturday, April 7, 2018
What If Everyone Voted? The largest block of voters in America isn't Democrats or Republicans. It's the people who don't vote.
Saturday, April 7, 2018What If Everyone Voted? The largest block of voters in America isn't Democrats or Republicans. It's the people who don't vote.
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Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Of Rotten Apples and Rotten Systems Unlike most other countries, the United States doesn't control drug prices. It leaves pricing up to the market. Which enables drug companies to charge as much as the market will bear. So what, exactly, did Martin Shkreli do wrong, by the standards of today's capitalism? He played the same game many others are playing on Wall Street and in corporate suites. He was just more audacious about it.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015Of Rotten Apples and Rotten Systems Unlike most other countries, the United States doesn't control drug prices. It leaves pricing up to the market. Which enables drug companies to charge as much as the market will bear. So what, exactly, did Martin Shkreli do wrong, by the standards of today's capitalism? He played the same game many others are playing on Wall Street and in corporate suites. He was just more audacious about it.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
China Tariffs are a Regressive Tax on Americans, and Risk a Recession "I am a Tariff Man," Trump tweeted last week. "When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so." We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN." But -- Tariffs are paid by American consumers. Trump has made Americans poorer.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018China Tariffs are a Regressive Tax on Americans, and Risk a Recession "I am a Tariff Man," Trump tweeted last week. "When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so." We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN." But -- Tariffs are paid by American consumers. Trump has made Americans poorer.
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Saturday, February 12, 2011
Who Says Republicans Have No New Ideas? Herbert Hoover said, "If you want to see pure socialism mixed with give-away programs, take a look at socialized medicine." Republicans haven't come up with a single new idea since. They haven't even come up with a new theme.
Saturday, February 12, 2011Who Says Republicans Have No New Ideas? Herbert Hoover said, "If you want to see pure socialism mixed with give-away programs, take a look at socialized medicine." Republicans haven't come up with a single new idea since. They haven't even come up with a new theme.
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Stop the Austerity Train Wreck! The biggest question right now on Planet Washington is whether the congressional supercommittee will reach an agreement. That's the wrong question. Agreement or not, Washington is on the road to making budget cuts that will slow the economy, increase unemployment, and impose additional hardship on millions of Americans. The real question is how to stop this austerity train wreck.
Friday, November 18, 2011Stop the Austerity Train Wreck! The biggest question right now on Planet Washington is whether the congressional supercommittee will reach an agreement. That's the wrong question. Agreement or not, Washington is on the road to making budget cuts that will slow the economy, increase unemployment, and impose additional hardship on millions of Americans. The real question is how to stop this austerity train wreck.
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Monday, July 23, 2018
We're Living A Constitutional Crisis There is no exact definition of a constitutional crisis. Presumably it's when the United States Constitution is in crisis. And it is in crisis now, today, because the president of the United States is abusing it to entrench his power. A malignant megalomaniac facing no countervailing power will continue to expand his terrain until he is stopped. He must be removed from office.
Monday, July 23, 2018We're Living A Constitutional Crisis There is no exact definition of a constitutional crisis. Presumably it's when the United States Constitution is in crisis. And it is in crisis now, today, because the president of the United States is abusing it to entrench his power. A malignant megalomaniac facing no countervailing power will continue to expand his terrain until he is stopped. He must be removed from office.
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Friday, August 17, 2012
Paul Ryan's Faux Populism Three days after being picked as Romney's running-mate -- Ryan went to Las Vegas to pay homage to Sheldon Adelson, the casino billionaire who is the poster boy for using money to become "politically connected" in Washington, and getting the "breaks" that come with it. Adelson has promised to donate up to $100 million to make sure Romney and Ryan are in the White House next year.
Friday, August 17, 2012Paul Ryan's Faux Populism Three days after being picked as Romney's running-mate -- Ryan went to Las Vegas to pay homage to Sheldon Adelson, the casino billionaire who is the poster boy for using money to become "politically connected" in Washington, and getting the "breaks" that come with it. Adelson has promised to donate up to $100 million to make sure Romney and Ryan are in the White House next year.
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Friday, July 17, 2020
When Bosses Shared the Profits After the bruising crises we're now going through, it would be wonderful if we could somehow emerge a fairer nation. One possibility is to revive an old idea: sharing the profits.
Friday, July 17, 2020When Bosses Shared the Profits After the bruising crises we're now going through, it would be wonderful if we could somehow emerge a fairer nation. One possibility is to revive an old idea: sharing the profits.
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Sunday, December 23, 2018
10 Steps to Save American Democracy Trump isn't the only problem. As Big Money floods our political system, and some in power are intent on making it harder for certain people to vote, we need a movement to save our democracy.
Sunday, December 23, 201810 Steps to Save American Democracy Trump isn't the only problem. As Big Money floods our political system, and some in power are intent on making it harder for certain people to vote, we need a movement to save our democracy.
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Thursday, December 24, 2020
How the Richest 1 Percent Came Out Big Winners in the Covid Relief Bill Republicans didn't blink twice when they handed out $6.3 billion in tax breaks to their wealthy corporate backers, but when it came to getting direct relief to struggling Americans, $600 was the best they could do.
Thursday, December 24, 2020How the Richest 1 Percent Came Out Big Winners in the Covid Relief Bill Republicans didn't blink twice when they handed out $6.3 billion in tax breaks to their wealthy corporate backers, but when it came to getting direct relief to struggling Americans, $600 was the best they could do.
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Thursday, October 22, 2015
The 4 Big Lies About Immigrants -- And The Truth Don't listen to the demagogues who want to blame the economic problems of the middle class and poor on new immigrants, whether here legally or illegally. The real problem is the economic game is rigged in favor of a handful at the top, who are doing the rigging.
Thursday, October 22, 2015The 4 Big Lies About Immigrants -- And The Truth Don't listen to the demagogues who want to blame the economic problems of the middle class and poor on new immigrants, whether here legally or illegally. The real problem is the economic game is rigged in favor of a handful at the top, who are doing the rigging.
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Monday, January 14, 2013
Why Obama's Gamble on the Debt Ceiling Depends on the GOP Being More Sane Than It Is The 2012 election has shaken the GOP, as have the post-fiscal cliff polls. Yet, the Republican Party may not care what a majority of Americans thinks. The survival of most Republican members of Congress depends on primary victories, not general elections -- and their likely primary competitors are more to the right than they are.
Monday, January 14, 2013Why Obama's Gamble on the Debt Ceiling Depends on the GOP Being More Sane Than It Is The 2012 election has shaken the GOP, as have the post-fiscal cliff polls. Yet, the Republican Party may not care what a majority of Americans thinks. The survival of most Republican members of Congress depends on primary victories, not general elections -- and their likely primary competitors are more to the right than they are.
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
My Political Prediction for 2012: It's Obama-Clinton My political prediction for 2012 (based on absolutely no inside information): Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden swap places. Biden becomes Secretary of State -- a position he's apparently coveted for years. And Hillary Clinton, Vice President.
Thursday, December 29, 2011My Political Prediction for 2012: It's Obama-Clinton My political prediction for 2012 (based on absolutely no inside information): Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden swap places. Biden becomes Secretary of State -- a position he's apparently coveted for years. And Hillary Clinton, Vice President.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Getting a Grip on Ebola The real crisis is the hysteria over Ebola that's being fed by media outlets seeking sensationalism and politicians posturing for the midterm elections. That hysteria is causing us to lose our heads. Parents have pulled their children out of a middle school after learning the school's principal had traveled to Zambia. Are we planning to quarantine Dallas next?
Tuesday, October 21, 2014Getting a Grip on Ebola The real crisis is the hysteria over Ebola that's being fed by media outlets seeking sensationalism and politicians posturing for the midterm elections. That hysteria is causing us to lose our heads. Parents have pulled their children out of a middle school after learning the school's principal had traveled to Zambia. Are we planning to quarantine Dallas next?
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Saturday, June 7, 2014
Voting in Mississippi, 2014 and 1964 Mississippi used its new voter-identification law for the first time Tuesday -- requiring voters to show a driver's license or other government-issued photo ID at the polls. The official reason given for the new law is alleged voter fraud, although the state hasn't been able to provide any evidence that voter fraud is a problem. The real reason for the law is to suppress the votes of the poor, especially African-Americans.
Saturday, June 7, 2014Voting in Mississippi, 2014 and 1964 Mississippi used its new voter-identification law for the first time Tuesday -- requiring voters to show a driver's license or other government-issued photo ID at the polls. The official reason given for the new law is alleged voter fraud, although the state hasn't been able to provide any evidence that voter fraud is a problem. The real reason for the law is to suppress the votes of the poor, especially African-Americans.
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Monday, October 30, 2017
The Huge Tax Heist The robbers are the American oligarchs who bankroll the Republican Party, and who are plotting the biggest heist in American history -- a massive tax cut estimated to be up to 5.8 trillion dollars. Around 80 percent of it will benefit the richest 1 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center.
Monday, October 30, 2017The Huge Tax Heist The robbers are the American oligarchs who bankroll the Republican Party, and who are plotting the biggest heist in American history -- a massive tax cut estimated to be up to 5.8 trillion dollars. Around 80 percent of it will benefit the richest 1 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Trump's Dark Cloud of Illegitimacy Trump has close business ties to Russian oligarchs, friends of Putin, who have financed his projects and, presumably, also lent billions of dollars to Trump's enterprises -- which may explain why Trump won't disclose his tax returns, which would show evidence of these deals. The dark cloud of illegitimacy continues to grow darker.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016Trump's Dark Cloud of Illegitimacy Trump has close business ties to Russian oligarchs, friends of Putin, who have financed his projects and, presumably, also lent billions of dollars to Trump's enterprises -- which may explain why Trump won't disclose his tax returns, which would show evidence of these deals. The dark cloud of illegitimacy continues to grow darker.
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Friday, December 16, 2016
The 4 Syndromes of Passivity in the Face of Pending Tyranny Taking action -- demonstrating, resisting, objecting, demanding, speaking truth, joining with others, making a ruckus, and never ceasing to fight Trump's pending tyranny -- will empower you. And with that power you will not only to minimize the damage that is about to occur, but also get this nation and the world back on the course it must be on.
Friday, December 16, 2016The 4 Syndromes of Passivity in the Face of Pending Tyranny Taking action -- demonstrating, resisting, objecting, demanding, speaking truth, joining with others, making a ruckus, and never ceasing to fight Trump's pending tyranny -- will empower you. And with that power you will not only to minimize the damage that is about to occur, but also get this nation and the world back on the course it must be on.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
How Trade Deals Boost the Top 1% and Bust the Rest of us Today's "trade agreements" should really be called "global corporate agreements" because they're mostly about protecting the assets and profits of these global corporations rather than increasing American jobs and wages. The deals don't even guard against currency manipulation by other nations.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015How Trade Deals Boost the Top 1% and Bust the Rest of us Today's "trade agreements" should really be called "global corporate agreements" because they're mostly about protecting the assets and profits of these global corporations rather than increasing American jobs and wages. The deals don't even guard against currency manipulation by other nations.
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Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Hate Unbound Politicians and media moguls have long understood that fear and hate sell better than hope and compassion, no matter how much we might wish it otherwise. But before Trump, no president had based his office on it. And before Fox News, no major media outlet had based its ratings on it.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018Hate Unbound Politicians and media moguls have long understood that fear and hate sell better than hope and compassion, no matter how much we might wish it otherwise. But before Trump, no president had based his office on it. And before Fox News, no major media outlet had based its ratings on it.
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Monday, May 7, 2018
The Monopolization of America America used to have antitrust laws that stopped corporations from monopolizing markets, and often broke up the biggest culprits. No longer. It's a hidden upward redistribution of money and power from the majority of Americans to corporate executives and wealthy shareholders.
Monday, May 7, 2018The Monopolization of America America used to have antitrust laws that stopped corporations from monopolizing markets, and often broke up the biggest culprits. No longer. It's a hidden upward redistribution of money and power from the majority of Americans to corporate executives and wealthy shareholders.
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Sunday, July 7, 2013
Why Republicans Want to Tax Students and Not Polluters If we want less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we should tax carbon polluters. On the other hand, if we want more students from lower-income families to be able to afford college, we shouldn't put a tax on student loans. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Unfortunately, congressional Republicans are intent on doing exactly the opposite.
Sunday, July 7, 2013Why Republicans Want to Tax Students and Not Polluters If we want less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we should tax carbon polluters. On the other hand, if we want more students from lower-income families to be able to afford college, we shouldn't put a tax on student loans. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Unfortunately, congressional Republicans are intent on doing exactly the opposite.
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Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Michael Flynn and the Six Big Questions U.S. intelligence reports show that Flynn was in touch with Russian ambassador Kislyak during the 2016 campaign, and that communications between the two continued after Nov. 8. The Russian ambassador has even confirmed having contacts with Flynn before and after the election, though he declined to say what was discussed.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017Michael Flynn and the Six Big Questions U.S. intelligence reports show that Flynn was in touch with Russian ambassador Kislyak during the 2016 campaign, and that communications between the two continued after Nov. 8. The Russian ambassador has even confirmed having contacts with Flynn before and after the election, though he declined to say what was discussed.
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Monday, September 16, 2013
The Myth of the 'Free Market' and How to Make the Economy Work for Us One of the most deceptive ideas continuously sounded by the Right is that the "free market" is natural and inevitable, existing outside and beyond government. So whatever inequality or insecurity it generates is beyond our control. And whatever ways we might seek to reduce inequality or insecurity -- to make the economy work for us -- are unwarranted constraints on the market's freedom, and will inevitably go wrong.
Monday, September 16, 2013The Myth of the 'Free Market' and How to Make the Economy Work for Us One of the most deceptive ideas continuously sounded by the Right is that the "free market" is natural and inevitable, existing outside and beyond government. So whatever inequality or insecurity it generates is beyond our control. And whatever ways we might seek to reduce inequality or insecurity -- to make the economy work for us -- are unwarranted constraints on the market's freedom, and will inevitably go wrong.
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Friday, February 28, 2014
The Real Job Killers Progress requires creating more jobs that pay well, are safe, sustain the environment, and provide a modicum of security. If seeking to achieve a minimum level of decency ends up "killing" some jobs, then maybe those aren't the kind of jobs we ought to try to preserve in the first place. The real job killers in America are lousy jobs at lousy wages.
Friday, February 28, 2014The Real Job Killers Progress requires creating more jobs that pay well, are safe, sustain the environment, and provide a modicum of security. If seeking to achieve a minimum level of decency ends up "killing" some jobs, then maybe those aren't the kind of jobs we ought to try to preserve in the first place. The real job killers in America are lousy jobs at lousy wages.
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Monday, September 14, 2020
Milton Friedman, 50 Years Ago Today Largely because of the escalating surge of corporate money into politics over the last 50 years, taxes on corporations have been slashed, safety nets for the poor and middle class have begun to unravel, and public investments in education and infrastructure have waned. The "free market" has been taken over by crony capitalism, corporate bailouts, and corporate welfare.
Monday, September 14, 2020Milton Friedman, 50 Years Ago Today Largely because of the escalating surge of corporate money into politics over the last 50 years, taxes on corporations have been slashed, safety nets for the poor and middle class have begun to unravel, and public investments in education and infrastructure have waned. The "free market" has been taken over by crony capitalism, corporate bailouts, and corporate welfare.
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Sunday, October 9, 2016
Sunday, October 9, 2016