Working Life

Ah, Don Corleone, you would wish for these days. You would never worry about running a crooked business, breaking the law, or shaking down your customers. Because, if the government came after you, you’d have a ready-made defense, a tested defense handed you by the big banks, and their apologists: don’t indict me and my associates because we’d be out of business.

Read the full story

Keep your eye on the ball, which is tough when it come to making sure another chunk of change doesn’t end up in the pockets of the big banks. But, it keeps happening.

Read the full story

Michael Bloomberg is channeling Jay Gould, the robber baron of the 20th Century. Gould once said, roughly, that he could get one half of the working class to kill the other half. Bloomberg is on that agenda, setting workers and parents against each other, with the bottom line being yet another chink likely to be taken out of a middle class-paying job.

Read the full story

A big smooch to you from Facebook, oh unsuspecting citizen. No, it’s not a new wrinkle that will drive you mad on your profile page. It’s the usual: Facebook just “likes” you to pieces for your personal generosity. Your Facebook tax giveaway generosity.

Read the full story

Yesterday, I wrote that the president’s proposal to hike the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 was a meek proposal. And that it was pure rubbish to argue, as he did, that that hike would help people get ahead. Just to add today a bit more.

Read the full story

Well, bravo for the president for going to fight for a rise in the minimum wage. But, let’s be clear — this isn’t going to do much to raise people out of poverty.

Read the full story

No more “I ate bad food last night” or “the kid kept me up at night with a fever” as excuses to stay away from work. It’s to save the planet I’m staying home.

Read the full story

Sometimes taking down the dumbest arguments repeated by “free market” adherents really feels like shooting fish in a barrel. Most of the “theories” are just rhetoric, with no substance beyond a political goal. Here’s another one: the rich will feel your state if taxes go up. Not.

Read the full story

To state the obvious, taxes hurt the most vulnerable more than the rich — even if the rich squeal (see: Phill Mickelson). No better example on this point is the payroll tax, which, when most or all of your income comes from wages (as opposed to investment income, which is where most of the wealth and income for the rich comes from), is really felt.

Read the full story

Ok, a little test to see who has been paying attention. What do you see in this story that seems really familiar?

Read the full story