Working Life

When I read yesterday’s account of the debate over what to do about rising gasoline prices, I really was astounded by the pandering–though I sometimes wonder why one would be astounded in this era where getting elected is far more important than taking a principled position. On this issue, the scorecard is clear: Sens. Clinton […]

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    If you think the home value situation couldn’t get worse, think again: American homes are losing their value at the fastest rate in two decades, according to a closely watched report released on Tuesday. In the 12 months ended in February, the Case-Shiller home price index, which measures the value of single-family homes in […]

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    There has been a movement growing among truckers nationwide to protest not just high gasoline prices but the general attack against workers. It’s an interesting movement in large part because it’s truly grassroots–it has been driven (no pun intended) by a loosely-knit group that has found allies throughout the country but it has no […]

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   I’m going to ask for your indulgence for another moment–but this is just an important and personal issue to me. A week ago, I wrote about Jimmy Carter’s meeting with representatives of Hamas. Carter had a simple idea: you only make peace with your enemies and you can only make peace when you talk […]

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    You would have thought that the media industry would have learned a lesson–the Writers Guild of American strike went on for a very long time because the producers thought they could easily break the union. That turned out to be a miscalculation. But, there are ominous signs that the producers are trying to play […]

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    Sen. Sherrod Brown, one of the best legislators in the Congress on just about every issue but certainly on trade, had an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal yesterday that called "Don’t Call Me a Protectionist". Taking on the issue of the so-called "free trade" deal with Colombia, here’s the key passage: Let’s […]

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    You know how the proponents of the so-called "free trade" deal with Colombia have argued that the U.S. just has to move ahead with the deal to show support for the great protectors of democracy in Colombia? Er…get me rewrite on those speeches. From Reuters on Monday: Colombian government ministries and other state institutions […]

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    Today there is more news on the deaths of construction workers in New York City. Apparently, our mayor–who never saw a nice, shiny building project he didn’t like no matter if most residents in the city can never afford to live in those nice, shiny buildings–has noticed that a bunch of construction workers are, […]

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   A momentary reflection away from what I usually write about. Every day that Jimmy Carter continues his works of peace and humanitarian outreach justifies the day that I cast my first vote in a presidential election for him some…okay, a lot of years ago. His recent foray to establish another line of communication with […]

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It doesn’t astound me that people are angry and bitter. What astounds me is that somehow the goodness of most people keeps them from taking to the streets in mass rioting. To wit:    A whole bunch of very powerful and wealthy financiers create an economic disaster and who suffers? Citigroup, caught in the midst […]

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