Working Life

Yesterday afternoon, I met with about a dozen Arab Israeli journalists in Nazareth to get a feel for what they face as part of an effort to create a more solid union presence in the area for all journalists. First, a definition: these journalists are Israeli citizens and do not, as a rule, work in […]

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I’ve been in the Middle East for the past week meeting with Israeli journalists (today I’ll be sitting down with Arab journalists in Nazareth). The wonders of the free market have infected labor relations here, too. It used to be that Israeli journalists were paid via a collective agreement that was set through the semi-government […]

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It would take a post that no one would have patience to read to tick off the reasons that the Department of Labor has been irrelevant in the workplace. For many years, it’s been clear that the DOL is sort of a scam: it pretends to be the agency that looks after workers’ rights on […]

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I should have connected my recent blog about worker pay going down with the AFL-CIO’s updated site on CEO pay. My favorite entry, in keeping with my own obsession, was the one on Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott: When it comes to CEO pay, Wal-Mart definitely does not have always low prices. Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott […]

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Alright, I guess I’ll do the obvious—a short rumination on taxes. I’ve always believed in taxes, though I certainly would rather my contribution to the federal treasury go to building schools or funding alternative energy than paying Halliburton to fleece us or some new, nutty version of Star Wars (isn’t it amazing how scientifically-discredited weapons […]

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Are consumers running out of steam–either because they are running out of room on their plastic or perhaps they’ve used up most of the cash pulled out of home equity? Maybe. I’ve felt for some time that there had to be a big wall along the way into which people would slam very heard. Well, […]

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Okay, so, I’m off on the other side of the world, almost…Middle East. Just arrived after a 10-hour flight so a little bleary. Guess what? No Wal-Marts here!!! So, my posts next few days may be short until the whirlwind calms down. Though I do see a NYTimes piece predicting a global slowdown in the […]

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On and off, I’ve been writing about the tenuous nature of the economy. The pundits keep talking about low unemployment and moderate growth. But, something doesn’t seem right to me: all I hear about are average people worried about being in debt up the wazoo, huge health care costs (and going up) and no retirement. […]

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It’s always been a scandal: most people don’t know that the rich don’t pay their fair share into Social Security. The payroll tax that funds Social Security is capped at $90,000 per year—every bit of income above that level escapes the payroll tax. So, today, The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece (subscription required) […]

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I thought the end of civilization had arrived with reality T.V. but this morning I’ve been once again reassured that our crazy country can come up with the ever-more bizarre. CNN carried a local video report from a TV station in Latham, New York reporting on a real special wedding (it’s on the CNN website […]

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