Working Life

Wal-Mart cut itself a great deal with the government. Not only does it pay a puny $135,000 and change fine for 24 child labor violations, the Department of Labor has promised to give Wal-Mart a 15-day heads-up before it starts any future investigations. Enough time to get those paper shredders going and muddle the trail. […]

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The Center for American Progress has an easy-to-understand breakdown of the key false claims put forth by the Administration, countered by the facts. CLAIM: “By the year 2042, the entire system would be exhausted and bankrupt.” [President Bush, 2/2/05] FACT: In 2042, enough new money will be coming in to pay between 73-80 percent of […]

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Well, if you’re a trade deficit worrier, time to get out the tranquilizers. The government reports that the trade deficit reached $666.2 billion in 2004– a record!!! This shouldn’t surprise–China’s trade surplus with the U.S. (meaning, we bought more of their stuff than they bought of our stuff) was huge, coming in at $162 billion, […]

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What does Wal-Mart do when workers try to exercise basic rights? Fire ’em! Not just in the U.S. but in Canada: Wal-Mart Plans to Close Unionized Store in Quebec (Update3) Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to close its first unionized store in North America and fire 190 workers after it failed to […]

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The Administration’s record on jobs is still pathetic, as the Economic Policy Institute points out: EPI tells us that: On average, it has taken 21 months to surpass the prior employment peak after a recession. In this case it took 46 months, making this the longest slump of this type on record. Had we done […]

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As if things couldn’t get worse, the labor movement is even smaller than it was a year ago. Actually, the movement hasn’t been this small in six decades. In 2003, unions represented 12.9 percent of workers overall; in 2004, that percentage dropped to 12.5. The story is actually worse if you look just at the […]

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It was worth reading the piece by Roger Lowenstein in the recent Sunday New York Times Magazine. Here are some excerpts: After Bush’s re-election, I carefully read the 225-page annual report of the Social Security trustees. I also talked to actuaries and economists, inside and outside the agency, who are expert in the peculiar science […]

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Reading a fascinating book called “The Chinese Century” by Oded Shenkar (see recommended books). China is already the main global player in toys (70 percent of the world’s output), bicycles (60 percent), half its shoes and one-third of its luggage. But, Shenkar’s main point is that it is wrong to assume that China is simply […]

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I think you can get a feel for the different approaches in the debate about the future of labor. I don’t agree with every piece of anyone’s proposal but having open debate is essential. SEIU’s website (www.unitedtowin.org) is freewheeling–it lets anyone post a comment and go on for as long as they wish…though that’s not […]

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FDR created social security–and Ronald Reagan saved it… Hard to remember but when Social Security was supposedly facing a financial bind back in the 1980’s, Reagan made a deal with Tip O’Neill (then-Speaker of the House in the days when Democrats still controlled Congress): no benefit cuts and a hike in taxes. True, it was […]

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