Working Life

   While there seem to be some people who think that there is some benefit to having a so-called "free trade" agreement with Panama (the Senate Finance committee had tentatively scheduled a hearing on the deal for this Thursday), I’m wondering if the main people who want this to go through are the people who […]

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   This shouldn’t be the case but a new report just out this morning from the Center for Economic and Policy Research says this: This report finds that the U.S. is the only country among 22 countries ranked highly in terms of economic and human development that does not guarantee that workers receive paid sick […]

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  Yesterday, I was on CNBC’s Closing Bell to debate the absurd notion that public employees are the people to blame for state government budget problems. But, what was most interesting about the debate with CNBC’s anchor Maria Bartiromo is how she became speechless–and that ain’t no easy feat–when I challenged her about class warfare. […]

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   I like reading The Wall Street Journal because it often offers a bit of a chuckle. Like today: Wall Street reacted cautiously to talks by the Obama administration to overhaul pay practices at financial companies, worried about the specter of micromanagement but reluctant to fight back while the effort is at an early stage. […]

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   It’s just about that time–the new scare about Social Security. And so The New York Times rolls out its scary story: Even as Congress hunted for ways to finance a major expansion of health insurance coverage, the Obama administration reported Tuesday that the financial condition of the two largest federal benefit programs, Medicare and […]

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    I’m all for this: Hartmarx, known for its Hart Schaffner & Marx and Hickey Freeman suits, and for making President Obama’s inauguration tuxedo and topcoat, has long been America’s leading clothier for men. Now its workers want to make the company, which is in bankruptcy, a leader in a different way. Hoping to save […]

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   When last seen on the American political scene in 1995, Bob Packwood was forced to resign from the U.S. Senate because of charges of sexual harassment, assault and abuse–charges he continued to deny even though the evidence was pretty compelling (for those of you with political recall, you might remember the endless struggle over […]

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   Yes, there are big issues where the outcome is not clear–the Employee Free Choice Act and health care come to mind. But, this does make a difference in the day-to-day lives of workers–from The Wall Street Journal today: Mr. Obama is asking for $13.3 billion of discretionary spending to run the Labor Department, up […]

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  I understand why the Administration had been working overtime to try to prop up major banks–but understanding does not mean agreement with the long-term strategy. In fact, the question worth asking today is not whether the stress tests are accurate or whether more taxpayer money will be needed to shore up the major banks. […]

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   There is an illuminating–and admirable piece in The New York Times that has an unsettling vibe of the past: how financial manipulators are already circling to try to profit from the distress of the economic calamity that many of them actually helped create…and maybe even set the stage for the great next crisis down […]

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