Working Life

One of the greatest dangers we face from the odious Trans-Pacific Partnership is the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The pro-TPP forces–who advocate for the non-existent so-called “free trade”–want to ignore the reality of the ISDS and, to do so, they actually have to lie about it. Unfortunately for them, Public Citizen is a tiger that won’t let these lies pass.

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A common myth: the auto industry is dying. The reality: no, it’s increasing employment but largely in NON-UNION assembly plants in the South owned by foreign companies like Mercedes and Nissan, and at independent parts suppliers. Let’s see if this breaks open some new opportunities.

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I often hear the refrain that billionaires and corporations just use legal tax gimmicks to avoid paying a fare share in taxes, and that if you want to hold someone accountable, point your finger at the politician who votes for the tax loopholes that makes tax dodging legal and possible. I get the politician’s responsibility–but only up to a point. Because there is a morality issue at stake here…uh, oh yeah, morality and business don’t coincide, as John Malone proves.

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For many months, I’ve been very skeptical about the regular jobs reports that are fairly upbeat in the way they describe the economy. I still feel that way, though the direction is certainly better than say right during the post-financial crisis months.

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While most progressive activists and politically obsessed people were dissecting the elections endlessly yesterday (me, I made chicken and audouille gumbo), some pretty damn interesting stuff dropped courtesy of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Bottom line: we’re being robbed every day and the price tag is huge.

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You know, maybe some of the political geniuses and economists should stop talking about how great the economy is and actually get beyond the talking points of the White House and look at a tiny fact to get a clue about why people are angry: household wealth. After understanding those number, they’d also understand that part of the problem has been, in fact, bi-partisanship.

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Have we heard this one before? Uh, huh. Will it mean any of the top bankers lose their jobs or, perish the thought, end up in jail? Well, I’d give a better chance the Waltons of Wal-Mart give away their entire fortune to their workers to pay for health care and higher wages.

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I am of two minds about Tim Cook’s public declaration that he is gay. On the one hand, good for him if he thinks that it emboldens other people to not be afraid of their sexual preference being known publicly. On the other hand, if the message is that, you, too can come out but only once you are the CEO of one of the most powerful corporations in the world–and you can do all that while fleecing the U.S. government of billions of dollars in revenue…well, it’s a moment to pause and consider.

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At least if you are in the war-making industrial business sector–or the bean-counting of the economy. Because, really, that’s what accounts for a nice little hunk of this little spurt of allegedly “good” economic news.

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Under the heading of I am not surprised at all…guess what…the bankers are cheating again.

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