Working Life

God, the idiots never shut up. Back they come — Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles — with their self-appointed roles as public scolds, trying to sell the public the phony debt and deficit scam. And this time their new “plan” brings in less money which means more cuts.

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I have written over the years about the way in which a lot of government statistics tell us very little about how real people are doing in the economy. To wit: some talking heads and political leaders keep talking talking about a “recovery”. But, that means very little to most people — except, surprise, if you are rich.

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Ah, Don Corleone, you would wish for these days. You would never worry about running a crooked business, breaking the law, or shaking down your customers. Because, if the government came after you, you’d have a ready-made defense, a tested defense handed you by the big banks, and their apologists: don’t indict me and my associates because we’d be out of business.

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Keep your eye on the ball, which is tough when it come to making sure another chunk of change doesn’t end up in the pockets of the big banks. But, it keeps happening.

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Michael Bloomberg is channeling Jay Gould, the robber baron of the 20th Century. Gould once said, roughly, that he could get one half of the working class to kill the other half. Bloomberg is on that agenda, setting workers and parents against each other, with the bottom line being yet another chink likely to be taken out of a middle class-paying job.

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A big smooch to you from Facebook, oh unsuspecting citizen. No, it’s not a new wrinkle that will drive you mad on your profile page. It’s the usual: Facebook just “likes” you to pieces for your personal generosity. Your Facebook tax giveaway generosity.

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Yesterday, I wrote that the president’s proposal to hike the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 was a meek proposal. And that it was pure rubbish to argue, as he did, that that hike would help people get ahead. Just to add today a bit more.

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Well, bravo for the president for going to fight for a rise in the minimum wage. But, let’s be clear — this isn’t going to do much to raise people out of poverty.

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No more “I ate bad food last night” or “the kid kept me up at night with a fever” as excuses to stay away from work. It’s to save the planet I’m staying home.

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Sometimes taking down the dumbest arguments repeated by “free market” adherents really feels like shooting fish in a barrel. Most of the “theories” are just rhetoric, with no substance beyond a political goal. Here’s another one: the rich will feel your state if taxes go up. Not.

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