Working Life

The gyrations of stock markets, the Euro crisis and the conflicting predictions about the direction of the economy are related to one basic point: average people are tapped out. Wal-Mart tells us the story in pretty simple terms. And it is the story of poverty and class warfare. Turns out, who knew, but a paycheck […]

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Among the myths promoted by the traditional press–myths that hurt the entire country–is the “independence” of the ratings agencies. And that myth was one of the underpinnings of the financial crisis–the ratings agencies gave positive ratings to the crummy debt securities that were at the heart of what led to millions of people losing their […]

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You don’t have to look further than the utterly pathetic game of repeated “stay-out-of-jail” cards handed the global banker elite to understand why people are pissed—whether in the U.S., Greece or pick a country. Time after time, the guys who cratered the economy, and robbed people of their jobs and wealth, are given a pass […]

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   This is good: Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York has begun investigating contributions to tax-exempt groups that are heavily involved in political campaigns, focusing on a case involving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been one of the largest outside groups seeking to influence recent elections but is not required to […]

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   It would be an interesting exercise to add up all the dollars spent by the Justice Department prosecuting Roger Clemens and John Edwards–it’s got to be in eight figures easily–compared to the ZERO spent prosecuting Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, or for that matter, a whole host of his co-horts.    I mention Blankfein, […]

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Two sides of the planet. Two different systems. Two different realities for workers—and, therein, lies the lesson: economies are about power, and values. Over in the U.S., if you are a waiter in the food industry, you are screwed, as Mark Bittman outlined in his column a few days ago, on the backs of a […]

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     So, it’s not all bad news in the world. Some sanity prevails when real-life economics, not blather about the glories of the "free market", triumphs and one can hope for a bit of truthiness to spread.    First, the good news: President François Hollande’s Socialists and their allies won an absolute majority in runoff […]

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   This is one reason people do not understand how the economy really works–because transcribers of press releases (formerly known as "journalists") don’t do their jobs. A basic point of journalism is tell the reader, fairly soon, WHY something happened…well, if you read this story, you don’t get there until it’s way too late: Investors […]

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   So, I’m not shocked that this happened but there’s a big question: will the Justice Department prosecute this guy: The National Labor Relations Board announced on Sunday that one of its five members, Terence F. Flynn, had resigned after the board’s inspector general found that Mr. Flynn, a Republican, leaked documents to G.O.P. allies. […]

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    Gee, I’m shocked. Wal-Mart breaking the law, covering up bribes? What a new trend. Except it isn’t.    Look, obviously, it’s good that this is out:

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