Working Life

In Episode 31 of the Working Life podcast, I reported on the drama of the progressive battle to take over the California state Democratic Party…and the possible shenanigans the insiders employed to squeeze out the chair victory…or maybe not a victory…because breaking today: Formal Challenge Issued in California Democratic Party Chair’s Race For Immediate Release […]

Read the full story

I kind of love the bottom line message delivered to Democrats by my guest, California progressive leader Karen Bernal: Get Good or Get Gone. In the discussion on this week’s podcast, Bernal was speaking directly about the insider Democrats in California who are trying to hold back the rising wave of progressive activists who came […]

Read the full story

Why do we let Wall Street run wild with our money? We don’t have to. With my guest Marc Armstrong, I dig into the idea of a public bank–a bank whose shareholders are we, the people. It’s an idea gaining momentum throughout the country. I refer to a piece on public banks that I wrote […]

Read the full story

Yes, friends, taking over the Democratic Party is far from a mirage. Over the course of two days, the political revolution showed it has bite and balls: Berniecrats, and other progressives, won more than 600 seats—over 50 percent of the seats in play—in elections to fill slots for the California Democratic Party state committee. In […]

Read the full story

I make it a habit of regularly bagging the transcribers of press releases (formerly known as “journalists”) for utterly failing to do their jobs, particularly when it comes to challenging the rhetoric of the so-called “free market.” So, today, is a day of rest ranting about the sad state of affairs among the denizens of the Fourth Estate. Because, hells bells, Michael Hiltzik at the Los Angeles Times has penned a devastatingly good piece about the most recent example of JP Morgan Chase getting slapped on the wrist for a pretty big piece of scamming the people.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

    I have been arguing for some time now that the deficit and debt "crisis" are completely made up and phony. There is no crisis. But, at the very least, if you want to get rid of deficits, there is a simple path: spend MORE on jobs and raise incomes by promoting broad unionization. California […]

Read the full story

    I happened on this one during my Sunday morning check of the West Coast weather (since I have to head out there this week–beach weather? Baseball weather?). California is often cited as the place where national trends start. True or not–here’s some good news: Californians are ready to have taxes raised to preserve a […]

Read the full story

   There has been a lot of debate when it comes to the question of "green jobs"–what exactly is a "green job"? And when some people call for "high paying, good jobs" in the new "green" industries, does that also mean those jobs are UNION jobs?    A little taste of the question comes from […]

Read the full story

   This is a modest observation that comes from an optimist–my friends say delusional optimist–that an Obama landslide is coming. Here’s the question: if it happens, will too many Democratic-inclined voters stay home in the three Western states and cost Democrats some close, important races?     A few initial thoughts: The Obama campaign, if […]

Read the full story