Working Life

   I’ve always like the Right to Rent idea, proposed by Dean Baker at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, because it would help homeowners–not banks–who are facing the foreclosure crisis. Now, there is a bill to make it law:  "The Right to Rent Act of 2010" was introduced by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva […]

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   Yesterday, the president announced that it was time for a new deal with banks: The tougher approach to financial regulation that President Obama outlined on Thursday reflected a changed political climate, the rebound in big banks’ fortunes after their taxpayer bailout and a shift in power within the administration away from those who had […]

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   The deficit hawks are on the march–and this is a bi-partisan din. And it is basically nonsense designed to open the door to some very draconian cuts in our basic social safety net. Here is Dean Baker: Relative to the size of the economy, the deficits that we are running are large and the […]

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  President-elect Obama has publicly stated that he wants "unconventional" thinking among the people who give him advice on the economy. Fantastic. So, here are some suggestions.    I’m throwing out these suggestions—-and welcome others—-partly because of the debate zapping around progressive circles about how critical progressives should be about the incoming Administration. I find […]

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  The inevitable is happening: the people who lead us over cliff and helped spark the collapse of our financial system are running for cover. They want to avoid responsibility for the debacle. And among those running to hide is Robert Rubin.   In an extraordinary interview published today in The Wall Street Journal, Rubin […]

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With the country facing the biggest financial crisis in 100 years, which threatens the homes, livelihoods and bank accounts of millions of working Americans, where is the labor movement? This moment fits the classic observation by community organizer Saul Alinksy that the Chinese character for "crisis" means both "danger" and "opportunity". The "danger" part is […]

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   Yours truly is on a plane here early in the morning so this is a quick post. But, it’s a weighty and worthwhile promo for a great statement by Dean Baker from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Readers will probably know that I think highly of the CEPR people–partly because they are […]

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  It was probably pretty obvious but there is a damning report out yesterday that paints a stark picture: the collapse of the housing bubble has created a savings and retirement crisis for millions of Americans who face a bleak future.   The report (which you can get here) comes from the folks at the […]

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   The collapse of the housing market–preciptated by a bunch of greedy people who drove a speculative market over a cliff–has opened up a gasping financial wound for the vast majority of people nearing retirement. Already devoid of any real, true pensions (meaning, defined benefit pensions that guarantee a specific amount of money that a […]

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    This morning, Sen. Obama is scheduled to give a major address on the economy. Yours truly is scheduled to appear on CNBC’s "Power Lunch" (hey, I didn’t come up with the name) at 1:20 p.m. (Eastern Time). I may not have a chance to post the entire speech here before the CNBC gig but […]

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