Working Life

As the debate heats up over raising the federal minimum wage (Nancy Pelosi says the hike will be passed in the first 100 hours of the new Democratic House majority), it’s worth looking at something the folks at the Economic Policy Institute put out which documents how state minimum wage hikes have fared. EPI asked: […]

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It never ceases to amaze me. Maybe I–and you–should get used to it. Maybe i’m naive. But, you gotta love the gall…The Committee on Capiutal Markets Regulation has recommended that it be “harder for companies to be indicted by the government or sued by private lawyers, and urges policies to keep the Securities and Exchange […]

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Yesterday, I reported on the crazy line in Times Square for a handfull of jobs that are not what you would call middle-class building work. Here’s a companion bit of info courtesy of the Economic Policy Institute. Called “Postcards From An Ailing Economy,” the first one says it all: What’s happened to family income? Despite […]

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Why did several thousand people line up in Times Square yesterday for only 65 full-time jobs? Paying a “princely” $10.75? Which by my calculations gives someone an annual salary of a bit over $20,000 (if the job was truly full-time. Although the New York Times account of the line-up says that the jobs offereed “medical […]

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I wonder how much coverage this story will get. It was buried on page 13 of The New York Times business section. But, it’s a good window into what the Chamber of Commerce has been up to–and why we need complete public financing of elections: Group Claims U.S. Chamber Broke Tax Laws By LYNNLEY BROWNING […]

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It’s pretty clear to a majority of people that the president operates in a non-reality-based world when it comes to the Iraq war. So it is with the economy as well. Today, he’s visiting a facility of Federal Express in Washington, D.C. to talk about the new job numbers. Now, I understand why he would […]

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For a long time, I’ve argued that politicians who focus on the challenge presented by China miss the real problem, intentionally or unintentionally. Almost a year ago, when the debate was raging about the need for China to revalue its currency, I didn’t disagree with the point but added that: …the level of the currency […]

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My favorite “George” in government is Rep. George Miller from California. He’s been all over the Wal-Mart issue, among other things, and a tiger on workers’ rights. So, he’s put out a new report on the economy, which summarizes neatly many of the items I’ve brought up here: â–ºFamilies are earning less. Since 2001, median […]

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As Labor Day approaches, almost every day you can read about the class warfare–yup, I said it–underway in the country. I pointed this out yesterday. Today, Paul Krugman has a column called The Big Disconnect: There are still some pundits out there lecturing people about how great the economy is. But most analysts seem to […]

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I wonder why workers aren’t feeling optimistic per these polls? Hmmmm…wages not going up as fast as productivity, pensions disappearing, no health care, debt at an all-time high? Three Polls Find Workers Sensing Deep Pessimism By STEVEN GREENHOUSE Three new opinion polls released yesterday found deep pessimism among American workers, with most saying that wages […]

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