Working Life

I suspect the debate over the minimum wage will keep percolating here and there. So, the Economic Policy Institute has just updated its guide on the issue. Check it out.

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For those of us who have endured Tom Friedman’s endless babble about the wonders of the economy of India, it was a welcome read on the paper’s op-ed section today to see an account that gives a different view. Entitled “The Myth of India,” author Pankaj Mishra makes the critical point that it is basically […]

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If the question is asked of the United States, guess what, the rest of the world owns this country, thanks to the mounting trade deficit. This little summary sent out by our friends at the Economic Policy Institute has a pretty sobering first paragraph: Mounting trade deficits have caused the United States to incur rapidly […]

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So, into my email mailbox comes by regular update from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Today, it carries the news that the Gross Domestic Product rose at an annual rate of 5.6 percent in the first quarter. Strap yourself in for the pontificating about how wonderful the U.S. economy is. It ain’t true. Oh, sure, […]

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Sometimes it’s one of those unguarded moments that gives one a particular insight. My favorite today is this quote in The New York Times this morning: “This is a big, big hunk of ballast over the side,” said James P. Womack, chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute in Cambridge, Mass.” The “ballast” Womack was referring […]

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Over the past number of months, Ben Stein, a die-hard Republican, has written a few columns that I’ve mentioned here mainly because they were attacking the greedy rich and the outrageous pay packages that CEOs have taken for themselves. When a I-love-capitalism Republican has to stand up and say “enough is enough,” it’s a sign […]

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To look on the bright side, a majority of the Senate, including 8 Republicans, voted for the increase in the minimum wage–but the amendment failed because it needed a super-majority of 60 votes to pass. Of the 8 Republicans, two who voted for it–Mike DeWine of Ohio and Lincoln Chafee–are facing very difficult re-election bids […]

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The debate is on–Ted Kennedy has moved to raise the minimum wage from it’s pathetic $5.15 to $7.25 in three steps over the next two years. The Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities put out a report in light of the debate. What jumped out at me right off the […]

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I smell a bad deal coming down. And it is emblematic of the lack of spine by the Democratic Party and its inability to stand up for principle. You may be tracking that there is a tug and pull in Congress over an attempt to raise the federal minimum wage. I’m all in favor of […]

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This caught my eye this morning. In the morning newspaper, there was the following paragraph, in which I made a couple of edits for the moment: If [I’ve omitted the name] rhetoric is full of class conflict that rattles business owners and the middle to upper class, there is a reason for it. Poverty, job […]

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