Working Life

Yesteday, I argued that one solution to the trade deficit, particularly the deficit with China, is to let the dollar decline in value. But, there is almost no discussion on this concept within the mainstream press, not to mention the political elites. Neither The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times or the […]

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I just caught an item this morning in the Financial Times that reported that Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham had decided to postpone the bill they’ve wanted to push that would have imposed tariffs on China if it did not let its currency, the renminbi, rise faster in value. In theory, a rising renminbi […]

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It shouldn’t shock readers here that people are struggling to just keep their heads above water, pay the bills and feed their families and themselves. Despite the attempt by the Administration to paint the economy as doing just fine, it’s getting nastier by the day for millions. Check this out: our friends at the Economic […]

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Sigh. You know, it does get a bit tiring to have to repeat oneself–even when I’m wrong. On this one, I’m not wrong. It’s Tom Friedman, the messianic columnist of the grey lady of 43rd Street, who lives in another world. Anyone who reads his columns–and his books–will know that he has a fascination with […]

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I had some further thoughts about the Times article, which I cross-posted at Daily Kos. But, here it is: Will The New York Times stop regurgitating the utter nonsense that welfare “reform” was a success? Erik Eckholm’s article today on the plight of black men is disturbing, not just because of its central thesis that […]

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A few days ago, I got this little squib from the Economic Policy Institute which looked at some date from the Federal Reserve that I haven’t seen discussed anywhere: The data in the report reveal that in 2004, minority incomes were about 56% that of whites. However, a far larger gap exists when we compare […]

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It used to be that when the government ran budget deficits, it would finance that debt by selling bonds to Americans–so, most interest payments went to people in this country who had invested in the future of the nation. Quick, blink a few times and look down the road just a few years. As the […]

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As if we didn’t know, the Economic Policy Institute gives us this news: The median household income rose just 1.6% between 2001 and 2004 (from $42,500 to $43,200 in 2004 dollars) compared to an 11.7% rise in productivity. Simply put, workers aren’t reaping the rewards of their labor: real wages are trailing productivity gains because […]

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Almost every city or state has to deal with it: a company comes with its hand held out, saying it will only move in or stick around if it gets tax breaks, subsidies or other special deals. Some people call this “economic development.” Mostly, though, it’s highway robbery and we, the taxpayers, end up paying […]

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That headline is not a shocker for most of us. But, here’s a concise summation of what our friends at the Economic Policy Institute: President Bush has noted that 2 million jobs were created over the course of 2005, and that we have added 4.6 million jobs since the decline in jobs ended in May […]

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