Working Life

   Sounds like one of those spam emails you get, huh? Well, it feels like the members of Congress operate that way. People keep talking about stimulus as a way of stemming the financial global meltdown (um, it might be rough again today–foreign markets all plunged deeply and the Dow futures is showing a huge […]

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   Yesterday, I said this about what to expect in the near future: One or two or more big retailers go belly up. No one is going to be spending money this holiday season. You know the problem is acute when you read, as I did yesterday in the Financial Times, that Las Vegas is […]

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   The wild swings in the markets around the world are just the most obvious symptom of an economy heading down. You probably know by now that credit is frozen–so businesses can’t borrow to pay off normal bills. Banks are just unwillining to hand out money when they have no idea what the underlying value […]

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   Once again–sigh–what this financial mess shows is how the progressive movement is disorganized, incoherent and fragmented. The bankers are pretty clear what they want. The public has been heard loudly that it rejects the Paulson bailout for bankers. But, progressives? I think I’ve seen at least half a dozen different "THIS IS THE SOLUTION" […]

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There is a great economic emergency looming in our country. But, it seems to me that we—or at least our elected leaders—have only looked at one side of the crisis, that of the housing bubble-inspired financial credit crunch. By doing so, we’ve missed the bigger picture and the solutions needed. So, here is one person’s […]

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   When you are wrong, you are wrong. I thought this ugly bailout for bankers was a done deal. Kudos to the people who stood up against this awful deal.    Everyone probably feels strongly about how their own individual Congresscritters voted. So, being from New York City, it’s an outrage that, with the exception […]

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   I was tempted to write about the sad collapse of the Mets yesterday (two years in a row) but I figured there were more tragic things to focus on (serious Mets fans may disagree) like the newest version of the bailout deal that is going to pass–though it should not. I would be shocked […]

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   Rightly so, there is a lot of focus on the $700 billion bailout for bankers (which as we know is now in disarray, causing stock futures to go lower in overnight markets overseas). But, what I’ve been saying here for some time, and I say when I talk to colleagues and friends, is that […]

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   It was an overcast afternoon but people still turned out for a very spirited rally organized in a very short time by the New York City Central Labor Council. People came from a whole range of unions–Teamsters, Teachers, UAW, RWDSU, Laborers, AFSCME…John Sweeney was there. Gary Labarbera, the head of the CLC, lead off […]

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   The turmoil continues today, with investors continuing to flee to short-term Treasury bills (which promise virtually no profit so you can see how the panic continues) and continuing division on the Paulson bailout for bankers (Nancy Pelosi says bravely, "We are not taking ownership of this," meaning Republicans will have to vote for the […]

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