Working Life

  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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   So, let’s see if we can sum this week’s drama:    Over the past weekend, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says, basically, nothing to worry about, we’ve got this financial crisis under control now that we–the taxpayers–own Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.    Opppsss…then comes Monday. Paulson says, eh, don’t worry everything is okay even […]

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   You might remember yesterday–oh, how long ago that seems as events move so quickly–that I suggested that you couldn’t trust the reassurances of either the president or the Treasury Secretary when they say things are under control and the financial system is sound. And so…look at today’s story: Fearing a financial crisis worldwide, the […]

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   Would you buy anything from this man, even an opinion?: “I know Americans are concerned about the adjustments that are taking place in our financial markets,” Mr. Bush said at a ceremony to welcome the president of Ghana. He added: “In the short run, adjustments in the financial markets can be painful — both […]

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Pardon me for interrupting the great national debate–on lipstick, ads, earmarks, polls and other "crucial" issues–by inserting a modest suggestion: since we, the taxpayers, are now on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (a lot more than the grand total of all earmarks in the […]

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   In the big picture, all these things are connected. But, they all have their own distinct story lines.    Let’s start with greed, which comes in two flavors. There is the greed by the owners of the kosher meatpacking plant that would make my Jewish, non-religious grandparents cringe: The Iowa attorney general on Tuesday […]

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  It never ceases to amaze me, even though we shouldn’t be shocked: the "free market" leaders fail–but, no worries, they still walk off with a pile of money, while average people get shafted. And the song remains the same at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.   Though this has been referred to in passing […]

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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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