Working Life

May I introduce to you my hero for the day: Jed S. Rakoff of the Federal District Court in Manhattan. Yesterday, Rakoff said what we all know: the government, our government, is not serious about holding people accountable for the robbery and greed and incompetence that led to the financial collapse, costing millions of people […]

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    There is an incredible easy equation to make–both morally and financially. The one percent broke it now they need to fix it. And it all adds up, according to the Congressional Budget Office.   The math: The Democrats’ proposed tax on millionaires would raise an estimated $453 billion, more than enough to pay for […]

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   Sure, for humor, I turn to listen to Jon Stewart and Colbert. But, really, if you want the funniest laughs you have to mix in Republican leadership talking points. Seriously. Ah, yes, the "class warfare" inherent in Harry Reid’s proposal to apply a 5 percent surtax on millionaires. Except it isn’t so–not surprisingly–as the […]

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   Jammed in yesterday with the thousands of others of people in Foley Square, I turned to look at the crowd all around. I felt an incredible burst of optimism. I turned to one friend and said, "looks like the revolution will happen before I die." We laughed. I hope people hold on to the […]

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   I’ve never been a fan of "bi-partisanship". When someone is out to kill you, or your nation and community, making a deal for the sake of "bi-partisanship" or "compromise" makes no sense when the end result is injustice and a worsening of our lives. But, that’s where we are today because of a completely […]

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   The assault against even the most modest attempt to take the boot off the neck of the American consumer continues. Wall Street leaders like Jamie Dimon whine about regulation. And the banks are hoping to keep their hands in the pockets of consumers–and they have willing hands in the U.S. Senate. The Senate just […]

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     Earlier today, I wrote about John Boehner’s very loose connection to the actual facts of our economic crisis. Well, in the meantime, Boehner is in trouble with the facts and a whole bunch of Catholic professors. To wit: More than 75 professors at Catholic University and other prominent Catholic colleges have written a […]

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    Scott Walker, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Paul Ryan…make your own list of the people who are viciously anti-union. We know the threat they pose: attacking the labor movement, and undermining the right to strike, is a death blow to the middle class and justice in America. The problem is that we are also undermined […]

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Yes, to get back to some sane, healthy economic strategy we have to confront the Wall Street/Robert Rubins of the world, the corruption of the electoral system and a whole set of adversaries. But, I would put at the top of the list the false framing of the choices before us as a nation, and […]

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   It is has been pointed out by others that when the Republicans chose to organize the reading of the Constitution on the House floor, they conveniently left out parts they didn’t like. But, they have intellectual–and I use "intellectual" loosely–support for this from Justice Scalia and his wing of convenient Constitutionalists who choose to […]

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