It seems that lots of media/political/business people “on the coasts” don’t get how big a deal trade played in Tuesday’s election. Sold On Free Trade In the late 70s the country was told that “protectionism” — protecting wages and key industries and — is bad for the economy and was sold “free trade” as a way to bring prosperity and jobs. “Trade” in this usage meant one and only thing: close a factory here and lay off the workers. Open a Continue Reading...

One of the biggest fights coming up in the newly elected Congress next year will be “corporate tax reform.” If you follow policy news you’ve been hearing that Congress wants to “reform” corporate taxes (again).  When you hear talk of “reform” from our corporate-captured Congress it means you need to run as fast as you can — and organize.  The way they use the word, it always means give them more and We, the People get less. Continue Reading...

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen was forced to testify on Wednesday before a Republican impeachment committee.  Republicans are doing this because the IRS (under a previous commissioner) dared to check whether organizations applying for special IRS nonprofit status were following the law or illegally promoting candidates. Continue Reading...

Donald Trump is selling himself as the champion of working-class voters.  He says Democrats and their presumptive presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, are selling them out with trade deals.  But Trump is just a fraud. Unfortunately, President Obama is pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and Clinton is not confronting him for doing so. That has to change – fast.  Clinton must publicly, directly and loudly challenge Continue Reading...

Here we are in “Infrastructure Week” and here we are with a new argument for a massive infrastructure investment project – worldwide. Last week Peter Coy wrote at Bloomberg, in “How to Pull the World Economy Out of Its Rut,” about economist Larry Summers’ argument that we need massive public investment.  Coy writes that Summers has been “jetting around the world” trying to convince central bankers “to reach out to the governments they work for Continue Reading...

Is it really “extreme” to think we should have fair trade policies? The New York Times on Tuesday published a story by Nelson D. Schwartz and Quoctrung Bui, “Where Jobs Are Squeezed by Chinese Trade, Voters Seek Extremes,” reporting that, “research to be unveiled this week by four leading academic economists suggests that the damage to manufacturing jobs from a sharp acceleration in globalization since the turn of the century has contributed Continue Reading...

Is it really “extreme” to think we should have fair trade policies? The New York Times on Tuesday published a story by Nelson D. Schwartz and Quoctrung Bui, “Where Jobs Are Squeezed by Chinese Trade, Voters Seek Extremes,” reporting that, “research to be unveiled this week by four leading academic economists suggests that the damage to manufacturing jobs from a sharp acceleration in globalization since the turn of the century has contributed Continue Reading...

“We knew the tech industry was booming, but we weren’t seeing that translate into an abundance of jobs for our communities – until we looked at the low-wage jobs in contracting industries.  Those are growing fast, just like tech profits are.  It’s no wonder that one in three working households in Silicon Valley can’t make ends meet when these growing industries pay wages that barely cover rent.” – Derecka Mehrens, Executive Director of Working Continue Reading...

Corporate conservatives have taken notice of the Bernie Sanders campaign, and has started accusing him of “buying votes” by “promising” “free stuff.”  Is it true? Here are some examples of what the corporate/billionaire-funded right is saying: ● American Thinker, “Surprise: Bernie Sanders’s free stuff will be very expensive for you!” Avowed socialist, pretend independent, wannabe Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is promising Continue Reading...

“If the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water, we would have done something about it.” – Hillary Clinton “There are no excuses.  The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water.  He did nothing.  As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned.  Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead.  Governor Snyder should resign.” – Bernie Sanders You might have heard that there is Continue Reading...

In the recent post, “How The Clinton and Sanders Infrastructure Plans Measure Up," I mistakenly wrote that candidate Bernie Sanders does not yet have a corporate tax proposal: Clinton’s infrastructure plan says only that it will be paid for through “business tax reform.”  It does not detail the nature of the reforms that would pay for this spending.  Similarly, Sanders does not yet have a specific individual and corporate tax proposal, but he Continue Reading...

Exxon and other fossil fuel companies may have committed a crime of enormous proportions, and more and more elected officials and others are demanding an investigation. The charge is that Exxon scientists and management knew since the late 1970s that the company’s product was helping cause our planet to warm “catastrophically,” but management responded by covering this up and disseminating disinformation – joining with other companies to Continue Reading...