An Economy for All
Top Stories
Pecora: A Look Back That Moved Us Forward
April 22nd, 2009
Ferdinand Pecora, the son of a Sicilian shoemaker, made his mark on history by uncovering the wrongdoing that led to the 1929 market collapse and set a pattern for how looking back can move us beyond today's financial crisis.
Featured Issues
The Need to Tax the Wealthy
The quest to increase taxes on the wealthy is not a gratuitous attack on upper income households; it is driven by the need to raise more revenue to run the government. The alternative is taxing those who are not wealthy. And, there is no better way to tax the wealthy than to tax their gambling in financial markets.... more »
Confidence Game
The difference between a "stress test" and the process of a government receivership is that the former allows the government to disguise how bad things are, while the latter forces the issue and gets on with the cure. But receivership is what the administration hopes to avoid. Hence the need for rosy stress test results.... more »
Empire Foreclosed?
With unemployment rising and Wall Street shamed, we have entered a period of economic downturn acute enough to raise serious questions about the viability of U.S. power. The pressing issue today is: How will the economic crisis affect our country's role in the world? Or, more bluntly: Is America's empire facing foreclosure? The answer involves more than just quibbles over the semantics of U.S. dominance.... more »
The Case
Why An Economy for All?
Conservatives call the state of the economy the “greatest story never told,” but in reality it’s an economy reminiscent of the Gilded Age. The myth of a booming economy does not reflect the everyday experiences of working-class Americans. In fact, most Americans see the nation either in or near a recession. We need a broad reassessment of our economic policies.more »
Protecting Jobs: A Lesson From Germany
Germany’s active labor market policy has enabled it to keep unemployment at a relatively stable rate while unemployment in other countries, including the United States, has risen sharply during the global economic crisis. more »
The Facts
Manufacturing Jobs Decline 17% Past Seven Years
Between 2001 and 2007, more 3 million manufacturing workers lost their jobs—a 17 percent decline.
Unfair Taxes, Benefit Wealthy, Hurt Middle Class
Today, the top federal income-tax rate for ordinary income is 35 percent, meaning that earned income is taxed at a rate 2 1/3 higher than income from capital gains
The News
States Face Severe Fiscal Crunch
July 2nd, 2009
California in 'Fiscal Emergency'
July 2nd, 2009
The Case
Legacy of Shame
Most of Madoff's victims were pleased with his 150-year sentence, saying it would serve as a deterrent in the future. But unless regulations are properly reformed, rigorously applied and accountability enforced there will be no real deterrent. Madoff's self-proclaimed "legacy of shame" extends to those who provided weak oversight and lax enforcement.more »
Worker Uprising Against Wells Fargo Spreads After Major Victory
This week, workers at Hartmarx Factory won a major victory against Wells Fargo, as Wells Fargo agreed to keep their factory open. Their victory yesterday represents a major triumph in the growing trend of factory sit ins that started last December when workers, members of United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers occupied the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago.more »
Latest from our Bloggers
jul
1
2009
3:18 pm
3:18 pm
On Monday, The International Trade Commission (ITC) unanimously voted to recommend that President Obama impose tariffs on the import of Chinese tires for three years. The new administration will have until September 17 to decide what, if any, relief to provide based on the ITC’s recommendation. more »
jul
1
2009
11:02 am
11:02 am
FireDogLake will feature Eric Lotke’s 2044 on its book salon this Sunday evening. Please join them!
In 2044, the problem isn't Big Brother. It's Big Brother, Inc.more »
jul
1
2009
10:42 am
10:42 am
Congress will be appointing a special commission to investigate the causes of the economic crisis and to determine who is to blame. This proposal originated among progressives who wanted to see a replay of the depression era Pecora Commission, which exposed the Wall Street corruption that laid the basis for the 1929 stock market crash and the depression that followed. more »
jun
29
2009
5:01 pm
5:01 pm
Word is circulating in Washington that members for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission will be named this week. more »
jun
29
2009
4:08 pm
4:08 pm
Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison for one of the biggest investment frauds in Wall Street history. But there is no closure here. We can’t let Madoff’s sentence distract us from the underlying problems. This isn’t just about Madoff. This is about the system in which Madoff’s scam took place. more »
jun
28
2009
2:20 pm
2:20 pm
The global economic collapse, says the first in-depth survey of grand fortune since last September, has left the world's wealth just as intensely concentrated as ever.
jun
26
2009
4:17 pm
4:17 pm
Remember a while ago I wrote about my new novel, 2044? 2044 starts where George Orwell’s 1984 left off. The problem isn’t Big Brother and the leviathan government. The problem is Big Brother Inc., and the all-powerful marketplace. more »
jun
26
2009
11:05 am
11:05 am
Behind every defective U.S. private enterprise, suggests a surprising new report from inside Corporate America, sits a top executive effective at grabbing for windfalls.more »
