"Words that make actions speak louder."
People have been wondering for years who runs our country. People or wealthy corporations? Today the Supreme Court settled the debate. Today’s decision, Citizens United v. FEC, tilts the balance of power in the country even farther towards wealthy and corporate interests, and gives advertisers more power than voters. The newly composed conservative court upset […]
Okay, there was an election in Massachusetts yesterday but I’m not writing about it. I’m writing about something nobody noticed during the election. Infrastructure. Lots of people drove to the polls. Other people traveled by train, walked on sidewalks, or communicated by wireless. Everybody used infrastructure, but nobody noticed it. That’s the trick about infrastructure. […]
As someone who just published a novel and is looking to market it, I found this idea especially interesting. Deborah Emin of Sullivan Street Press called it to my attention. Now I share it as I can. Deborah calls the idea an “Itinerant Book Show.” The basic idea is for book lovers to sell books […]
I’m looking forward to the 2010 elections. We need them. Many dread how badly the election is shaping up. Commentators predict double-digit Democratic losses in the House and further retreat from the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. We fear a progressive era strangled in its infancy. But there’s a sunny side, too. The election can […]
Things are supposed to be looking up. Today’s data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis gives a fuller picture: low wages and declining domestic production. Real average hourly earnings fell 0.5 percent from October to November, seasonally adjusted The U.S. current-account deficit— the combined balance on trade in goods and services increased to $108 billion […]
The Federal Reserve today releases industrial production data with good news. Will it draw the right conclusions? First the good news. Industrial production increased 0.8 percent in November, and capacity utilization for total industry moved up 0.7 percentage points to 71.3 percent. Reuters used the data to describe the economy as “rebounding” It’s more proof […]
Conservatives are using the economic crisis to push through their favorite tricks. The latest trick is a commission to cut the budget and cut the debt without the inconvenience of the democratic process. It’s a strange distraction from the real problem. The real problem is jobs. We need more of them. We need them right […]
At his Brookings speech today the president outlined his economic plan. It has all the right pieces and it points in the right direction. But something is missing. Start with the good news. The President understands how bad the situation is. The greatest crisis since the Great Depression, one in four homes underwater, losing 700,000 […]
Last week’s job’s summit focused on the fierce urgency of now. And well it should, with 18 percent unemployment and underemployment. But Obama also seemed to understand how short term needs overlap with long term goals. There’s just one sticking point. The short term need is obvious: jobs. The long term needs are also clear: […]
Thursday December 3 is the date of both the President’s Jobs Summit and the reconfirmation hearing of Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke. We should seize the opportunity to examine the statute that creates the Federal Reserve: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall maintain long run […]