Progressive Opinion

washingtonindependent.com — Amid the clamor over the crisis on Wall Street, the U.S. Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Rescue Program, or “TARP,” bill and the evolving collapse of the global banking system, little attention has been paid to the extraordinary credit extensions at the Federal Reserve. But these are now without parallel in Fed history, including during the Great Depression.

wonkroom.thinkprogress.org — There is widespread agreement that running a deficit to pay for an economic stimulus and recovery plan is necessary now. Investing in clean energy creates jobs in the short run, helps combat global warming, spurs long-term growth, and ultimately helps restore fiscal balance by improving our economic circumstances.

alternet.org — As a new set of federal policymakers gets ready to address the current economic crisis, academics and advocates are proposing changes to the official measure of poverty. Unfortunately, as long as we keep talking about "poverty", this is much ado about almost nothing.

prospect.org — Despite its paltry membership, the U.S. labor movement remains the nation's most potent force for progressive change and the most effective vehicle for electing Democrats.

huffingtonpost.com — I'm not an economist, and I don't play one on TV. But it's clear we are still on a downward trend with the economy, and no one can see the bottom of that pit just yet. How do I know if I don't have a Ph.D. in something that involves math or economic theory? Well, I had lunch at Burger King last week.

freep.com — For too long the carmakers have failed to design and bring to market the smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles we now want to buy. Yet it is important to put the blame where it really belongs, not on management or labor, but on Congress.

thenation.com — Barack Obama's calm, nonreactionary response to the worst that politics and economics can throw at him has begun to establish a new emotional policy: trickle-down equanimity.

thenation.com — A government bailout of GM is the most viable solution to the crisis, but if Congress extends a lifeline it must be predicated on the condition that GM and others commit to systematic reform.

alternet.org — Not only will the United States be weaker in 2025 because of the hubris of Bush and Cheney; it will face a world of multiplied dangers, emboldened challengers and a paucity of reliable allies.

truthdig.com — There is a paradox at the heart of the proposed bailout of the auto industry. The rescue would have no chance of passing without the muscle of the Big Three’s unionized work force. Yet you can’t turn around without hearing someone trash autoworkers for the terrible crime of trying to earn a decent living. If saving our auto industry means moving GM workers ever closer to Wal-Mart wages, the bailout isn’t worth doing. A hideous class bigotry has disfigured this debate.