An Economy for All
A New U.S. Strategy in the Global Economy?
June 18th, 2008
America's banker isn't happy. China's leaders blame Washington's "warped conception" of market deregulation for the financial crisis that is rattling the world economy. Perfect. The Bush administration is so lame, it is getting lectures from the communist governors of China on how best to regulate the market.
Why NAFTA Is An Anger Point Fueling The Uprising
By David Sirota
June 15th, 2008
There is a palpable anger at our current trade and globalization policies. And yet, we continue to get nonsense from Serious Thinkers in major newspapers. If only insulated journalists would stop preaching fact-free rhetoric, perhaps we could actually have a discussion about the real impact of our current trade policies.... read more »
Orders of Magnitude
By Eric Lotke
June 10th, 2008
How far away is Congress from meaningfully addressing the country's infrastructure crisis? Based on testimony at a Capitol Hill hearing this week, 1.59 trillion steps away.... read more »
Issue No. 1: The Economy
March 19th, 2008
Given the headlines of the past few weeks, it's perhaps no surprise that the number one issue on the minds of Take Back America participants is the economy, according to a poll done by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Politico.com. read more »
Living Standards Under Stress
May 14th, 2008
It does not take much to understand why a hard-core Republican district in Mississippi would elect a Democrat to the House of Representatives by a nine-point margin. Mississippi is a state under particularly serious economic stress, a point brought home in a report released this week by the Campaign for America's Future. read 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.read more »
"Redistribution Of Wealth" Is Not The Issue
Conservatives often focus on the wrong questions, and this poll, which plays into the caricature of "tax-and-spend" liberalism and the specter of government taking money from hard-working people and giving it to people who are less deserving, is a prime example. Ask people about the direction that progressives actually embrace as opposed to the stereotype presented by conservatives, and they will side with progressives. For example, a February 2008 Associated Press/Ipsos poll found that 70 percent of respondents thought that "increasing spending on domestic programs like health care, education, and housing" would help fix the country's economic problems. A January 2008 Fortune Magazine poll found that 67 percent would support "increasing government spending on things like public-works projects to help create jobs." Bush administration economic policies, if anything, have fostered a redistribution of wealth upward, creating an unprecedented economic gap between the very wealthy and the rest of the country. Progressives believe this is wrong, and most of the country agrees.read more »
Facts & Resources
Record Percentage of Americans Sees Themselves As Worse Off
Fifty-five percent of Americans interviewed in a May 30-June 1 Gallup Poll said they were worse off financially than they were a year ago. This is the first time in the 32 years that Gallup has tracked this question that a majority of Americans have declared themselves worse off financially. read more »
NAFTA-Type Deals Sour Public on Free Trade
Forty-eight percent of the people responding to an April 2008 Pew Research Center poll said that free trade agreements are a bad thing for the country, compared with 35 percent who call them a good thing. In that same poll, 61 percent of respondents said that free trade causes job losses, 56 percent said it lowers wages and 50 percent said it slows the economy.
The News
Less Bang for Buck on the Fourth
July 3rd, 2008
Paulson Calls for Stronger Regulators
July 3rd, 2008
The Voices
The Dummies' Guide to Stupid Leaders and Misleading Numbers
In case you didn't know, the loss of 20,000 American jobs in April is actually good news. You see, economists had predicted 73,000 jobs would be lost last month, so thank God we dodged that bullet, right?!read more »
All In The Same Sinking Boat
A disturbing but sadly predictable jobs report was released today by the Department of Labor: 62,000 jobs lost in June, 438,000 jobs lost during the past 6 months. read more »
Latest from our Bloggers
jul
3
2008
All In The Same Sinking Boat
A disturbing but sadly predictable jobs report was released today by the Department of Labor: 62,000 jobs lost in June, 438,000 jobs lost during the past 6 months. read more »
jun
27
2008
Want A Progressive Movement? Then Support Progressive Voices.
We tend to complain a lot about not having progressive voices in the media, and yet we watch how the conservative movement rams their voices into the media through books and publications. When conservative authors sell lots of books or conservative magazines build a big circulation, the rest of the media comes calling. read more »
jun
26
2008
A Time To Demand a Stand With Workers
One year ago today, a Senate Republican filibuster killed the Employee Free Choice Act, and with it died one of the most important things Congress could have done to repair the economic damage done to working-class families caused by decades of conservative economic policies. read more »
jun
25
2008
The Growing Power of the Fair Trade Uprising
LOUISVILLE, KY - I spent yesterday in Ohio's three biggest cities - Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. read more »
jun
23
2008
Turning Anger Into Progressive Action
In this interview for my “Liberal Oasis” radio show, David Sirota warns that the populist uprising reverberating across the country will not by itself translate to progressive change unless the movement becomes more effective in harnessing that demand for change. Sirota shares insights from his latest book, "The Uprising."read more »
jun
21
2008
Debating NAFTA On Fox
I debated my latest newspaper column on NAFTA with Neil Cavuto of Fox Business. Watch it here: read more »
jun
20
2008
Countering GOP Racism With A Class-Based Uprising Message
Earlier this week, I wrote a short dispatch about Barack Obama dancing around the issue of trade - an issue at the heart of the populist uprising on both the right and left. read more »
jun
20
2008
Safe Toys, Edible Food, Smart Globalization
Why is it that people who question globalization are treated like Neanderthals?
You’re a protectionist, critics charge. Globalization is here to stay; you can’t turn back the clock, you Neanderthal! Besides, look at all the great stuff we get for cheap! read more »
