News & Comment
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When Conservatives Are Right... by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | March 12, 2010
Pat Buchanan has a column today on manufacturing, The Disemboweling of America, that hits the nail on the head. In fact, if I fairly excerpt enough of the column and send you over to read it, my work here is done. For today. Buchanan begins by outlining just how much our country has lost by allowing others, particularly China, to take over manufacturing. read more »Getting Direct Foreign Investment In US Workers by Natasha Chart, OurFuture.org | March 11, 2010
Remember the Texas wind project that got this whole discussion started about where the stimulus money was going? The Chinese company involved in the project is now scoping out sites in Nevada for a 1,000 person manufacturing and assembly plant, like they said they would. read more »Why Won't Obama Label China A Currency Manipulator? by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | March 11, 2010
There is a great deal of pressure on the Obama administration to declare China as a currency manipulator, and with very good reason: they are manipulating their currency. read more »Activist Win Against Goldman-Sachs' Local Government Ripoff by Mike Elk, OurFuture.org | March 11, 2010
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how big banks refused to renegotiate deceptive, Greek-style interest rate swaps with local governments throughout the US. read more »Congress Has a Job To Do for Workers by Kimberly Freeman Brown, The Progressive | March 10, 2010
Our nation’s leaders have a choice to make. They can continue to turn the other cheek as employers flush job standards down the drain, or they can ensure that the jobs of tomorrow are good, decent jobs that will move Americans into recovery. Yes, we need to put people to work, and it is imperative that Congress pass legislation to provide incentives for businesses to hire more workers and extend unemployment benefits for those struggling to find jobs and pay the bills. But make no mistake: We must not let our standards go by the wayside in the name of job creation. We must ensure the jobs that are being created are good jobs. read more »The Source of Obama’s Trouble by Bob Herbert, The New York Times | March 10, 2010
The Obama administration and Democrats in general are in trouble because they are not urgently and effectively addressing the issue that most Americans want them to: the frightening economic insecurity that has put a chokehold on millions of American families. The talk inside the Beltway, that super-incestuous, egomaniacal, reality-free zone, is that President Obama and the Democrats have a messaging or public relations problem. That’s just silly. People are upset because they are mired in economic distress and are losing faith that their elected representatives are looking out for their best interests. read more »Tale of Two CEOs: One of Them Needs to Do Better by Leo Hindrey, Huffington Post | March 10, 2010
The Financial Times just devoted a special section of the paper to "individuals and companies who have displayed courage and vision in the aftermath of the most wrenching financial crisis since the Great Depression." This piece of journalism -- and the awards that were granted -- were especially designed "to recognize boldness on a global scale." A few years ago, in a book I titled It Takes a CEO: It's Time to Lead With Integrity (Free Press, 2005), I tried to identify all of the traits -- including boldness -- that I believe characterize truly successful CEOs. It would have been a pleasure to collaborate with the FT's editor and writers -- they did a great job -- however, when it came to matching specific companies and CEOs with leadership attributes, I think that in at least one instance they missed the "Integrity" trait. Let me elaborate. In its Foreword, the FT said: "While recognizing the profit imperative, these awards have also paid due weight to the impact of a company on the wider community, whether through innovation, education or philanthropy." read more »The Terrible Punishment For Firing American Workers by Natasha Chart, OurFuture.org | March 8, 2010
So, if you ran a company like Whirlpool that was planning to fire 1,000 American workers and move their jobs to Mexico, where you'd be paying your new employees $70 per week, one thing that might happen is that you might get publicly praised by a sitting US Senator. read more »Offshore Wind Farm Construction - Pictures by Jerome A. Paris, OurFuture.org | March 8, 2010
This post is part of the Wind power series. After showing pictures of offshore wind turbine foundations in this story, I am pleased to be able to now post pictures of the above-the-water parts, before their installation at sea: read more »We Already Have A Huge Carbon Tax - But Oil And Coal Companies Get The Money by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | March 8, 2010
We all pay a huge "hidden" tax when we burn oil and coal. Oil companies get the money. This is holding our economy back. read more »
The Latest
Subsidized Jobs: A Faint Echo of the New Deal , stateline.org | June 18, 2010
In rural Winston County, Mississippi, Taylor Machine Works — best known for its Big Red forklifts — is the primary employer. After the recession hit in late 2008, the company shed nearly 200 of its 500 jobs and would not be rehiring anyone now if it weren’t for a subsidized employment program Mississippi launched with the help of federal stimulus money.
No Clear Path Forward After Jobs Bill Fails Again In Senate, Huffington Post | June 18, 2010
The Sagging of the Middle Class, economix.blogs.nytimes.com | June 14, 2010
The chart above captures the takeaway point of David Autor’s new report, “The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market,” published by the Center for American Progress and the Hamilton Project. read more »
A Jobless Rate Still Unaffected by New Hiring, The New York Times | June 4, 2010
After hemorrhaging jobs for months, the economy is finally starting to add them. Yet the unemployment rate is not really budging because of people like Regina Myles. Ms. Myles, 51, has been out of work for three years. After a grueling job search yielded 150 interviews but no offers, she simply stopped looking last fall. read more »
U.S. Added 431,000 Jobs in May, Mostly From Census, The New York Times | June 4, 2010
Employers added 431,000 nonfarm jobs nationwide in May, the biggest increase in a single month in a decade, the Labor Department said Friday. But the bulk of the growth was in government jobs, driven by hiring for the Census, and private-sector job growth was weak. The unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent nationwide, from 9.9 percent in April, the department said.
Economy Fueled By Census Hiring Adds 431K Jobs, But Few Positions Created In Private Sector, The Washington Post | June 4, 2010
Private employers dramatically cut back their rate of job creation in May, according to a government report released Friday that cast doubt on at least one aspect of the nation's economic recovery. read more »
Economic News Release, bls.gov | June 4, 2010
Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 431,000 in May, reflecting
the hiring of 411,000 temporary employees to work on Census 2010, the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Private-sector em-
ployment changed little (+41,000). Manufacturing, temporary help ser-
vices, and mining added jobs, while construction employment declined.
The unemployment rate edged down to 9.7 percent.Fishermen Wait On Docks As Oil Gushes, The New York Times | June 3, 2010
This time of year, Eric Authement would normally be buying about 70,000 pounds of shrimp a day from the boats that line the Grand Caillou Bayou and spread their winglike nets in the bays, marshes, coastal waters and inlets along the coast. But in the last month, the shrimp processing plant his family has run for generations has been much quieter. Some days, he has bought next to nothing.
Does Washington Care About Unemployment?, theweek.com | June 2, 2010
In 1983, Ronald Reagan's Washington regarded high unemployment as a national emergency. Today, with unemployment kissing 10 percent, Barack Obama's Washington scarcely seems perturbed. Why? read more »
Job Outlook for Teenagers Worsens, The New York Times | June 1, 2010
This year is shaping up to be even worse than last for the millions of high school and college students looking for summer jobs. read more »
