Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer: Why is the government so intent on pursuing a double standard when it comes to enforcing the law on the 1 percent and on the rest of us?
Time to Retire the 99 Percent
By
Walter Brasch: It’s time to retire the 99 percent. Not the people, but the slogan that identifies the Occupy Movement.
Why Jobs Still Matter More Than Budget Deficits
By
Robert Reich: Government should extend unemployment benefits, and not cut spending until the nation’s rate of unemployment is down to 5 percent. Then, and only then, should we move toward budget austerity.
Despise Congress? We Are The 95%!
By
Tina Dupuy: Yes, 5 percent of Americans think Congress is doing a good job. Which means 5 percent of those polled didn’t understand the question.
99 Percent Clubs: Online Public Square and Free Speech Zone
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Mark Naison: What we did not envision, when we created our 99% C lub, was how it would create an incredible online free speech zone and public square not only for club members, but for people with no direct connection to Fordham who found out what we were doing.
Occupy: You Can’t Evict an Idea
By
Ruth Rosen: Any successful movement must change the national conversation and create and dominate the terms of debate. This the Occupy movement has successfully done, for now.
Why Does the 99 Percent Let Athletes, Executives, and Movie Stars Get Away with Huge Salaries?
By
Walter Moss: When Babe Ruth was asked about earning more than the president, he responded, “I know, but I had a better year than Hoover.”
How to Support the Occupations
By
Mark Naison: If you part of a large and growing number of Americans who support the Occupy movement, but may or may not be able to “Occupy” yourself, you might want to form a 99 Percent Club at your school, your workplace or in your neighborhood.
Trigger Deficit Cuts When Unemployment Drops to 5 Percent
By
Robert Reich: So the best of all worlds is to have a big jobs plan now, and also commit to automatic cuts triggered when unemployment falls to 5 percent.
History and Double-Dip Recessions
By
Iwan Morgan: If America does manage to avoid a new recession and achieve stronger growth, it will be a testimony to the underlying strength of its economy. At present its political leadership in both the executive and legislative branches does not appear to have the same reserves.
Despite Surge, Taliban Attacks, U.S. Casualties Soared
By
Gareth Porter: Data on attacks by armed opposition forces and U.S. combat casualties since the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan was completed last summer provide clear evidence that the surge and the increase in targeted killings by Special Operations Forces have failed to break the momentum of the Taliban.
Don’t-Raise-Taxes-on-the-Rich Crowd Getting Desperate
By
Robert Reich: In truth, the most important variable explaining the rise and fall of tax revenues as percent of GDP has been the business cycle, not the effective tax rate.
“Modern Times” Really Akin to “Dark Ages”
By
Sherwood Ross: As humanity pushes the planet toward destruction, it is incredible that half of all the taxes collected from the American people — who are principal players in this rush — are used for warfare rather than to rebuild and rejuvenate the planet they are ravaging.
A ‘To Do’ List for US Troops Now Arriving in Haiti
By
Georgianne Nienaber: If indeed the US troops are in the country for “humanitarian reasons” as Ambassador Merten insists, there is plenty for them to do before the hurricane season begins.
How Democrats Can Become Relevant Again
By
Robert Reich: Republicans offered Democrats two more weeks before the doomsday shut-down. Democrats countered with four. Republicans held their ground. Democrats agreed to two. This is what passes for compromise in our nation’s capital.
Why We Should Trade Broccoli and Asparagus for Hot Dogs and Apple Pie
By
Robert Reich: The requirement that everyone purchase health insurance, or pay a fine doesn’t appeal to many Americans. They don’t like the government telling them they have to buy something. But the healthcare system can’t work without this mandate. Only if everyone buys insurance can insurers afford to cover people with preexisting conditions, or pay the costs of catastrophic diseases.
Boosting the Economy—One Big Screen TV at a Time
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Walter Brasch: Overall, America is slowly on the path to recovery. But, to those who lost their jobs and then their homes, it just doesn’t seem that way.
African American Youth Joblessness and the “New Normal”
By
Carl Bloice: If it remains almost impossible for a couple of generations of young women and men to earn a decent living, it is calamitous for black people and the country. They cannot become the personification of the “new normal.”
Economic “Recovery?” Not for You and Me
By
Jim Fuller: The essential hidden fact of economics in 21st century America: What we have is exactly what the tiny economic elite, the one or two percent of richest Americans, wants us to have.
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More Torture, Please
Steve Hendricks: I derive immense comfort, for example, from the similarity between the pro-torture 70 percent and the 68 percent of Americans who believe “angels and demons are active in the world.” Surely many of my pro-torture countrymen just need a little more education about torture. Well, a lot more.