A few recent indicators suggest the country, at least economically-speaking, is continuing to slowly heal: a decline in jobless claims, a bottoming of the housing market, maybe, and an uptick in consumer confidence.
The difference is obvious, Potter replied. Because 527 groups were legally shady, they attracted far less money from fewer donors. True, the FEC didn’t enforce the law, but donors couldn’t be sure that would be the case, and some were unwilling to take the risk.
Here’s how it’s supposed to work at the nation’s ports these days: the predominantly immigrant workers who drive short-haul trucks as “independent contractors” work in a desperate race to the bottom of pay, safety, and working conditions.
Much of the attention this week has focused on President Obama’s support for the Super PAC set up by former aides to promote his re-election, freeing his supporters to contribute unlimited amounts. But in this announcement the President also came out in support of a constitutional amendment to decrease the influence of money in politics.
In New York City, kindergarten isn't mandatory or guarenteed for all. Last year 3,000 eligible city children weren't enrolled in Kindergarten, 2,000 of whom were turned down or placed on a waitlist by the public schools their families applied to.
Yesterday, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn delivered the State of the City address, focusing mainly on what we’d expect from a mayoral candidate: unemployment and local development. Both are big problems in need of big solutions, and Quinn delivered accordingly, proposing a CUNY budget boost, an integrated education network for city children, and a $10 million small business loan fund.
The mortgage servicing deal reached today between a coalition of state attorneys general and five major Wall Street banks is an important stepping stone in the effort to secure justice for homeowners victimized by the fraud and abuse behind the foreclosure crisis.
The U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision unleashed the specter of unlimited corporate political donations in U.S. elections. So far, however, it's mostly rich individuals doing the donating.
A new report from two public-interest groups confirms fears "that the cash for big-ticket campaign spending like TV advertising is increasingly controlled by an elite class of super-rich patrons not afraid to plunk down a million bucks or more for favored candidates and causes."
Last I checked, the whole point of a reduced payroll tax was to stimulate growth by keeping more money in the economy as opposed to channeling it into the coffers of the U.S. Treasury.
Americans don't need more reasons to distrust Congress these days, with polls showing record levels of public disapproval of the legislative branch. Yet the reasons keep coming -- like the fact, as I wrote yesterday, that so many lawmakers and congressional staffers morph into highly paid lobbbyists the moment they leave Capitol Hill.
An excellent series here on PolicyShop details how corporate money corrupts our political system and erodes democracy, particularly in the wake of the Citizens United ruling.
Last month WNYC public radio launched a funny silly little tool to mock the new dangerous phenomena that are Super PACs. The "Generate Your Own Super PAC Name!" tool shoots out mocking but all-too-true faux SuperPAC names (for me it chose "Augment Personal Responsibility").
Last Friday's better than expected unemployment report brought good tidings for the nation’s 15 million unemployed and marginally attached workers -- and for the first time in a long time, it seems like young people are sharing the gains.
Unemployment and underemployment persist even in the best of times, as workers “churn” through the labor market seeking better opportunities and higher wages. But this is not the best of times, and the unemployment and underemployment faced by young people today is not pushing us toward better opportunities. Rather, it holds us back from achieving our productive potential and puts other concerns – like starting a family or buying a home – on the backburner.