Credit cards can be a useful stop-gap until payday, but when paychecks aren’t enough to cover the basics and balances roll over, credit cards become an expensive way to make ends meet. Past research from Demos shows that 40 percent of indebted low- and middle-income households have used their credit cards as a plastic safety net when incomes, assets, and shrinking public programs did not afford enough to meet basic needs.
The holiday season is upon us. Sadly, the big retailers are Scrooges when it comes to paying their workers. Undergirding the sale prices is an army of workers earning the minimum wage or a fraction above it, living check to check on their meager pay and benefits.
The same day that Illinois’ Legislature approved a $160 billion “restructuring” of public workers’ pensions, a federal judge ruled that pension protections in Michigan’s state constitution could be overridden as part of Detroit’s historic bankruptcy. Along with fury from unions, that double blow inspired a new round of “I-told-you-so’s” from pundits — like “Morning Joe’s” Joe Scarborough — who frame Detroit as a morality play about politicians who lack the backbone to force cuts on public employees.
President Obama gave an extraordinary speech about inequality yesterday, offering his most in-depth critique yet of why the growing chasm of income and wealth is so bad -- and offering a sweeping agenda for closing that chasm. That agenda included universal pre-K, raising the minimum wage, strengthening retirement systems, bringing back good manufacturing jobs, and more. All good ideas. But here's a question to ponder: Does this agenda square with what the public wants to do about inequality?
Thousands of fast food workers plan to walk off the job in 100 U.S. cities today, a major escalation in labor’s strongest-ever challenge to an industry that’s become ever more central to the present and future of U.S. work. One year after a surprise work stoppage by 200 New York City fast food workers, two questions raised by that first-of-its-kind walkout have already been answered: Could workers sustain and grow their numbers in the months after returning to the job?
Low wages are not just keeping workers in poverty, they are also holding back the economy by weakening consumer demand and keeping employers from realizing the benefits that accompany investments in the work force. Retail and fast food companies that pay poverty wages sabotage their own bottom lines and the health of the American economy, but a raise for the lowest paid would have benefits that extend to workers, consumers, and employers across industries.
Progressives are starting to worry that President Obama may be more talk than walk when it comes to raising the minimum wage. Again, on Wednesday, the president said, "It's well past the time to raise a minimum wage that, in real terms right now, is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office."
New research illustrates ways in which the current economic difficulties of African American households are compounded even further by a legacy of discriminatory policies that have left African Americans with significantly fewer assets and lower rates of homeownership than white households.
The White House has offered “no response” to a months-old call from congressional Democrats to bypass Congress and use executive action to raise workers’ wages, the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus told Salon Tuesday afternoon.
They walked through the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter at Oakwood Commons, handing out fliers, then continued into the store with the same message for the Black Friday bargain hunters: Walmart pays its workers too little.
Anthony Goytia, who works nights stocking shelves at a Walmart store in Duarte, Calif., says all he wants from the retailer is a living wage and a little respect. "I'm a hard worker and take pride in my work," said the 31-year-old, who as a part-time employee earns $9.60 an hour, or roughly $12,000 a year. "I'm not a slacker. I'm there on time. I give it my all, and it's only fair I should be compensated for that."
I'm not exactly sure what it is about the hit British TV series, Downton Abbey, that has enthralled so many of us. The scenery is great, Lady Mary's wardrobe is just fabulous, but there are plot holes so huge one could drive Lady Edith's car through them.
This month may prove to be one of the most historic in Walmart’s half-century-long existence. On Monday, Walmart announced plans to replace CEO Michael Duke, who has presided over depressed sales figures, bribery scandals, and controversy over the company’s poverty-level wages.
Here we go again: Home equity lines of credit are on the rise -- with a 16 percent increase forecast this year -- as more homeowners borrow against the value of their homes. The reflexive question might be: Didn't Americans learn anything from the housing bust?
Walmart is the largest private employer in the country, and the company's low-wage, part-time business model has an enormous impact on our country's labor, business, and employment climate. The "Walmart Economy" is a disaster for most Americans. That's why we should all be thankful that, during this holiday season, Walmart workers across the country are again leading the fight to change the way Walmart does business.
“People across the country are starting to see the real Walmart,” said Q Knapp, a Texas Walmart worker who went on strike Wednesday. “And that’s why I will continue to stand up because the time for change is now.”
One of the most profitable corporations in America is having a holiday food drive. Sounds good -- it's the least Corporate America can do for those struggling to make ends meet while big companies rake in record profits and give so little back. But wait... there's a catch. The food drive is for the company's own underpaid, poverty-stricken workers. You really can't make this stuff up.