Class conflict is now the biggest source of social tension in America, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center -- bigger than racial conflict or tensions around immigration. Two-thirds of Americans now believe there are strong or very strong conflicts between poor people and rich people, a 19-point jump from two years ago.
Regardless of whether you think taxes should be increased or decreased, there is one point in which most people agree: Our current tax system is too complex and in desperate need of reform.
David Brooks writes today in the Times about how few Americans identify as "liberal" -- noting that twice as many Americans now identify as conservatives -- and concludes that over the last forty years, "liberalism has been astonishingly incapable at expanding its market share."
Yesterday, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver posted an open letter in protest of growing opposition to the Keystone XL and the Northern Gateway pipelines.
This week, Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute -- the largest oil and gas industry trade group -- claimed that not approving the Keystone XL pipeline would be against the wishes of the “vast majority” of Americans.
The Washington Post has a striking analysis of the growing wealth gap between members of Congress and average Americans. It finds that the "median net worth of a member of the House in 2009 was more than 2 1 / 2 times greater than it was in 1984 — $725,00 vs. $280,000 — when adjusted for inflation. . . .
Where is John Maynard Keynes when you need him? While mainstream economists have long agreed that government spending is crucial for stimulating demand amid economic downturns, many elected leaders have pushed for the exact opposite approach—trying to slash government spending just when we need it most.
We owe much to the Occupy movement. In less than a month, protestors across the country (and the world) ignited a conversation about the destructive nature of inequality in our lives and in our democracy. With a motto that created a big tent—We Are The 99%—the leaderless movement seemed to resonate with Americans from the beginning.
Does $9.04 an hour sound like a lot of money to you? Probably not. But it's a $1.79 more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and, starting January 1, $9.04 be the new minimum wage in Washington State.
Lots of us hate Christmas shopping, so it's nice to have some moral support for these Grinch-like sentiments from an organized campaign called Buy Nothing Christmas. This group has lots of ideas about how to celebrate Christmas without a pile of Chinese-made presents that, chances are, the recipents don't even want.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who calls himself “America’s toughest Sheriff”, claims that harassing Latino immigrants is good for America. His actions, however, are pretty far from what America is all about.