Archive
Pensions Powered by Climate Change
If I had $17 million in savings, I’d take advantage of that financial security and retire early. That’s the average total retirement assets of chief executives at the top 30 U.S. oil, natural gas, and coal companies, according to a recent report by the Institute for...
All Working People Should Support the Iran Deal
This Labor Day, like others before it, finds American workers squeezed on many fronts. Inequality is rising, union membership is dwindling, and wages aren’t keeping up with job growth. Naturally, addressing all those challenges is a huge priority for the labor...
Creating a Constituency for the News
There’s a crisis in journalism. Rapidly changing consumer habits have slashed demand for the print editions of newspapers and magazines, squeezed advertising dollars, and made thousands of media jobs vanish. The news industry’s downturn has created another crisis:...
Greening America’s Energy Workforce
Oil permeates the whole economy. Even if you telework in a solar-powered home and tote your groceries home by bicycle, the price of petroleum affects what you spend on goods and services. This impact, of course, is uneven. The collapse from $105 per barrel last summer...
Trump’s No Outlier
There are those who would have you believe that Donald Trump is an aberration among Republican presidential contenders — the black sheep uncle who shows up half-drunk at family gatherings, insults the guests, scandalizes the women, and otherwise brings dishonor to the...
A Big Win for Fast Food Workers
For many Americans, the only connection between Labor Day and labor is that you don't have to do any of the latter as a result of the former. In other words, it's just a day off work — an occasion to barbecue or go out of town for a three-day weekend. But millions of...
Greece’s Crisis Is More Twisted Than Ever
In case you missed it, Greece is in for more turmoil. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras recently resigned and called for new elections as his party struggles with internal dissent. It's the latest installment in Greece's ongoing battle against harsh debt repayment...
How Not to Give Employees a Raise
Some days, I get an irresistible compulsion to tear out my hair. My latest outbreak was triggered by a New York Times opinion piece by Peter Georgescu, the former chairman of the giant PR outfit Young & Rubicam. He issued a clarion call for his corporate peers to...
Rising CEO Pay Levels
The GOP Whiffs Again on Health Care
In advice to baseball rookies, Hall of Fame star Ted Williams said: “If you don't think too good, don't think too much.” This should be taken to heart by bush-league congressional leader John Boehner. The Republican speaker of the House keeps thinking he can knock...