This page features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy from members of The Media Consortium. For the best progressive reporting on critical environment, health care and immigration-related issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora.
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Weekly Audit: The GOP Hates Jobs
By Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger
Through inaction and timid legislative negotiations, Congress just keeps letting the U.S. sink deeper and deeper into the economic abyss. Last week, Congress denied relief to the jobless and is currently poised to undercut a proposal that would rein in predatory lending. With unemployment out of control and banks pillaging citizens’ pocketbooks at every turn, the economy is in dire need of serious financial reform and a major jobs package.
More than one million have lost unemployment benefits
As James Ridgeway emphasizes for Mother Jones, over a million people receiving unemployment benefits ran out of financial rope on March 1 thanks to Sen. Jim Bunning’s (R-KY) self-righteousness. As a result of bizarre Senate procedural rules, Bunning’s sole “no” vote was enough to stop a bill that would have extended unemployment benefits for those who are out of work. Of course, Bunning had plenty of moral support from his fellow Republicans. Ridgeway highlights a Think Progress post on Rep. Dean Heller’s (R-NV) preposterous argument that it is time for the government to cut off unemployment benefits, since there are so many bums. READ MORE…
from our members
- Advocates Go to Bat for Employers and Unemployed | Public News Service
PHOENIX - Arizona's unemployment insurance fund is broke. The state plans to borrow $250 million from the federal government to keep checks coming, but social service advocates are urging state legislators to change the law governing the program instead. They argue the state could earn $150 million in federal stimulus money by extending jobless benefits for trainees in high-demand occupations and making benefits available sooner to some recipients. - Paid Sick Days: a Necessity for Workers or a Job Killer? | Public News Service
HARTFORD, Conn. - A proposed controversial bill to allow workers in Connecticut to earn up to five paid sick days a year is working its way through the General Assembly, clearing its first committee hurdle Tuesday. Some employers say it would push businesses out of the state, while advocates say it's a critical public health measure and only fair. Sen. Edith Prague, (D-19th district) is the bill's main sponsor. She believes swine flu could help push the legislation over the finish line because so many workers or their family members fought the flu last year. - Colorado vs. Amazon.com Confrontation Heats Up | Public News Service
DENVER - The pushing match between Amazon.com, its Colorado marketing affiliates and the state already has caused some bruises, and now grassroots groups are shoving back by calling for a boycott of the online retailer. Amazon fired its marketing affiliates in Colorado earlier this week in what's being called a retaliation for a new e-commerce law signed by Governor Ritter, which seeks to require Amazon and other online retailers to notify customers that they owe state sales tax on their purchases. Now, the drama is heating up with grassroots groups calling for a boycott of the company. - Stimulus 102-- One Year and $800 Billion Later - NAM
Last month marked one year since the nearly $800 billion federal stimulus package was passed by Congress. What has the stimulus package accomplished? What should we do now? - Is Obama Turning on Goldman Sachs? | Mother Jones
As President Barack Obama hits the endgame for health care reform, is he making a ploy to associate price-gouging insurance companies with Wall Street greed? Goldman Sachs recently released a report encouraging investors to buy up shares in two large insurance firms and thereby profit from the industry's soaring premiums. Now, the White House is making that brief the centerpiece of Obama's closing argument for overhauling the health system. It appears that Obama is subtly using the Wall Street titan's toxic reputation to demonize the insurance industry and rally public support for a comprehensive bill. - Older Michgan Workers Swell Unemployment Ranks | Public News Service
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The recession has been tough on many – but for older Michigan workers, it's been even tougher. The AARP Public Policy Institute reports workers ages 55 and over have endured a staggering 331 percent increase in unemployment over the last 10 years. - Reports: Where the Jobs are in MA
Public News Service: BOSTON - With the unemployment rate still hovering at around 9 percent in Massachusetts, two new reports released by Crittenton Women's Union (CWU), Boston, show just what types of new jobs are available, as well as some old standbys that have proven to be "recession-proof." One report focuses on just how much a Bay Stater must earn to make ends meet. For a single parent of two, that means an annual income of more than $61,000.
earlier from the consortium report
Weekly Audit: The Global Economic Crisis
By Zach Carter, Media Consortium Blogger
Over the past thirty years, Wall Street has waged a steady war against governments around the globe, convincing policymakers of various ideological stripes that whatever raises profits for bankers and traders will be good for the rest of society. It’s a very simple and appealing portrait of how the world... Read More
Weekly Audit: More Jobs Please
By Zach Carter, Media Consortium Blogger
One year after President Barack Obama secured passage of his critical economic stimulus package, the U.S. Senate is finally taking anther look at how to create jobs and repair the economy. These issues are more important than ever, but absurd Republican obstructionism and timid Democratic negotiation are once again threatening... Read More
Weekly Audit: Attack of the Imaginary Budget Demons
By Zach Carter, Media Consortium Blogger
On Feb. 1, President Barack Obama unveiled his 2011 budget proposal. While conservative pundits reacted with predictable, yet preposterous, wailing about the federal budget deficit, the short-term U.S. budget outlook is just fine. If anything, Obama’s budget doesn’t dedicate nearly enough funding to create jobs.
As John Nichols notes for The... Read More
Weekly Audit: Don’t Let Citizens United Wreck Our Economy
By Zach Carter, Media Consortium Blogger
In a landmark decision last week, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations could spend unlimited funds to influence American elections, overturning a century of legal precedent. The Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC undermines the integrity of the U.S. government, as President Barack Obama emphasized at his State of... Read More