Posted in Columns Wade Rathke

New economics for the people

by Wade Rathke March 2, 2022 Pearl River    Traditional economics is under assault from all corners. The pandemic has forced some reevaluations of neoliberal scripture on everything from climate change to just-in-time supply chains to…

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Posted in Columns Wade Rathke

Ottawans weren’t passive pushing back on the blockade

by Wade Rathke February 23, 2022 Marble Falls     When you read the New York Times about the Ottawa blockade you have to distill quite a lot of high-powered spin to search for the truth….

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Posted in Columns Wade Rathke

Apps for the poor

by Wade Rathke February 3, 2022 New Orleans    Decades ago, ACORN embarked on a pilot to increase the enrollment for families in San Antonio, New Orleans, and Miami in the Earned Tax Credit and Child…

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Posted in Columns Labor Wade Rathke Workers

Lessons in Starbucks rising

by Wade Rathke January 14, 2022     Marble Falls     You have to keep these things in perspective of course. Winning union elections in two of Starbucks 9000 stores is not exactly an example of…

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Posted in Democracy Wade Rathke

Is the military the last stronghold of US institutional values?

by Wade Rathke January 02, 2022 New Orleans    We have an extended family WhatsApp group, as many families have. These things are a hodgepodge of advice and, usually, good will, attempts at humor, sports talk,…

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Posted in Climate change Columns Wade Rathke

Could direct action stop climate change?

by Wade Rathke December 20, 2021 Little Rock    Sometimes you stumble over something so obvious, you shake your head wondering why your thinking was so patterned that it was in danger of becoming more habitual…

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Posted in Climate change Spotlight On Climate Sustainability

Global climate disasters – This is not the new normal

Spotlight on Climate by Stefan Sommer Saturday, December 18, 2021 2021 was yet again one of the hottest years on record. This past summer was the hottest summer on record for North America. Is this the…

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Posted in Columns Credit Debt Wade Rathke

All-cash companies. Too good to be true?

Even if these companies are not intrinsically predatory, their play for the most part seems to be using their databases to get around the exorbitant real estate agent, appraisal, and closing fees, and I suspect collect…

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Posted in Columns SCOTUS Wade Rathke

The pro-choice paths not taken

by Wade Rathke December 6, 2021 New Orleans    There was a depressing op-ed in the New York Times entitled “Losing the Fight Over Abortion” by Amy Littlefield, a correspondent for The Nation. Sadly, this may…

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Posted in Columns Politics Wade Rathke

All politics are local. All issues are national?

by Wade Rathke December 4, 2021 Little Rock    Tip O’Neil, the iconic old Boston pol, and former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, once famously expressed the dicta, “all politics are local.” Even as…

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Posted in Columns SCOTUS Wade Rathke

All Americans need to worry about the Roe vs. Wade case

by Wade Rathke December 3, 2021 Little Rock     All of the pundits and the smart money are saying that the Supreme Court, in arguments made currently on the Mississippi challenge to the 50-year-old decision, are…

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Posted in Columns Health Insurance Housing Wade Rathke

Suspicious of fixes for affordable housing and health care

by Wade Rathke November 19, 2021 New Orleans    A headline that promises to offer a “fix” for those of us who want affordable housing and healthcare has to rate as a “must read” in my…

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Posted in Columns Culture Wade Rathke

Generation What?

by Wade Rathke October 28, 2021 New Orleans    Guilty as charged! I have found myself whining from time to time recently about the circuitous path that young people in the so-called Generation Z were taking…

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Posted in Columns Wade Rathke

Emergency broadband now

by Wade Rathke October 23, 2021 New Orleans    One of the pandemic programs that may be cruising below the radar, but which could be a critical step on lowering the digital divide, is the FCC’s…

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and a handful of right-wing Democrats pose a potentially existential threat to the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, a sweeping budget reconciliation package that, if passed, would fund robust climate action. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Posted in Guest Column Op/Ed Restart 2021

Our long neoliberal nightmare: Congress should not begrudge $3.5 trillion reconciliation package for the people

To set themselves apart from Republicans, Democrats must demonstrate the political will to choose the common good over allegiance to corporate wealth. by Michele Swenson Thursday, October 14, 2021 A half century of neoliberal economic policy…

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Posted in Columns Restart 2021 Wade Rathke

Mean-tested versus entitlements

by Wade Rathke October 10, 2021 Pearl River    I hate being one of those “I told you so” people, but anyone listening knows we predicted the “deal” on the social services infrastructure package would come…

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It's cannot be described as a labor shortage, explains Reich, when "many American workers are now engaged in the equivalent of a general strike." (Photo: Shutterstock)
Posted in Columns Jobs Robert Reich Workers

This isn’t a labor shortage—It’s a strike by workers kicked in the face by low wages for too long

A lot of those now out of work simply don’t want to return to backbreaking, low-wage shit jobs. Why should they? by Robert Reich October 10, 2021 The U.S. added just 194,000 jobs in September, down…

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Posted in Columns Journalism Wade Rathke

Turnabout and fair play on Project Veritas

by Wade Rathke October 8, 2021   New Orleans,     What’s the old saying? An enemy of my enemy is my friend. Something like that, I think. All of which made reading some parts of a…

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Posted in Columns Politics Wade Rathke

Progressives made a power play

by Wade Rathke October 5, 2021 New Orleans    It may be high-low bargaining, but at least progressives played their hands powerfully in order to get to try to get to the maximum number on Biden’s…

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) hobnobs with attendees of a May 17, 2019 event hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)
Posted in Analysis Dark Money Guest Column Restart 2021

So-called ‘centrists’ are really incredibly dangerous extremists

Their supposed “seriousness” poses a serious threat to everyone but the small group of elites whose short-term interests they actually represent. by Peter Bloom Tuesday, October 5, 2021 After a half decade of progressive political gains,…

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Posted in Columns Housing Wade Rathke

Homeownership gap widens

by Wade Rathke September 28, 2021 New Orleans      When I wrote Citizen Wealth, published in 2009, I proudly recorded the role that ACORN played in increasing the homeownership rate of Black and Hispanic Americans…

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Posted in Accountability Columns Environment Wade Rathke

Environmental money scams

by Wade Rathke September 27, 2021 Pearl River    No question. Climate change is a big deal. For every hurricane alert, storm warning, and sudden street flooding, environmental consciousness is rising as quickly as the wind…

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Sen. Joe Manchin opposes making Washington, D.C. the nation's 51st state through the legislative process, arguing that a constitutional amendment is needed for the popular move. (Photo: Al Drago/Washington Post via Getty Images)
Posted in Campaign finance Dark Money Guest Column Politics

Democrats need to stand up to corporate extremists in their own party

Wall Street Democrats are not just resisting progress but putting freedom and democracy in jeopardy. by Peter Bloom September 27, 2021 The progressive optimism that the Biden presidency might lead to real change is quickly fading…

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Posted in Columns Rent Control Wade Rathke

The fight for rent control is global

by Wade Rathke September 25, 2021 Pearl River    Talking to Sydnee Blum, ACORN’s head organizer in eastern Canada on Wade’s World, she told a shocking story of a member in one of the neighborhoods who…

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