May 12 Inequality will worsen in America unless… Piketty’s Rx By Thomas Piketty The author of today's best-selling book about economics predicts that inequality is bound to get worse. His advocacy for an international tax on capital is well-known by now, but what else does he think can stem the tide of wealth… Continue reading
May 09 Ask yourself, says a notorious ‘Occupy’ academic, should your job exist? By David Graeber Increasingly, anthropologist and Occupy activist David Graeber argues, American workers are paid to look busy. The expansion of our days with meaningless work and the growth of entire industries that shouldn't exist, Graeber writes, fuel resentment toward "real" professions like… Continue reading
May 08 Watch Hefty child care costs present catch-22 for working parents By PBS News Hour In most of the country, child care is the most expensive part of the family budget. Infant care now costs more than state college tuition in many places. But while it might demand a luxury price, offering important advantages to… Continue watching
May 08 When it’s cheaper for parents to stay home than pay for child care By Simone Pathe The high cost of child care is squeezing many low-income parents who want to work full-time but have to stay home with their children because they cannot afford appropriate care for their kids. Continue reading
May 08 Watch Hefty child care costs present catch-22 for working parents By PBS News Hour Continue watching
May 07 Capitalism in Cuba? It’s closer than the U.S. may think By Lewis Mandell Cuba is well into a carefully planned transition to a market-based economy. But you wouldn't know that from America's recent efforts to destabilize the government. Any U.S. meddling, like USAID's Twitter-like message service in Cuba, will only set back that… Continue reading
May 05 10 ways the class of 2014 can beat the economic odds By Laurence Kotlikoff It's a tough economy out there, particularly for college seniors about to graduate. Economist Larry Kotlikoff tells it like it is, arming graduates with a philosophy that will make their financial futures more secure. Continue reading
May 02 Where are the April showers in the jobs report? By Paul Solman April's jobs report looks sunny: the lowest unemployment rate since fall 2008 and more jobs added to the economy than expected. But don't hang up the umbrellas just yet: nearly a million more people in April than in March told… Continue reading
May 01 OK, $15 an hour minimum wage in Seattle, but plus tips? By Tom Douglas Should Seattle waiters really receive a higher minimum wage when they earn tips on top of what's already the highest minimum wage in the country? Restaurant owner Tom Douglas, who voluntarily instituted a $15 wage for his cooks, doesn't think… Continue reading
Apr 30 Donald Sterling’s ‘plantation’: the corrupt economy of NBA franchises By Christopher Mackin Donald Sterling's racist comments aside, his ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers exposes a systematic problem with the corporate ownership structure of NBA franchises and the American workplace. Continue reading