Doing the Math on Walmart: Average Take-Home Pay Barely Covers the Basics
The past week has seen nationwide protests against low wages paid by Walmart, the nation's largest retailer and by fast-food chains. In an effort to counter the rising tide of criticism as...
View ArticleWhat If
1982, I was graduating high school. Like millions of other students all over America, I was hoping for a spot in one of our prestigious colleges for Public Policy or Teaching. Waiting for the letter to...
View ArticleUnited States Is Now the Most Unequal of All Advanced Economies
The United States has such an unequal distribution of wealth so that it's in the league of corrupt underdeveloped countries, no longer in the league of the developed nations, according to the latest...
View ArticleHappy Birthday, Professor Chomsky
Noam Chomsky celebrates his birthday today. After 40 years of activism he remains a potent symbol of dissent. Chomsky remains a coherent critic of United States foreign policy. His predictions about...
View ArticleCongressman Mario Diaz-Balart Becomes an Immigration Fabulist
In a recent interview on my radio program, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) was agitated. Desperate to provide cover to House Republicans for torpedoing immigration reform -- the reform he once...
View ArticleWhy Republicans Can't Address Rising Inequality
So far, the Republican response to President Obama's historic address on economic inequality has not veered from the predictable clichés of Tea Party rhetoric. It was appropriately summarized in a...
View ArticleStealing From Federal Civil Servants: You May Be Next
Imagine that an employer wishes he hadn't paid you so much in the past, so he goes into your bank account and takes what he wants. Sound outrageous? That's essentially what the federal government may...
View ArticleTime for a Holiday That Brings Full Employment
Friday's unemployment figures of 7%, while perhaps slightly more cheerful than expected, still mean that roughly 11 million people are out of work and that the U.S. economic recovery remains stubbornly...
View ArticleThe NRA Doesn't Belong in Your Doctor's Office
As we approach the Newtown anniversary, everyone's going to weigh in with their thoughts about guns. Here's mine. I believe the NRA is more right than wrong in questioning the motives of many of the...
View ArticleIs Economics a Religion?
Economics(1) has many attributes of a religion: Its high priests argue about arcane minutia, offer prophecies which don't come to pass, and taking them seriously requires a leap of faith. Any serious...
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Washington Sends Nobel Laureates Off to Sweden in Style
Our nation's capital had the honor of feting the nine American Nobel Laureates before they headed to Oslo for the official celebration. Medicine Nobels: James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman, Thomas C....
View ArticleRedistribution: The 'R' Word
The President has announced that he wants to tackle inequality and the lack of upward mobility for poor Americans. He has many ideas for doing so, and many involve redistribution. But he smartly avoids...
View ArticleBlue Collar Men
Women are doing better in today's economy. They still face major headwinds but their unemployment rate is significantly lower than men's and they have been gaining ground. Blue-collar men on the other...
View ArticleA Bit of Nuance on the Minimum Wage
When it comes to DC policy debates, we tend to devolve pretty quickly into "you're either fer it, or you're agin it." This thought came to me this week when a number of people asked me to comment on...
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Consensus Among World's Leading Experts: Marijuana Is a Botanical Medicine!
The more than 70 years of ignoring the fact that cannabis is a safe, effective botanical medicine is officially over. The American Herbal Pharmacopeia (AHP) has just sent to press a monograph that...
View ArticleRemembering the Greatest Political Leader of the 20th Century: Nelson Mandela
Today I had the great honor of saying an opening prayer at the National Cathedral's memorial service for Nelson Mandela, the most important political leader of the 20th century. This was an honor, not...
View ArticleThe Backwardness of ENDA Opposition
Ted Kennedy once declared, "The promise of America will never be fulfilled as long as justice is denied to even one among us." In a country whose citizens love to talk about how America is all about...
View ArticleDon't Risk Peaceful Elimination of Iran's Nuclear Weapons Capabilities by...
Today I spoke on the Senate floor about preventing Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon. Below is full text of the speech. Video is available on my YouTube channel. Mr. President, I want to speak...
View ArticleThe United States' Contribution to Nelson Mandela Belonging to the Ages
The words of Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton are once again appropriate to describe the passing of Nelson Mandela. As Abraham Lincoln took his last breath in the early morning of April 15, 1865,...
View ArticleUruguay: The Coolest Country on Earth
By Chris Simunek Despite the fact that the temperature in its capital city reached a balmy 79 degrees today, Uruguay just became the coolest nation on the planet. The other 195 countries squatting...
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