progressive politics and regressive entertainment. like peanut and butter.
June 21, 2012 1 Comment
Boing Boing pointed me to this advertisement from Whisper Magazine (November, 1959). I’m sure that it was an illusion even at the time, but how strange it seems now — not that there were this particular mix of jobs and job training, but that there was a collective dream in the United States that a middle class (of white people, at least) could learn practical jobs which might make them a practical living.
May 4, 2012 3 Comments
Given today’s lukewarm jobs numbers, it’s worth taken a look at the following chart, which accompanies a ThinkProgress article written by Michael Linden. Could Democrats please start arguing with more force for the positive role that government can play? (Thank you very much.)
Under President Obama, the private sector has experienced a relatively robust recovery, and is now back to where it started when he took office. The public sector continues to shed jobs, and as a result, the overall jobs picture in the US remains weak. If you want to understand why conservative efforts to slash funding for teachers, firefighters, cops is bad for the economy, look no further than this graph.
February 7, 2012 Leave a comment
The best assessment I’ve seen so far of last Friday’s job numbers is — no surprise here — by Paul Krugman, who can be trusted when he says…
So here’s what needs to be said about the latest numbers: yes, we’re doing a bit better, but no, things are not O.K. — not remotely O.K. This is still a terrible economy, and policy makers should be doing much more than they are to make it better.
Of course, progressive economists have been much more realistic about the economy all through the downturn. Maybe the “policy elite” will start to listen now that it’s an election year?
January 15, 2012 1 Comment
Talking Points Memo put together a video mash-up of Mitt Romney’s dwindling job creation claims, which began at over one hundred thousand, became tens of thousands, and now stands at thousands. Meaning that the truth is…?
