What a difference a day makes Twenty-four little hours Brought the sun and the flowers Where there used to be rain My yesterday was blue, dear My lonely nights are through, dear Since Trump ran to Florida, dear And Biden was sworn in. By Glynn Wilson – KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Glory hallelujah. What a difference…
By Robert Reich – Donald Trump said last Thursday’s jobs report, which showed an uptick in June, proves the economy is “roaring backâ€. Rubbish. The Labor Department gathered the data during the week of June 12, when America was reporting 25,000 new cases of Covid-19 per day. By the time the report was issued last…
By Glynn Wilson – For one of the fews times in Donald Trump’s presidency, his job approval rating has fallen below 40 percent, a harbinger of problems ahead in his drive for reelection in November that could make a second term “unlikely,” according to Gallup. Satisfaction with how things are going in the United States…
In Union there is Strength – “A house divided against itself, cannot stand.” — Abraham Lincoln The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, N.C. — Why can’t I just wake up on one beautiful spring Sunday morning in America and see beyond the view of the mountains a scene of peace,…
Will the politicians in Montgomery listen? – Alabama workers have sent $14 billion in Medicaid taxes to fund health care in other states over the past few years, money that could have been used at home to improve health and the economy – By Glynn Wilson – Simply for the sake of partisan politics, Republicans…
“The necessaries of life for man in this climate may, accurately enough, be distributed under the several heads of Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel; for not till we have secured these are we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect of success.†– Henry David Thoreau, Walden By Glynn…
It was a doozy of a speech, full of iffy facts and false promises. But they loved it… By Glynn Wilson – While many of my liberal and progressive Democrat friends say on Facebook they could not watch Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention Thursday night, or if they did, they called it…
By Dick Polman – With apologies to the climactic song in “Les Miserables,” here are the self-destructive Brits who voted yesterday to exit the European Union. Cue the music! Do you hear the people sing Singing the song of angry men We will crash the British pound Against the dollar and the yen, When the…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – After a couple years trudging through the weeds and thickets of laws, regulations, technical standards, hazard assessments, health effects, economic impacts and other consequences of petroleum storage tanks, Mobile has arrived at nearly the same place it began this trek. On June 11 a three-member subcommittee presented its…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – Thoroughbreds charging around the final turn and down the homestretch. Blinders strapped on the sides of their faces to keep their attention on the finish line straight ahead. Preakness Stakes at Pimlico racetrack in Baltimore. Second leg of the Triple Crown later this week. Delegations of civic leaders…
By Robert Reich – The U.S. economy is picking up steam but most Americans aren’t feeling it. By contrast, most European economies are still in bad shape, but most Europeans are doing relatively well. What’s behind this? Two big facts. First, American corporations exert far more political influence in the United States than their counterparts…
By Jeffrey M. Jones – Forty percent of Americans still regard “the economic power of China” as a critical threat to the vital interests of the United States, although that is down from 52 percent in 2014 and 2013, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject. Since last year, Americans have shifted more…
By Nicholas Sheppard – After a year and a half of poor poll numbers, a Republican takeover of both houses of Congress, a sluggish economic recovery and numerous problems abroad, President Obama’s fortunes may be changing going into 2015. His job approval rating has been trending up in general in recent weeks, reaching 48 percent…
By Robert Reich – This is the time of year when high school seniors apply to college, and when I get lots of mail about whether college is worth the cost. The answer is unequivocally yes, but with one big qualification. I’ll come to the qualification in a moment but first the financial case for…
By Robert Reich – The richest Americans hold more of the nation’s wealth than they have in almost a century. What do they spend it on? As you might expect, personal jets, giant yachts, works of art, and luxury penthouses. And also on politics. In fact, their political spending has been growing faster than their…
By Robert Reich – The President blames himself for the Democrat’s big losses Election Day. “We have not been successful in going out there and letting people know what it is that we’re trying to do and why this is the right direction,” he said Sunday. In other words, he didn’t sufficiently tout the Administration’s…
By Robert Reich – Imagine a system of college education supported by high and growing government spending on elite private universities that mainly educate children of the wealthy and upper-middle class, and low and declining government spending on public universities that educate large numbers of children from the working class and the poor. You can…
By Robert Reich – I was in Seattle, Washington, recently, to congratulate union and community organizers who helped Seattle enact the first $15 per hour minimum wage in the country. Other cities and states should follow Seattle’s example. Contrary to the dire predictions of opponents, the hike won’t cost Seattle jobs. In fact, it will…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – How was I to know 10 years ago that we would end up where we are now? I was living in Alexandria, Virginia working for States News Service and free-lancing as a reporter for the likes of Time magazine covering stories related to the Abu Ghraib torture…
By Robert Reich – I spent several days in New York last week with students from around the country who were preparing to head into the heartland to help organize Walmart workers for better jobs and wages. (Full familial disclosure: My son Adam is one of the leaders.) Almost exactly fifty years ago a similar…
