There’s Absolutely No Reason to Means Test the Stimulus Checks
Means testing is bad politics and bad policy. Democrats should stop worrying and just pass a bill with $2,000 stimulus checks for everyone, no questions asked.
68 Article(s) by: Ben Beckett
Ben Beckett is an American writer in Vienna.
Throw the Book at Rick Snyder for Poisoning Flint’s Water
Former Michigan governor Rick Snyder suspended democracy for the majority of the state’s black residents, then oversaw Flint residents’ poisoning in the city’s ongoing water crisis. As of today, he’s facing well-deserved criminal neglect charges.
Socialist Architect Josef Frank’s Modernism Was All About Freedom
The Austrian socialist architect Josef Frank resisted modernists who wanted to make homes look like workplaces — an idea with new resonance in an age when so many of us are working from home and feel like we can't escape from our work.
Canceling Student Debt Is Very Good. Biden Won’t Do It Unless We Make Him.
Joe Biden is backing a minuscule student debt relief plan that would leave millions in debt while giving private lenders a bailout. We need to abolish all student debt, plain and simple.
The New York Post Is Terrified That Socialists’ Demands Are Popular and Their Methods Are Democratic
The New York Post is screaming that if the city isn’t careful, socialists will “really take over.” The paper is terrified that average New Yorkers actually like the socialist platform — and that socialists are very good at organizing to win it.
If Joe Biden Wants to Win Big, He Should Pledge to Cancel Student Debt
It’s not just the right thing to do — canceling student debt would be insanely popular and not very difficult. If Joe Biden’s supporters are serious about him winning, they should pressure him hard to do it.
The Milwaukee Bucks Just Went on Strike. You Can, Too.
To protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bucks sat out Game 5 of the NBA playoffs — and forced the entire league to shut down. The Bucks players are workers who shut down their workplace with a strike. You can go on strike, too.
Chicago Teachers Threatened a Strike. Hours Later, Chicago Schools Went Remote.
The Chicago Teachers Union threatened a strike in response to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s refusal to move city schools to remote learning for the fall. Hours later, the mayor caved. Strikes work — and during a pandemic, they can save lives.
Despite Their Union Leaders’ Arguments Against Medicare for All, Nevada’s Culinary Workers Chose Bernie
Leaders of Nevada’s Culinary Union Local 226 said Bernie Sanders would take away the union’s healthcare plan. The union’s members caucused for him anyway.
Any Union That Doesn’t Endorse Bernie Sanders Is Leaving a Huge Pile of Money on the Table
Bernie Sanders announced a massive new labor plan today. One plank in particular on Medicare for All and union contracts stood out to me as a unionized worker: a rule that would give me and my coworkers an enormous monthly raise.
A Betrayal of New York City Carpenters
New York carpenters are facing a disastrous two-tier contract filled with cuts for new workers. Rank-and-file carpenters have to fight back against the union leaders who rammed it down their throats.
Bernie Sanders’s Campaign Is Different
A new video from the Bernie Sanders campaign is proof: Sanders has used his bully pulpit to amplify workers’ struggles around the country, in a way no national politician in the United States has done before now.
Bernie to Student Loan Sharks: Drop Dead
Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Pramila Jayapal just introduced a plan to completely eliminate student debt. Now let’s fight like hell for it.
What Bernie Sanders and His Supporters Can Learn from Salvador Allende
As Bernie Sanders’s campaign gets underway, questions of how socialists should relate to voters and the state have become more pressing. Few historical figures provide more insight on this front than democratic socialist Salvador Allende’s government in Chile.
As President, Bernie Should Cancel All Student Debt
The billions of dollars in student loan debt are an economic and moral crisis. Bernie Sanders should promise to wipe it all out.
Sickouts and Strike Threats Stopped the Government Shutdown
Just last night, there was no end to the government shutdown in sight. But when airport workers started calling in sick and raising the threat of a strike, everything suddenly changed.
A Strike by Flight Attendants, Pilots, or Air Traffic Controllers Could Stop the Shutdown
We don't need a full-on general strike to stop the federal shutdown. A strike by small groups of workers — pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight attendants — would force the government to reopen.
This Is How We Do It
Mainstream politicians and media are losing their minds over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They're terrified of how her approach could transform American politics.
A House Divided
Medicare for All would be a tremendous boon to unions. So why is New York’s labor movement divided on the campaign for it?
How Federal Workers Could Fight the Shutdown
Federal workers have dealt with low pay, degraded working conditions, and repeated employer lockouts. If they want to improve their conditions, they’ll have to organize.