Is a Trump Slump on the Way?
The American economy seems headed in the opposite direction of the “golden age” Donald Trump promised in his inaugural address.
73 Article(s) by: Doug Henwood
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Doug Henwood edits Left Business Observer and is the host of Behind the News. His latest book is My Turn.
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Will Deepen Inequality
Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is an ugly policy that will punish the poorest, worsen inequality, and blow up the national debt.
We Have Always Lived in the Casino
John Maynard Keynes warned that when real investment becomes the by-product of speculation, the result is often disaster. But it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
A Bill for Trump’s Madness Will Come Due
Donald Trump once said that under him, we would “get tired of winning.” As the United States sees credit downgrades, deep budget cuts, and potential fiscal crises, the wins are pretty hard to find.
Liberals’ Favorite Election Story Is Wrong
Exit polls from 2016 to 2024 reveal surprising shifts among voters, undermining liberal tropes about racism and patriarchy driving Trump support. It’s time for new theories about America’s political divides.
It Was Always About Inflation
Simply put, Donald Trump owes his reelection to inflation and to the fact that the Biden administration did little to address the problem in a way that helped working-class families.
Trumponomics
What kind of economic policy could we expect from a second Trump term?
Not Taxing Tips Is a Bad Idea
Servers and other tipped workers desperately need better pay. Donald Trump’s blurted-out proposal not to tax tips, now copied by Kamala Harris, isn’t the way to achieve it.
How the Ruling Class Became Vulgar
Old-money WASPs once ruled America with an air of clannish exclusivity. Then the economic crises of the 1970s upended their world, opening the corporate floodgates to new-money barbarians — and replacing elite social norms with wanton money lust.
Is the “Vibecession” Over?
Consumer confidence is up, and inflation is down. But will the economy improve enough by November to buoy Biden’s flagging reelection prospects?
How Private Equity Was Born
Private equity, now a major presence in the US economic landscape, has been booming since the 2008 financial crisis. Its roots lie in the rise of the corporation at the turn of the century and the shareholder revolution of the 1980s.
Despite Worker Militancy, Union Rates Are Still Down
Despite an apparent upsurge in labor militancy, unions made no gains in their share of the workforce last year. Something needs to change — and fast.
Bidenomics Puts Business, Not Workers, First
The Biden economy's defenders claim it is delivering big gains to workers. But people are still feeling pain in their wallets and the rich are the ones benefiting the most.
Inflation Is Hurting Average People Right Now
The standard left analysis of inflation says it’s a concern of elites and not the masses. This couldn’t be more wrong: working people are the ones suffering under inflation.
Yes, You Should Worry About Inflation
For a generation, the Left dismissed any concerns about inflation as elite fearmongering. But now inflation is here. And it’s hurting workers more than anyone.
Corporate America’s Tax Bill Is Miniscule. Corporations Are Still Whining.
The average corporate tax rate in the 1950s was 50 percent. Today, it’s below 20 percent. Yet the US business class is still whining about the modest tax increase on corporations in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Austerity Is Causing America to Rot
If it seems like nothing works anymore in the US, you’re not imagining things. Record-low public investment and declining private investment have given us a failing, decrepit infrastructure.
The CHIPS Act Is a Massive Giveaway to Tech Companies
President Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS Act earlier this week. It’s a massive giveaway to the semiconductor industry, which has spent the last decade padding the pockets of CEOs and stockholders with billions upon billions of dollars in stock buybacks.
Fewer Americans Are Identifying as Middle-Class
According to Gallup polls, the number of Americans who self-identify as below middle-class, including those who identify as working-class, is on the rise — a rise especially pronounced among those age 18–34.
More Workers Are Quitting Their Jobs in Red States With Low Union Rates
Talk of the “Great Resignation“ is everywhere. But a close look at the numbers reveals something interesting: more workers are quitting their jobs in Trump-voting states with low unionization rates than in states with high unionization rates that rejected Trump.