Take Me to Your Leader: The Rot of the American Ruling Class
For more than three centuries, something has been going horribly wrong at the top of our society, and we’re all suffering for it.
99 Article(s) by: Doug Henwood
Doug Henwood edits Left Business Observer and is the host of Behind the News. His latest book is My Turn.
Ignore Corporations Whining About the Infrastructure Bill’s Costs. They Can Afford It.
Whatever the size and shape of Joe Biden's proposed infrastructure bill, you can be sure to hear corporate weeping and gnashing of teeth about how they can't afford a tax hike. The truth: they’ve got the money — they just don’t want to share.
American Workers Aren’t Striking
Strikes are the labor movement's muscle, and when unions don't strike, that muscle atrophies. Unfortunately, the latest data shows just how atrophied that muscle is. Simply put, workers aren't striking.
The GameStop Bubble Is a Lesson in the Absurdity and Uselessness of the Stock Market
The online pranksters behind the great GameStop bubble of 2021 are probably going to lose a lot of money. But they’ve done the world a service by reminding us of the utter uselessness of the stock market, an institution that serves no purpose besides making a small number of undeserving people rich.
The US Agriculture System Is a Disaster for Farmworkers and the Planet
US-style industrial farming has ravaged two of the world’s most fertile regions, California’s Central Valley and the Midwest’s corn belt. But we can build an agriculture system that delivers food in a sustainable way — and empowers farmworkers, too.
How Mass Incarceration Was Built in the United States — And How We Can Undo It
With an incarceration rate exceeding 700 people for every 100,000, Americans have built a prison monstrosity that has few parallels in history — destroying untold millions of lives and families in just a few decades. We need to study the economic origins of this mass incarceration system in order to dismantle it.
What a Time to Be Governed by Callous Morons
The latest economic numbers are dismal: GDP is projected to be down 33 percent from the first to second quarter of 2020. Even if we see some recovery soon, the long-term damage — people unemployed, businesses shuttered, confidence hammered — will be massive and lingering.
We Have No Choice But to Be Radical
The United States is facing an unprecedented economic, political, and social breakdown. With the Right discredited and the Democrats out of ideas, now is the time for socialists to think big.
Unemployment Benefits Have Saved the US From Economic Calamity. They Expire at the End of the Month.
The only thing keeping workers in the United States from absolute destitution has been unemployment insurance and other social welfare benefits. If Congress doesn’t extend unemployment benefits at the end of the month, the economy will hurl off a cliff — and millions will be immiserated.
“When You Arrest as Many People as We Do, You Cannot Protect Against Infectious Spread”
A new study finds that American jails — not just prisons — are a major hot spot for spreading coronavirus. The solution is simple: stop arresting so many people.
This Downturn Could Be Worse Than the Early 1930s
We could experience in months what took three or four years to unfold after the 1929 stock market crash. Things are going to be very bad unless we see some serious structural reforms.
Now Is the Time to Fundamentally Transform America
Our economy is crashing hard and fast. But with a bold set of policies, like nationalizing the banks to fund a Green New Deal, we can save millions of workers from untold suffering — and transform the country in the process.
The Robots Are Not Coming for All of Our Jobs
There’s lots of breathless talk these days about robots replacing all of our jobs. But if you look at the data, there’s little indication that’s actually going to happen.
What’s the Point of Impeachment?
Getting rid of Trump would be great, but Congress isn’t going to do it — we actually have to vote him out. And impeachment, a therapeutic ritual for MSNBC hosts and an act of score-settling by the national security state, isn’t helping.
Paul Volcker Was a Hero of the Ruling Class
Paul Volcker, who died yesterday, won't be mourned by this publication. As Federal Reserve chair under Reagan and Carter, he destroyed millions of working-class jobs and pushed a radical neoliberal program.
Twenty Years After We Shut Down the WTO, the Left Is Finally Resurgent
On November 30, 1999, activists shut down the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle. The protests were a thrilling moment during bleak times for the socialist left. Now, years of resistance are finally paying off.
Wall Street Doesn’t Believe Elizabeth Warren Is Serious About Medicare for All
Is Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare-for-All phase-in plan a shrewd, realistic tactical move to win a public health system — or a bait and switch to play to M4A’s popularity without actually fighting for it? Wall Street thinks it’s the latter.
Soaking the Rich Is a Great Start — But It’s Not Enough
We should be clear about what it will take to fund a decent welfare state: not just soaking the rich, but raising taxes across the board — so everyone can have the basics for the good life.
Uber Is a Scam
A glance at the company's recently released prospectus reveals the truth about Uber: it’s a scam.
“Social Democracy at Home Requires Anti-Imperialism Abroad”
An internationalist, anti-imperialist vision has been all but abandoned by the Left. We need to rebuild that vision.