The Democrats Are Choosing to Rely on Corporate Donors
New reporting shows the Democratic Party outpacing the GOP in the dark money arms race. You can’t “save democracy” by embracing the very forces ranged against it.
440 Article(s) by: Luke Savage
Luke Savage is the author of The Dead Center: Reflections on Liberalism and Democracy After the End of History and a writer on Substack.
Good Luck Protecting Democracy Without Unions
New research shows that unions don’t just boost wages at the workplace — they bring a broad range of social benefits. Simply put, if you don’t have strong unions, you probably don’t have a strong democracy.
NFTs Are, Quite Simply, Bullshit
NFTs are emblematic of capitalism’s growing retreat from productive activity — and the wealthy’s desire to extend their dominion into the digital ether. They’re worse than useless.
The Florida GOP Is Trying to Legislate Corporate Tyranny Over Local Governments
A chilling bill in the Florida legislature aims to punish local governments for passing measures that impede private profits. It’s yet another example of the Republican animus toward democracy — and a warning sign about where national Republicans could be headed.
They Shoot Bunny Rabbits, Don’t They?
Yet again this week, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki dismissed legitimate questions about Biden’s governance, sarcastically referring to “bunny rabbits and ice cream.” It’s an admission that this administration and its party are incapable of delivering what they promise.
How the New York Times Covered Two Transit Strikes, 42 Years Apart
The vastly disparate NY Times coverage of two NYC transit strikes illustrates the dramatic transformation of mainstream coverage of working-class life in recent years. As media companies chase an upper-crust audience, workers have been erased.
Thanks to US Sanctions, Afghans Are Starving
The plight of the Afghan people was crucial for pundits and journalists — as long as they had a war to defend. Now that US troops are gone, Joe Biden's sanctions are causing starvation and suffering — and the media has been astonishingly silent.
Canadian Workers Suffered Under COVID While Their Bosses Made a Killing
By the time they clocked out for lunch on January 4, Canada’s most lavishly paid CEOs had already made the average worker’s annual salary. It’s yet another reminder of the unequal burdens borne during the pandemic.
Maine’s Democratic Governor Just Ran Roughshod Over the Rights of Workers
Farmworkers are among the most exploited workers in the country, and a bill in solid-blue Maine would have finally given them basic labor rights. But the state's Democratic governor just vetoed the bill.
Elizabeth Holmes Embodied the Lies at the Heart of Silicon Valley
The bizarre tale of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’s years-long defrauding of many of the world’s most “sophisticated” investors and celebrities highlights the mendacity and self-deception that drive Silicon Valley tech culture.
Joe Biden and the Democrats Will Pay a Heavy Price for Betraying Young Voters
The Biden administration has reneged on key promises that candidate Biden used to entice younger voters to turn out for him in 2020. Surprise: his approval ratings with the young are now in free fall.
Don’t Listen to Centrists When They Say Good Things Are “Politically Impossible”
The Biden administration’s U-turn on distributing millions of COVID tests free of charge — after White House spokesperson Jen Psaki ridiculed the idea two weeks ago — is a case study in how meaningless claims of “political impossibility” often are.
Entertainment Monopolies Are Zombifying Mass Culture
Mass culture is becoming a museum dedicated to itself, its artifacts curated by an ever-narrowing family of conglomerates. Nowhere is that clearer than in the decline of The Simpsons, whose groundbreaking satire was killed by monopoly capitalism.
Billionaire Space Flights Are a Carbon Bomb That Will Destroy the Planet
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are dead set on expanding commercial space flight — even though a single person taking one of their carbon-spewing joy rides will produce more pollution in a few minutes than people belonging to 1/8th of the world population will in their entire lives.
Nancy Pelosi’s Defense of Political Insider Trading Is Orwellian
It’s hard to think of anything more symbolic of America’s gilded and decadent ruling class than elected officials owning pieces of the very economy they’re officially charged with managing.
The Job Market Is Strong — but Not Strong Enough to Chip Away at Corporate Profits
Thanks to COVID-related developments like expanded unemployment insurance, US workers have seen wages increase. But corporate profits have grown even more — meaning labor’s share of the economic pie is still small compared to its 20th-century peak.
Jen Psaki Is Annoyed by the Very Thought of Free COVID Tests for All
The White House spokesperson was asked why the administration doesn’t just send out free COVID tests, as other countries do. Her mindless, condescending response was a reminder that the Democrats are still the party of Aetna.
The Chris Cuomo Affair Is an Indictment of America’s Elite Media Culture
Chris Cuomo abused his platform at CNN to help his politically besieged brother. It was flagrantly unethical, but in keeping with the culture of complete unaccountability for unethical abuse that American media elites have long enjoyed.
Making Health Care “Accessible and Affordable” Isn’t the Same as Making It Universal and Free
Centrist Democrats use phrases like “accessible and quality health care” to sound like they support reforming the broken US health care system while avoiding the only genuine reform: removing health care from the market altogether.
Big Pharma Is Making a Killing From Vaccine Apartheid
With the spread of the new Omicron variant and low levels of vaccination throughout much of the world, there’s still no real end to COVID in sight. It’s bad news for global public health — but great news for big pharmaceutical companies.