Nationalize All the Oil Companies
The price of oil and the myriad horrors of climate change that oil exacerbates make it too important for us to leave in the free market’s hands. The oil companies should be nationalized.
154 Articles by: Matt Bruenig
Matt Bruenig is the founder of People’s Policy Project.
Why We Need the Welfare State
You can redistribute income and power from capital to labor. But if you want to make sure that the final income distribution is sensitive to differences in household composition, there is no substitute for a universal welfare state.
Did the Pandemic Give Modern Monetary Theory a Tryout?
The New York Times suggests that Modern Monetary Theory had a real moment in the sun after the pandemic-induced economic contraction. But monetary and fiscal stimulus is just the normal way of responding to recessions.
Marco Rubio Wants to Bring Back Company Unionism
Some segments of the Republican Party have tried concocting a “working-class conservatism” lately. Marco Rubio’s new “Teamwork” bill offers more of the same: it’s a proposal supposedly designed to empower workers that is actually about busting their unions.
Rashida Tlaib Just Introduced a Landmark Bill to Dramatically Slash Child Poverty
This week, Rashida Tlaib and Mondaire Jones introduced the End Child Poverty Act in Congress. It’s a watershed bill that would bring the US in line with social democratic countries that boast the world’s lowest child poverty rates.
Does Inflation Discredit Left-Wing Policies?
The Right loves to point to inflation as some kind of proof that left-wing economic ideas don’t work. They’re wrong.
We Should Nationalize Tyson Foods
Meatpackers are colluding with each other to generate superprofits at the expense of everyone else. Nationalizing one of them isn’t particularly radical — it’s a commonsense policy solution.
There’s Absolutely No Reason We Shouldn’t Be Cutting Child Poverty
We often hear that if you increase benefits for low-income parents, they’ll just squander it on drugs and alcohol. But the best research shows that’s elitist nonsense — giving money to poor people is exactly what we need to be doing.
Nordic Social Democracy Is Good for Everybody Except the Rich
Thanks to social democratic policies, the bottom 60 percent of Danes are better off than the bottom 60 percent of Americans. Even middle-class Danes benefit from a strong welfare state. The only group that doesn’t? The rich.
Democrats Chose Bad Policy Over Truly Universal Childcare
Democrats’ half-baked childcare proposal opened itself up to Republican attacks. There’s an easy solution: scrap the byzantine and expensive scheme Dems have concocted, and just give everyone universal childcare.
Universal Benefits Make Sense. Means-Testing Doesn’t.
Universal benefits aren’t merely the morally just way to carry out welfare policies. They are also the smart way to carry out welfare policies.
The Democrats’ Childcare Plan Is Disastrous. These Graphs Explain Why.
Democrats are deliberately choosing to put forward a childcare plan that will be completely disastrous for millions of American families.
No, Workers Aren’t Striking Because of Vaccine Mandates
The ongoing strike wave in the US has little to do with vaccine mandates. Workers are striking because the labor market is relatively tight — and they smartly see that they have leverage against employers.
Democrats’ Paid Leave Proposal Isn’t Actually Universal. It Can and Should Be.
There’s no reason why the Dems’ paid parental leave program can’t cover everyone.
Democrats Are About to Massively Spike Childcare Prices for Working-Class Families
The Democratic Party’s current childcare proposal would raise costs on many moderate-earning households by $13,000. It’s not clear the party realizes the disaster it’s about to thrust these families into.
McDonald’s Workers in Denmark Won Good Pay and Benefits Through Striking
In Denmark, McDonald’s workers receive $22 per hour and 6 weeks of vacation. But it’s not because Danish capitalists are more enlightened — it’s because, when McDonald’s entered the country in the 1980s, unions launched mass strikes and boycotts.
35 Million Americans Are Losing Unemployment Income Today
Pandemic unemployment benefits expire today, leaving 10 percent of the US population with dramatically less household income.
Unemployment Benefit Cuts Don’t Even Succeed on Their Own Terms
There’s still time to avoid major unemployment cuts in twenty-four states. A look at the data makes it obvious: states that have already cut benefits should reinstate them, and states that haven’t should maintain them.
Recent Unemployment Cuts Made People Poorer Without Increasing Employment
The media breathlessly reported on labor shortages this summer, helping generate support for unemployment benefit cuts. But a new study shows such cuts didn’t do much but devastate poor people’s incomes.
In 40 Days, 20 Million Workers in the US Will Lose Unemployment Benefits
Twenty-five Republican-led states have cut unemployment benefits, doing enormous damage to millions of workers. And in 40 days, 20 million more workers will lose their unemployment if Democrats don’t act.