Archive for April, 2008
Global Food Fights
A great commentary on the crisis in global food security from the Americas Program. “For the first time since widespread famines devastated whole populations, serious doubts about global food supply have gripped societies throughout the world. The problem this time is not so much the quantity of food produced (if it ever was), but what ...Read more.
The Opportunity Costs of War
Rep. Dave Obey (D-WI), the chair of the Appropriations Committee, has put out a nice list of what economists refer to as opportunity costs of the United States war in Iraq. WAR COSTS: OPPORTUNITIES LOST WASHINGTON – The war in Iraq is costing our country $339 million every day.Every day we spend in Iraq means ...Read more.
Born on Third Base?
Peter Wagner of the Prison Policy Initiative sent us this link to a recent article in Slate magazine. The article cites the curious phenomenon that professional baseball players are much more likely to be born in August than July. The author theorizes that August babies aren’t naturally better at baseball — they’re just older than ...Read more.
UMass Research on the Changing Retail Workforce
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, including Dollars & Sense associate Chris Tilly, have completed a national study, “The Changing World of Work in US Retail Trade.” The researchers conducted 18 case studies of employees in food and consumer electronics retail businesses, focusing on recent transformations in the retail sector and their consequences for the ...Read more.
Tax Day Thoughts on Social Security
On Tax Day, we recommend to you a recently-posted article from our March/April issue, Go Ahead and Lift the Cap, in which economist and D&S collective member John Miller responds to a Clinton campaign flyer claim about Obama’s proposal to raise the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes. To her credit, Hillary Clinton ...Read more.
Conference-Goers Push for Labor Solidarity, Rebound From Disruption
This from the staff of Labor Notes: a report on their annual conference, which was held this past weekend in Dearborn, Mich. D&S co-editor Amy Gluckman was in attendance. More than 1,000 union activists and supporters met at the Labor Notes conference April 11-13 to strategize and debate how to rebuild the labor movement’s power. ...Read more.
Finance, Imperialism, and the Hegemony of the Dollar
Economist and D&S collective member Ramaa Vasudevan has an article in the current (April) issue of Monthly Review. It appears to be available only in the print edition; here is the abstract: Finance, Imperialism, and the Hegemony of the DollarRamaa Vasudevan The July–August 2007 crisis in subprime mortgage markets precipitated the collapse of the market ...Read more.
Microfinance’s Success Sets Off a Debate in Mexico
From Saturday’s New York Times: Microfinance’s Success Sets Off a Debate in Mexico By ELISABETH MALKINPublished: April 5, 2008 VILLA DE VÁZQUEZ, Mexico — Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe turned a nonprofit that lent money to Mexico’s poor into one of the country’s most profitable banks. But not all of their colleagues in the world ...Read more.
March unemployment numbers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its March unemployment numbers on Friday, and the news is grim: The unemployment rate rose from 4.8 to 5.1 percent in March, and nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down (-80,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the past 3 months, ...Read more.
A New Deal for the 21st Century
An upcoming conference, related to Ryan Dodd’s feature article in the current issue of D&S, A New WPA?, which addresses “employer of last resort” policies for full employment. A New Deal for the 21st Century As income and wealth inequality approach levels not seen since the dawn of the Great Depression, we invite you to ...Read more.
