Archive for 2008
Andy Stern's 'Team America'
This item is from seiuvoice.org, a reform group within SEIU. Hat-tip to Doug Henwood. December 17th, 2008 Andy Stern was featured this week on the NPR show Talk of the Nation. After refusing to answer several questions about SEIU’s connection to the “pay-to-play” corruption scandal involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, he spent the rest of ...Read more.
Closures & Layoffs (Dec. 14-20)
The weekly report from Mark Heschmeyer of the CoStar Group. See Mark’s note below on looking elsewhere on the CoStar site for holiday cheer–we didn’t find much (it is a real-estate site, after all). Actually, the estimate that there are only 116,000 layoffs reported so far for December makes the month look better than November, ...Read more.
Where Have All the Billions Gone?
From the Inter-Press Service: A new U.S. investigative panel is demanding answers from the U.S. Treasury about how the agency has spent money from the 700-billion-dollar bailout fund. The Congressional Oversight Panel, a four-person board authorized by Congress and led by consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren of Harvard Law School, is charged with finding out what ...Read more.
Dollar's Slump Erases Months Of Gains
From today’s Washington Post. Keep your eye out for the cover story in our January/February issue, which will address, among other things, whether the dollar will remain the world’s reserve currency. By Anthony Faiola Washington Post Staff Writer |Thursday, December 18, 2008 The dollar yesterday staged one of its biggest one-day drops against the euro ...Read more.
The End of Pensions?
By Shamus Cooke | December 15, 2008 Unless things change fast, human history will show that the phenomenon of “retirement” was limited to one generation. After World War II, when European and Japanese economies stood in tatters, American capitalism could fulfill “the American dream,” since there was little foreign competition to speak of. For the ...Read more.
Destroying What the UAW Built
From yesterday’s Washington Post: By Harold MeyersonWednesday, December 17, 2008; A17 In 1949, a pamphlet was published that argued that the American auto industry should pursue a different direction. Titled “A Small Car Named Desire,” the pamphlet suggested that Detroit not put all its bets on bigness, that a substantial share of American consumers would ...Read more.
Chrysler Shuts All 30 US Plants For One Month
From the Washington Post: Chrysler announced today that it will close all 30 of its auto manufacturing plants for at least a month starting at the end of shifts on Friday as it tries to conserve cash and avoid bankruptcy amid plunging demand for its vehicles. The company, the third-largest U.S. automaker, said in a ...Read more.
Judge Places Madoff Under House Arrest
Recently posted to the WSJ website. If you didn’t think it was possible for Bernie Madoff’s alleged $50bn ponzi scheme to get any juicier, it turns out that U.S. Atty General Michael Mukasey’s son, Marc Mukasey will be working for the defense. He works for Bracewell & Giuliani (where Rudi is a partner); one of ...Read more.
Auto Bust Could Cost Millions of Jobs
Some sobering numbers from EPI: The United States cannot afford to sacrifice the domestic auto industry. A shutdown would eliminate up to 3.3 million U.S. jobs within the next year in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The loss of total state employment would be anywhere from 4.0% to 8.9% in Michigan, Indiana, ...Read more.
Inside Account of Activism in Greece
This is a letter forwarded to us from D&S collective member Amee Chew (sent to her from a friend of hers), with more details about the situation in Greece–lots of good inside info and links. Friends, I don’t know if others have been following the daily news of what is unfolding in Greece. The press ...Read more.
