Ronald Reagan’s “Welfare Queen” Lie Has Been Resurrected
To supply bosses with exploitable low-wage workers during a deadly pandemic, Republicans are reviving a grotesque lie: the myth of the “welfare queen.”
21013 Article(s) by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Former Obama Staffer Jay Carney Is Amazon’s Top Flack
Jay Carney went from being Barack Obama’s press secretary to being Amazon’s top flack. But PR is only part of his job — his larger mission is to help Amazon ruthlessly exploit its workforce so it can expand endlessly.
Scott Morrison’s Right-Wing Government Wants to Scrap Austerity — But Only for the Rich
Scott Morrison, Australia’s conservative premier, is selling his 2021 budget as a job-creation package. But in reality, it’s a miserly budget — except when it comes to handouts for business and the wealthy.
The Last Thing We Need Is a More Militarized Border
The hysterical talk about a “crisis at the border” isn’t being used to make the lives of those fleeing violence and poverty any easier. It’s being used to justify shoveling even more money into an enforcement apparatus whose budget has tripled in less than two decades.
Corporate CEOs Won the Pandemic
Since the pandemic began, the biggest corporations have been rewriting their compensation rules to ensure their CEOs continue raking in multimillion dollar payouts. The result: a 29 percent pay hike for the average CEO, even as the average frontline worker has been hit with a 2 percent wage cut.
What Kind of Democracy Kills Children?
Israel claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East. Yet its wanton, murderous bombing campaign in Gaza is slaughtering not just civilians, but scores of children.
Debt Collectors: We Should Be Able to Break Your Legs
The $13 billion debt collection industry is funneling huge amounts of cash to lawmakers in a bid to kill legislation that would finally put some limits on their predatory business model.
We’re Not Self-Employed, We’re Workers
The gig economy is notorious for using bogus self-employment to skirt around labor laws and evade collective bargaining. But in Italy, strikes by couriers have forced major food delivery firms to recognize their employee status — a success that also shows how we can revitalize the wider labor movement.
Keir Starmer’s Televised Meltdown Was Decades in the Making
After last week’s calamitous election for the Labour Party, party leader Keir Starmer was asked to explain his “vision” for Britain. His humiliating inability to answer the question was a window into the hollowness of Britain’s center.
The Welfare State Isn’t About Charity
The current round of partisan shadowboxing around unemployment benefits misses the point: the purpose of a real welfare state is to free people from the drudgery, precarity, and misery of low-wage work.
On Palestine, the Media Is Allergic to the Truth
Once again, the media are trying to depict the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians as a round of meaningless violence from “both sides” of an equally matched contest — the reality on the ground be damned.
American Unemployment Insurance Is a National Disgrace. It’s Time to Federalize It.
The slow, decades-long destruction of the US unemployment insurance system has resulted in more than just personal hardship for millions of workers — it has further weakened the fighting strength of the whole working class. The solution is to fully federalize it.
US Labor Leaders Should Stand With Palestine
The American labor movement’s leadership has long sided with the state of Israel’s war crimes and apartheid over the Palestinian people. That has to change.
Have Democrats Learned Anything?
The Democrats managed to win last November’s presidential election, but what about the next one? Given the party’s dependence on white suburban voters and the threat of resurgent Trumpism, they will most likely double down on their risk-averse 2020 strategy. That will only mean inviting further working-class defections.
Pharma Giants Who Got Rich Off the Opioid Crisis Are Now Desperate to Avoid Accountability
New legislation aims to ensure the executives behind the opioid crisis are held accountable — which is why health care giants are now lobbying furiously against the bill.
There’s Nothing Complicated About What’s Happening in Palestine
We should be absolutely clear about what’s going on in Jerusalem: one of the most militarized nations in the world, Israel, is carrying out its brutal occupation using racist violence and ethnic cleansing.
The Oceans That Keep Capitalism Afloat
From maritime empires to modern logistics, capitalism has been forged on the seas.
Union Nurses in Massachusetts Are Waging the Longest Current Strike in the US
The longest active picket line in the US is in Worcester, Massachusetts, where over 700 union nurses are entering their third month on strike. Their chief demand: safe staffing for patients.
How a Socialist City Councilor Won 100% Affordable Housing in a Gentrifying Chicago Neighborhood
In Chicago’s Logan Square, gentrification has run amok. That didn’t stop socialist city councilor Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and community groups from demanding and winning 100 percent affordable housing in the community’s heart near public transit. Here’s how they did it.
Rich Democratic Lawmakers Stand to Benefit From the SALT Tax Cuts
The benefits of repealing the SALT cap would flow mostly to the wealthy. That includes House Democrats like Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Jamie Raskin, who are pushing the tax cuts and would save a bundle if they pass.