Stories by Peter Dreier

Peter Dreier is professor of politics at Occidental College. His new book, The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame, will be published by Nation Books at the end of 2011. He writes regularly for the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and American Prospect. subscribe to Peter Dreier's feed

Meet the Bank Exec Fighting to Foreclose on a Wheelchair-Bound Cancer Patient

Posted on: Oct 1, 2012, Source: AlterNet

It's time to name the top executives whose decisions ripped off consumers and put cities and states at the precipice of fiscal ruin due to declining property values and revenues.

Mitt's Many Mansions and the Foreclosure Crisis

Posted on: Aug 6, 2012, Source: AlterNet

It is time for reporters following Mitt to start asking him some questions about the crisis we face in our housing markets.

NRA's Wayne LaPierre Has Blood on His Hands for Aurora Shooting and Many Others

Posted on: Jul 24, 2012, Source: AlterNet

LaPierre didn't pull the trigger, but he's the NRA's hit man when it comes to intimidating elected officials to oppose any kind of gun control.

Scott Walker Spent 88% of the Money to Get 53% of the Vote

Posted on: Jun 5, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Can Rush Keep It Up? Is Limbaugh Losing His Potency--Politically, at Least?

Posted on: Mar 5, 2012, Source: Consortium News

Newt Distorts Food Stamp Facts to Demonize the Poor and Attack Obama

Posted on: Jan 6, 2012, Source: Huffington Post

Grover Norquist's Real Game: Shifting Power and Wealth to the 1 Percent

Posted on: Dec 20, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Norquist's real mission has been government that serves corporate America.

Make Wall St. Pay for the Catastrophe They Caused: New Bill Would Fine Banks $20,000 for Each Forclosure

Posted on: May 1, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Wall Street's predatory lending practices are responsible for the mess we're now in. Why make severe cuts to state budgets even as Wall Street keeps making bank?

Like Glenn Beck, Maine Gov LePage Rails Against "Communist" Artwork

Posted on: Apr 1, 2011, Source: Huffington Post

The kulturkampf against working people.

Unions, Big Business and the Forgotten Lessons of a Disaster that Killed Dozens of Workers 100 Years Ago this Month

Posted on: Mar 14, 2011, Source: AlterNet

On March 25, 1911, 146 garment workers perished after a fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

Is Glenn Beck Sinking?

Posted on: Feb 9, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Has Beck gone too far even for Fox News and his conservative viewers?

Who Needs Lobbyists? Darrell Issa Asks GOP's Corporate Masters for a Wish-List of Deregulation

Posted on: Jan 6, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Issa wants to hand the government over to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a who's who of corporate America.

Fighting Back Against the Dangerous Lies Spewed by Right-Wing Propagandist Andrew Breitbart

Posted on: Jul 25, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Breitbart spreads lies and distortions to advance a right-wing agenda, embarrass liberals, and undermine the Obama administration. We must fight back.

How a 77-Year-Old Visionary Author Became the Target of a Far-Ranging Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory

Posted on: Mar 24, 2010, Source: AlterNet

The bizarre tale of how Frances Fox Piven came to be seen as the author of a blueprint for a radical takeover of American society by paranoid conservatives.

Why It's Essential to Pass the Health Care Bill, Then Improve It

Posted on: Dec 28, 2009, Source: AlterNet

Progressives take heed: Killing a bill that could save thousands is not good politics; it's like stealing food from the mouths of hungry children.

Holy Cow, Is Congress Getting Serious About Real Health Care Reform?

Posted on: Oct 25, 2009, Source: The Nation

There is still no guarantee that a progressive bill will end up on Obama's desk. But the chorus in favor of the public option is getting louder.

Corporate Media Performing Miserably in Health Care Debate

Posted on: Oct 8, 2009, Source: AlterNet

If it bleeds, it leads. So what happens when demonstrators play nice?

Citizens Confront Wellpoint: Giant Insurer a Poster-Child for Abusive Practices

Posted on: Sep 22, 2009, Source: Huffington Post

The action is part of a wave of protests sweeping over big insurers opposing health reform.

How Obama Can Leverage the Chicago Factory Sit-In to Help American Workers

Posted on: Dec 9, 2008, Source: Huffington Post

Grassroots activism helped Obama win the presidency. It could also help him fix the economy.

If the GOP Had Listened to ACORN's Advice, the Mortgage Industry Wouldn't Be in Meltdown

Posted on: Oct 26, 2008, Source: The Nation

Desperate Republicans are scapegoating the respected community advocacy group for Wall Street's disastrous lending spree.

Does Obama Really Have a Race Problem?

Posted on: Apr 2, 2008, Source: The American Prospect

Contrary to class stereotypes, wealthy whites are more likely than working-class whites to use the race card in the voting booth.

Economic Meltdown: The Consequences of Legal Bribery

Posted on: Mar 26, 2008, Source: Huffington Post

The financial services industry has shown again and again that it cannot self-regulate. It's time for the government to step in.

NPR, Dems all Wet Over Sweat Shop Labor

Posted on: Dec 9, 2007, Source: Huffington Post

At NPR's Dem debate, the way moderators framed the issue of sweatshops revealed ignorance about the realities of globalized trade and labor.

Wouldn't You Pay A Dollar for Fair Labor?

Posted on: Dec 7, 2007, Source: Huffington Post

Raising prices a dollar on a pair of Nike shoes could drastically improve the lives of Chinese factory workers.

For a Brief Moment, The Media Rediscover Poverty

Posted on: Jul 26, 2007, Source: TomPaine.com

In July, a presidential candidate took the media on a tour of an America they don't talk much about.

Fair Labor Laws Would Benefit All Working Americans

Posted on: May 15, 2007, Source: TomPaine.com

Another Big Lie: For 30 years, the corporate Right has successfully portrayed American labor as a corrupt "special interest." The truth is that desperately needed labor-law reform will benefit everyone who works for a living.

Memo to Congress: The Working Poor Need a Raise

Posted on: Nov 29, 2006, Source: TomPaine.com

Fed up after watching the minimum wage stagnate at poverty level for nearly a decade, a growing number of states are introducing their own pay raises with cost-of-living adjustments. Congress should follow their lead.

Now Republicans Control the Courts, Too

Posted on: Jul 12, 2006, Source: TomPaine.com

Progressives are boasting that three recent Supreme Court decisions have stopped GOP tactics dead in their tracks -- but nothing could be further from the truth.

The Sweatshop Stops Here

Posted on: Jun 11, 2006, Source: The Nation

In the past decade, over 200 universities have adopted antisweatshop codes of conduct in response to student protest.

John Edwards: 'Poverty Is Personal'

Posted on: May 7, 2006, Source: AlterNet

The former vice-presidential candidate has resurrected his 'two Americas' platform for a possible bid for the White House in 2008.

Bush Helps Disaster Profiteers

Posted on: Sep 16, 2005, Source: AlterNet

President Bush is taking advantage of the Katrina tragedy to get rid of workers' protections in favor of higher profits for politically connected corporations.

Labor Warrior

Posted on: May 12, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Under the leadership of Miguel Contreras, the Los Angeles labor movement grew while membership across the nation continues to shrink.

A Moral Minimum Wage

Posted on: Dec 7, 2004, Source: The Nation

Engaging in a vigorous fight to raise our meager minimum wage is clearly the morally right thing to do. But it may also be the politically astute thing for Democrats to do.

The Suburbanization of Poverty

Posted on: Sep 8, 2004, Source: The Nation

The American Dream of suburbia – backyard grilling and upward mobility – rings hollow in today's economy.

The Progressive Case for Patriotism

Posted on: Jul 3, 2004, Source: LA Weekly

Progressives are faced with the tough question of what exactly it means to be patriotic in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world. The truth: This land was made for you and me.

Lessons from the Picket Line

Posted on: Mar 2, 2004, Source: AlterNet

Unions throughout the country will be looking at the Southern California grocery worker strike and drawing lessons from it. Were there strategic missteps that could have been avoided?

Recall Redux

Posted on: Oct 13, 2003, Source: AlterNet

Why Davis lost and Arnold won, what to expect, and what progressives should do now.