Legalized Loan Sharking, Bernie Sanders' Demands for Honesty and More Special Workplace Coverage

As some of you know, I recently started editing AlterNet's Corporate Accountability and Workplace special coverage. And I want to make sure everyone knows that there's a lot more content in there than what I can get on the front page.

This week, we sliced and diced the lending crisis with contributions from Paul Krugman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Brent Budowsky and Marney White -- an "ordinary American" from Long Island who speaks about the subject from hard-learned experience; Pratap Chatterjee and Nick Robins looked at the resistance to corporate rule in India; Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Weluvhim) showed us that "obstructionism" isn't all bad as he swore to block a key Bush nominee until the administration starts being honest about the economy; Public Citizen's Todd Tucker looked at tainted toys and other miracles of "free trade"; a physician gave his pitch for tax-financed health care, and more!

If you want to stay on top of the economy from a progressive POV, the easiest way is to sign up for my newsletter and get all our coverage delivered to your inbox each week.

Here's all the stuff that didn't get on the front page this week:

Legalized Loan Sharking: The Sleeper Issue of 2008

By Marney White

The presidential candidates could get the attention of even the most apathetic voters by talking seriously about the crushing interest rates that are burying more and more Americans.

Lessons of Empire: How to Unravel an Unchecked Superpower

By Pratap Chatterjee, Nick Robins

India's history provides timeless lessons on how (and how not) to confront corporate power with protest, litigation, regulation, rebellion and, ultimately, corporate redesign.

Tax-Financed Health Care: More Bang for the Buck

By Johnathon Ross

The profit motive runs contrary to the best cooperative and Samaritan traditions of medical practice and training.

Debt Crisis: No Bail-Outs for Loansharks

By Paul Krugman

The real-estate bubble of recent years, like the stock bubble of the late 1990s, was both caused and fed by widespread malfeasance. Now, those same bad actors want to be rescued by the "nanny state."

Bernie Sanders' Tusssle With Nussle

By Terence Samuel

The Vermont populist vows to hold up the president's pick for OMB chief until he starts speaking some truth about the economy.

Smashing Capitalism!

By Barbara Ehrenreich

We may be witnessing the first time in history that the downtrodden manage to bring down an unfair economic system without going to the trouble of a revolution.

Toxic Toys, Deadly Dog Food and Other Wonders of "Free Trade"

By Todd Tucker

Mattel says its supply chain just has a few bad apples. Where have we heard that before?

With Fewer Migrant Workers, Farmers Turn to Prison Labor

By Nicole Hill

Weren't employers who lose access to cheap foreign labor supposed to start paying Americans fair wages?