New York's billionaire mayor is so opposed to a tiny raise for workers at companies that get public money that he's vowed to sue. What's the deal with living wage laws anyway?
Jim Hightower, Hightower Lowdown. December 14, 2011.
While it can be disheartening to see the smallness of those in power, don't let it get you down, for they want us to become so disheartened that we give up.
Americans have been told that austerity measures and shared suffering are the path to economic recovery, but in fact, many fixes could dramatically improve our lives.
For more than a quarter century after WWII the fruits of America's productivity were shared with average working people, year in and year out. Not anymore.
Pay in the private sector has been stagnant or falling for decades, health insurance coverage has been dropping, and traditional pensions have all but disappeared.
The image of the overpaid public sector worker with fat retirement benefits offers a compelling storyline for the Right. But it's a complete fabrication.
The benefits of unionization: Immigrant workers who are able to bargain collectively earn more and are more likely to have benefits associated with good jobs.
