News & Opinion

How the rich soaked the rest of us

Richard Wolff — March 1, 2011 — The Guardian

The richest Americans have dramatically lowered their income tax burden since 1945, both absolutely and relative to the tax burdens of the middle income groups and the poor. But cutting the taxes on the rich in no way guarantees social benefits from what they may choose to do with their money. Indeed, their choices can worsen economic conditions for the mass of people. These days, that is exactly what they are doing.

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GOP Tactic: Intramural Class Warfare

Richard Reeves — March 1, 2011 — truthdig

Republicans are of course against class warfare, the poor against the rich, the middle class against the rich. And so they should be; the corporate elite of the country and what George H.W. Bush called “the investing classes” have already won that war, at least in the private sector. But, seizing the circumstances of hard times, the Republicans are promoting intramural class warfare by pitting what is left of the private-sector middle class against the public-sector middle class.

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Public broadcasting, a 'luxury' we can't do without

Ken Burns — March 1, 2011 — Washington Post

Like millions of my countrymen, I am profoundly concerned that the debate over government spending, while necessary, has come to threaten the cultural, educational, informational and civilizing influences that help equip us for enlightened citizenship. Suddenly, these are dismissed as "unaffordable luxuries" when in fact we have never needed them more.

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At the Table

Hilda Solis, U.S. Secretary of Labor — March 1, 2011 — Huffington Post

When I was in ninth grade, my dad would come home at the end of the day and ask me to sit with him at our kitchen table. From his pockets, he would pull pieces of paper with writing in Spanish on them -- notes given to him by his co-workers. He'd ask me to translate them into English for him. The first time, I didn't understand what they were. When I asked, he explained: "They are the voice of the workers."

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Regulators Reject Proposal That Would Bring Fox-Style News to Canada

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — March 1, 2011 — Huffington Post

As America's middle class battles for its survival on the Wisconsin barricades, fans of enlightenment, democracy and justice can take comfort from a significant victory north of the Wisconsin border. Fox News will not be moving into Canada after all! The reason: Canada regulators announced last week they would reject efforts by Canada's right wing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, to repeal a law that forbids lying on broadcast news.

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Letters to the Editor

— March 1, 2011 — The Guild Reporter
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In "Dangerous World", Unions Fight "Assault" on Middle Class Families, Elizabeth Warren Says

Stacy Curtin — March 1, 2011 — tech/ticker

Elizabeth Warren, special adviser to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and fervent supporter of America’s middle class, says that blaming the public-sector for ballooning state deficits and lack of jobs simply is not supported by the facts. Unions are one of the few institutions trying to strengthen America’s middle class by fighting for fair wages, she says, adding: “The middle class has been under assault now, really, for a generation.”

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Letters to the Editor

— March 1, 2011 — The Guild Reporter

To the Editor:

The executive committee of the News Media Guild endorses John Hill for TNG’s Region 1 vice president. John doesn’t merely serve on committees while expecting others to do the heavy lifting. He has ideas, builds consensus and develops a team to carry out the plan.

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