In the News
Trump Nominates ‘Embodiment of the Military-Industrial Complex’ Patrick Shanahan to Lead Pentagon
In a move critics warned could further deepen the ties between the sprawling and immensely profitable private weapons industry and the U.S. government, the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump…
Phyllis Bennis on the latest flare-up in violence between Israel and Palestine on the Gaza Strip
Phyllis Bennis joined al Jazeera to discuss the latest flare-up in violence between Israel and Palestine on the Gaza Strip, as well as the recent ceasefire. Watch the interview here.
Gaza after the bombs
Phyllis Bennis joined UpFront to discuss the recent escalation in violence in Gaza between Israel and Gazan forces. Listen to the full interview at KPFA.
A Review of the State of and Barriers to Minority Homeownership
Prior to the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, federal, state, and local governments actively and explicitly enforced policies that discriminated against racial minorities seeking homeownership opportunities, making…
Bob Iger Rebuilt The Magic Kingdom—And It’s Likely Made Him Richer Than A Disney Heir
Over the past two weeks, Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney, has made headlines not for Disney’s Avengers box office performance or for his completion of the Disney-Fox merger, but for something…
How Democrats Are Making an Issue Out of CEOs’ Huge Pay Packages
When an advisory firm estimated that Walt Disney Co. chief Bob Iger would be paid as much as $423 million over four years, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., seized on the figure as a signal of…
The Case for Reparations for Black Farmers
Last spring, I drove 130 miles west of New Orleans to New Iberia, a small agricultural town located in the heart of Louisiana’s sugarcane country. The magnolias were just beginning…
The Secret Saga of Trump’s Tax Cuts
On a balmy April day in 2017, a sandy-haired, square-jawed New York tax lawyer named Dana Trier was heading to Washington, D.C., for a graduate-level economics class at Johns Hopkins.…
Investor-state dispute system puts strain on poorer countries: report
A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is raising concerns over the impact of Canadian companies launching investor-state dispute settlement suits abroad on the public policies of…
Federal Minimum Wage Should Be $33 Based on Growth of Corporate Bonuses
The minimum wage would be $33.51 today, if it grew at the same rate as Wall Street bonuses. In 1989, the minimum wage was $3.35 and the average Wall Street…
Led by US Under Trump, Global Military Spending Soared to Highest Level in Recorded History Last Year
Global military spending reached its highest level since the records began two decades ago, according to a new analysis released Monday—an increase led by the United States and China. The…
Unanswered questions after Netanyahu’s re-election
Just after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was re-elected, experts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict met to determine what the vote means. “The Israeli elections really did ask more questions than…
Beware Anew the Military-Industrial Complex: Revisiting Eisenhower’s Warning
The military-industrial complex, a term brought to life by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell address to the nation, is widely acknowledged, quoted, and even embraced today.Yet, ironically, the ubiquity of this embrace hasn’t actually affected the outsized influence of that complex.…
New Report Gives Solutions to Decrease the Racial Wealth Divide
Milwaukee is a racially divided city. Beyond the segregation and discrimination that residents face, there’s also an unbalance when it comes to aspects such as education, transportation and the economy.…
America’s 3 wealthiest families have more money than 4 million average families combined
Three families of dynastic wealth — that’s the Walton, Koch and Mars families — have seen their wealth increase close to 6,000% since 1982, according to the Billionaire Bonanza report by the…
Warren Buffett: This is the best way to put cash in the pockets of people who need it
Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett has plenty of money. The so-called “Oracle of Omaha” — a nod to both his hometown and his prowess as an investor — is worth $86 billion on…
Nation’s Racial Wealth Divide Worsens with Federal Tax Cut
If you’re like me, every time you hear a news reporter or anchor talk about how great the nation’s economy is, you wonder what world they are living in. Certainly…
New Report Addresses Minority Income Disparity
Contrary to the reports that would suggest the American economy is on an upswing, the wealth divide continues to separate families of color from their White counterparts. According to the…
Tope Folarin Was ‘A Particular Kind Of Black Man’ — So He Wrote A Book About It
When Tope Folarin sat down to write what would become his debut novel, he began by modeling its protagonist, Tunde, after his own life. Soon Tunde took on a life…
The Military Budget Is a Disgrace
Last month, Trump submitted yet another budget that pairs sky-high military spending with severe cuts to the rest of the government. Trump wants to use a budget gimmick to raise…
Over 200 organizations denounce multimillion dollar suit brought by U.S. mining firm against Guatemala
Today, a letter signed by 227 Guatemalan and international networks and organizations was delivered to Guatemalan authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. The letter denounces the US$300 million-dollar suit…
Closing the Racial Wealth Gap
In her 2018 book, “Give People Money,” the journalist Annie Lowrey delivered a stinging criticism of the ways in which the United States has essentially won the race to the…
What Elizabeth Warren’s Plan to Cancel Student Debt Would Mean for You
With the possible exception of the actual millennial in the race, Elizabeth Warren may be the Democratic presidential candidate most attuned to that generation’s pain. Long before she was blogging about Game of Thrones, and…
How To Build the Zero-Carbon Economy
THE ANISHINAABE PEOPLE HAVE A PROPHECY that a time will come when we have to choose between two paths: one scorched, one green. For those who choose the green path, a…
Environmental Justice and White moderates in Grand Rapids
A new report, published by LINC and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice was released in Grand Rapids. The report, entitled, Neighborhood Environmental Action Report: Health, Environment and Race in Grand Rapids, also…
Our National Budget Shows US Values
I’d have felt better about paying my taxes this week if I liked where most of them were going! The leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign, Rev Dr William Barber II…
Housing Update: Key Moments Arrive for Bay Street, Bushwick Rezonings and Comprehensive Planning Push
As of Tuesday night, there were 58,794 people in New York City’s homeless shelter system, including 21,023 children. In other housing news this week: • The next de Blasio administration rezoning…
Government’s Role in Controlling Incomes
This may come as no great surprise, but income matters. As my colleague Megan Brenan recently demonstrated, income is positively related to people’s satisfaction with various life situations Gallup routinely assesses —…
Kirsten Gillibrand Has Endorsed Steps to Reduce Racial Wealth Gap
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has endorsed a set of policy proposals that put forth “actionable” steps designed to help reduce the racial wealth gap, BuzzFeed Newsreports. The proposals include guidelines aimed to…
