Economy

By Munir Moon | (Informed Comment) | – – The middle class is getting crushed. But there is hope. The most common argument about the middle class destruction is the declining or stagnant income, which is true. However, the main culprits are the costs of healthcare, education, and housing that have increased at a much […]

Democratic Party

The Vanity of the Billionaires: Circuses and no Bread

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Rome was a republic until between 40 and 27 BCE, when the generals overthrew it. Military dictator Gaius Octavius put the nail in the coffin when he made himself Augustus Caesar on the latter date. The later satirist Juvenal, to whom we owe the phrase ‘bread […]

Censors

Journalist Amy Goodman to Surrender and Fight Dakota Charges

contributors

By TeleSur | – – Update: North Dakota prosecutor changes charge against Amy Goodman to ‘rioting.’ The Democracy Now! host said the charge is a “direct attack” on freedom of the press. Journalist Amy Goodman says she will turn herself in next week to authorities to fight the charge of trespassing after filming a vicious […]

Development

Can Saudi Arabia Survive its Economic ‘Shock Therapy’?

contributors

By Nasser Saidi | (Project Syndicate) | – – BEIRUT – Saudi Arabia has long relied on oil to fuel its economic growth and development. Last year, oil accounted for about three-quarters of the Kingdom’s total export revenues and around 90% of government revenue. But the recent collapse in oil prices highlighted what should long […]

Dissent

Shadows of Plutocracy darken over our Democracy in this Election

contributors

By Bill Moyers | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Sixty-six years ago this summer, on my 16th birthday, I went to work for the daily newspaper in the small East Texas town of Marshall where I grew up. It was a good place to be a cub reporter — small enough to navigate but […]

Democratic Party

Sanders: Aetna’s Obamacare threat shows what Corporate Control Looks Like

contributors

By Nika Knight, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – Aetna threatened federal government with withdrawal from Affordable Care Act if controversial merger didn’t go through, new reporting reveals Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini bluntly told the Justice Department in July that the healthcare behemoth would drop out of the Affordable Care Act exchanges if its […]

Plutocracy

How labor’s decline opened door to billionaire Trump as ‘savior’ of American workers

contributors

By Raymond Hogler | (The Conversation) | – – Out of the economic maelstrom of the last decade, Donald Trump has emerged as the improbable, and self-proclaimed, champion of American workers. And that’s despite the fact that Trump has failed to articulate substantive policy positions regarding labor issues, other than generic railing against foreign competition […]

Democratic Party

When Dems ditched Workers for Professionals, they opened Door for Trump

contributors

Adam Barnett/ Thomas Frank | ( OpenDemocracy ) | – – The Democrats ditched the working class in favour of a professional elite leaving Trump – a master of ‘resentment politics’ – to hoover up their votes. An interview with Listen Liberal! author Thomas Frank. Now that the Republican Party has chosen a coiffured gargoyle as its nominee for […]

Economy

Can Turkey’s Economy come back from Coup and Massive Purge?

contributors

By Nader Habibi | (The Conversation) | – – The failed July 15 coup in Turkey has prompted a tsunami of responses by the government that is likely to have a lasting impact on all aspects of politics and society, including the economy. The initial arrest of military personnel who were involved or suspected of […]