David Sirota's Blog, page 5

Are the Unemployed Lazy George Costanzas Looking For a Lifelong Summer of George?

During the recent fight over extending unemployment benefits, conservatives trotted out the shibboleth that says the program fosters sloth. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., for instance, said added unemployment benefits mean people are "encouraged not to go look for work." Columnist Pat Buchanan said expanding these benefits mean "more people will hold off going back looking for a job." And Fox News' Charles Payne applauded the effort to deny future unemployment checks because he said it would compel...

Just-Released IRS Data Show Effects of Our Radical New Greed-Is-Good Culture

Embedded in our tax and budget debates is the bipartisan assumption that the super-rich shouldn't pay the tax rates they paid during the mid-20th century -- AKA the tax rates that existed when our economy boomed.

Is Virginia Court's Health Ruling an Inadvertent Progressive Victory?

Over the past few hours, the mediasphere has been ablaze with talk that Republicans and their insurance industry backers supposedly won a huge victory with a Virginia court's ruling that the mandate to buy private insurance is unconstitutional. On the policy merits, this seems to make no sense. At all. In fact, the Republicans pushing this court case may have inadvertently helped America take a progressive step on health care, if progressives can actually take advantage of the situation. Hear...

AP Tells Its Reporters to Avoid Saying the Iraq War Is Over

From the White House's victorious declarations to the media's "breaking news" graphics, we're asked to believe the combat is finished in Iraq. The fact is, the Iraq war continues. The good news is that not every media outlet is complicit.

Lessons From a Low-Impact Week

Having now completed this low-impact week, I can report that it was not easy and that I did not achieve perfection -- not even close. However, I can also say I learned a few things.

Can You Join Me in Taking the Low-Impact Challenge?

From Aug. 16-20, we're asking listeners to join me in a one-week challenge to reduce our carbon emissions and have less of an impact on our environment in general.

Report: Obama Program to Help Corporations "Take Advantage of Low Labor Costs" Abroad

Even if we don't reform our atrocious trade policies that incentivize the ongoing wage-cutting race to the bottom, the least we should do is invest every available dollar in job training and job creation here at home. Doing the opposite is grotesque.

GOP Opposes Federal Fracking Regs Regardless of Whether EPA Finds Poisoning

In perhaps the most extreme step yet, Republicans in Colorado are demanding the Environmental Protection Agency never regulate fracking, "no matter what a two-year EPA study of the process reveals."

ABC: Bank Lobbying Group Says Consumer Bureau Must See Banks' "Side of Issues, Not Just Consumers'"

It's certainly audacious, but hardly surprising that the banking industry, after winning so many concessions in the financial regulatory bill, is nonetheless now working to capture the minuscule consumer protection agency.