Media

On a crisp and sunny morning on the day after Thanksgiving, a group of protesters gathered in front of a large Walmart in Michigan’s Sterling Heights, calling for wage increases and better working conditions for the superstore's employees. Mary Johnson, a retiree and member of international activist group the Raging Grannies, stood next to Dan Lombardo, a plumber wearing old-fashioned overalls, who was carrying a sign stating “Walmart equals poverty.” Mothering Justice founder Danielle Atkinson, in a vibrant purple coat, turned up with her entire family.

A grand canyon of inequality exists between fast food CEOs and the workers who make their corporate and personal fortunes. In the past decade, fast-food CEOs’ wages have increased more than 400 percent, while workers wages increased 0.3 percent, according to a new report by Demos.

At a Senate hearing today, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will testify about the rise of dark money and the impact of what he’s called the “grossly incorrect” decision in McCutcheon v FEC.

Today’s New York Times leads with some news that maybe, just maybe, ‘too big to fail’ for major Wall Street banks could become a thing of the past. Prosecutors are nearing criminal charges against Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas (while of course taking very, very careful baby steps to make sure that these criminal penalties would not have drastic impacts). The crimes of these banks? In BNP Paribas’ case, it’s processing transactions involving Sudan and Iran.

Today, Senate Republicans filibustered a proposal to gradually raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

Here's a quick question about your retirement savings: When was the last time you checked the fees on your 401(k)?

If you're like most Americans, chances are you're not sure what exactly your plan is charging you. Even though employers are now required to disclose more information about 401(k) fees, only about half of workers said they actually noticed the data, while just 14 percent made changes after reviewing the information, according to a 2013 study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

There’s been alarm raised recently over the decline in college enrollment over the past two years. Some have even gone so far as to argue that this decline is the result of masses of young people realizing that college “isn’t worth it”, even though the college wage premium—the gap between the average wages of college grads and those with less education—