Media

One of the most simplistic fictions is that corporate elites are spearheading a "class war" all on their own, driving down wages to squeeze out higher profits in the name of greed. 

Of course, that's not actually the way modern shareholder capitalism works. Instead, most CEOs and executives -- and the boards who hire and fire them -- wake up every day worrying about how they are going to please you and me. (Assuming you, like me, have money invested in stocks through your 401k or whatnot.)

Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) on Thursday introduced legislation to provide tax credits and deductions for political donors making small contributions.

A new report says declining revenues and bad Wall Street deals—not out-of-control spending or generous pension benefits--contributed the most to Detroit’s bankruptcy.

The report from the left-leaning think tank Demos also accuses Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr of attacking the problem in “inappropriate” ways that are “not rooted in fact.”

We should favor herding Americans back to the cities through whatever policy measures will achieve that goal.

A former Wall Street investment banker is taking Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr to task for blaming the city’s financial collapse, in part, on escalating pension and retiree health insurance costs.

The official story about Detroit goes something like this: Decades of mismanagement and out-of-control spending have left the city with a crushing $18 billion in debt.

At the new Walmart superstore in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles, a Thanksgiving turkey costs a little over $30 (£19). The shop is kind enough to distribute ready-made holiday shopping lists to its customers, reminding them to buy cornbread mix and cranberry sauce, ground ginger and pumpkin pie. Yet not everyone can afford to stock their cupboards with each provision on the list – least of all Walmart’s own employees.

Wall Street bankers, bad decisions made by elected officials and the Great Recession should be blamed for contributing to Detroit's fiscal crisis -- not the pensions of workers and retirees.