Media

The Senate voted Friday to get rid of subsidies that “too big to fail” banks receive from what is, essentially, an unofficial insurance policy from the government. The unanimous vote, 99-0, is unfortunately nonbinding. It was an addendum to the Democrats’ 2014 budget proposal, which is not expected to live long.

Research has shown that someone with a poor credit history is not automatically a poor job prospect. Nevertheless, millions of Americans who have emerged from the recession with medical debts or a record of late payments are at risk of being denied jobs by companies that use credit histories to screen applicants. Several states have placed limits on this practice. But until the federal government engages the issue more aggressively, employers will consign otherwise qualified applicants to a kind of pariah class that gets shut out of the job market.

The average retail sales job pays only $10.09 an hour, and some retail outlets—notably Walmart, the largest private employer in the world—pay as little as $8.00 per hour. But a handful of large retail companies have made generous compensation a key part of their business models, and it seems to be paying off.

The liberal Connecticut Working Families Party and the conservative Independent Party of Connecticut probably don’t share a lot of ideological common ground.

One of the biggest problems with financial reform is having to discuss issues that most people find painfully boring. For instance, “derivatives.”

In the debate over our energy future, I keep coming back to the question of whether or not fracking can be done safely.

In taking on the cost of college, President Obama is going up against one the best organized special interests in Washington: Higher education.

Fittingly, perhaps, Cuomo’s single biggest misstep in office can be tied to the power of moneyed interests. After fighting long and hard, the governor was forced to abandon a scheme to build a $4 billion convention center in Queens, as part of a joint venture with the Genting Group, a Malaysian corporation.

This morning the New York City Council will hold a hearing on legislation to guarantee paid sick days  to all working New Yorkers. The measure has been pending for several years with repeated compromises  to address the concerns of employers.