Media

“They believe in teacher’s unions. We believe in teachers,” Governor Chris Christie declared to rapturous applause during his keynote address to the 2012 Republican National Convention. What he neglected to mention is that those all powerful unions have been in decline for years, now buried beneath the clout of idiosyncratic individuals and corporations. Throughout his speech Christie touted his boldness in taking on the status quo, highlighting unions as the third rail of modern politics. He framed his speech as speaking truth to power, but missed the target altogether.

Recall your last voting experience: chances are you were packed into a school cafeteria, shuttled along to a table where someone checked your name off a long list of registered voters, and you cast your ballot before rushing to work.

Given stagnating wages and frustratingly high unemployment, it's unsurprising that popular opinion has turned against the rich. 

The city of Los Angeles fired a shot across the bow of big banks today. In response to US Bancorp’s lack of upkeep on its 1,500 foreclosed properties in the city, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich announced today that LA will sue, calling on banks to “step up and do the right thing" for the community. From Reuters:

The EPA released finalized fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards today that will increase fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025. In the accompanying press release, the Obama Administration noted that the new standards will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels.

The EPA released finalized fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards today that will increase fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025. In the accompanying press release, the Obama Administration noted that the new standards will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels.

One of the scariest moments of the 2008 financial crisis was the run on money market funds. It was a moment when, suddenly, many regular investors feared that their own cash could disappear into thin air -- along with the billions going poof at big firms like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch.

There is such hysteria about the problems facing Social Security, that it's easy to forget a simple fact: Much of the program's shortfalls in future years will go away if we just raise payroll taxes. And, as it turns out, that solution is more popular with the public than cutting benefits.

This is the finding of a new AP/GfK poll released yesterday.

Camden, New Jersey, can't seem to catch a break. Fox News, of all outlets, broke the news yesterday that the city of Camden will disband its police department and transfer half the officers to a new non-union division. The move comes at the tail end of a long fight over workers salaries culminating in the city's action.