September/October 2015

Zapping Labor: The Sharp Rise of Income Inequality Initiated in the Early 1980s

How Federal Reserve policies, the recession they triggered, and broader political and economic changes weakened workers’ power and helped usher in an era of extreme inequality.

The Left Wave That Swept Democratic Primaries

A string of primary victories by DSA-backed candidates and other progressives—from New York to Michigan to Florida—is giving the Democratic left new leverage while putting its ambitious economic agenda back at the center of the party’s debate.

The People in the Tents Say “Yes”

By David Bacon

By the end of the decade, Tijuana’s population will reach two million. But will its workers, its artists, and its political activists still be able to enjoy Juárez Park? Read more »
The Burdens of American Federalism

By Gerald Friedman

Because the burden of state and local taxes and fees is much heavier on poor people than it is on the rich, the system as a whole is much less progressive than it seems at first. Read more »
A Case for Public Ownership

By Arthur Macewan

Dear Dr. Dollar: Would the U.S. economy work better if some industries were nationalized? Banks? Other industries? Which ones and why? Read more »
The Agony of Mexican Labor Today

Dan La Botz

How did Mexico’s working class get into such a difficult situation? And how might it ever get out? | Read more »
What’s Next for Greece

Harry Konstantinidis

How could Syriza have agreed to the latest deal? Wouldn’t Greece be better off introducing its own currency, rather than conceding both fiscal and monetary policy sovereignty? | Read more »
German Wage Repression

John Miller

How German wage repression and currency manipulation pushed the eurozone into crisis and ignited a conflict between northern and southern eurozone countries | Read more »