Guaranteed income’s moment in the sun
Does the notion that every American should be guaranteed a basic level of income sound utopian? In the late 1960s and early 1970s it was mainstream.
Loss of support for guaranteed income reflects radical shift in values
As “market values” have replaced “social values,” they've driven a once-popular policy idea out of favor.
From Kelly Girls to Permatemps
The temporary worker industry has thrived by convincing business owners that workers are “liabilities” to the bottom line who can and should be easily replaced.
A prescription for Long Island: fixing the sins of privately owned utility operators with more privatization
National Grid, which operates the electrical system for LIPA, is a for-profit company, yet Gov. Cuomo's Moreland Commission wants to double down. Is its initial recommendation the best way?
“Class Dismissed”
An interview with Professor John Marsh on the limits of education as a tool for eliminating inequality and poverty in the United States. Other responses, Marsh says, are more effective, including redistribution through higher wages or social programs.
Journalists in the service of Pete Peterson
Most of those who interview or moderate for Peterson’s “fiscal summits” appear to themselves believe that it’s “not realistic” to believe the country can afford the programs it used to. Those who are prepared to be “adults," they think, will not flinch at these “hard truths” and recognize that it is time to take citizens-have-to-do-with-less medicine. The proof is in the questions.
“Stayin’ Alive” in the 1970s
A History for the Future interview with labor historian Jefferson Cowie on the death of the New Deal order and the rise of working class conservatism over the course of the 1970s.
We’ll take the crumbs
In part 2 of our story on New York’s failure to get a full build-out of the Second Avenue subway, we focus on the area’s politicians — especially those who claim to be advocates of mass transit. Most hid from our questioning; some accepted the idea that key infrastructure needs will not be met; a few insisted that the decision to shortchange the Second Avenue subway was indefensible.
Don’t hold your breath
A fully realized Second Avenue subway would replace service lost decades ago, help meet ever growing transit demand, and provide a wide range of economic and environmental benefits to New York City and its residents. Even though the entire line could be built at one time, and even though delay is more costly than action, all that has been funded is a less-than-two-mile stub.
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