Media sugar coat jobs crisis

Corporate-controlled media outlets have a long history of subtle (and not-so-subtle) slanting of the news, favoring conservative and corporate viewpoints. Problems experienced primarily by low and moderate income people are portrayed as temporary or even necessary 'belt-tightening,' requiring no action, while problems for banks and the wealthy demand urgent action from government.
Reporting on the continuing jobs deficit continues that trend, with the Washington Post spinning a Pew report as "Men Getting Jobs Faster Than Women".

Contrary to the headline that emphasizes people 'getting jobs', as economist Dean Baker notes, the employment to population ratio (the percent of people over age 20 who are employed) has fallen for both men and women since the recession ended in June of 2009.

That's right, the percent of people with jobs has dropped, not only during the crisis for Wall Street, but since the recession was declared over. Another "jobless recovery" anyone?

Two headlines, one crisis

the Chicago Tribune's highlighted web business section this morning featured the two headlines below:

No rebound this year in housing prices

Wall Street set to extend gains

Leaving aside that the term "rebound" falsely implies the exact opposite of what is happening and continues the delusion that housing prices can or should 'rebound' back to bubble-inflated prices, those of us paying attention realize these are actually the same story: Wall Street recklessness and corporate greed fueled the housing bubble, crashed the economy and these CEOs extended their gains going up and down.

Clarence Thomas: Come Clean

Once again, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is in the news, and once again, it’s for all the wrong reasons. The Ethics in Government Act, passed in the wake of the Watergate scandal, requires thousands of federal officials – including Supreme Court justices – to file financial disclosures every year, so the public can know who’s influencing our government’s leaders. But Clarence Thomas has developed a pattern of failing to follow this law, choosing to pal around with right-wing financiers and not bothering to report private plane trips, yacht rides, and his wife’s $120,000-a-year paycheck from the conservative Heritage Foundation. Has Clarence Thomas broken the law by wilfully failing to disclose these trips? We just don’t know, because he flatly refuses to answer basic questions about his relationships with some of the wealthiest and most powerful right-wing figures in America. That’s why we’re calling on the Judicial Conference – the independent agency tasked with investigating ethical wrongdoing in the federal judiciary – to look into Clarence Thomas’ incomplete financial disclosures. The New York Times recently reported on Justice Thomas’s ethically questionable relationship with Harlan Crow, a wealthy Texas real estate developer and financier of Republican politics and conservative causes. At Justice Thomas’s request, Crow spent millions of dollars on a restoration project that included a tribute to Clarence Thomas. Mr. Crow also apparently provided Justice Thomas with use of his yacht and private jets on several occasions. Although these trips would qualify as gifts or reimbursements under the Ethics Act, and be subject to disclosure, Justice Thomas has not reported receiving a gift since 2004 and does not appear to have listed the trips as reimbursements. If the Judicial Conference fails to investigate these apparent lapses and omissions, we may never know if one of this country’s top jurists has broken the law. For every day that Clarence Thomas sits on the bench under a cloud of suspicion, Americans’ faith in our judicial system is weakened. The public has the right to know whether the judges on its highest court are flaunting decades-old ethics laws. We need you to help us make sure the Judicial Conference does its job, and pursues an investigation into Justice Thomas. Clarence Thomas has famously not spoken in court for over five years, but he can’t remain silent about his ethical lapses. He needs to come clean, and live up to the high standards we expect of our Supreme Court. Thank you, Alliance for Justice PS. For the more on Clarence Thomas' ethical problems, check out AFJ President Nan Aron's column in the Huffington Post.

Wall Street Drives Up Gas Prices

As is we didn't have enough reasons to demand a tax on Wall Street Speculation and the break-up of the big banks ...
A new report finds that Wall Street speculation adds 83 cents to the cost of every gallon of gasoline. This, of course, part of the record corporate profits at the big oil companies and the record political influence those profits buy.

Maybe that's why some have started objecting to the "Wall Street tax on the rest of us."

We are all Wisconsin!

From Our allies at Jobs with Justice:

As you have no doubt followed on the news, there is lots happening in Wisconsin!

Workers, students, faith, immigrant rights groups, LGBT groups, womens groups, all sectors of labor, environmental groups, and more continue to occupy the state capitol and more than 70,000 people came out to rally in Madison yesterday.

In states across the country, workers are fighting back against corporate-backed lawmakers who are trying to use state budget problems as an excuse to gut workers’ rights and benefits, when in fact it was Wall Street’s gambles and broken promises that have hurt taxpayers and the middle class—not workers. CEOs are trying to shift the blame for high unemployment and rising poverty levels away from themselves and onto workers and our unions.

We are working with key allies to mobilize our bases in Wisconsin and for solidarity rallies in nearly every state in the country this week.

FIND A RALLY NEAR YOU: http://bit.ly/wisolidarity

Right now we have information on 40 actions planned, but we are updating this list frequently, so please check back in the coming days and keep us informed of any actions you are planning.

At a time of record economic inequality, these laws which would direct more money to corporations will only widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor, enriching a lucky few while forcing more people into poverty. This struggle is about who will control our communities: working people or corporations?

Thanks in advance for your support! This is a huge moment for Wisconsin and the many other states fighting similar battles!

$20,000 hotel room for 137 years?

The wealth gap is even greater than the income gap, which is reaching record levels in America once again. The numbers are mind-numbing: I mean really, who knows what a Billion dollars really is anyway?

Well, a billion would buy you a hotel room at $20,000/night ... for 137 years.

Check out some other indicators of wealth maldistribution, then join some group somewhere that is challenging the greed of Wall Street and corporate CEOs, demand fair taxes and the good jobs and strong communities that America needs.

Here is Robert Reich's proposal for making the wealthy pay their share, which should be taken seriously.

Vampire Squid - Who will tame the big banks?

Check out this video from the UK, summarizing the choice we have between
a) cowering before the big banks, and
b) restoring the fundamentals of a humane society - you know, all those things we used to be proud of, like public education, a middle class, the social compact, decency, etc.