Now that debates are raging over Bernie Sanders’ proposal for a job guarantee, also known as an “employer of last resort” or ‘ELR’ policy, one bit of skepticism founded on apparent empirical evidence needs to be addressed. The evidence in … Continue reading
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“The only thing worse than being exploited is not being exploited.” – Joan Robinson One of the purported benefits of a job guarantee is said to be the dignity it confers on otherwise unemployed people. Matt Bruenig is at pains … Continue reading
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has been growing by leaps and bounds. Of course, that is from a microscopic base, relative to national politics ‘in the large.’ And it is still small in that sense, but the volume and energy … Continue reading
Who? That would be Eduard Limonov, co-founder of Russia’s “National Bolshevik” Party. He is the subject of a fawning biography by the prolific French writer Emmanuel Carrére. “National Bolshevism” is an abortive fusion of communism and fascism that is really … Continue reading
(My most recent failure in online publishing. Wherein I tried to be fair and civil, to no avail.) Hillary Clinton is not apologizing and not going away. And why should she? She got damn close to being president of the … Continue reading
A friend writes . . . Almost four years ago, I first set foot here, in the storm-battered airport from which many are leaving, maybe forever. It was love at first sight. Not of the island. Not of the … Continue reading
A friend writes . . . Well, once again, the pump for the water is not working properly, which means that even the few hours of water we had are gone. After an uplifting day yesterday, where xxxxx got some hopeful news … Continue reading
It was the heat that woke me up. As I expect it will be the heat that keeps me awake until the power returns. Exhaustion, a good meal, a bit of wine and a shower right before bed at least allowed … Continue reading
A friend from PR writes . . . I have a favor to ask. Please don’t ask me to confirm or comment on news about Puerto Rico these days. Especially from the people at Univision. We all know that news focuses … Continue reading
A friend on the island writes . . . Maria update whatever, Monday 9/25 So what is life like? We spend hours hanging out with neighbors that we would otherwise just say hello to on the elevator. We start conversations with … Continue reading