Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Raising the Minimum Wage Benefits Society and Reentry to It

Having been exposed to the prison system over a period of time, I can vouch for what the author is proposing and the state is establishing. People do make mistakes. However, if society continues the punishment during and after parole, it becomes harder for a parolee to reestablish themselves in society. As it stands today, […]

Half of U.S workers Will Live in States with at Least a $15 Minimum Wage by 2027

Nearly half of U.S workers will live in states with at least a $15 minimum wage by 2027, Economic Policy Institute In the 2024 election, Alaska and Missouri voters approved ballot measures to increase their state minimum wage to $15 an hour in the coming years. Now 15 states and Washington D.C. either have or […]

Illinois’ next governor may make Romney look like a saint

Does the name Bruce Rauner ring a bell? No, me neither. It turns out he’s the Republican nominee for governor in Illinois, which under normal circumstances would mean he’s a nobody. But he’s been leading incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn in polls all summer, and could actually end up as the state’s next governor. This is […]

Figuring the costs of minimum wage hikes

Real News interviews  Jeannette Wicks-Lim is an Associate Professor at the Political Economy Research Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts. Wicks-Lim specializes in labor economics with an emphasis on the low-wage labor market… WICKS-LIM: Well, one of the things I’ve been thinking a lot about is that because of the recent proposal by President Obama to raise the […]

Minimum wage…who and how much??

Spencer England has written about minimum wages and employment, and Minimum wage and employment from 2008 and Teen unemployment and the minimum wage What the fiscal cliff means for the middle class and state and local taxes Economist Robert Pollin, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and founding co-Director of the […]

John Boehner Should Travel More. To Australia.

Yesterday, both sides drew their battle lines in the coming war over the minimum wage. After Obama called for a minimum wage hike in his State of the Union speech, House Republicans dug in against it, casting their opposition as grounded in concern for the plight of low wage workers. John Boehner asked: “Why would […]