Politico
Timothy Noah is Labor Policy Editor for Politico and a senior staff writer at RemappingDebate.org. The author of The Great Divergence: America’s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do about It, he is a former contributor to MSNBC and a former staff writer for Slate.
Why aren't the presidential candidates talking about the poor? Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton rolled out her economic plan in Detroit Thursday morning. Donald Trump unveiled his plan there earlier in the week. There was one glaring omission from both platforms – poverty. Clinton promised to create jobs with a New Deal-style investment in infrastructure, manufacturing and science. She portrayed herself as a champion for middle-class families, while painting Donald Trump as a friend to the wealthy. But what about the millions of Americans living in poverty? Why are they mostly left out of the economic conversation on the campaign trail? And what is either candidate offering them?
Obama's Progressive Budget Deal Snubbed by GOP Lame-duck President Barack Obama released his final budget proposal today. He said the aggressively liberal program "is about looking forward." But, even before they knew the details, Republican leaders in Congress declared they would break with tradition by refusing even to hold committee hearings on the President's spending plan. Timothy Noah is Labor and Employment Editor for Politico .
America: Democracy or Oligarchy? The evidence is overwhelming. The wealth gap in America is growing. A new study claims that the wealthiest 10% of Americans influence public policy in this country more than any other group. Of that 10%, the top one percent pocketed nearly the entire gains from the recovery from the financial crisis. Yet many pay a lower tax rate than middle class. The top selling book on Amazon is a re-working of Marx's Das Kapital. It argues that income inequality is an inevitable result of free market capitalism, and that it threatens our democratic institutions at almost every turn. Is that just capitalism at work? Has income inequality eroded democracy to a vanishing point? If our country is indeed controlled by the very few and the very rich, how do we level the playing field?
Is Income Inequality Here to Stay? "All societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others." So, "why has the US become more so than just about any other rich country in the past 30 years?" That question is raised by The Atlantic's Matthew O'Brien, in the aftermath of new figures released by the same economists who brought attention to the income gap and gave birth to the occupy movement. Those figures show that America's "1%" took more than a fifth of the nation's income last year — and the top 10% got half – something that's never happened in 100 years of data collection. But 99% have failed to see any boost at all from economic recovery. Is it all about Wall Street and the decline of organized labor? What about access to education and the impact of globalization? Steps used in the past to even the playing field aren't popular any more. Will inequality lead to unrest, or are we all just getting used to it?
Class Warfare Goes to the Movies It's been two years since Occupy Wall Street dramatized the increasing concentration of wealth in America's upper social stratosphere. That's about the time it takes to create and produce a movie and, sure enough, some of the latest Hollywood fare has more than a tinge of class-consciousness. There's social warfare in a future dystopia, magicians who pull off Robin Hood-style heists and Los Angeles teenagers who burglarize the homes of the rich and famous. How well do they mirror today's social reality? Is that what movies should do?
Class Warfare Goes to the Movies It's been two years since Occupy Wall Street dramatized the increasing concentration of wealth in America's upper social stratosphere. That's about the time it takes to create and produce a movie and, sure enough, some of the latest Hollywood fare has more than a tinge of class-consciousness. There's social warfare in a future dystopia, magicians who pull off Robin Hood-style heists and Los Angeles teenagers who burglarize the homes of the rich and famous. How well do they mirror today's social reality? Is that what movies should do?
Does the Growing Income Gap Threaten the Middle Class? In 1915, the top 1% of Americans had 18% of the nation's wealth. Now they have 24%. That's despite the invention of labor unions, government regulations and the income tax. Timothy Noah, senior writer for the online magazine Slate.com, has written a 10-part series on income inequality, its effect on the economy and what can be done to reverse the trend.
Is Income Inequality a Threat to the Middle Class? One hundred years ago, in the era of Robber Barons, the richest 1% of Americans had 18% of the nation's income. The income tax, labor unions and the New Deal leveled things out but, since the 1970's, the income gap has been growing again and now it's wider than ever. Are the very rich just the top of a healthy middle class, or is the economy a zero-sum game with top earners refusing to let their wealth trickle down? We hear a debate that underlies the issues being raised in this year's midterm campaigns.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
