The myth destroying America: Why social mobility is beyond ordinary people’s control

In America, there is a strongly held conviction that with hard work, anyone can make it into the middle class. Pew recently found that Americans are far more likely than people in other countries to believe that work determines success, as opposed to other factors beyond an individual’s control. But this positivity comes with a negative side — a tendency to pathologize …

What’s the True Impact of the Alternative Economy? Researchers Decide It’s Time to Find Out

It is increasingly apparent that today’s economy is not working for most of us. Growing inequality of wealth and income is putting the famous American middle class in danger of becoming a distant memory. Most American children now face economic prospects worse than their parents enjoyed. We suffer from more frequent financial shocks and linger in recession far longer than …

The Real Story on Iran, US, China and Russia

The real story is, and will continue to be, how Iran, the key power in Southwest Asia, is about to be positioned in the nonstop complex ballet between the US, Russia and China. That’s one of the key vectors of the New Great Game in Eurasia. The real story was never about how warmonger Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, a foreign …

Eight Lessons for Progressives Inspired by Syriza

You can’t watch what is unfolding in Greece and not marvel at the clarity, fortitude and nerve of the new government there. In fact, we’re pretty sure that many progressives across North America are saying to themselves, even if just quietly, “We’d sure like to do that.” And who wouldn’t? Syriza is standing up to the powers-that-be in European capitalism in …

Congress Cheers Netanyahu’s Hatred of Iran

Addressing Congress in the style of a State of the Union speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won 41 rounds of applause as U.S. lawmakers eagerly enlisted in the Israeli-Saudi conflict against Iran and its allies – an enthusiasm that may well entangle the U.S. military in more wars in the Middle East. Speaking to a joint session of Congress for the third time – …

Corporate-Friendly Democrats Mobilize to Drag Party Rightward

Afraid “a sharp turn to the left could prove disastrous in the 2016 elections,” factions within the Democratic Party more closely aligned with Wall Street and other corporate interests than with the progressive left are “gathering their forces to fight back against the ‘Elizabeth Warren wing’ of their party,” The Hill reportedMonday. Framed as a fight between so-called “centrists” of the party …

Legal cannabis generating so much tax revenue in CO that government may have to give some back to residents!

The Colorado legislature is desperately trying to finagle its way out of having to refund an excess of tax revenues generated from legal cannabis sales in the Centennial State. So much tax money has been brought into the state’s coffers since marijuana was legalized in 2014 that a portion of it will have to be refunded to taxpayers in accordance …