U.S. Economy Topics

Economy

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to U.S. Economy

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  • Jill_stein_cheri_honkala

    Green Party Nominee Jill Stein & Running Mate, Activist Cheri Honkala: "We Represent the 99 Percent"

    Dr. Jill Stein’s Green Party vice-presidential running mate, Cheri Honkala, is a single mother who has firsthand experience with homelessness. In 2011, she ran as the Green Party candidate for sheriff of Philadelphia on a platform of ending foreclosures and halting evictions. "Large sections of the population are just sitting out. ... It’s not just because they’re not interested in what’s happening in this country....
    Jul 13, 2012 | Story
  • Barlett_steele_book

    Pulitzer-Winning Reporting Duo Don Barlett and James Steele on "The Betrayal of the American Dream" (Part 1)

    The famed award-winning investigative reporting team of Donald Barlett and James Steele have just published a new book, "The Betrayal of the American Dream," a followup to their landmark bestseller, "America: What Went Wrong?" As Republicans and Democrats continue disputing who should bear the brunt of the tax burden, Barlett and Steele argue that America’s middle class has been decimated over the years due to policies...
    Jul 30, 2012 | Story
  • Matt_taibbi

    Matt Taibbi Explains Wall Street's "License to Steal," Offshore Tax Havens and Private Equity Firms

    In part two of our interview with Matt Taibbi, he describes recent Wall Street scandals — including a decade-long Wall Street scandal that drained money from every county and state in the United States — and notes not a single bank executive has faced individual consequences. He also explains how Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s former firm, Bain Capital, and others have used private equity to raise money to conduct...
    Jul 30, 2012 | Web Exclusive
  • Detroit_film

    Detropia: New Doc Takes Intimate Look at Detroit's Struggle with Manufacturing Collapse, Urban Decay

    Once known as the Motor City, where the middle class was born, Detroit’s auto industry and manufacturing sector have collapsed. Today the city is on the verge of bankruptcy, facing a thinning population and massive cuts to basic services. The new film "Detropia" takes an intimate look at at some of the city’s former members of the middle class as they struggle to make ends meet and refuse to abandon hope. We’re joined...
    Sep 18, 2012 | Story
  • Bainport_interview-2

    DN! Exclusive: Live from Illinois Where Workers Demand Romney Visit Before Bain Sends Jobs to China

    We broadcast from just outside a Freeport, Illinois, factory owned by Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Workers at Sensata Technologies have set up an encampment called "Bainport" across the street from the facility to protest the company’s plan to close the plant and move it to China, taking 170 jobs with it. The workers have been trying to get Romney to save their...
    Sep 20, 2012 | Story
  • Bainport_interviews-1

    “Bainport, a Taste of the Romney Economy”: Bain Plant Workers Fight Outsourcing Their Jobs to China

    "Welcome to Bainport, a taste of the Romney economy." That’s the message on one of the banners that greets you at the tent city where we broadcast from in Freeport, Illinois. "Bainport" is an encampment set up by workers who face losing their livelihoods when their workplace closes its doors in November and moves to China, taking 170 jobs with it. The workers’ plant, Sensata Technologies, is owned by Bain Capital,...
    Sep 20, 2012 | Story
  • Smiley_and_west-2

    Tavis Smiley, Cornel West on the 2012 Election & Why Calling Obama "Progressive" Ignores His Record

    As the most expensive presidential election in U.S. history comes to an end, broadcaster Tavis Smiley and professor, activist Dr. Cornel West join us to discuss President Obama’s re-election and their hopes for a national political agenda in and outside of the White House during Obama’s second term. At a time when one in six Americans is poor, the price tag for combined spending by federal candidates — along with their parties...
    Nov 09, 2012 | Story
  • Rolling_jubalee_opt_1

    Rolling Jubilee: Buying Up Distressed Debt, Occupy Offshoot Bails Out the People, Not the Banks

    An offshoot of Occupy Wall Street has launched a new movement called "Rolling Jubilee" to buy distressed debt from financial firms, often for pennies on the dollar, and then canceling it so that borrowers do not have to repay. The people who incurred the debt in the first place then get a certified letter informing them they are off the hook. Typically, financial institutions sell debt for pennies on the dollar to third parties who either...
    Nov 15, 2012 | Story
  • Dean_baker-fiscal_cliff

    Dean Baker: The Biggest Myth in Obama-GOP Spending Showdown is the "Fiscal Cliff" Itself

    As negotiations continue between the White House and House Speaker John Boehner, leading economist Dean Baker joins us to discuss the myths about the so-called fiscal cliff. With little more than two weeks before the deadline, President Obama insists on an immediate increase in the top two income-tax rates as a condition for further negotiations on changes to spending and entitlement programs. But Boehner said Washington’s "spending...
    Dec 14, 2012 | Story
  • Grijalva_

    Rep. Raúl Grijalva Rejects Obama "Fiscal Cliff" Plan to Cut More from Social Security than Military

    Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona joins us to discuss his opposition to President Obama’s offer to cut more from Social Security than from the military in the ongoing negotiations over avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. Obama has offered to cut some $100 billion from military spending, but even more from Social Security: $130 billion by adjusting the inflation index for Social Security benefits. Grijalva says Obama’s proposal...
    Dec 19, 2012 | Story