I recently introduced the authors of the American Human Development Report at a presentation and made the point that just as the GDP has been criticized for not reflecting how the economy affects everyday people, the last year has driving home how out of touch stock market performance is with most regular folks. As thisContinue reading “Wall Street vs. Main Street part deux”
Author Archives: Bill
New Homeless Numbers for L.A. What did we expect?
We’ve been suffering through the worst economic recession since the Great Depression over the past year, leading many of us to assume that social conditions have been worsening. Poverty and unemployment, and foreclosures have clearly been on the rise, and certainly we’ve expected that homelessness – the most extreme expression of poverty and insecurity –Continue reading “New Homeless Numbers for L.A. What did we expect?”
Providing housing for the homeless saves money
more about “How to Save Tax Dollars: Give the Hom…“, posted with vodpod It shouldn’t be a surprise, but to many people it is. It turns out that instead of letting people suffer on the street or in shelters, we should be working to provide housing for them. Not only is it better for themContinue reading “Providing housing for the homeless saves money”
The real price of oil
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the case of indigenous groups against Texaco/Chevron for polluting the Amazonian region of Ecuador. There is a documentary on this sordid tale that has just come out in theaters (currently in NYC and LA but coming out across the country over the next few weeks). It’s called Crude:Continue reading “The real price of oil”
Rise in Poverty in the U.S.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data on income, poverty and health insurance today and as expected the new isn’t very good. The number of people living in poverty rose from 37.3 million in 2007 to 39.8 million in 2008, and the poverty rate rose from 12.5% to 13.2%, the highest level in eleven years.Continue reading “Rise in Poverty in the U.S.”
Labor Day fact sheet
In honor of Labor Day, here are some numbers on the state of working America, courtesy of the Economic Policy Institute: TOTAL JOBS LOST DURING THE RECESSION: 6.9 MILLION • New jobs needed per month to keep up with population growth: 127,000 • Jobs needed to regain pre-recession unemployment levels: 9.4 million UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 9.7%Continue reading “Labor Day fact sheet”
Environmental justice?
In the current concerns about climate change, it often seems like environmental degradation doesn’t discriminate: your economic class or color of your skin won’t necessarily save you from the thinning of the ozone layer or rising sea levels. On a more local level, however, researchers and activists have been concerned about disparate effects of environmentalContinue reading “Environmental justice?”
Housing and inequality
Our housing-market-implosion-induced financial meltdown has prompted a rethinking by increasing numbers of researchers and policymakers of how we approach housing policy in the U.S. The concerns and implications are both personal and societal. Much of the angst has arisen from the stratospheric increase in home mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. A recent NY Times feature seriesContinue reading “Housing and inequality”
Criminalizing poverty
A recent op-ed by Barbara Ehrenreich asks, “Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor?” In her engaging style, Ehrenreich tells the story of how a man who is “an ordained minister and does not drink, do drugs or curse in front of ladies” was arrested taken from a homeless shelter and put in jailContinue reading “Criminalizing poverty”
Politics, politics…and who always loses?
Have you heard the one about the origin of the word, “politics?” It comes from “poly,” which means many, and “tics,” those blood-sucking parasites….. I tell you, I get back from a trip overseas for a couple weeks and when I get back it seems like the crazies have taken over the political scene. WeContinue reading “Politics, politics…and who always loses?”
Bill Pitkin 