It rhymes with ‘schneo-liberalism.’ It was an economic disaster and a political dead end. It was an economic disaster and a political dead end. In the early days of his presidency, Barack Obama had the power to overhaul the economy, but instead he focused on smaller, less effective fixes. By Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times — In 2009, Barack Obama was the most powerful newly elected American president in a generation. Democrats controlled the House and, for about five months in the second half of the year, they enjoyed a filibuster-proof, 60-vote majority in the Senate. For the first six months of his presidency, Obama had…
The idea of economic amends for past injustices and persistent disparities is getting renewed attention. Here are some formulas for achieving the aim. By Patricia Cohen, The New York Times…
By R. Drew Smith Professor, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Co-Convener, Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race With 2019 regarded by many as marking 400 years since the beginnings of African enslavement…
By Max B. Sawicky, Jacobin Magazine — Cheer up. The Left is winning the battle of ideas. Ideas are the basis for organization, and organization is prior to change. The…
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson — A beaming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell drew raucous cheers from the throng at the 2016 Republican convention when he bragged that he torpedoed then…
By Dr. Keith Magee — America is experiencing the most perilous of times in recent history as the result of its president, Donald Trump. Even though Monday morning he stepped…
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson — Dylann S. Roof is an avowed white supremacist. He wantonly, brazenly, and unapologetically slaughtered nine African-Americans in a South Carolina church in 2015. He’s under…
By Julianne Malveaux — President Barack Obama and his team masterfully designed an economic recovery from the George W Bush-induced Great Recession of 2008. The man who now leads our…
By Madina Touré — Mayor Bill de Blasio won’t say if he supports reparations for black Americans affected by slavery, but he does support a commission to study the issue. As part of his longshot presidential campaign, the mayor this week attended the 2019 Muslim Collective for Equitable Democracy Conference in Washington, D.C., and was asked about reparations for the descendants of black slaves — a long-debated concept that has…
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson — Trump may win. Though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer would never in a million years publicly say anything like that. The brutal reality is he…
By Dr. Julianne Malveaux — I was honored to have been asked to provide testimony at the House Judiciary Committee hearings on H.R. 40, the legislation that would establish a commission to study reparations and recommend remedies to Congress. It is relevant legislation that has been a long time coming. It is important to note that the bill does not “cash the check,” as Dr. Martin Luther King challenged when…
A new insider account reveals how the Obama administration’s botched bailout deal not only reinforced neoliberal Clintonism, but also foreshadowed an ongoing failure to fulfill campaign promises. By Eric Rauchway,…