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Undercounting the Poor

by Jeannette Wicks-Lim

Nearly two decades ago, a blue-ribbon panel of poverty experts selected by the national Academy of Sciences told us that the official U.S. government poverty measure is “de­monstrably flawed … it needs to be replaced.” As a corrective step, the Census Bureau began publishing an alternative Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) in 2011.

The SPM represents genuine im­provements, but it fails to address the most important criticism of the poverty line: it is too damned low. The poverty number betrays the experience of those left out of the official count, but who struggle mightily to put food on the ta­ble or keep the lights on. If poverty is the inability to meet one’s basic needs, then one in three Americans is poor—a rate more than twice that based on the SPM.

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Second-best Policies to Stimulate the U.S. Economy

by Tom Weisskopf

To combat the continuing recession in the U.S. and to move toward full employment, the clearly optimal policy is for the federal government to increase spending now on programs that contribute to economic growth while improving the quality of life, such as education, infrastructure, research & development, and – not least – reduction of emissions of heat-trapping gases. President Obama as well as Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Bernanke appear to be well aware of this.

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The Political Aspects of Unemployment at Seventy

by Matias Vernengo

Michal Kalecki’s (1943) classic paper, “Political Aspects of Full Employment” remains surprisingly modern, and its message still is worth revising. If you read and/or watch the current debates on economic policy in the mainstream media you would think that public deficits and debt are the main economic problem ahead. Further, if you look at Obama’s budget proposal, with the offer of reducing payments to social security recipients, you would think that entitlement programs are unsustainable and must be overhauled. On the other hand, the mainstream media is not as vocal on the unemployment problem, and in some quarters the current rate of unemployment, 7.6%, is seen as not too high, and only slightly above full employment, which is put by some at 5.5% (the so-called natural rate).

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Bangladesh: More Garment Workers Die as a Neoliberal Nightmare Continues

by Stephanie Luce

On Wednesday, April 24, an 8-story building outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed. Over 600 people were killed, and over 1,000 injured – but the death toll may rise as rescue crews continue their search.

The building housed a variety of businesses, including a bank and five garment factories that employed over 3,100 garment workers – mostly young women. Observers noticed a large crack develop on in the building on Tuesday, and the bank on the second floor told its workers not to come in the next day. The garment factories decided to stay open for business, and the result was tragedy.

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Robin Hood Marches into Washington

by Chuck Idelson

They came, they danced, they marched, 2,000 people spirited and strong, Robin Hood’s merry band of men and women, through the streets of Washington April 20.

Ending up astride a prominent government building, christened with a new name and a naming ceremony. No more U.S. Treasury, now, the banner declared, “The U.S. Treasury. A Citigroup Subsidiary. Jack Lew, Inc., CEO.”We could end AIDS, reverse climate change, fund jobs and health care. Who do you work for Secretary Lew?” asked Jennifer Flynn, managing director of Health GAP (Global Action Project). “You work for the people, not Wall Street.”

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