- Working-Class Perspectives offers weekly commentaries on current issues related to working-class people and communities. Contributors discuss a variety of issues, from what class means to how it intersects with race and gender to how class is shaping American politics. We welcome relevant comments of 500 words or less.
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The State of the Working Class
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Tag Archives: economic inequality
Fighting Poverty with Classism
I spent part of last week at the Chautauqua Institution, which a friend described as “summer camp for adults.” Its lovely Victorian summer homes, pricey food options, and demographics – skewing older and extremely white – make it feel like … Continue reading
Is Neoliberalism Dead? Class Struggle and a Wealth Tax
It is heartening to see a wide variety of economists and policy wonks declaring the end of neoliberal austerity based on Joe Biden’s actions during his first 100 days as President. With the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, The Working Class and the Economy
Tagged economic inequality, neoliberalism, wealth tax
6 Comments
Time to Deliver: How Biden Should Respond to the Insurrection
“The faith that anyone could move from rags to riches – with enough guts and gumption, hard work and nose to the grindstone – was once at the core of the American Dream.” –Robert Reich, economist and former U.S. Secretary … Continue reading
The Class Culture War
New York Times columnist David Brooks has proven himself both interested in and repeatedly confused by the working class. A few weeks ago, in a piece arguing that Bernie Sanders is wrong to blame capitalism for economic inequality, Brooks wrote … Continue reading
Equality and Electability
In 2015, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg advised Hillary Clinton to run on a promise to “level the playing field” and “rewrite the rules of the economy.” She didn’t take his advice. Instead, she told voters she would “build on the … Continue reading
Uber, the “Metropocalypse,” and Economic Inequality in D.C.
Public transit infrastructure in Washington, D.C. is crumbling. Metro and bus services have been cut. Fares have gone up. And, safety remains a problem. After 40 years of deferred maintenance, poor management, and the lack of decent, long-term funding, the … Continue reading
Equal Opportunity Is Not Enough
We middle-class professionals are a crafty bunch, especially our intellectual elite. One of our cagiest moves recently involves our expressions of concern about increasing income and wealth inequality in the U.S. While eloquently expressing how guilty we feel about our … Continue reading
Chasing Tax Cheats to Create Jobs: Why Don’t We Do That?
I’m guessing that tax collectors have never been a popular group, but we need thousands more of them, probably about 50,000 more. Why? Because something like $400 billion in business and personal taxes go uncollected each year, and with more … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, Working-Class Politics
Tagged economic inequality, tax cheats, tax policy
1 Comment
Defending the Working Class from Financial Abuse
For decades Wall Street’s big banks and the financial services industry have used—and abused–the judicial system to hammer working-class families and erode the American Dream. Left virtually defenseless because they could not afford to hire attorneys to fight back, millions … Continue reading
Just Not Posh Enough? Social Mobility and the “Class Ceiling”
This autumn marks twenty-five years since I went to college at Durham University in the North-East of England. Durham is the third oldest university in England, and one of its colleges is housed in the Norman castle on top of … Continue reading