Wall Street’s Takeover of American Pensions: ‘A Policy Justified Entirely on Ignorance’

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Nov 24, 2014 A key part of Wall Street's $300 million expenditure on the recent midterm elections is the goal of moving as much of working Americans' $3 trillion that sits in unguarded government pension funds into "privately managed, high-fee investments" as possible. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Wall Street Takes Over More Statehouses

David Sirota / Truthdig Nov 14, 2014 No runoff will be needed to declare one unambiguous winner in this month's gubernatorial elections: the financial services industry. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

A Pension Jackpot for Wall Street

David Sirota / Truthdig Sep 27, 2014 Most consumers understand that when you pay an above-market premium, you shouldn't expect to get a below-average product. Why, then, is this principle often ignored when it comes to managing billions of dollars in public pension systems? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Climate and Pensions

Signe Wilkinson / Truthdig Sep 22, 2014 Dig deeper

Miss America

Signe Wilkinson / Truthdig Sep 8, 2014 Dig deeper

Journalists on the Government’s Blacklist

David Sirota / Truthdig Aug 23, 2014 As states move to hide details of government deals with Wall Street, and as politicians come up with new arguments to defend secrecy, a study released earlier this month revealed that many government information officers block specific journalists they don't like from accessing information. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Is Corruption a Constitutional Right?

David Sirota / Truthdig Aug 16, 2014 Last week, the GOP filed a federal lawsuit aimed at overturning the pay-to-play law that bars governors from raising campaign money from Wall Street executives who manage their states' pension funds. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Stadium Subsidies Financed By Pension Cuts

David Sirota / Truthdig Jul 26, 2014 As states and cities grapple with budget shortfalls, many are betting big on an unproven formula: Slash public employee pension benefits and public services while diverting the savings into lucrative subsidies for professional sports teams. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Imagine Christie’s Budget Crisis on a National Scale

David Sirota / Truthdig May 24, 2014 Two key decisions by the New Jersey governor have redistributed wealth from pensioners to hedge fund managers while throwing the state's finances into chaos. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Wall Street’s Secret Swindle

David Sirota / Truthdig Apr 26, 2014 In the national debate over what to do about public pension shortfalls, here's something you may not know: The texts of the agreements signed between those pension funds and financial firms are almost always secret. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The Insider’s Economic Dictionary: P Is for Ponzi

By Michael Hudson Apr 13, 2014 Parasitism: In biology, parasites develop a strategy of gaining control of the host’s brain in order to obtain nourishment by masquerading as its natural progeny or as a part of its body. For economies, the brain in question is the government. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

In Chicago, You Have to Pay to Play With Public Money

David Sirota / Truthdig Apr 12, 2014 In America, there is regular ol' corruption, and then there is Chicago Corruption, with a capital "C." Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )