Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Teacher Unions That Could Deal a Major Blow to Liberals

Staff / Truthdig Jan 9, 2016 On Monday, the Supreme Court justices who handed victories to liberals in 2016 will hear a case that labor leaders warn could bankrupt public-sector unions and further curtail their political power. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Truthdigger of the Week: Michael Paarlberg

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jan 27, 2013 After leaving a trail of dead in the private sector, the “long and steady march toward a fully disposable workforce” has turned sharply toward the public sector in recent years, the labor scholar tells us in a column for The Guardian. After leaving a trail of dead in the private sector, the “long and steady march toward a fully disposable workforce” has made a sharp turn in recent years toward the public sector, the labor scholar tells us. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Union Showdown in Chicago

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Sep 11, 2012 Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges stopped by “Democracy Now!” to talk about the Chicago public school teachers’ strike, “arguably one of the most important labor actions in probably decades," which "illustrates the bankruptcy of both traditional labor and the Democratic Party." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Let Them Eat Sports

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 26, 2012 As public sector jobs, education, health insurance and social welfare programs crumble amid the specter of economic austerity, the British government has spent more than $14 billion on preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games -- far more than the $4 billion that was estimated a few years ago. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

More Cuts and Pain Coming to Spain

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 11, 2012 In exchange for a eurozone bailout of $123 billion, Spain’s conservative government Wednesday slashed $80 billion from its budget over the next two and a half years through a combination of sales tax hikes and spending cuts. That’s in addition to $92 billion dropped by the country's previous administration. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Public-Sector Banks: From Black Sheep to Global Leaders

By Ellen Brown, Truthout Mar 8, 2012 Conventional wisdom holds that government bureaucrats are bad businesspeople. But around the world, the many countries with strong public banking sectors generally have strong, stable economies. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

2 Million Brits Walk Out Over Pension Cuts

Staff / Truthdig Dec 1, 2011 As many as 2 million British public sector workers went on strike Wednesday to oppose the government’s plans to increase revenue by digging into their hard-earned pensions Just over one-quarter of the civil service walked out, including members of Prime Minister David Cameron's staff. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Joblessness Hangs at 45% in Blockaded Gaza

Staff / Truthdig Jun 14, 2011 In findings that can hardly be expected to generate Palestinian good will for Israel, a five-year Israeli blockade on Gazan exports has contributed heavily to the joblessness of nearly half the population and a sharp decline in real wages, according to a U.N. report. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Job Cuts Outpace Hiring

Staff / Truthdig Oct 8, 2010 What's bad? September saw 159,000 public sector employees laid off. What's worse? A good number of those layoffs were teachers, as private sector hiring failed to keep pace with job cuts by federal and local governments. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Somalia Tops Corruption List

Staff / Truthdig Nov 18, 2009 File this one under Dubious Honors of the World: An organization with the fun name of Transparency International has created a list ranking nations according to "perceived levels of corruption in the public sector," as the BBC put it, and Somalia appears to be the worst of the bunch. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )