U.S. Economy

2009

• The Root of Madoff's Evil

  Robert Scheer : White-Collar Crime

  Congress should not be fooled by the argument of Wall Street lobbyists that Bernard Madoff was a lone rotten apple now safely discarded.

• Waste Behind Bars

  Ari Melber : Jails & Prisons

  Will the recession bring the justice-system reforms that progressives have long supported?

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  Our Jobless Recovery

  Leo Hindery Jr. & Leo W. Gerard : Employment/Unemployment

  The solution to the jobs crisis depends on manufacturing and trade policy reform.

• Bankrupt GM Begins Slashing Jobs

  American News Project

  The government has poured money into GM to help keep the company afloat, but the company is still slashing jobs.

• Touring Empire's Ruins: From Detroit to the Amazon

  Greg Grandin : History

  The empire ends with a pullout. Not from Iraq, but from Detroit.

• Obama's False Financial Reform

  William Greider : Banks & Banking

  What's missing in the President's call for reform are concrete rules that address a dysfunctional banking system. Slow down the rush to weak solutions.

• The Compensation Hustle

  Christopher Hayes

  How will Washington recalibrate the share of gains captured by shareholders, executives and workers in a post-crash economy?

• The Most Important Financial Journalist of Her Generation

  Dean Starkman : Journalists & Journalism

  Long before most in the business press rose to the challenge, Gretchen Morgenson was reporting that the financial sector had gone rogue.

• Obama's Money Men Finally Get It

  Robert Scheer : Banks & Banking

  Unveiling new proposals to regulate Wall Street, Geithner and Summers now condemn the shenanigans they once abetted and celebrated.

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  Wall Street's False Armistice

  William Greider : Barack Obama Administration

  The biggest names in Wall Street banking are back to business as usual. And if they're wrong in declaring the financial crisis over, the big losers will be President Obama and the American taxpayer.

• Online Loan Lobby vs. Indebted Americans

  American News Project

  The Online Lenders Association tries to whitewash the realities being faced by Americans deeply in debt due to 'payday' loans.

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  Governing GM

  The Editors : General Motors

  The nationalization of General Motors and the offshoring of its jobs are yet another sign that we are moving toward a jobless recovery.

• GM: What Will Restructuring Mean?

  GRIT TV

  Rep. Dennis Kucinich, New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse, UAW veteran Al Benchich and others on the dismantling of GM.

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  Reagan Didn't Do It

  Robert Scheer : Banks & Banking

  It would be nice to blame the Gipper for the economic meltdown, but the facts don't support it. The real villains are closer at hand.

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  California Budget Blues

  Robert Scheer

  If Citigroup is too big to fail, isn't the state of California? How the national economy can snap back to health if the federal government refuses to help?

• The Greatest Swindle Ever Sold

  Andy Kroll

  How the financial bailout scams taxpayers, subsidizes Wall Street and props up our broken financial system.

• $1 Trillion and Counting...

  Jo Comerford : Afghanistan War

  The $1 trillion we have spent on war since 9/11 has placed enormous stress on our recession-struck economy.