Budgets

The US Capitol against a blue sky with yellow Caution tape in the foreground.

You Made Your Bed, My Kevin. Now Toss and Turn in It. You Made Your Bed, My Kevin. Now Toss and Turn in It.

McCarthy’s desperation to keep the House speakership is driving the country toward shutdown. And he isn’t doing too well himself.

Sep 29, 2023 / Joan Walsh

Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy

Americans Have Already Lived Through a Shutdown Americans Have Already Lived Through a Shutdown

While Republicans threaten to bring the government to a halt, Democrats are caving in to the austerity measures they demand.

Sep 29, 2023 / Editorial / Chris Lehmann

A close-up shot of Kevin McCarthy in a hallway speaking to reporters.

Kevin McCarthy Isn’t Up to This Battle. But Neither Is Anyone Else. Kevin McCarthy Isn’t Up to This Battle. But Neither Is Anyone Else.

All that protects McCarthy right now is the tiny but effective coat of armor he wore in January: No one else can get a majority vote.

Sep 14, 2023 / Joan Walsh

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) leaves the Senate Chamber with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) following a vote in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol Building on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021

It’s Now Clearer Than Ever: The US Is Choosing to Impoverish Children It’s Now Clearer Than Ever: The US Is Choosing to Impoverish Children

Robert Reich has been telling us for years that policymakers have the power to end—or increase—poverty. New Census data proves him right.

Sep 13, 2023 / John Nichols

Ukrainian soldiers adjust flag

The Dangerous Myth of the “Good War” The Dangerous Myth of the “Good War”

The fantasy that the war in Ukraine is a war to secure democracy around the world has taken root among well-meaning liberals.

Sep 7, 2023 / David Bromwich

photo of a sink with water that is not safe for drinking

A Year Later, the Water Crisis in Jackson Has Gone From Acute to Chronic A Year Later, the Water Crisis in Jackson Has Gone From Acute to Chronic

And the officials in charge of fixing the situation seem more interested in privatization than accountability.

Sep 7, 2023 / Highlights / Makani Themba

wga picketers hold signs

Los Angeles Is Now the Country’s Leading Union Town Los Angeles Is Now the Country’s Leading Union Town

The West Coast capital, once famous for hostility to organized labor, emerges as the epicenter of national strike action.

Sep 1, 2023 / C.M. Lewis

photo of a bathroom, mirrors on walls

Where Did Our Public Toilets Go? Where Did Our Public Toilets Go?

Why the state of a country’s civilization can be judged by its public facilities.

Aug 29, 2023 / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington

Martin Luther King’s Dream at 60 Martin Luther King’s Dream at 60

King offered Americans the choice between acting in accordance with the constitution and resistance—often violent—to change.  In many ways, we face the same choice today.

Aug 28, 2023 / Eric Foner

Former Senator Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) as his hero, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Republicans Are Gaslighting Us on Poverty Republicans Are Gaslighting Us on Poverty

Claims that poverty in America has been eliminated, and that “idleness” is the only barrier to a life of middle-class comfort, would be funny—if they weren’t so dangerous.

Aug 21, 2023 / Brad Swanson

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