Economy

Why Women Workers Are Risk-Averse—and That’s Okay

Why Women Workers Are Risk-Averse—and That’s Okay Why Women Workers Are Risk-Averse—and That’s Okay

Society gives women little room to make mistakes, but their aversion to risk taking may pay off for companies’ bottom lines.

Nov 26, 2013 / Bryce Covert

How Wall Street Has Turned Housing Into a Dangerous Get-Rich-Quick Scheme—Again

How Wall Street Has Turned Housing Into a Dangerous Get-Rich-Quick Scheme—Again How Wall Street Has Turned Housing Into a Dangerous Get-Rich-Quick Scheme—Again

This time it’s securities bundled from rentals, rather than mortgages.

Nov 26, 2013 / Laura Gottesdiener

New York Airport Workers Organize to End Two-Tier Wage System

New York Airport Workers Organize to End Two-Tier Wage System New York Airport Workers Organize to End Two-Tier Wage System

Passenger service workers earn significantly lower wages than the largely unionized airline employees with whom they work. Now they’re organizing to change that.

Nov 26, 2013 / Allegra Kirkland

A Crowd-Sourced Escape From Poverty?

A Crowd-Sourced Escape From Poverty? A Crowd-Sourced Escape From Poverty?

An Internet fairy tale for the age of austerity: Linda Tirado’s essay about being poor and making bad decisions could catapult her into the middle-class.

Nov 25, 2013 / Michelle Goldberg

This Week in Poverty: Anti-Poverty Leaders Discuss the Need for a Shared Agenda

This Week in Poverty: Anti-Poverty Leaders Discuss the Need for a Shared Agenda This Week in Poverty: Anti-Poverty Leaders Discuss the Need for a Shared Agenda

Anti-poverty leaders discuss the need to move from just playing defense to working together to achieve a shared agenda.

Nov 25, 2013 / Greg Kaufmann

This Week in ‘Nation’ History: The Tantalizing Mockery of Thanksgiving, 1931

This Week in ‘Nation’ History: The Tantalizing Mockery of Thanksgiving, 1931 This Week in ‘Nation’ History: The Tantalizing Mockery of Thanksgiving, 1931

President Hoover's holiday proclamation was offensive to millions of poor and unemployed Americans, our 'Drifter' columnist wrote.

Nov 23, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Right-Wing Author Abandons Cultural Populism, Decries ‘White Trash’

Right-Wing Author Abandons Cultural Populism, Decries ‘White Trash’ Right-Wing Author Abandons Cultural Populism, Decries ‘White Trash’

Charlotte Hays’s “When Did White Trash Become the New Normal?” reveals a right that’s stopped masking its contempt for average Americans.

Nov 21, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Michelle Goldberg

Row house in Baltimore

Inequality Is (Literally) Killing America Inequality Is (Literally) Killing America

As the disparity between rich and poor has grown, so have gaps in life expectancy between counties, towns, and even neighborhoods. 

Nov 20, 2013 / Zoë Carpenter

JPMorgan Agrees to Historic Settlement—Is It Enough?

JPMorgan Agrees to Historic Settlement—Is It Enough? JPMorgan Agrees to Historic Settlement—Is It Enough?

The settlement with one of the nation’s biggest banks is historic—what should be next?

Nov 20, 2013 / George Zornick

Just Deserts

Just Deserts Just Deserts

Being poor in the United States has rarely meant anything so simple as having too little money.

Nov 19, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Szalai

x