Real Economy Project

News

Robin Hood Storms Chase Castle and M&I Execs Get Piggish

by Mary Bottari — May 18, 2011 - 5:18am
  • Topics: Activism, Banking, Corporations, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • On Tuesday, the shareholders of Marshall and Ilsley (M&I) Bank of Wisconsin "voted" to give $71 million in bonuses to failed executives as part of an acquisition deal. "Voted" may not be the right word, since CEO Mark Furlong opened and closed the meeting within the span of five minutes, allowing no discussion and no questions from the dozen or so shareholders in the room. Furlong has apparently learned Robert's Rules of Order from his friend Governor Scott Walker and the rest of the gang in the Wisconsin Capitol.

    Wisconsin Protesters Weather Pessimism at May 14 Rally

    by Summer Abdoh — May 15, 2011 - 9:45am
  • Topics: Activism, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Education, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • Protesters took to the Wisconsin's capital once more on May 14th to prove neither pessimism nor weather could dampen their enthusiasm.

    An estimated 10-15,000 Wisconsinites gathered on the State Street steps equipped with new chants and signs protesting Walker's collective bargaining bill, education cuts, Badger Care cuts and immigrant rights. Summing up the feeling of many, one protester held a sign saying "Too Many Bad Bills for One Sign!"

    The Wisconsin protests have yet to become redundant or uninteresting and continue to reinvent the very notion of protesting. The May 14 rally, sponsored by unions and the Wisconsin Wave, wasn't any different.

    Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the WI AFl-CIO, warned that even though the collective bargaining bill was tied up in the courts, Gov. Scott Walker "is attempting to ram through the legislation attacking workers by incorporating it into an already extreme budget proposal."

    News

    Walker Promotes Education Privatization in D.C. Amid Protests

    by Jennifer Page — May 11, 2011 - 10:30am
  • Topics: Children, Democracy, Economy, Education, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • It seems wherever Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker goes, protesters seem to follow. This rule held true earlier this week in Washington D.C., when Walker used his newly burnished credentials as an extremist to address a forum promoting the privatization of public schools.

    The American Federation for Children (ACF) promotes school privatization and voucher schemes that take away critically needed funds for public education to fund private schools. Inside the Marriott, The American Federation for Children's "School Choice Now: Empowering America's Children" policy summit attracted voucher boosters like Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and Michelle Rhee, the former controversial head of the Washington D.C. public school system. Outside the Marriott, there were around 200 protesters with signs that read "Public Education Not Privatization," "Save Our Schools," and "Vouchers Aren't the Answer."

    News

    Big Bank Backlash: From Coast to Coast People are Moving their Money

    by Mary Bottari — May 6, 2011 - 6:57am
  • Topics: Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • As the economy continues to sputter and new unemployment claims surge to an eight-month high, it hasn't escaped the notice of people on Main Street that the folks on Wall Street are back in the black.

    According to Fortune magazine, profits of the 500 largest U.S. corporations have surged 81 percent this past year. Fortune's editors write, "We've rarely seen such a stark gulf between the fortunes of the 500 and those of ordinary Americans."

    When Fortune is standing up for the workers, you know it's bad.

    Scott Walker Champions State Employees?

    by Jennifer Page — May 5, 2011 - 8:50am

    In an alternate universe scenario, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker released a video this week thanking Wisconsin public workers and asking the public for nominations for "public servants showing outstanding innovations, exceptional service and ongoing dedication." Just months after the governor spearheaded a bill that would take away almost all collective bargaining rights and slash benefits and pensions for unions and public workers, The Daily Cardinal reported that Walker announced May 4th a State Employee Recognition Day. "In challenging economic and budget times, state employees continue to cut costs and gain efficiencies in the delivery of essential services by utilizing taxpayer resources wisely and seeking better ways to provide high-quality services," Walker said in the proclamation."

    Main Source: 
    The Progressive
    News

    Fire Fighters Turn off the Spigot

    by Mary Bottari — April 27, 2011 - 1:05pm
  • Topics: Democracy, Labor, Politics, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • Remember when the fight broke out in Wisconsin over the right to collectively bargain and President Obama and a phalanx of national Democratic leaders spread out across the country fighting for the rights of American workers?

    Right, we don't remember that either.

    As unions battled for their very existence, the thunderous silence from Washington, D.C. did not go unnoticed by working families fighting for their livelihoods or by powerful political players. At least one organization has decided to hold a few of their former friends accountable.

    The International Association of Fire Fighters, announced yesterday it would no longer be giving money to federal candidates. Rather, the 300,000-member union said it would put its energy and resources into the fight at the state level over collective bargaining.

    News

    Wisconsin Supreme Court Recount Begins

    by Brendan Fischer — April 26, 2011 - 8:18am
  • Topics: Democracy, Politics, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • The recount in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race begins on Wednesday, April 27. Why was the recount called, how will it be carried out, and how can individuals get involved?

    Op-Ed

    Sarah Palin: The Koch Brother’s Union Maid

    by Mary Bottari — April 18, 2011 - 7:48am
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • Tax Day was approaching and the righties were out to denigrate government workers and government spending. Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska who quit her job in 2009, headlined a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, bought and paid for by the front-group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), but billed as a "grassroots" Tea Party event.

    News

    Badgers Drown Out Mama Grizzly

    by Jennifer Page — April 16, 2011 - 5:05pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • The wet snow and tense atmosphere did not deter thousands of people from coming to the capitol for Americans for Prosperity's Tax Day Rally. The major draw was former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who was announced as a speaker days before the event on Saturday. Crowd estimates vary from hundreds to thousands, but the majority of people were there to protest -- not applaud -- Palin. One local reporter paced-off the area where the majority of AFP protesters clustered and said it totaled 20 by 35 feet.

    News

    Koch-Fueled Controversy Lands in Washington

    by Mary Bottari — April 14, 2011 - 1:20pm
  • Topics: Activism, Banking, Corporations, Democracy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • On April 14 the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Darrell Issa (R-California), held a hearing on state and municipal debt where the key question was State Budget Cuts: Choice or Necessity?

    Chairman Issa started off by framing the issue in a manner that was thrilling to Wall Street barons and corporate big wigs. He said that states will face a shortfall of $112 billion in 2012 and the reasons for this were "obvious." The primary reasons, according to Issa, are reckless spending and unfunded or underfunded pension funds. The 2008 Wall Street financial crisis and the staggering job loss, which caused state and federal tax revenues to tank, were not mentioned.

    And so it went. Flying in the face of fact and reason, Republicans insisted that states spend too much and that the best way to attack the state deficit problem is on the back of unionized workers, their only organized opposition in the electoral arena.

    Syndicate content