Robert Reich

UPDATE: For a contrary argument on the constitutionality of repealing a law by defunding it, see the comment by esteemed legal commentator Michael Froomkin in the comments section.[You should be able to click on this News Alert to enlarge it.]"The constitutional process for repealing a law -- such as Congress and President Clinton did with the old Glass-Steagall Act -- is for both houses to enact a new bill that repeals the old, which must then be signed by the President.

Maybe you saw Emily Jane Fox's CNN story over the weekend on what it takes to raise a family on three minimum wage jobs. The story takes place in Chicago:

Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican consultant in California politics since the Nixon era, told the NY Times that “Until we solve our Latino problem, we’re not going to be a viable state party, and it’s hard to understand how that’s possible without fixing immigration.” The Times explains what everyone in California is already well-aware of:

The American people, just like the British people and the French people, oppose going to war in Syria... overwhelmingly. The other day, Orlando-area congressional candidate Nick Ruiz said that "As Democrats we know better than to fight unjust wars...

Which Republican said this?(For the answer, see E. J. Dionne Jr. below)"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."

Over the weekend, CNN published a crowd-sourced list of the 99-- like in the 99%-- must-reads on income inequality. The titles that are linked are available online or are avilable in the DWT online book store.

Robert Reich's movie, Inequality For All, hits the theaters on September 27. Above is a first-look at the trailer. The imagine of the suspension bridge makes the case for a comparison between Herbert Hoover and George W. Bush.

"We can't have a prosperous economy," explains former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in the video above, "without a large and growing middle class." Over the weekend, his column dealt with the Republican Party's systematic sabotage of the economy. They're opposing policies that grow and sustain the middle class and they're pushing an agenda that pushes more ordinary working families into economic distress and poverty. Reich focuses on the GOP's obstruction of every attempt to improve the jobs situation.

When the Democrats controlled the White House, the House and, briefly, the Senate, did they raise the minimum wage to the point where someone could call it a living wage? Not that I recall. But now that they know it's impossible to do because of an obstructionist Republican Congress-- and with the midterm election campaigns kicking off-- they're making a loud ruckus.

Don't mention Thomas Jefferson to Texas nutbag Ted CruzAs soon as the Texas plutocrats won control over the state Board of Education, through their pathetic Tea Party puppets, one of the first orders of business was to eliminate Thomas Jefferson from the history books. Dangerous revolutionary, that Jefferson, with his subversive ideas. I wonder how long it will take for them to move against historical Jesus too.