Opinion

Biden’s Marijuana Reform Plan Is a Good Start. He Can’t Stop There.

The Biden administration has taken the first step to ending harsh and discriminatory laws around marijuana. But it’s a far cry from justice for all those impacted.

Jesse Mechanic

The Gangster Socialists of the Red State Beaches

Insurance may suck, but it doesn't lie.

Hamilton Nolan

Joe Manchin Says He’s Pro-Job Creation, But He’s Lobbying the Fed to Increase Unemployment

Sen. Manchin has justified fossil fuel extraction because it “creates jobs.” He's also pushing a policy that would cut them.

Sarah Lazare

To Win in the Midterms, Democrats Should Go All In on Reviving the Child Tax Credit

The expanded Child Tax Credit was the most impactful anti-poverty program in a generation. Democrats should campaign on bringing it back.

Jim Pugh

Teachers and Other Unionists Are Joining Iran’s Gender Justice Uprising

As part of the nationwide protests in Iran, women union members are taking to the streets, saying: “we have nothing to lose but our lives.”

Alborz Ghandehari

The Left Should Double Down on Electoral Organizing

To build power and transform communities, socialists and movement organizers need to engage in the electoral arena.

Alicia Garza

Poverty Is a Public Policy Choice

Pandemic safety net programs kept millions out of poverty in 2021. Cutting them will lead to more unnecessary misery.

Asha Banerjee and Ben Zipperer

Why Aren’t Workers at Unions Eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

While Biden has taken steps to provide student debt cancellation, union workers are excluded from a key relief program—while workers at anti-labor groups like the Heritage Foundation are covered.

Audrey Winn

Independent Unions Are Great—And Proof of Labor's Broken Institutions

The inspiring wave of independent labor organizing also represents the failure of existing unions.

Hamilton Nolan

Grading President Biden’s Economic Record

Rapid job growth and increased worker bargaining power are very good—there’s a whole lot more progressive policy that could be done.

Max B. Sawicky

The Strike that Started the Red Wave

Ten years ago, Chicago teachers modeled what a militant fight for public education looks like by walking off the job. A decade later, the legacy of social justice unionism continues to animate the U.S. labor movement.

Jackson Potter

Republican State AGs Are Trying to Cut Workers’ Wages

While posturing as defenders of working people, over a dozen GOP Attorneys General are seeking to undo wage increases for workers on federal contracts.

Megan Uzzell and JoAnn Kintz

Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan Is a Very Good Economic Policy

The critics are wrong—cancelling student debt will actually help ease inflation and benefit working-class borrowers.

Max B. Sawicky

Salmon or Dams? The U.S. Might Finally Pick Salmon.

The Biden administration has recognized that removing dams is an issue of tribal justice and the only way to save endangered salmon.

Rocky Barker

The Economy Should Serve People. Not Vice Versa.

A simple shift in perspective can eradicate our taste for austerity.

Hamilton Nolan

Now That the IRA Is Law, the Climate Movement’s Fight Has Just Begun

After President Biden’s signing of a “historic” climate bill, environmental organizers have plenty of work ahead to undo the IRA’s worst provisions while keeping fossil fuels in the ground.

Mitch Jones

Monkeypox Is a Workers' Rights Issue

The outbreak of monkeypox shows that workers need protections like paid leave and just cause to help protect public health.

s.e.smith

No, More Pipelines Aren’t the Solution to High Gas Prices

Reviving Keystone XL wouldn’t lower gasoline prices but it would increase carbon emissions, environmental destruction and toxic pollution.

Ted Williams