Under the Radar

“It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in child laws which are truly stupid.”

—Newt Gingrich, GOP presidential candidate, calling for the repeal of child labor laws

“Living wage proposals are economically unfair because they change the basis on which our economy operates.”

—U.S. Chamber of Commerce, from an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court of Louisiana against the New Orleans living wage ordinance

Outrage at Troy Davis Execution Helped Jumpstart Occupy Wall Street

“The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me.” These were some of the last words of Troy Davis, who was executed by the state of Georgia despite claims of severe judicial and police misconduct. His case touched off a furious international campaign to save his life. It also gave a jumpstart to the nascent Occupy Wall Street movement during its inaugural week.

The day after Davis’s execution, hundreds of angry New Yorkers marched spontaneously from Union Square through downtown Manhattan, growing in size as they went, and repeatedly maneuvering against the police for possession of the streets. After a few hours, they arrived at the Occupy Wall Street encampment, electrifying those in Zuccotti Park.

Occupy Wall Street activists said the events of that night gave them the confidence and inspiration to march toward Union Square two days later. During this march, the New York Police Department arrested dozens and maced several peaceful protesters, incidents which were captured on video and are widely credited with sparking nationwide sympathy for the budding movement.

Unemployment Is Old News—The Real Story Is The Employment Rate

While economists dissect and debate unemployment rates—with no universally accepted gauge for “real unemployment”—the lesser-used employment-population ratio and labor-participation rates have slipped through the cracks. Throughout 2010, the overall employment-population ratio (for those over the age of sixteen) was stuck at 58 percent—down from 65 percent a decade prior. The country has roughly the same number of jobs today as it had in 2000, while the population has surged by thirty million people over the same period. As a result, the economy would have to add around eighteen million jobs to get back to the same employment rate as in 2000.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than forty-six million women and twenty-eight million men over the age of twenty are not counted in the civilian labor force. Even if we were to entirely exclude the elderly from this number, it would still leave around thirty-six million people—between the ages of twenty and sixty-four—completely out of the labor force. These are primarily homemakers, “discouraged workers” (who have not sought work in the last four weeks), students, the incarcerated, and military personnel. This contrasts markedly with the fourteen million “officially” unemployed people across all age groups.

Pelican Bay Prison Hunger Strike

California state prisoners briefly captured headlines across the country—although rarely on the front page—during their three-week hunger strike to protest inhumane conditions. What has been less reported is the long build-up to the strike and its historical antecedents. The strike was initiated on July 1, 2011—the ten-year anniversary of a hunger strike that involved six hundred prisoners, began in the same Security Housing Units (SHU), and articulated nearly identical demands. According to prisoner advocates, practically nothing changed over the course of the decade, despite official promises.

Signs from Occupy Wall Street

“Lost My Job, Found an Occupation”

“Robin Hood Was Right”

“One Day the Poor Will Have Nothing Left to Eat But the Rich”

“Second Time I’ve Fought for My Country, First Time I’ve Known My Enemy” [held by U.S. Marines veterans]

“I’m 84 and Mad as Hell”

“Due to Recent Budget Cuts, the Light at the End of the Tunnel Has Been Turned Off”

“Arrested on Saturday, Back on Monday”

“Obama Is Not a Brown-Skinned Anti-War Socialist Who Gives Away Free Health Care… You’re Thinking of Jesus”

“I Won’t Believe Corporations Are People Until Texas Executes One”

“Get a Job? I’ve Been Trying!”

Above all...