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Op-Ed
The Economic Side of MLK's Dream
April 4 - Forty years ago tonight, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn. On the eve of his death, King preached: "I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."
A new report, "Forty Years Later: The Unrealized American Dream," by Dedrick Muhammad, my colleague at the Institute for Policy Studies, examines our progress toward King's dream of racial equality, specifically between blacks and whites. Simply put, we're not much closer to the promised land than we were at the time of King's murder. By Chuck Collins, published in The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.
Op-Ed
The Great Reckoning Is Here
February 21 - The debate in Congress about what flavor of "economic stimulus" package to pass is a distraction. We've got much deeper economic troubles a $150 billion tax rebate can't fix. A corrosive problem lies at the root of our economic instability: our society and economy are rapidly polarizing. The gap between the super-rich and everyone else harkens to the Gilded Age of a century and a half ago. This glaring inequality leads to economic speculation by the rich - think hedge funds - and declining buying power for everyone else. By Chuck Collins, published in Evening Times (Little Falls, NY), Newberry Observer (Newberry, SC), The Mountain Mail (Salida, CO).
Op-Ed
Want to Stimulate the Economy? Tax the Wealthy
January 24 - Conservatives argue that the answer to the recession is to cut taxes and interest rates targeted at their über-wealthy and global corporate patrons. This is their program for any season, rain or shine, so it is immediately suspect. Progressives argue, correctly, that we should target tax breaks and rebates to low- and middle-income people; their consumer spending will keep the economy chugging. Give a tax break to big corporations and the rich, and it will go anywhere on the planet in search of maximum returns. Give a tax rebate to a lower-income person or a small business and it is spent in the local economy, thus stimulating bottom up demand. The likely congressional compromise will direct tens of billions in tax breaks to corporations and send ordinary people a check for $300 or $400. The wealthy will be further enriched, and everyone else will have extra cash to spend or pay down their Visa bill. By Chuck Collins, published in AlterNet.