AltWeeklies Wire
How ACORN Foresaw the Foreclosure Crisis in 2001new
The grassroots group helped Oakland pass a tough anti-predatory lending law that would have halted the housing crisis before it started. Then subprime lenders started making campaign contributions in Sacramento.
East Bay Express |
Robert Gammon |
09-30-2009 |
Economy
European Report Shatters the Myth of the Olympics' Economic Benefitsnew
While boosters predict that hosting the 2016 Olympics would bring Illinois $22.5 billion, a crucial report from the European Tour Operators Association came to the conclusion that "there appears to be little evidence of any benefit to tourism of hosting an Olympic Games, and considerable evidence of damage."
Chicago Reader |
Deanna Isaacs |
09-21-2009 |
Economy
Upside Down in Pontiac: How Investors Walk Away from Disasternew
Many Pontiac houses sit and continue to decline in value, blight the community, attract nuisances, cost lenders and the city money in maintenance, and pull down the values of nearby properties. Some have resold for a fraction of their taxable values, further driving down home prices around them. Others will sit vacant for years.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
09-15-2009 |
Economy
Economic Sociology is the Fastest-Growing Field in Sociologynew
Like out-of-control Godzillas, financial markets have become monsters that eat everything. Why do they do this, and how can they be controlled? Sociologists want to know.
East Bay Express |
Jay Youngdahl |
08-26-2009 |
Economy
Is Economic Recovery Money Helping San Diego Businesses?new
The combination of tax cuts and direct government spending is supposed make consumers spend and businesses invest, creating a multiplier effect that would boost the economy. Using a database of stimulus spending compiled by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, we called businesses receiving stimulus dollars and asked them what they were doing with their money.
San Diego CityBeat |
Eric Wolff |
08-12-2009 |
Economy
Lay Off Layoffs
U.S. employers hire and fire workers at will. Other countries give workers lifetime employment contracts--and have higher productivity.
Calgary Women Hired While Men Get Firednew
While studying poverty issues, non-profit group discovers that men are losing jobs while women are making gains.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Jeremy Klaszus |
08-06-2009 |
Economy
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s Reliability Costs Businesses Millionsnew
A Guardian review of available data shows that customers of PG&E lose power much more frequently than customers of municipally owned and operated utilities.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Megan Rawlins |
08-05-2009 |
Economy
Orlando City Commissioners Get an Open Line of Credit ... Taxpayers Get the Billnew
If you had a $30,000 annual slush fund courtesy of someone else, what would you do? If you were Orlando city commissioner Daisy Lynum, you'd travel. A lot.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman and Billy Manes |
07-30-2009 |
Economy
Hello Local, Goodbye Global: Relocalization Movement Gains Momentumnew
A burgeoning relocalization movement has the potential to revolutionize the way we eat, shop, work, and vacation. The movement's proponents argue that it's an essential response to climate change and peak oil, which both threaten to transform agriculture around the world
The Georgia Straight |
Charlie Smith |
07-27-2009 |
Economy
Oregon Aims to Become First State Ever to Erase Gender Wage Gapnew
Working without a definite deadline, Bureau of Labor and Industries Commissioner Brad Avakian has tasked the newly formed Oregon Council on Civil Rights to create an action plan for making equal pay for equal work a reality in Oregon.
The Portland Mercury |
Sarah Mirk |
07-24-2009 |
Economy
Creating Jobs, Unfortunately, Doesn't Seem to be an Obama Priority
Obama's plan is Reaganomics redux. Give trillions of dollars to big corporations, he argues, and they'll use it to capitalize new ventures, hire workers, and unclog the credit markets. Eventually.
Cash for Clunkers: Buckets of Bolts for the Low, Low Price of $1 Billionnew
Theoretically the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) -- aka "Cash For Clunkers" -- sounds like a swell idea. But it's also pretty pie-in-the-sky. I'm not the first to notice that this bill assumes that there are lots of people driving around a car that is worth less than $4,500 and can actually afford a new car.
Pasadena Weekly |
Jennifer Hadley |
07-13-2009 |
Economy
Exposing The Biggest Scam In The Auto Industrynew
While insurance companies vehemently deny that "steering" is practiced throughout the industry, the evidence gathered by a Press investigation suggests that some of the largest and most popular auto insurance companies in the nation are involved.
Long Island Press |
Michael M. Martino, Jr. |
06-19-2009 |
Economy
How Do You Take the Rust Out of the Rust Belt?new
It's a question politicians and policymakers have been asking themselves for years. Now, with a new administration in the White House and stimulus money at the ready, local lawmakers and nonprofits are looking for ways to funnel some much-needed capital into revitalizing Great Lakes cities.
