Category Archives: Economy

Is the Strike Back?

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Jim Barrett

This article has been adapted by the author from his talk at the Strike School event at the IMC on May 5. For almost two centuries the strike has been the characteristic and most important form of protest for working-class … Continue reading →

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The Poor People’s Campaign Continues

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Paul Mueth

The Poor People’s Campaign is a grassroots movement that began in the 1960s and continues to this day, aiming to address issues of poverty, inequality, and social justice in the United States. The campaign was initially launched by Rev. Dr. … Continue reading →

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A Time of Monsters: The New Nadir and the Crisis of the Black Worker

Posted on 09/18/2022 by Gus Wood

We currently reside in what Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci called “A Time of Monsters.” Exacerbated by the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, the Black working classes continue to struggle under what Black Studies scholar Sundiata Cha-Jua has dubbed “the New Nadir.” For … Continue reading →

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The Value of Transaction Taxes on Financial Instruments

Posted on 06/24/2022 by Paul Mueth

Financial transaction taxes (FTT) are an innovative system whose time has come again. There has been a narrow FTT in the UK since 1694, which raised $4.9 billion in 2020, and it hasn’t prevented the City of London from being … Continue reading →

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Union Women on the Move

Posted on 03/31/2022 by Pat Simpson

Hopeful signs of a labor resurgence are everywhere. Despite another decline in the unionized percentage of the labor force and the stalemate in efforts at labor law reform, new frontiers in union organizing have emerged, strikes are on the upswing, … Continue reading →

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Governor Pritzker has the Power to Halt All Utility Shutoffs by Signing an Executive Order

Posted on 10/27/2020 by Allan Axelrod

Robin Brown’s utilities in Champaign were shut off by Ameren Illinois on September 18, 2020, in the midst of our historical COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about how utility shutoffs affected her, Brown said “I’ve had to give away and separate … Continue reading →

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The Proposed Constitutional Amendment on the Ballot for a “Fair Tax”

Posted on 10/27/2020 by Michael Brun

Right now, the Illinois State Constitution forbids progressive taxation on income. In other words, it forbids doing what the IRS does on your federal income tax—taxing you at a rate that depends on your income. On your federal income tax, … Continue reading →

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May Day Rally 2019

Posted on 06/13/2019 by Kristina Khan

This is the text of a speech given at the GEO May 1 rally on the UIUC Main Quad. Thanks to the GEO for having me. Not just because May Day is truly and historically a celebration of anarchist labor … Continue reading →

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Opposition to the Proposed ICE Dwight Detention Center Continues.

Posted on 06/13/2019 by Janice Jayes

Efforts to halt the construction of a 1200-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Dwight, Illinois continue at both the state and local level. The proposed facility would be built and operated by the Virginia-based, for-profit prison company … Continue reading →

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Occupy: Thirty Years In, Ten Years Out …

Posted on 06/13/2019 by davep

It’s been ten years since the Occupy Movement filled streets across 82 countries with protesters decrying the rampant political and economic inequality exposed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Davep, of the Public i editorial collective, looks back … Continue reading →

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What Can We Learn from the Yellow Vests?

Posted on 04/12/2019 by Richard Esbenshade

The last Saturday in March marked “Act XX” for the the Gilets Jaunes or Yellow Vests protests, the 20th consecutive weekend citizens have marched in the tens of thousands and occupied traffic roundabouts across France. Since hundreds of thousands mobilized … Continue reading →

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A New Option to Finance A Clean Energy Future for Everyone

Posted on 12/11/2018 by Robert E. McGrath

While renewable energy technologies have made tremendous strides in recent decades, financing and investment options for those who want to go green have remained scarce. The Clean Energy Credit Union (CECU), chartered by the American Solar Energy Association in 2017, … Continue reading →

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New Philosophy of Government and Entitlement Programs

Posted on 09/10/2018 by Gary Storm

I would like to propose that the first function of central governments around the world should be to print or otherwise issue and distribute enough money, new or de novo money (usually called “base” money), to all of their legal … Continue reading →

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History Matters: Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Fight for Economic Justice

Posted on 05/04/2018 by Stephanie Fortado

By Stephanie Fortado Dr. Stephanie Seawell Fortado is a Lecturer at the University of Illinois Labor Education Program, providing workshops and extension programming for unions and the general public on the Champaign-Urbana campus and throughout Illinois. Before joining the University, … Continue reading →

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Ban Fracking in Illinois this Year

Posted on 03/26/2018 by Lois Kain

By Lois Kain Lois Kain lives in Urbana and is a member of Food and Water Watch and Sierra Club. Illinois has so far avoided the damages that inevitably result from horizontal, or directional, High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF), known … Continue reading →

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FAIR TAX NEEDED in ILLINOIS NOW!

Posted on 02/11/2018 by Germaine Light

by Germaine Light Germaine Light is a retired high school biology teacher, Illinois Education Association-Retired member and activist, and member of the Responsible Budget Coalition, who lives in the woods on the Vermilion River in Vermilion County. The state income … Continue reading →

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The 2018 U.S. Militarized Budget

Posted on 09/09/2017 by Mort Brussel

The 2018 U.S. Militarized Budget My premise is that the military budget, as proposed by the current administration, is a principal reason for the strangling of our civil society. This article explains why it is unnecessary, why it is promoted, … Continue reading →

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OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, THE HIDDEN COSTS OF WAR

Posted on 09/09/2017 by David Johnson

“War is a racket!” This was a famous quote from retired U.S. Marine Corp General Smedley Butler in 1934. Butler stated that “I spent 33 years in the Marine Corp, most of my time being a high-class muscle man for … Continue reading →

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Restoring Life’s Mutual Economy

Posted on 06/30/2017 by George Hardebeck

by George Hardebeck Success has been sold as taking as much as we can, as fast and long as we can, replacing Life’s true green for printed green. Economy, as separate from ecology, is a grand delusion to suit the … Continue reading →

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Worker Co-ops in Illinois and Their Future

Posted on 05/19/2017 by Jacqueline Hannah

Jacqueline Hannah Jacqueline Hannah has been a manager and organizer in the US cooperative movement for 12 years, merging her passion for local just economies with her desire to empower individuals and communities to create their own solutions. Originally from … Continue reading →

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