TomPaine.com

A Gift of Flexibility For Our Moms

Articles — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:56:00 -0400

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and many of us will be out this week buying gifts for our moms. That is the right thing for us to do. As a nation, one way for our country to say "thank you" to our moms is by giving them more flexibility to balance their work and family commitments through creative public policies that increase workplace flexibility.

The changing roles of mothers have been one of the most pronounced social trends seen in the last century. Today, more than 60 percent of families have two working parents. Moms are working harder than ever both… more

Real Democracy... Or Dystopia?

Articles — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 04:31:00 -0500

Imagine that it is Election Day 2016. Imagine yet another presidential election that boils down to the same two battleground states -- Ohio and Florida -- which is not unrealistic, given demographic trends.

Candidates will spend most of their time in these two states and perhaps a handful of other swing states, ignoring all others. Visits to our largest states like California, Texas and New York will be kept to fund-raising zip codes. Florida and Ohio electorates will be sliced and diced into bite-sized targets as TV viewers are bombarded with ads, most of them negative, making television virtually unwatchable for… more

Election Security 2006

Articles — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 18:20:00 -0400

Will your vote count on Tuesday? As we head into another election season -- with control of Congress potentially up for grabs -- ongoing concerns about voting equipment and election administration continue to worry fair elections advocates. Recent headlines have added to previous fears, but there are also signs that effective advocacy is paying off.

Last month, The New York Times and other news media reported on a new security glitch uncovered in election equipment manufacturer Diebold Election System's ATM-like touch-screen voting machines. Voting technology experts have called it the "worst security flaw ever" -- any person… more

Roses, Relaxation And Real Reform

Articles — Fri, 06 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Being a mom is stressful. Who knew? And if this morning's toddler tantrum and missed conference call isn't proof enough, we have a chorus of writers, self-help gurus and well-intentioned neighbors to help remind us that we are not alone. From Judith Warner's Perfect Madness to a host of New Age strategies designed to help us find our "authentic" selves, there is finally universal acceptance that stress and motherhood are a bad combination. So while we would never say "no" to a facial or a yoga class, we have a much more practical solution to help American mothers… more

Fighting Poverty: Aspiring For Ownership

Articles — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 08:00:00 -0500

The onset of a debate over Social Security's future offers Democrats a chance to articulate what they're for -- not just what they're against. President Bush has provided them an opening. He's laid out a rhetorical message that works -- the Ownership Society -- but has failed to provide the means to make it happen. The reason it works is that it evokes the most promising path to security: being able to save, invest and build up a reserve of assets. Yet the challenge of any meaningful Ownership Society policy agenda is to ensure that as many people as possible… more

Race And Social Security: Cynical Politics

Articles — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0500

You have to admire the Republican Party's nerve. There was George Bush in late January, surrounded by 22 black people, arguing for Social Security privatization on the grounds that the current system is unfair to blacks because we don't live long enough to collect much by way of benefits. A couple of days earlier, House Ways chair William Thomas, R-Calif., was suggesting that Social Security benefits might be adjusted so that people with short lifespans -- black people -- get their due from the system.

This sort of shameless public theater is testimony to the deep contempt that Republicans have… more

Beyond Latchkey Kids

Articles — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Time is money, and these days there doesn't seem to be enough of either to go around. The new reality in today's 24/7 economy is that the demands on workers continue to grow, but compensation, benefits and flexibility fail to keep up. Unfortunately, it is not just workers that pay a high price. In this game of long hours, shrinking benefits and stagnating wages, the biggest losers are workers' children and families.

Let's get to the heart of the issue: Between 1970 and 2001, the percentage of mothers in the workforce rose from 38 to 67 percent. Compared to 30 years… more

Hope and Despair on King Day

Articles — Mon, 17 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0500

A holiday in honor of Martin Luther King is a painful and bitter thing in these times of war and growing inequality. For some, King is a symbol of the nation's painful yet ultimately successful struggle to end segregation as public policy. For others, including a growing number of black Americans, King is a failed prophet whose movement for justice and equality has lost to the political heirs of those who were indifferent to racial oppression or fought to hold onto American apartheid.

One senses great despair about the future among black Americans. We are anxious for our kids, too… more

Milton Friedman: Liberal Role Model

Articles — Tue, 11 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0500

It is time for all good liberals and progressives to stop crying in their beer and raise a glass to Milton Friedman. That's right, Milton Friedman: Nobel laureate in economics, polemicist without peer among the academic scribblers, the real -- and only -- brains of the American right.

Why should we praise this guy? Because sly old Milton Friedman, unbeknownst to himself, perhaps, is about to make America safe for strong, self-confident liberalism.

How has Uncle Milton assured a liberal renaissance? By reminding us that America is always ready for radical ideas that meet the people's needs. … more

America: Restoring Democracy

Articles — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0500

The day following Election 2004, retiring NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw indicated the need for strong national standards in how we count the votes. In an unusually serious interview with David Letterman, Brokaw said point blank, "We've gotta fix the election system in this country."

In a message to supporters, former presidential candidate John Kerry echoed this sentiment, calling for new "national standards" for elections and saying "It's unacceptable that people still don't have full confidence in the integrity of the voting process." In Ohio, Reverend Jesse Jackson also called for reform, emphasizing the need for a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing… more