Money

A reduction in public housing units left Americans at the mercy of private landlords.

Even housing policies that sought to create more Black homeowners were stymied by racism and a determination to shrink the government’s presence.

A leading expert on financial crises explains how the pandemic is upending economic orthodoxy and raising the stakes of the 2020 election.

The policy roots of today’s childcare crisis.

Why Americans rejected educating only the children of the wealthy.

Fears of great wealth and the need for economic equality go back to the country’s origins.

In “Radical Hamilton,” Christian Parenti argues that the left should use Alexander Hamilton’s mythologized status to drive home his full agenda.

Republicans are replacing the public good with a far narrower definition of it.

The debate between historians and economists over the definition of capitalism, and the legacy of slavery in the structure of today's economy.

Exploring the economic mobility of 11,172 middle class families over a 50-year period.

Policing is not the only kind of state violence. City governments have demolished hundreds of Black neighborhoods in the name of urban renewal.

Grass-roots pressure will be key to turning the idea into reality.

“Modern Housing,” by Catherine Bauer, argued—as many activists do today—that a decent home should be seen as a public utility and a basic right.

Private coalitions alone aren’t enough to address racial wealth gaps.

As innovations go, the Good Humor vehicle is as sweet as it gets.

The fight over free education is much older than you think.

In the 1930s, Socialist and Communist organizers tried to help Black sharecroppers rise up against their oppressors.

Locked-down parents will need an army of tween child-minders. Let "The Baby-Sitters Club" show them the way.

Delivering on the promise of the United States Postal Service.

We haven’t built many memorials to panics, recessions, or depressions, but maybe we should.

Tracing the history of the Grateful Dead folktale and the evolving obligations of being alive.

Why the “racial wealth gap” fails to explain economic inequality in black and white America.

Using one’s buying power to support causes one believes in and to effect change is not new.

In many national crises, black Americans have been essential workers – but serving in crucial roles has not resulted in economic equality.

Faces on coins tell stories —as do words, especially in mottoes.

How municipal debt contributed to the development of white America and underdevelopment of Black America.

The backstory to the backstory of America’s mythic promise.

On the roots of the community-based model that reemerged in the COVID era to counter the absence of adequate state support.

In the series of posts to follow, I hope to introduce my readers to evidence casting doubt on the view that New Deal programs ended the Great Depression.

Limits on when police can use force is a better solution than banning police unions.