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La Jornada (Ciudad de México) 14 de octubre de 2017 Como en México, Chile y otros países latinoamericanos, en Estados Unidos existe una creciente crisis en los sistemas para el retiro. Ello porque las cuentas individuales han remplazado las pensiones seguras. Para planificar la jubilación, la analogía más recurrente alude al taburete de tres patas.Continue reading “EU: Creciente Crisis en Pensiones [The Growing Retirement Crisis in the United States]”

Huffington Post June 3, 2017 With elections coming up to the U.K. House of Commons and the French National Assembly, Americans might be excused for assuming that they are like our House of Representatives elections. Both are, it is true, lower houses in bicameral systems, and both, unlike in other parts of Europe, are winner-take-allContinue reading “Are Congressional Districts Too Large?”

Huffington Post May 6, 2017 Sunday’s runoff election in France will pit centrist Emmanuel Macron against the National Front’s Marine Le Pen for the presidency. On both sides of the Atlantic, people are holding their breaths. Will the French succumb to the same forces that produced Brexit and Trump? But is Le Pen a FrenchContinue reading “Trump and Le Pen, Take 2”

Labor Notes February 21, 2017 After being trapped in an inferior 401(k)-style retirement plan, is it possible for a union to reverse the trend and switch back to a traditional defined-benefit pension? Connecticut state employees did just that in 2012. Our little-known story, combined with similar victories in Massachusetts and West Virginia, shows it canContinue reading “How We Got Out of a 401(k) and into a Real Pension”

Lecture given by James W. Russell as part of Provost’s Lecture Series, Portland State University April 6, 2017 Click here to listen.

Beacon Broadside October 17, 2016 The ad from TIAA-CREF, the company that administers university and other retirement plans, which ran alongside my Yahoo inbox was too enticing to ignore. I clicked on the bait: “You could get 90% of your income and maintain your lifestyle in retirement.” The click brought me to another eye-catching claim:Continue reading “How Trustworthy Are TIAA’s Predictions of Future Retirement Income?”

Huffington Post October 10, 2016 What kind of political animal is Donald Trump? His campaign caught the Republican establishment, including the conservative think tanks, completely off guard. He may have caught himself off guard as well, never expecting to get this far, thinking of the campaign with an early exit as simply a way toContinue reading “Is Trump a Clumsy Le Pen?”

Huffington Post August 30, 2016 Unlike in Europe where socialist and communist parties have had sizeable voter support, historians have long noted and puzzled over their lack of electoral support in the United States, a part of the original meaning of the concept of American exceptionalism. The highpoint of American socialist voting on a nationalContinue reading “Sanders Broke Debs’ 104 Year Old Record for Most Votes for a Socialist”

CT Mirror June 20, 2016 For private employees who don’t have workplace plans, Connecticut will now have a state-sponsored plan to save for retirement. Unfortunately, what could have been a useful program was severely weakened with changes required by Governor Dannel Malloy in the face of fierce financial services industry lobbying. This is what happened.Continue reading “Connecticut Governor Malloy’s Changes Weaken New Retirement Program”

Huffington Post May 27, 2016 The possibility of Bernie voters becoming Trump voters was first thought to be because of their common critical positions on free trade agreements which have hammered working people. Bill Clinton as president was responsible for the passage of the Republican-initiated North American Free Trade Agreement. Hillary Clinton as Secretary ofContinue reading “Wrong Turn from Bernie, Ending Up at Trump”