Weak Institutions

It’s not a fair fight.

A bank fault. In front of the vault is a guardhouse. it is guarded by a crying baby in an impressive, oversized uniform
Kyle Flood, CC BY-SA 2.0, modified

I don’t care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating.

— Boss Tweed.

Around 2010, I had a problem. My kid was just turning two, and finally starting to sleep through the night, which was a blessing, but then a mysterious company bought the building next door to our east London flat.

The building next door had been sitting empty for years, ever since a safety inspection determined that a) it was full of asbestos and b) it lacked a fire-exit. Either one of these made the building unfit for commercial or residential use, and the long-term tenants had moved into other office buildings in the neighborhood.
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Pluralistic: The seductive, science fictional power of spreadsheets (29 Apr 2023)


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Pluralistic: Convicted monopolist prevented from re-offending (27 Apr 2023)


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Pluralistic: Private equity finally delivered Sarah Palin's death panels (26 Apr 2023)


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Pluralistic: How Amazon makes everything you buy more expensive, no matter where you buy it (25 Apr 2023)


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Pluralistic: How Goldman Sachs's "tax-loss harvesting" lets the ultra-rich rake in billions tax-free (24 Apr 2023)


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A Collective Bargain

Workplace democracy is a training ground for true national democracy.

The cover of the Harpercollins edition of Jane McAlevey’s “A Collective Bargain.”

Now, if you want higher wages let me tell you what to do
You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you
You got to build you a union, got to make it strong
But if you all stick together, boys, it won’t be long
You get shorter hours, better working conditions
Vacations with pay. Take your kids to the seashore-

-Pete Seeger, Talking Union Blues


For years — decades — unions seemed like a relic, an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. American union participation nosedived in the Reagan years and continued to decline, year after year, with no bottom in sight.

Until 2018.
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Pluralistic: How workers get trapped by "bondage fees"; Red Team Blues Chapter One, part five (21 Apr 2023)


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Pluralistic: Company that makes millions spying on students will get to sue a whistleblower; Red Team Blues Chapter 1, part four (20 Apr 2023)


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Pluralistic: Iowa's starvation strategy; The Red Team Blues Tour; Red Team Blues Chapter One, part three (19 Apr 2023)


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