Dear PEN-Lers, The Center for Popular Economics and The UMass Labor Center in Amherst, MA, have been hired by the AFL-CIO to create an economics education curriculum for study groups of rank-and-file workers, called "Common-Sense Economics," and we need help finding engaging, popularly written articles (or book excerpts) on the following subjects: (1) Income inequality - not only how the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, but also how the middle is slipping down towards the bottom. (2) The federal deficit - why balancing the budget now is not a great idea, why public investment to spur economic growth is a better one. (3) The positive and necessary roles that government plays in the economy - regulating business, stabilizing the business cycle, reducing inequality, providing public goods - and how corporate interests have gained political power and in many cases prevented government from fulfilling these functions. The readings should be short and should build on people's experience with the subject matter. Humor is plus. Heavy analysis is to be avoided. Newspaper clippings are the sort of thing we're looking for. We'd really appreciate your suggestions. In addition, we will be providing a reading list for each of the topic areas listed below. These might include entire books and/or longer articles. Again, they should be accessible to a popular audience. Here are the topics: Session 1: The Economics of Power - how the power stuggle between workers and capitalists over the relative size and distribution of profits and wages shapes the economy as a whole. Session 2: A Good Job is Hard to Find - how changes in the labor market underlie the declining standard of living of workers in the U.S. Session 3: The Incredible Shrinking Standard of Living - how and why inequalities of wealth and income are increasing in this country. Session 4: Is What's Good for Wall Street Good for Main Street? - what are the political and economic obstacles to full employment, why certain powerful groups oppose full employment. Session 5: Of the People, By the People, For the People - the positive economic functions of government and why government has often not been fulfilling them. Session 6: It's a Small World After All - how corporate-led globalization has hurt U.S. workers and communities and how more worker- and community-friendly rules of the game would lead to more beneficial outcomes. Session 7: Reclaiming Our Economy - strategies for the labor movement to build political and economic power. Any and all input will be most welcome. Hope to hear from some of you. Eric Verhoogen Center for Popular Economics
