I really think that people have to think safety; taking risks for higher yield is a bad idea once you're in late or latish middle age.

You know that Republicans will yell about the evils of partisanship whenever anyone tries to make a connection between the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead. But violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers.

The problem isn't that people don't understand how good things are. It's that they know, from personal experience, that things really aren't that good.

You really have to go searching desperately to find any contemporary examples of good, old-fashioned runaway inflation.

We have a lot of evidence on what happens when you raise the minimum wage. And the evidence is overwhelmingly positive: Hiking the minimum wage has little or no adverse effect on employment while significantly increasing workers' earnings.

I admit it: I had fun watching right-wingers go wild as health reform finally became law.

One way in which Americans have always been exceptional has been in our support for education. First we took the lead in universal primary education; then the “high school movement” made us the first nation to embrace widespread secondary education.