Donald Cohen's blog

Mitch McConnell and the Corporate War on Transparency

July 16, 2012 - 5:29pm

 Senator Mitch McConnell argued in 1987 that we should reject limits on corporate campaign contributions and instead, embrace public disclosure of campaign contributions important “so,” he said, “voters can judge for themselves what is appropriate.”  He was right.   Telling voters about the sources of political campaign contributions would help them understand about the influences on our elected representatives, and hopefully level the playing field between the powerful and the powerless in society. 

But this week, McConnell is leading the fight against the DISCLOSE act that would plug legal loopholes that allow campaigns to keep their donors anonymous.

Good Rules

July 13, 2012 - 10:23pm

I just received my my latest 401k quarterly statement and the following was printed on the front.  Is this what they mean by “job killing government regulations?”  (If so, bring them on!)

Information is power… and that’s the problem

May 2, 2012 - 10:00am

The SEC is dragging its feet implementing a section of the Dodd-Frank reform that would require publicly traded companies to calculate the ratio between the CEO’s pay and that of the firm’s median pay package.   The New York Times editorial board urges them to push forward.

Freedom: The Second Bill of Rights

April 27, 2012 - 9:30am

FDR's 1944 State of the Union Address was a landmark statement of a comprehensive definition of American freedom.  In the 1930's and 1940's the right-wing Liberty League, founded by the Du Pont's and other wealthy industrialists, articulated a freedom from the "abusive powers of government" as their central cause. Today it's ALEC, American's for Prosperity, the Tea Party and other corporate sponsored groups that pretend to stand for freedom and liberty.

The minimum wage ended the Roman Empire

April 6, 2012 - 9:04am

Coalitions in Missouri, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts have launched campaigns to increase the minimum wage in their states. Students in the city of San Jose, California collected thirty thousand signatures to put a minimum wage hike on the city’s November ballot. 

“Liberty for Light Bulbs” – The next battle in America’s fight for freedom

January 10, 2012 - 10:22am

Two hundred and thirty six years ago, in January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, the wildly popular pamphlet that made the case for American freedom and helped to spark a revolution.

Grover Norquist’s real game: shifting power and wealth to the 1%

December 21, 2011 - 6:05pm

By Peter Dreier and Donald Cohen
Grover Norquist is fast becoming the man everyone loves to hate –  except  those who  fear him.  Norquist, the leader of Americans for Tax Reform, is both the architect and enforcer of the Republican Party’s  obsessive opposition  to all  taxes – an obsession that threatens to drive America off a fiscal cliff.

Every Republican running for president (except John Huntsman) has signed Norquist’s no-tax pledge.  So have 13 governors, 1,300 state legislators,  40 of the 47 Republicans in the Senate, and 236 of the 242 Republicans in the House.

Eating fruits and vegetables in not a job killer

November 28, 2011 - 12:41pm

Major food manufacturers are readying their next attack on nutrition by calling proposed food marketing guidelines "job killers" that will devastate the American economy. 

The GOP and Chamber of Commerce's War over a Bulletin Board

November 22, 2011 - 12:15pm

 By Peter Dreier and Donald Cohen

Earlier this month, thirty-six House Republicans filed an amicus court brief to support corporate America’s war on workers’ rights.  They are embracing a suit filed by the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Restaurant Association , and other business lobbies to block a new ruling by the National Labor Relations Board.

This ruling, by one of those out-of-control federal government agencies, could be devastating to the job-creating corporations that are the engine of the American economy. Just listen to those who should know:

“The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is causing great uncertainty among manufacturers at a time when our economy is struggling to recover,” Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, recently warned.

Which Post-WWII President Said This?

November 20, 2011 - 3:54pm

"We're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that allow some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share.  … they sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary – and that's crazy. Do you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver, or less?"

Pages