Donald Cohen's blog

Chamber of Commerce, Wrong Again

May 19, 2011 - 7:50pm

By Donald Cohen. Published in the Los Angeles Times. May 19, 2011.

Every year since 2003, the California Chamber of Commerce publishes its hit list of proposed legislation it labels “job killers.”  The list includes legislation to protect consumers, workers and the environment from irresponsible business practices, or raise revenues to fund public services, or support middle and working class families.   

A Brief History of Corporate Whining

May 18, 2011 - 3:59pm

By Donald Cohen. Posted on May 18, 2011.

labor cartoon

Back to the Future: The Cost of Delay

April 8, 2011 - 4:01pm

By Donald Cohen. Posted on Huffington Post. April 8, 2011.

Two decades ago Congress directed the EPA to expand the Clean Air Act to control mercury, arsenic, chromium and other air toxic emissions from power plants. Now the House Republicans are willing to shut down the Federal government to make sure that it still doesn't happen.

The Men Who Cried Wolf

March 16, 2011 - 12:00am

By Phaedra Ellis-Lampkins. Posted on Huffington Post. March 16, 2011.

If a fire broke out in your office right now, would you know what to do? Would you know where to go? You likely would, thanks in large part to codes requiring fire exits and fire drills.

The Fire Last Time

March 12, 2011 - 4:24pm

By Peter Dreier and Donald Cohen. Published in the New Republic. March 12, 2011.

Americans tend to be fascinated by what’s new and to be indifferent to the past, except when they can use “tradition” to reinforce current prejudices and power arrangements. This has had an unfortunate effect on how we govern ourselves. We forget important lessons, and repeat old mistakes.

Obama to Chamber: “Time to Stop Crying Wolf; Time to Cooperate”

February 6, 2011 - 5:11pm

By Peter Dreier and Donald Cohen. Posted on the Huffington Post. February 6, 2011.

President Barack Obama will walk across Lafayette Park on Monday to address the United States Chamber of Commerce at its headquarters. What should he tell them?

Another Job Killer Lie Exposed

January 21, 2011 - 4:12pm

By Donald Cohen. Posted on Huffington Post. January 21, 2011.

You may think it's a way to help your spouse or aging parent recover from a devastating illness, but to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) law, enacted in 2002, is a "job killer" that costs employers billions of dollars and drives jobs out the state.

Darrel Issa’s Government Handover

January 5, 2011 - 3:10pm

By Donald Cohen and Peter Dreier. Posted on Huffington Post. January 5, 2011.

Newly emboldened as chair of the House’s key investigative committee, California Cong. Darrell Issa, the conservative Republican, sent letters to more than 150 business lobby groups, asking them to identify government rules that they want eliminated.

Issa wants to hand the government over to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a who’s who of corporate America. The new Republican Congress is their opportunity to get rid of those pesky environmental laws, consumer product safety laws and even rules to prevent another Wall St. financial train wreck.

OSHA At 40

January 4, 2011 - 4:59pm

By David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz. Posted on Huffington Post. January 4, 2011.

On July 28, Alex Pacas, 19, and Wyatt Whitebread, 14, of Mount Carroll, IL were suffocated to death, sinking into several thousand tons of quicksand-like shelled corn in the grain bin where they were working. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) quickly determined that their deaths were preventable if Haasbach, LLC, the grain elevator's owner, had followed proper safety regulations.

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