The new normal: Links & comment 2/26/14

I can remember when it was possible to live a life of dignity on a low income. I know people, including some of my first cousins, who say, “When I was growing up, we were poor, but I never know that we were poor.”

http://www.salon.com/2014/03/10/hi_im_right_here_an_open_letter_to_paul_ryan_about_poverty_and_empathy/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/17/business/economy/low-wage-workers-finding-its-easier-to-fall-into-poverty-and-harder-to-get-out.html?hp&_r=2

I can remember when you could find out how much a medical treatment would cost just by asking your doctor.

http://www.protectpatientsblog.com/2014/03/more_frustration_in_medical_co.html

I can remember, as recently as the savings and loan crisis during the first Bush administration, when what Theodore Roosevelt called “the criminal rich class” were subject to prosecution.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/locking-up-the-banksters-its-not-hard

I can remember when corporations, no matter how powerful, were ultimately accountable to the governments of the countries in which they operated.

http://triplecrisis.com/new-study-shows-dangers-of-trade-agreements-that-help-corporations-sue-governments/

Tags: The New Normal