The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 ruling (Janus v. AFSCME) struck a blow to labor unions’ ability to collect membership dues and made international headlines. But in a quieter fashion the Trump administration already had been slowly dismantling protections for workers, especially those enacted under the Obama administration. During his presidential run, Donald Trump repeatedly proclaimed that […]
The Orwellian Danger Of Facebook
Virtually every month it seems, new controversies emerge swirling around Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter and other Silicon Valley companies. The latest controversy, which involved allies of Donald Trump swiping personal data from as many as 87 million Facebook users in the US presidential election, is yet another window into the nature of these companies. Before […]
Europe, USA, China? Let’s Hear It For The EU
I would like to nominate the average, everyday EU citizen as the “Hero of the Year.” Europeans have been bombarded for nearly a decade by a media firestorm of “headline schizophrenia” — Brexit, Grexit, eurozone instability, Russia-Ukraine, refugees, terrorism, the rise of populism…each of these a seemingly deadly affliction. About a year ago, France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls solemnly declared that […]
The Future Of Work And The Social Welfare State’s Survival
Europe, like the United States, has seen dramatic changes in how people work. Compared to 15 years ago, many more people have part-time, temp or mini-jobs, or are self-employed. While the number of full-time jobs has increased recently as the unemployment rate has slowly declined, far more of Europe‘s employment growth has come from part-time and […]
The New Leak-ocracy: Elections Decided By Hackers And (Wiki)Leaks
It’s official: WikiLeaks and anonymous Russian sources are now major players in elections. A new and disturbing factor emerged during the US presidential campaign, one that may change elections forever: democracies are at the mercy of hacking and surveillance technologies, and of those who control them. Already there are disturbing signs that this may affect […]
The Wallonian Mouse That Roared – While The Rest Of Europe Whimpered
An 11th hour and 59th minute resolution has been reached to the recent standoff between Wallonia and Europe over CETA, the trade agreement between the European Union and Canada. The pressure on tiny Wallonia and its politicians was immense, as it was being blamed for making the EU a laughingstock before its Canadian partners and […]
Apple And Donald Trump: Two Sides Of A Very Strange Coin
Many people from across the political spectrum are shaking their heads over the recent Apple tax scandal. But it is only the latest example of the corporate malfeasance and misconduct that have flourished as politicians and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic either failed to do their jobs or actively contributed to a tainted […]
Without The UK, Europe Has A Better Chance
There are many lessons to be learned from the Brexit vote. Among the most important is the importance of leadership and political vision. Members of the public need to feel they have some idea of where their country is going and why, and their place in it. Instead, what we have seen is a lack […]
The Future Of Work In The Transatlantic Alliance
What is the future of work, and the future of jobs? For the last several decades, the workers of Germany, the US and Europe have been the most productive and wealthiest in the world. But now that prosperity is in danger. Where is this danger coming from? Is it from hordes of immigrants arriving from […]
Why The ‘One-percenters’ Will Benefit From The Gig Economy While The Rest May Not
Dear Branko, thanks for sharing your very provocative post. It’s hard to know what the future will hold, but at the moment I think the most realistic scenario is that work will be carved up in smaller and smaller tasks and gigs/microgigs/nanogigs (what you call task T broken into T1, T2,…Tn) and then many of […]
How Uber Could Be Part Of The Solution 21st Century Transportation
Uber and Big Taxi are at loggerheads in Europe and all over the world, with battle lines drawn and the public and politicians taking sides. The anti-Uber response has been vigorous. In Paris, taxi drivers have smashed windows and slashed tires of Uber cars, and in London, Madrid, Berlin and elsewhere drivers have blocked traffic. […]
The Varoufakis vs Schäuble Endgame
As many analysts and observers previously predicted (myself included on Social Europe), the eurozone crisis not only is not over, as some European leaders had boasted, but it has returned in a more virulent form. The possibility of a Greek exit – Grexit – from the eurozone is closer than ever. The current standoff between Greece […]