Tag Archives: Economy
Texas Workers Are Dying on the Job at Alarming Rates
“Literally, we’re not holding employers liable for the lives of their workers.”
In 2017, a worker in Texas died on the job every 16 hours. They died from electrocution, asphyxiation, falls from roofs, exposure to toxins, equipment malfuncti...Read More
Ghosts of the Baker Hotel
What does it take to revive a struggling small town?
by Jason Heid April 15, 2019 “Those of you that don’t believe, I’m glad you’re on this tour,” Angela Morgan tells a crowd of about 150 ghost-seekers o...Read More
Both Sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border Want to Renegotiate NAFTA
President Donald Trump isn't alone in his desire to renegotiate the trade agreement, but his motives are skewed, critics say.
President Donald J. Trump has made no secret of his dislike for NAFTA, which he’s often pilloried as the “worst deal ever” and a “total disaster.” Man...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘Company Town’
How big business turned a Gulf Coast beach town into an industrial zone.
Editor’s Note: Many environmental stories rely on familiar tropes, the scrappy locals standing up to the big, bad polluter. The unlikely bedfellows of env...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘The New Migrants’
In the harsh post-2008 economy, builders like my father live on the road.
Illustration by Rebekka Dunlap Editor’s Note: Sarah Smarsh plays Studs Turkel to her father, a country carpenter from Kansas whose native intelligence and...Read More
Hundreds of Texas Workers Join National Day of Action for $15 Minimum Wage
More than 2.6 million Americans and 287,000 Texans are paid at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Hundreds of Texas workers joined a national day of action for a $15 minimum wage and union representation despite a political climate hostile to labor....Read More
Feathering Their Nest
A Cottonwood family resurrects the once-hot business of raising ostriches.
A Cottonwood family hopes to resurrect the once-hot business of raising ostriches — that is, if Americans will stop being so squirrely about their food....Read More
Bernie Sanders Fans: Don’t Despair, Organize
Can the Berners move their enthusiasm down-ballot?
What's next for members of the lefty movement galvanized by presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders? Nothing, if the campaign's energy doesn't trickle down....Read More
