What Went Wrong: Labor

Blog Entry: Tuesday elections show labor still a force

Nov. 9, 2011

Citizens in Ohio and San Francisco voted in favor of labor in elections Tuesday. The votes are expected to have larger implications in the struggle to maintain collective bargaining rights.

New data show fewer children, more seniors in poverty

By Kat Aaron

Nov. 7, 2011

New data from the Census Bureau paints a fresh and complex picture of poverty in America. With tax credits and food stamps factored in, the number of children in poverty falls. When you include medical costs, the number of seniors in poverty skyrockets. Kat Aaron looks at how the supplemental poverty measure will change the poverty debate.

Young people struggling to find work

By Lynne Perri

Oct. 10, 2011

Turns out it's not older workers struggling the most in the post-recession period. It's young workers, and the consequences of their shaky entry to the job market will ripple for decades.

What Went Wrong

Donald Barlett and James Steele are revisiting America: What Went Wrong, their landmark 1991 newspaper series, in a new project with the Investigative Reporting Workshop. Over the next year, the project team will examine how four decades of public policy has shaped America's ongoing economic crisis.

Issues

Back Story

The authors talk about What Went Wrong

Donald Barlett and James Steele talk about the project, and why they decided to revisit a book they wrote two decades ago, in a series of video clips produced by the Workshop.

Nation's Story

Who pays the taxes?

We feature charts, maps, photos and other visualizations that reflect the state of the economy as part of our What Went Wrong project. This column chart shows the growing disparity between what individuals and corporations pay in taxes. In the 1950s, the difference was 22 percent. Recent figures show the difference is 62 percent.

Recent Blog Posts

Homelessness takes it toll on Florida's youngest

Florida, as a center of the housing boom, still struggles to recover from the Great Recession. Financial stresses and widespread foreclosures have placed families in precarious situations, resulting in a spike in child homelessness. Susannah Nesmith reports in the Broward Bulldog.

Older workers face challenges in Silicon Valley

An advanced degree and experience in the tech sector should be a ticket to a job in today's economy. But older workers in the heart of the new economy, Silicon Valley, are finding their resume is not the issue. Aaron Glantz reports in The Bay Citizen.

Michigan pursues wind energy with tax policy

Bryan Ritterby of Holland, Mich., was highlighted at last night's State of the Union speech as the picture of employment in new industry--wind turbine manufacturing. Now, property tax incentives are available for utility companies hoping to build on Michigan's growing renewable energy sector. Patrick Howard reports in the Great Lakes Echo.

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Read an Excerpt

America: What Went Wrong on Google Books

Check out the first chapter of Barlett and Steele's 1992 book here.