When Countries Refuse Development Assistance In the short run, not everybody wins, and sometimes the losers are powerful.

My most recent essay over on Substack

Development Assistance | Jeffrey Cochrane | Substack For a more secure world…. Click to read Development Assistance, by Jeffrey Cochrane, a Substack publication. Launched 7 days ago.

A practical plan to save foreign development assistance, and a workable alternative to deficit-tariffs. The two are related.

Reductions in Force (Layoffs)

Simply advising individual workers is best left to retirees or other mentors. Unions must challenge these systematically. The DOGE RIFs are back door attempts to impound funds, and must be challenged in court.

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Our Political Religion

Reverence for the law should be our political religion. (Abraham Lincoln) There is room for no other religion. Some justices of the Supreme Court have allowed their personal religion to infect our governance. This is blasphemy.

What Unions Should NOT Do

Steer clear of policy; leave that to Congress. Do not allocate vital resources to any function other than the legal fight. This is an existential moment. Do not be distracted.

What Unions Should Do

Speedily file in court for injunctions so that workers are clear on the right thing to do. Divert all other duties to volunteers, especially retirees.

Resign in 8 months?

A former labor secretary says (probably wrongly) the offer is illegal. Talk to your union. Don’t trust what you read online. Compare this to the deal you’d get in a proper buyout, early retirement, or RIF (downsizing). Stick around if you can. Leave if you must.

A Big Mistake

Every agency and department of the U.S. Government has a legal counsel. If you as a civil servant have a question about the legality of an instruction given to you by a superior, relying on that legal counsel for advice could be the biggest mistake you’ll ever make.

Preparing for Trump’s Second Administration:

If a civil servant thinks an instruction given them might be unlawful, where can they turn for guidance? Your best bet is your union’s legal counsel. If you’re not already a member of your union, now might be a good time to join.

How can an ordinary civil servant know if the instruction they’re being given is lawful or not? The short answer is that if the instruction simply feels wrong, then it probably is. But never (never!) refuse to obey, or even delay, without first seeking further guidance.

The top map indicates land controlled by Republicans. The bottom shows votes. An object lesson on how to tell stories with statistics.

Storm clouds are gathering around Schedule F, requiring our top civil servants to be unconstitutionally loyal to a presidential administration rather than solely to the Constitution. It’s the spoils system, taking us back to 1883.

How Some Voters Moved From Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump For some young men in particular, the populist pitches from Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump aligned with their attitudes about the ruling class.

It’s certainly appallingly bad social science research, at least on its face. It’s equally bad journalism if behind these interviews was some good social science research that the alleged journalist isn’t telling us about.

For something better:

America’s Future Hangs on a Democratic Party Decision Neoliberalism’s death grip or a New Deal revival? The stakes couldn’t be higher...

Historian Thom Hartmann writes a coherent though sometimes not particularly cogent blog over on Substack. He’s endorsed a candidate for the leadership of the Democratic Party, Ben Wikler.

Black America Doesn't Have to Shop at Walmart Those post-George-Floyd promises are over. Walmart is axing its racial equity center and ditching DEI. Does it still deserve Black dollars?

wordinblack.com/2024/11/blac...

The Constitution requires federal and state civil servants, if they are also officers, to take an oath to support the Constitution. That’s the only oath that can and should be required, whether the right hand is raised or not.

When was the last time you thanked a civil servant for their service? Their jobs are about to get a lot more complicated, if they can keep them.