Democracy At Work

To Be Or Not To Be?: Austerity vs. Socialism Mamdani & Hochul's Budget Standoff

To Be Or Not To Be?: Austerity vs. Socialism
open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

Available Now! @profwolff.bsky.social @democracyatwork.bsky.social @redneckgonegreen.bsky.social

Your tax dollars just killed children… The United States and Israel have launched attacks on Iran, with reports of dozens of innocent civilians killed — including children at an elementary school

Your tax dollars just killed children…
open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

From the Teachers community on Reddit Explore this post and more from the Teachers community

#WolffBites: Half of US teachers quit within first 5 years. Reasons given: low pay, overwork, no respect. Very bad for economy now and for the future. US gov't ignores this problem 100%. Pretends it is not there.

www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/c...

New #EconomicUpdate today at 4:30 PM ET with @profwolff.bsky.social #Militarism and Decline in Europe and the U.S. Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV4k... @democracyatwork.bsky.social ##war #antiwar #imperialism #capitalism

Hundreds of billions circulate into U.S. weapons contracts, budgets for public needs are slashed, and the link between militarism, capitalism, and austerity is treated like a taboo.

Watch the full video: Clara Mattei on the war economy

youtu.be/oKP2WZN1lac

Wolff Responds: "No Level Playing Field for the U.S. Taxpayer" Dated February 25, 2026. Today’s Wolff Responds: Professor Wolff discusses the inherent unfairness of the United States' tax system.

Wolff Responds: "No Level Playing Field for the U.S. Taxpayer" Dated February 25, 2026.
democracyatwork.substack.com/p/wolff-resp...

Treasury Department terminates union contracts for IRS and Bureau of the Fiscal Service workers The Treasury Department says it has ended its collective bargaining agreement with unionized workers employed at the Internal Revenue Service.

#WolffBites: War on Iran for "regime change" violates UN charter and international law. On the same day, Trump "terminates" collective bargaining contracts US gov't signed with thousands of federal workers. Declining empire's desperate moves.

apnews.com/article/trea...

Your tax dollars just killed children… The United States and Israel have launched attacks on Iran, with reports of dozens of innocent civilians killed — including children at an elementary school

Your tax dollars just killed children…
open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

UK's Starmer vows to fight political 'extremes' after suffering vote defeat British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to fight political "extremes" on the right and left on Friday after his Labour Party suffered a humiliating election defeat to the left-wing Green Party in ...

#WolffBites: UK's Starmer promises (like France's Macron and Germany's Merz) to "fight politically against the extremes of left and right." Such empty babble covers the hard reality they all face: they are increasingly losing to those extremes.

www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks...

“Marxian Class Analysis”, an Online Course from the Left Education Project Learn to develop and apply critical analyses to all aspects of modern life to better understand our world with this 4-week online course!

Good Morning friends There is still time to register "Marxian Class Analysis" with myself and @shahramazhar.bsky.social organized by @democracyatwork.bsky.social #LeftForum
www.eventbrite.com/e/marxian-cl...

Disillusioned by the Neoliberal Establishment On Gen-Z’s shift to the Left and Far-Right

#LosLobosJóvenes: Disillusioned by the Neoliberal Establishment
democracyatwork.substack.com/p/disillusio...

If the system needs constant force to keep people dependent, what does that say about the system?

There is more space for alternatives than we’re told.

Clara Mattei on why austerity reveals weakness, not strength.

▶ Watch the full talk: Why Austerity Works for Capitalism

youtu.be/8RhMZtaoPEQ

Trump Guts EPA: ‘Make America More Polluted Again’? Richard Wolff on The Socialist Program

Trump Guts EPA: ‘Make America More Polluted Again’? open.substack.com/pub/democrac... @profwolff.bsky.social

How Wall Street’s Apollo got tangled up again in the Epstein files | CNN Business Jeffrey Epstein is once again haunting one of the most powerful firms on Wall Street: Apollo Global Management.

#WolffBites: Two US teachers' unions with over $27 billion in pension funds invested with Apollo Management are concerned about Apollo's work with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction for soliciting prostitution. Investigations called for.

www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/b...

US births dropped last year, suggesting the 2024 uptick was short-lived U.S. births slightly decreased in 2025. That's according to new provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

#WolffBites: In 2025, Trump gov't tried to incentivize US couples into having more children while deporting immigrants who have more children. So fewer births than 2024. Incoherent policies.

apnews.com/article/how-...

YouTube video by BreakThrough News Marco Rubio calls for revival of Western colonialism

#WolffBites: Rubio expands MAGA to advocate for MSGA - make colonialism great again - instead of "managing the orderly decline of the west." Like Don Quixote tilting against windmills, Rubio and Trump aim to reverse world history. Result is disorderly decline.

www.youtube.com/shorts/F5cDf...

Feb. 23, 1868: W. E. B. Du Bois Born W. E. B. Du Bois, sociologist, historian, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor, was one of the most important scholars of the 20th century.

Born #tdih 1868: William Edward Burghardt (W. E. B.) Du Bois, one of most important scholars of 20th century.

Sociologist, historian, Pan-Africanist, author, editor; co-founder of NAACP, leader of Niagara Movement, & editor of NAACP’s The Crisis Magazine. 🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/we...

Available now! @democracyatwork.bsky.social @profwolff.bsky.social

When the “good intentions” story fails, they panic because the whole system depends on the public believing it’s never about profit.

▶ Watch the full conversation - Vulture Capitalism: Empire, Bailouts, Monopoly Power #GraceBlakeley - youtu.be/joKEWXqzFoE

#Imperialism #VultureCapitalism

Loved this interview and all the new stuff from @freefreeforum.bsky.social. Super clarifying and made me want to read Clara Mattei’s new book, Escape from Capitalism

Professor Ian Seda-Irizarry of @johnjayeconomics.bsky.social on the issues facing Puerto Rico with @profwolff.bsky.social on an episode of #EconomicUpdate! Listen to the rest on our youtube channel! #economics #debt #austerity #history #latinamerica #puertorico #politics #imperialism

YouTube video by Democracy At Work Economic Update: The Jeffrey Epstein Class

All new episode of #EconomicUpdate today with @profwolff.bsky.social discussing "The Jeffrey #Epstein #Class" at 4:30 PM ET here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXvV... #democracyatwork @democracyatwork.bsky.social

Please join us for @nararoberta.bsky.social's lecture, "Black Struggle, Global Dialogue: Race and Democracy in 20th-Century Authoritarian Brazil," on Thurs., Feb. 26 at 4.30. The event is free and open to the public. If you'll be in Hartford, we hope to see you there!

#WolffBites: One key risk in Trump's tariffs was always that they might be changed or ended (by SCOTUS, US elections, or Trump). One key risk in going to war against Iran is that the US might lose (as it did in Vietnam or Afghanistan). Such are the dilemmas of declining empires.

YouTube video by Democracy At Work Economic Update: How the U.S. tax System Worsens Inequality

Check out last week's #EconomicUpdate with @profwolff.bsky.social and Professor Ray Madoff discussing "How the U.S. #tax System Worsens #Inequality" here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciUb...

Wolff Responds: "Murder Victims, not Narco-Terrorists" Dated February 18, 2026 Today’s Wolff Responds: Professor Wolff discusses The Trump administration's continued violation of international law with their policy towards Latin America.d@w's Substack is a reader-supported publi...

Wolff Responds: "Murder Victims, not Narco-Terrorists" Dated February 18, 2026
open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

You pay 6%, millionaires pay 1%

A $25k to $50k worker pays 6.2% into Social Security.
A $2M salary pays about 0.6%.

That’s what “regressive” means, working people pay a higher share.

▶ Watch the full conversation - Why You Pay More and Get Less: City Budgets Explained - youtu.be/joKEWXqzFoE

A lot of the money behind the AI boom is coming from pension funds of working class people and when parts of the AI bubble burst, private capital gets protected, while ordinary people can be left with the losses.

The AI Data Center Gold Rush: The Bailout State Behind It - youtu.be/fHwYIFa1mNE

Supreme Court rules that Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs are illegal | CNN Politics The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe, a striking loss for the White House on an issue that ...

#WolffBites: SCOTUS ruling against Trump's tariffs changes little. The tariff's' uncertainty (varied to bully tribute from other countries) kept CEOs from reshoring manufacturing or redoing most supply chains etc.

www.cnn.com/2026/02/20/p...