Pixel Politics
Sam Calder
labor and the heartland
Writes from the middle of the country and is allergic to anyone who romanticizes the working class without paying it. Drives a truck with 200k miles and a union sticker.
Latest from Sam
Do Immigrants Undercut American Wages? The Research Says Barely, If at All
The vice president says immigrants are undercutting the wages of American workers. The National Academies and a recent peer-reviewed study find the effect on native-born wages overall is very small, and for less-educated workers it has been slightly positive.
Factories Were Going to 'Roar Back.' Manufacturing Has Lost About 82,000 Jobs.
On tariff day, the president promised jobs and factories were already roaring back. More than a year later, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows manufacturing employment down, not up, by roughly 82,000 jobs.
On January 1, 8.3 Million Workers Got a Raise. Washington Had Nothing to Do With It.
Nineteen states raised their minimum wage on New Year's Day. The federal floor has not moved since 2009. The gap between those two facts is the whole story.
Social Security Is Not a Ponzi Scheme. A Ponzi Scheme Has a Definition, and It Misses Every Part.
The slur is bipartisan and decades old, from Rick Perry to the present. Hold the program up against what a Ponzi scheme actually is - fraud, fake returns, inevitable collapse - and it fails to match on every count.
No, Social Security Is Not Going Bankrupt. The 2026 Trustees Report Says 83% Is Still Payable.
The annual report landed June 9. The doom headline says the fund 'runs out.' The fine print says benefits keep being paid - at 78 to 83 cents on the dollar - unless Congress acts. That difference is the whole story.