Here is an idea the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor needs to consider if he wants Republicans to stand up for the struggling American worker: Raise the minimum wage. The  American Conservative  published an intriguing piece by Ron Unz back in November advocating a minimum wage of $12. Cantor would be helped by reading it. In the article, Unz lays out why conservatives should favor such a move. Unz includes many arguments normally associated with “liberal” pundits about the direction of the American labor market and the type of jobs being created during this century—mostly low wage. And, he accurately argues why raising the minimum wage would not really effect America’s global competitiveness. He even points out how  WalMart lobbied  for the most recent increase of the federal minimum wage back in 2005 because it would boost the earnings of its customer base.

The 400,000 drop in labor union membership  announced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics  last week is discouraging. The bigger story is that at the center of the drop is the decline in employment for public-sector workers, most notably local government workers. This has been the weakest sector of the economy.  And that largely reflects the decline in teachers. So, this is not so much about unions losing, but the continued lack of focus of American economic policy on maintaining investments for America’s future in the face of the ongoing weak economy. The myopic debates on the fiscal deficit and cutting budgets to meet the educational needs of America’s children (in order to preserve tax cuts for the currently wealthy) is not a plan to make America succeed in the long run.

MAD magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman was always shown with a grin on his face, captioned, “What, me worry?” Well, now it is time to worry. 

What a strange turn of events.  If we are to believe the leaks on the deal being cut for the fiscal cliff, it appears that President Obama’s agenda was narrow—restore fiscal sanity by upping the tax rates on very high earners. In the process, he appears ready to concede to House Speaker John Boehner a Republican plan to alter Social Security benefits recommended by the Simpson-Bowles commission. What an odd legacy the president would be leaving. The cut in Social Security benefits that Boehner proposes would have a disparate impact on African Americans, the group that voted most vociferously against the Republican world view. One would think the president’s agenda going into the fiscal cliff negotiations would be to remind those who worked hard for his election why it mattered he won.

William Spriggs is the chief economist at the AFL-CIO. 

Here is an uncomfortable truth. Republicans' obstruction of President Obama’s policies means they have gotten the policies they wanted. But, these policies have been least effective in growing jobs.

The Romney campaign argues that the path to American prosperity starts with lowering the taxes on American business and unleashing American entrepreneurial zeal. Republicans complain that President Obama has not cooperated with them to implement this vision. Of course, the truth is more nuanced.