by Brad Reed | May 11, 2026 | AI, Article, Economy, Economy and Inequality, Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on May 08, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
A top state utilities regulator is calling foul on an effort to shift the power cost of out-of-state artificial intelligence data centers onto Maryland residents.
Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel on Thursday filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) against electric grid operator PJM Interconnection objecting to plans that it said would force residents in the state to pay $1.6 billion in data center-driven transmission costs over the next decade.
The complaint states that the transmission cost allocation methodology PJM is using “broadly socializes” the cost of increased power demands that is being driven by AI data centers.
“That result is unjust and unreasonable and violates the cost causation principles that have long governed transmission cost allocation and that this commission has repeatedly affirmed,” the complaint says. “PJM’s tariff imposes these costs on Maryland electric customers even though Maryland customers do not meaningfully cause nor benefit from those investments.”
The Office of People’s Counsel pointed to the massive number of data centers built in neighboring Virginia as a primary culprit for added strain on the electric grid.
“Amidst national data center growth, Virginia stands as the epicenter,” the complaint says. “Virginia is the largest data center market in the world… As of December 2024, data centers represented 3.6 GW of demand… reflecting, since 2013, a 660% increase in megawatt-hour consumption.”
This explosive growth in energy demand is only expected to intensify over the next several years, the complaint continues, noting that “PJM projects 32 GW of peak load growth across its territory by 2030, of which approximately 30 GW
by Steve Benen | May 7, 2026 | Economy, Maddowblog, News, Politics
Recent polling has made it abundantly clear that Americans have soured on Donald Trump’s handling of the economy. In fact, some recent surveys have shown the president’s numbers dropping to a career low amid weak economic growth, rising inflation and the weakest job market in years.
In general, Trump’s response to the conditions has been to pretend everything is awesome. At a White House event on Wednesday afternoon, for example, the president said the current economy is “blowing away” the “best economic numbers” the United States has ever had. A week earlier, the president similarly said the economy is “roaring,” adding that the status quo is “the greatest economy we’ve ever had.”
None of this was even remotely true — and given Americans’ attitudes, Trump is taking a political risk by responding to discontent with absurd happy talk. Just as notably, the president tends to avoid specific details or reference to actual economic metrics, preferring instead to argue that the economy just seems great to him.
On Wednesday morning, however, the top economist in Trump’s White House approached the issue in a different kind of way. NBC News reported:
Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said in an interview on Fox’s “Mornings with Maria” that Americans were spending more money on credit cards, framing it as a positive sign for the economy. […]
Hassett said that he met with the head of a bank yesterday [Tuesday] and that the two reviewed credit card data. “Just as Secretary Bessent said, credit card spending is through the roof,” he said, referring to a quote from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Fox played
by Theia Chatelle | May 7, 2026 | Bezalel Smotrich, Criminalization, Economy, Food Insecurity, Israel, Jobs, labor, News, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Palestinians, Tax Revenue, tax revenues, west bank, Workers
If it had not been stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank, the garbage truck carrying more than 70 Palestinian laborers seeking work would likely have been able to enter Israel without incident. But on April 13, the driver was held outside the Israeli settlement of Ariel for failure to carry a license fit for the vehicle, and upon further inspection…
Source
by Eman Abu Zayed | May 1, 2026 | Economy, Gaza, Genocide, International Workers Day, Israel, Jobs, Labor Day, May Day, News Analysis, Palestine, Unemployment, War, Workers
As workers around the world celebrate and recognize their efforts on May 1 — known globally as May Day or International Workers’ Day and celebrated in Palestine as Labor Day — this day passes in Palestine under a harsh economic reality that reflects a deepening crisis in the labor market and unprecedented levels of unemployment. According to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of…
Source
by Maximillian Alvarez | Apr 29, 2026 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Unions, Working People
Inspired by January’s mass strike against ICE terror in Minnesota, a vast coalition of labor unions, democratic organizations, and community groups are organizing a nationwide economic blackout on Friday, May 1, International Workers Day. “May Day Strong events are being planned across the US,” Michael Sainato reports at The Guardian, “with organizers calling for ‘no school, no work, no shopping,’ in protest of government policies they say put billionaires’ needs above those of workers.”
In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of guests who are all involved in organizing May Day events this week from Philadelphia to Chicago to Iowa. Panelists include: Jana Korn, who currently serves as the chief of staff for the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and also serves on the board of Philadelphia Jobs with Justice; Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer and union officer who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; and John Emiliano, a healthcare worker and organizer in Chicago with the Tahanan Center and Tanggol Migrante, a grassroots Filipino migrant defense network.
Additional links/info:
May Day Strong coalition website
Workers Over Billionaires 2026 – Philadelphia Linktree
Workers Over Billionaires 2026 – Chicago details
Lee County (Iowa) Labor Chapter Facebook page and May Day 2026 details
Tahanan Filipino Center Instagram
Tanggol Migrante website
Latino Union of Chicago website
Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “US activists plan May Day economic blackout: ‘No school, no work, no shopping’”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Alright. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs,
by Lorah Steichen | Apr 24, 2026 | Article, Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Military Industrial Complex, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, War
This story originally appeared in Jacobin on April 23, 2026. It is shared here with permission.
Amid the United States’ illegal, costly, and broadly unpopular war in Iran, the Trump administration recently asked Congress to approve a record-breaking $1.5 trillion military budget — the largest military spending proposal in US history. The administration claims that record war spending will pay for a “once-in-a-century revival of American industry,” while hawks in Congress argue that the spending spree will “revitalize” the military industrial base by investing in a “skilled, patriotic defense workforce.”
But new research from Transition Security Project suggests that military spending increases are unlikely to translate into broad gains for American workers.
While Pentagon budgets have steadily increased over recent decades, the arms industry has become more consolidated, more automated, and less labor-intensive — upending the idea that the warfare state is an effective economic development strategy for working people, and strengthening the case for a state-led shift toward a civilian industrial base focused on green manufacturing.
Half of the Pentagon budget is funneled to private weapons manufacturers, but higher spending has not produced more jobs. Employment in military industries has fallen significantly since Cold War peaks, from an estimated 3.2 million workers during the 1980s to about 1.1 million in 2020, despite Pentagon budgets growing by roughly 22 percent over the same period. Meanwhile, job quality in the sector has also deteriorated: wages have declined, pensions cut, and unionization collapsed to roughly 10 to 14 percent on average across major military contracting firms, while company revenues from military contracts have grown substantially.
Taken together, these trends challenge a persistent assumption in Washington policymaking that military spending is an effective jobs program for American
