Imara Jones is the Economic Justice contributor for Colorlines.com. He served in the Clinton White House, where he worked on international trade policy, and was an executive at Viacom. Imara has a master's degree in economics from the London School of Economics, and holds an undergraduate degree from Columbia in political science. He's a proud resident of Brooklyn U.S.A.
Follow him on Twitter at @imarajones, and check out his media appearances here.
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It’s Hard to Imagine a Worse Choice for People of Color Than Paul Ryan
by Imara Jones on August 13 2012, 8:31AM
Though abhorrent, Ryan’s ideas are not new. Touted as an attempt to rescue America’s future, they’re ripped right out of America’s past.
Topics: 2012 Election, Economy, Paul Ryan
Individual Choices and Shared Costs: The Case of Protesting Chick-fil-A
by Imara Jones on August 9 2012, 1:07PM
Two cheeky websites have borrowed from economists’ latest idea on making people feel the true cost of their choices.
Topics: LGBT Pride 2012, /NOW Blog
An Olympic-Sized Income Gap Even Among Our World Class Athletes
by Imara Jones on August 6 2012, 3:06PM
The division between the 99 percent and the 1 percent extends to the U.S. Olympic team. The United States sent 529 athletes to compete in 25 sports. The gaping income inequality seen in the wider society is stark even amongst…
Why Chick-fil-A Hasn’t Reconciled Itself With the Future of America
by Imara Jones on August 3 2012, 12:00PM
The company president’s LGBT politics are in line with the region where it makes all its money now, but not with where it wants to grow. He should stick to selling chicken.
Topics: Economy, LGBT Pride 2012, /NOW Blog
How Our ‘Growth’ Obsession Drives Inequity, and May Kill Us All
by Imara Jones on July 31 2012, 9:35AM
The problem starts with the very thing we use to measure prosperity: GDP. The seemingly arcane data point is leading us into darkness.
Topics: Economy, Environment
Honestly, the Jobs Outlook Is Bleak Because the GOP Wants It That Way
by Imara Jones on July 9 2012, 9:38AM
Yes, the president must do much more, but his jobs proposals if fully implemented would have put millions back to work by now—including in hard-hit black communities. The problem is petty politics, not economic policy.
Topics: Economy, Jobs Crisis, Politics
How the Supreme Court’s ‘Obamacare’ Ruling May Lock in Racial Inequity
by Imara Jones on June 29 2012, 9:30AM
Hold the victory celebrations. Yes, the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate, but it set up a scary fight over Medicaid—which is the half of the law that takes on the deep racial inequity burdening our health care system.
Topics: Economy, Health, Health Reform
Obama Was Right. It’s the (Public Sector) Economy, Stupid
by Imara Jones on June 11 2012, 10:00AM
This weekend, President Obama took a beating for declaring the private sector “fine.” But he was correct. The real jobs crisis is in the public sector, and Obama’s the only one with a plan to fix it. Turns out, that’s also the only real plan to deal with black joblessness.
Topics: 2012 Election, Economy, Jobs Crisis
Is This the Calm Before Another Storm? How the Economy May Get Worse, Fast
by Imara Jones on June 7 2012, 10:11AM
Greek austerity? Eurozone collapse? What’s this got to do with the financial slog so many communities of color are still facing in the U.S.? For starters, it could make things a lot harder, soon. Imara Jones offers a primer—and preventive steps.
Topics: Economy, Global Affairs, Jobs Crisis
The U.S. Jobs Crisis Summed Up: If You Fail To Plan, You Plan to Fail
by Imara Jones on June 1 2012, 10:01AM
Today’s jobs report tells most Americans already what they already know: We’re still mired in joblessness. But Imara Jones argues we should really fear the larger problem: There remains no plan for getting unstuck.
Topics: Economy, Jobs Crisis
Why Cory Booker’s Defense of Bain Capital Is So ‘Nauseating’
by Imara Jones on May 25 2012, 10:07AM
The Newark mayor’s been a darling of the national press, until this week. Imara Jones explains why Booker’s odd defense of private equity firms hit such a nerve: because they represent the very thing people like Booker are supposed to counter.
The Fed’s Bombshell: Our Economy’s Dead Until Congress Creates Jobs
by Imara Jones on August 12 2011, 9:37AM
After months of debate over the nation’s debt, the central bank’s unprecedented interest rates announcement this week was entirely about the jobs crisis. The subtext was clear: politics, not economics stand in the way of recovery.
Topics: Economy, Fiscal Cliff, Jobs Crisis
The U.S. Doesn’t Have a Debt Problem. It Has a Crisis of Values.
by Imara Jones on August 3 2011, 10:15AM
The debt deal is an extension of the grand bargain Washington’s leaders made with Wall Street nearly four years ago: to save the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. The U.S. doesn’t have a debt problem; it has a values problem.
Topics: Budget Cuts, Economy
A Food Crisis Is Coming, But Urban America Already Has It Solved
by Imara Jones on February 16 2011, 11:07AM
Urban farms grew out of crisis in black and brown neighborhoods. Now they’re an innovation all of America desperately needs.
Topics: Environment, How We Eat
How To Create Crisis: Build An Economy on the Greed of the Rich
by Imara Jones on February 11 2011, 10:18AM
Instability always follows inequality. The technocrats know it, but our leaders still don’t care.
Topics: Economy, Jobs Crisis, Wealth Gap
Happy Days Are Here Again—As Long As You Ignore the Jobs Crisis
by Imara Jones on January 31 2011, 11:00AM
The economy’s growing, Wall Street’s rallying, and the administration says no new recession. None of that is real, says Imara Jones.
Topics: Economy, Jobs Crisis
Mapping America’s Brutal Past, and Humanity’s Capacity for Revolt
by Imara Jones on January 19 2011, 10:12AM
An 1860 census of the American South reveals much more than the region’s demography.
Topics: History
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