Unions in Michigan are facing a new reality. They’ll have to convince their members to keep paying dues after Republicans passed a law that makes Michigan a right-to-work state. What does the state’s governor, Rick Snyder, think about the new law? The Federal Reserve has spelled out what it’s going to do next to try and juice the economy. And it’s all about the ends rather than the means. And the Obama Administration is asking Congress to approve about $60 billion in federal aid for recovery from Hurricane Sandy — hundreds of millions of dollars of which would go to Amtrak.

There are now less than three weeks left until the fiscal cliff deadline. One option now being talked about as part of a package to avoid the fiscal cliff is an overhaul of corporate tax rates. A report out today from the conservative American Enterprise Institute says government-backed mortgages from the Federal Housing Administration may be too easy to get. And you certainly don’t want to go to a website that puts all your financial accounts in one place and makes charts and graphs out of your money. But of course more and more Americans are joining sites that do just that.

The Federal Reserve kicks off a meeting today in Washington, and the expectation is that more monetary stimulus is on the way. Future prices for corn and wheat are at a three week low ahead of today’s crop report from the Department of Agriculture. The world of commodities is still reeling from the drought that swept across the country this year. And European Union leaders are returning from a trip to Norway where they officially accepted their Nobel Peace Prize yesterday. The European Union, and the euro — for all its faults — have been credited with keeping the continent relatively peaceful of late.

European markets are slumping this morning on news that the prime minister of Italy is resigning. Mario Monti — whose technocratic government took power a year ago to fix the Italian economy — says he’ll step down as soon as next year’s budget gets approved. In North Dakota, oil production is booming. Of course, there’s still no pipeline to move the oil — which is causing a boom for another industry: railroads. And, there is still a glut of foreclosed houses on the market, but it’s not ordinary homebuyers who are benefitting.

There are about three weeks remaining until the fiscal cliff deadline and so far there is no deal in Washington. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) joins us to discuss the ongoing negotiations. The official monthly jobs report is out today and economists are expecting nearly 100,000 fewer jobs were created in November than in October. And fans frustrated by the NHL lockout are finding other ways to spend on entertainment.

States are expected to collect almost $26 billion this fiscal year from a 1998 settlement with the tobacco industry, but only a tiny fraction of that money will be used to prevent people from smoking. It’s been just over a year since Michael Woodford lost his job as the CEO of Olympus after challenging the board with tough questions. He’s just written a book about the experience called “Exposure: How I went from CEO to Whistleblower.” And in the cellphone era, what’s the value of a payphone? New York sees advertising and Internet hot spots as the future for its 11,000 payphones.

A deal has been reached to end an eight day strike at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle almost half of all the cargo that arrives by sea in this country. The strike prevented billions of dollars of goods from being delivered. In other strike news, students at Emory University in Atlanta took over part of an administration building yesterday to protest cuts to liberal arts programs. And there may be some backroom dealing on Capitol Hill to avoid the fiscal cliff. But don’t expect any any gifts to be exchanged. The House Ethics Committee has issued a memo called “holiday Guidance on the gift rule.

A new paper out claims that high frequency trading — stock trades executed by computers at very high speeds — may be taking money away from traditional investors. As 200 countries meet in Doha this week for the latest round of United Nations’ climate change talks, new sources of fossil fuel are stirring up the climate change conversation.  And politicians across the Midwest are pressing the President to declare a state of emergency on the Mississippi River in order to allow barge traffic to keep flowing. An epic shortage of water in the Mississippi has put major pressure on everything from food items, to electricity.

As the fiscal cliff approaches, many companies are shoveling money out the door before year’s end in the form of special dividends to shareholders to avoid tax issues in the new year. A new report out today says 6.5 million young Americans are disconnected — meaning out of school, with no job. Plus, we wish a very happy 20th birthday to the text message.