Economic Rapture Might Be around the Corner

Economic Rapture Might Be around the Corner

It’s January 25, 2001, the first week of the Bush presidency and more than half a year before the September 11 attacks. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies before the Senate Budget Committee, asserting: “If current policies remain in place,...
We Can’t Put a Price on Nature

We Can’t Put a Price on Nature

A group of international scientists says that the earth is dangerously close to its tipping point of irreversible damage. Clearly, we need a way out of the mess we’ve made of the planet. The so-called “green economy,” which governments, business...
The ‘Freedom’ to Refuse Health Insurance

The ‘Freedom’ to Refuse Health Insurance

As the writer Anatole France once said, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges.” The right to refuse to have health insurance — something Republican leaders tout as a fundamental freedom — is a lot...
A New Kind of Scrutiny on the Campaign Trail

A New Kind of Scrutiny on the Campaign Trail

It used to be that journalists would join major candidates on the campaign trail, following them from coffee shops to parades and beyond as they tried to woo supporters and votes. Reporters would record how a candidate might change his or her stump speech in front of...
The War on Soda Pop

The War on Soda Pop

New York City, ever the leader in healthy living, is about to ban the sale of super-sized sodas and other sweetened drinks by its restaurants, movie theaters, and street carts. As part of a continuing campaign against obesity, it’s going to prohibit beverage...