Archive
Bipartisan Closets
In OtherWords: May 25, 2016
Sometimes it's helpful to take a long view. This week in OtherWords, Sam Pizzigati reports on a new satellite NASA is developing that will be capable of spotting "a bug in space." So why, he wonders, can't the feds find the affluent tax cheats who illegally dodge over...
America’s Cosmic Tax Gap
The folks working for the federal government can do some incredible things. Over at NASA, for instance, they’re now putting the finishing touches on the new James Webb Space Telescope — an instrument The Washington Post says will be powerful enough "to capture the...
Obama Promised Open Government, But Hasn’t Delivered Yet
President Obama took office promising to usher in an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability in the federal government. Back in 2009, when he said federal agencies "should take affirmative steps to make information public," he promised that the...
Our Poverty Myth
If you're poor, many Americans think, it's your own fault. It's a sign of your own moral failing. I don't personally believe that, but the idea has roots in our culture going back centuries. In The Wealth of Nations, the foundational work of modern capitalism, Adam...
Putting Free Speech Out to Pasture
Hard experience teaches that biotech companies, chemical corporations, and other agribusiness giants have no sense of respect for Mother Nature. Now, Rick Friday has learned they have no sense of humor either. Friday, a lifelong Iowa farmer, also happens to be a...
Toppling the Status Quo
In OtherWords: May 18, 2016
The month of May marks college graduation season. This year, graduates are entering the job market with an average $37,000 worth of debt — the most of any class ever. This week in OtherWords, Chuck Collins looks at one reason college costs have risen so high: States...
A Commencement Address for the Most Indebted Class Ever
Congratulations, college graduates! As you enter the next phase of life, you and your parents should be proud of your achievements. But, I'm sorry to say, they've come at a price: The system is trying to squeeze you harder than any previous generation. Many baby...
A Coalition of the Unhinged
It’s no secret that Donald Trump, the GOP’s all but official new standard-bearer, is a promoter of wild conspiracy theories and harmful lies — from his smear of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers to his offensive questioning of President Obama’s place of...
