Archive
The Swiss Take Aim at Executive Excess
Something astounding is happening in Switzerland. For the first time ever, citizens in a modern nation are voting on whether to create what essentially amounts to a "maximum wage." On November 24, the Swiss will vote on a ballot initiative that bans any Swiss...
Genetic Engineering Lies Prevail Again
If you doubt that big money and lies can pervert elections, look at Initiative 522 in Washington State. A grassroots coalition of consumers, organic producers, environmentalists, and others who want honesty in food labeling put it on the ballot. They lost. The measure...
CEOs Against Grandmas
David Cote, the CEO of Honeywell, has more than $134 million in his personal retirement fund. If I were sitting on a nest egg that big, I might feel a bit sheepish about telling ordinary grandmas and grandpas to take a cut in their Social Security payments. But Cote —...
This Week in OtherWords: November 13, 2013
This week in OtherWords, Peter Hart debunks the myth of a "grand bargain" that requires Social Security benefit cuts, Jim Hightower points out that taxpayers shouldn't help JPMorgan Chase cover the cost of its $13 billion in fines, and Jill Richardson encourages...
Grand Bargain or Raw Deal?
Following the government shutdown drama, politicians in Washington appear hopelessly divided, according to conventional wisdom. Fair enough. But there's at least one area where many politicians from both of the major parties agree — and many of the TV talking heads...
ENDA and the Golden Rule
You probably don't think twice about sharing a photo of your loved ones at work or talking with coworkers about vacation plans with your family. But for some Americans, these simple acts put their jobs and livelihoods at risk. Here’s why. Though eight out of 10...
This Year, Have a Big-Poultry-Free Holiday Season
Chicken and turkey are among the most popular and versatile foods Americans eat, but they also bring health risks to your plate. Most factory-farmed poultry is raised with antibiotics — which leads to antibiotic resistance in humans. Now, the USDA wants to cut the...
Drawing a Lesson from Colorado’s Conflicting Tax Votes
“School Tax Fails.” That was the Denver Post’s lead headline the day after two-thirds of Colorado voters defeated a ballot initiative that would have raised the state’s income tax to fund K-12 public education. In smaller type, readers found news of another state-wide...
Taking Stock of the Most Affluent Among Us
How unequal have workplaces in the United States become? Our best answer happens to come from a source you might not expect: the Social Security Administration. Social Security statisticians each year tally up how much compensation gets reported on W-2s, the forms...
Who Deserves Our Thanks for Truly American Food?
What do turkey, sweet potatoes, and cranberries have in common? Yes, you eat them on Thanksgiving. Additionally, they are all distinctly American foods. So are potatoes and the corn in your corn bread. Believe it or not, the day that Columbus blundered into the...
