Archive
Are We Resigned to Living Vastly Unequal Lives?
Billionaire Warren Buffett is still paying taxes at a lower rate than his secretary. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz pocketed $117.5 million last year. The life expectancy gap between Americans of affluent and modest means has widened by five years over the last three...
Eat Your Weeds
You might not be a master gardener, but odds are you grow one of the world's healthiest vegetables in your yard every year. It's a superfood that packs more calcium, iron, magnesium, and Vitamins C, B6, E, and K than an equal amount (by weight) of spinach. And, if you...
The Plan to Turn Medicare into ‘WeDon’tCare’
Apparently, Rep. Paul Ryan missed the outcome of last November's presidential election. Oh, wait — wasn't he on the ballot in that election as Mitt Romney's running mate? Well, yes, but less than five months later, the Wisconsin Republican seems to have forgotten that...
The Military-Industrial Threat to the Nation’s Well-Being
These days, the news cycle rotates between the deficit, bouts of extreme weather, horrific crimes, taxation, immigration, gun control (or the lack thereof), and a few other regularly reported crises. Lost in this shuffle is any heated discussion of the biggest threat...
Picturing Inequality
Inequality and the Social Security Debate
Rhonda Straw is one of millions of Americans who do important work every day but still have a hard time saving for retirement. As a home health aide, Straw administers medication, changes bandages, and performs other vital services to the elderly and disabled. With an...
This Week in OtherWords: March 13, 2013
This week in OtherWords, Jill Richardson underscores the drawbacks of using artificial food coloring to dye everything St. Patrick's Day green to mark that festive occasion and Frederic Rolando calls for preserving Saturday postal delivery. Here's a clickable summary...
Standing Up to a Theoretical Threat
Strange things are happening in Washington. In the Senate, Rand Paul, the son of presidential candidate Ron Paul, recently proved himself a chip off the old blockhead by conducting a one-man filibuster. I'm not talking about the namby-pamby...
Return to Sender
Rooted in the Constitution and older than the country itself, the U.S. Postal Service supports 7.5 million private-sector jobs in the mailing industry. The Postal Service is essential to the fast-growing Internet sales industry. And the USPS is navigating this...
Drawing the Line on Big Beer
Millions of Americans will enjoy a beer tonight. The vast majority of them probably won't realize that the wide variety of brands they see in the stores, bars, and restaurants come from just two foreign-based multinational companies that control 80 percent of the U.S....
