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Wealthy Tax Cheats

Wealthy Tax Cheats

Tax systems that heavily tax the rich are asking for trouble — or so the politicians who cater to the 1 percent incessantly argue. The higher the tax rate on high incomes, their argument goes, the greater the incentive the rich have to waste time and energy figuring out ways to pay less.

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Cheering Obama’s Wise Tar Sands Choice

Cheering Obama’s Wise Tar Sands Choice

We cheered when the Obama administration formally denied a federal permit for the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline put forth by Canadian oil giant TransCanada. The 1,700-mile pipeline would have run through six states, carrying toxic, highly corrosive tar sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries and ports in Texas.

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Climate Insurance

Climate Insurance

I feel uneasy sleeping in a house without functioning smoke detectors. I lock my doors at night. I salt my sidewalk when it’s icy. I always wear my seatbelt. Like most people, I prefer to minimize my chances of getting hurt or wrecking my car or house, despite the fact that my house, my car, and my health are all (thankfully) insured.

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Dollar Democracy

Dollar Democracy

Corruption is as American as apple pie. “The quality of government is seriously compromised when decisions made by elected politicians benefit those who funded their ascent to power,” says the anti-corruption watch-dog group Transparency International. That sounds like just another U.S. election campaign.

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Afghanistan’s Poppy War

Afghanistan’s Poppy War

For a symbol of how America’s decade-long war is going in faraway Afghanistan, look at the beautiful fields of red poppies flowering so bountifully there. Unfortunately, that bounty symbolizes the failure of an ambitious Western initiative against Taliban forces.

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