Archive
A Volatile Agenda on Agriculture
Barack Obama’s trade policy, as embodied by the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, sadly resembles that of George W. Bush. It promotes export growth and investment at the expense of local economies and resilient food systems. This is unfortunate, not only because it fails to deliver the “21st-century” trade agenda President Obama’s promised on the campaign trail, but also because it ignores some of the key lessons from NAFTA and the 2008 global food price crisis.
Israel’s Third-Rail Borders
Writing about the Palestinians and Israelis is an exercise without profit. There’s no way to try to take a reasonable stand on the issues involved and escape vilification.
Academic Freedom for Sale–Cheap
Billionaires are different from you and me for obvious reasons, including the fact that they buy much pricier baubles than we do.
Chugging Down the Wrong Track
Most nations use health care to maximize the well being of their citizens. A few use it to maximize corporate profit. The United States is among the latter.
Big Bad Free Trade Accord
The Lineup: Week of May 23-29, 2011
Kate Colarulli calls for an end to oil and gas tax breaks and Carl Gibson explains why luring corporate profits stashed overseas back to America with a tax holiday would actually push us “further into debt.”
The IMF’s Assault on Women
A grand jury has indicted Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the disgraced former head of the world’s most powerful financial institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on seven counts, including attempted rape of a Manhattan hotel worker. Following his alleged attack on the Guinean immigrant as she tried to clean up his $3,000-per-night Manhattan hotel suite, the Frenchman’s history of treating women as expendable sex objects is just coming to light.
Big Oil’s Free Ride
Over Memorial Day weekend, tens of millions of Americans will take road trips, emptying their wallets at the pump.
Wanted: Real U.S. Leadership
The world is transfixed as the unprecedented events in the Middle East and North Africa unfold. And foreign policy aficionados are equally transfixed as the U.S. government maneuvers between its stated values and sometimes short-sighted security policies. With targeted airstrikes and lofty rhetoric supporting some, but not all, of the brave activists seeking respect for their rights, Washington’s relations and approach with the region are inconsistent and off the mark.
Tax Holiday Would Cheat American Taxpayers
What if your family’s finances were tight, and you had a water bill that you couldn’t afford to pay? What if you had a client who owed you enough to cover the water bill? Would you tell your family they would have to go without water, or would you tell your client to pay up?
