Archive
Down and Out…in America
Returning from Haiti makes life in America look pretty sweet…briefly. Until you read the data. The poverty rate here is up to 12 percent, or 39 million people. Unemployment hovers around 10 percent (not even counting the underemployed or those who have given up), 14 percent lack health insurance, and 15 percent endure hunger.
That’s Rich
Raise My Taxes, Please
My grandfather taught his three children that their earnings should be distributed in thirds: A third for charitable community organizations, a third for taxes, and a third for themselves. But today, many wealthy Americans pay far less than a third of their income in taxes, because tax rates have been slashed and the income from capital gains is taxed at much lower rates than income from wages.
Strange Snow Patterns Consistent with Climate Change
Freak snowstorms plunged the nation’s capital and the rest of the mid-Atlantic United States into utter chaos in February. The federal government shut down for nearly a week, many schools turned President’s Day into an unexpected 10-day-long “snowcation,” public transportation ground to a screeching halt, and suburban power outages drove some families to burn Freak snowstorms plunged the nation’s capital and the rest of the mid-Atlantic United States into utter chaos in February. The federal government shut down for nearly a week, many schools turned President’s Day into an unexpected 10-day-long “snowcation,” public transportation ground to a screeching halt, and suburban power outages drove some families to burn furniture in their fireplaces to keep warm.
Fighting Like Hell in Haiti
The nation called the “pearl of the Antilles,” back when it was the wealthiest Caribbean colony, has always known how to fight like hell. The African slaves, who were brought to Haiti to generate wealth for France, launched a rebellion in the 1790s that merged subterfuge on the plantations with guerrilla warfare. They won in 1804, thus creating the only successful slave revolution ever and the world’s first black republic.
Warning: Consumer Products May Be Harmful to Your Health
A recent report by some of the nation’s leading public health professionals describes the toll that toxic chemicals are taking on our health and our budget. This report, called the Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act, summarizes the insidious contribution of environmental toxins to an array of chronic health problems.
Let’s Rein In Tax Cheats
The government’s treatment of UBS banking whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld, who is credited with shattering Swiss bank secrecy and revealing massive tax evasion by Americans, has alarmed government accountability advocates nationwide.
Dealing with the Deficit
Nobody wants government bailouts of financial institutions, but nobody wants to take responsibility for letting them fail.
Agribusiness Profits, Mutant Germs, and Us
For decades, we have benefited enormously from the healing wonders of antibiotics. These drugs save millions of lives that would otherwise be lost to microbial infections. But more and more of the antibiotics in America’s medical kit are proving to be ineffective against the plethora of germs that endanger us. Why? Too much of a good thing.
Rescuing Haiti
