Steve Cohen, Meet Al Capone

Steve Cohen, Meet Al Capone

Al Capone was a bad boy. How bad? He cheated on his income taxes. He went to prison in 1931 for that. Not for the people he gunned down, nor for any of the other gross illegalities the guy committed as a notorious Chicago mobster. Tax evasion landed Capone in the...
The Mother Teresa of Global Retail

The Mother Teresa of Global Retail

Want to see pure altruism in action? Go to Washington, D.C. — not to the federal government’s marble buildings, but to the real city, where ordinary folks live. There you’ll find a business organization that wants nothing more than to serve the people,...
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation

Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation

After graduating from high school, I had two choices: I could earn a college degree while shouldering debt, or struggle in a highly competitive job market without one. I chose the former. And I’m not the only one. My generation is setting records in higher...
Depending on the Kindness of Strangers

Depending on the Kindness of Strangers

The other shoe finally dropped in Detroit. The once-proud city — variously known as “Motown,” “the Arsenal of Democracy,” and “the City of Champions” — filed for bankruptcy. There’s a local effort to head off the filing, but...
Exceptionally Mediocre on a Global Scale

Exceptionally Mediocre on a Global Scale

America the Beautiful! America the Greatest! We’re No. 1, right? Absolutely, naturally, and indisputably. At least that’s the theocratic pronouncement of far-right-wing nativists who preach the dogma of American “exceptionalism.” They use the...
The Roaring Twenties Are Back

The Roaring Twenties Are Back

Not much left Worth fighting for; The rich already Won the war. Many of us who have reached Social Security age had a pretty good run. We lived through those heady days that followed the Great Depression and World War II, a delightful — though brief — moment in U.S....