| Aug 6, 2012 | Economy / BusinessAt 9 p.m. on June 12, there was a collision on the freeway between Baltimore and D.C. The first car, a beige Prius. The second, a gigantic 18-wheeler tearing down I-95. The truck knocked the Prius sideways, sending it spiraling down the road and into the guardrail,...
| | Economy / BusinessIt seemed that Joseph Holman, a 51-year-old redhead from Brooklyn, had climbed into the middle class the old-fashioned way: by the sweat of his brow. Two decades ago, Holman moved to California and settled down in Hayward, a working class city about 10 miles south of...
| | Economy / BusinessWhat happens when nations cut taxes for their richest citizens? Economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, two of the world’s most respected authorities on the incomes of rich people, have a straightforward answer: In nations that slash tax rates on high...
| | Economy / BusinessLet’s take a trip deep into the magic kingdom of “Laissez Fairyland” and prostrate ourselves before the infallible and inscrutable force known as the free market. While this awesome deity cannot be seen, the high priests of free-market fundamentalism...
| Jul 30, 2012 | Economy / BusinessAre America’s rich getting richer? Certainly. Every official yardstick shows that America’s most affluent are upping their incomes much faster than everyone else. How fast? Between 1980 and 2010, note economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, incomes...
| | Economy / BusinessWhat a blessing it is for Mitt Romney to serve as the Republican nominee for president. He’s a living portrait of Mr. Wall Street Man. As his candidacy unfolds, it’s allowing us commoners to get a peek into how the privileged few rig the rules for their...