A Surprising Win for Animal Rights — and Democracy

| May 31, 2023 | Economy / Business|Environment / Health|Food / Farming|HP Subfeatured|Rights / DemocracyIt’s an odd marketing strategy for an industry to assail its own consumers. Yet, that’s what the monopolistic meatpacking industry — led by such huge conglomerates as Tyson, Smithfield, JBS, and Hormel, which control nearly 70 percent of America’s pork market — is...

To Protect Our Children, Tax the Rich

| May 17, 2023 | Economy / Business|Environment / Health|HP SubfeaturedEver since the middle of the 20th century, our history textbooks have applauded the reform movement that put an end to the child-labor horrors that ran widespread throughout the early Industrial Age. Now those horrors are reappearing. The number of kids employed in...

Over-the-Counter Birth Control Would Be a Game Changer

| | Economy / Business|Environment / Health|HP Subfeatured|Rights / DemocracyA federal advisory committee has unanimously recommended that the Food and Drug Administration allow the sale of Opill, an over-the-counter birth control pill. Coming amid a widespread assault on reproductive health care, this could be a game-changer. Margery Gass, an...

The Drug War’s Dark Origins

| May 3, 2023 | Economy / Business|Environment / Health|HP Subfeatured|Peace / Security|Rights / DemocracyOpponents of cannabis legalization frequently decry what they call a “rapid push” toward legalization in America. But to those of us who’ve spent decades fighting to end over a century of marijuana prohibition, these changes cannot come soon enough. The initial push...

Baseball’s Deadly Rule Change

| Apr 26, 2023 | Economy / Business|Environment / Health|HP Subfeatured“Take me out to the ball game,” as baseball’s fabled 1908 classic puts it. The ancient refrain ends: “I don’t care if I never get back.” Unfortunately, America’s billionaire baseball owners may not care if you get back, either. Just look at how baseball’s owners are...

Breaking Down Your Tax Bill

| Apr 19, 2023 | Economy / Business|Environment / Health|HP Subfeatured|Peace / Security|Rights / DemocracyMany of us rushed to file our taxes before this year’s April 18 deadline. While we all hope for a refund to help pay the rent or cover a vacation, we also want our taxes themselves to pay for worthwhile things. Every year, my project at the Institute for Policy...