Time for a General Strike on Dollar General

| Oct 4, 2023 | Economy / Business|Food / Farming|HP SubfeaturedPresident Biden recently walked a picket line in solidarity with striking auto workers. An amazing sight. What could he do for an encore? He could stand before another major American corporation — Dollar General — holding a simple two-word placard: “For Shame.” Thanks...

What Decades of Social Work Taught Me About Poverty

| Jul 18, 2023 | Economy / Business|Food / Farming|HP Subfeatured|Rights / DemocracyIf my decades of work as a social worker taught me one great lesson, it’s this. Poverty is an entrenched system of political choices by self-serving lawmakers, not a personal failing of ordinary people. Poverty is not, and never has been, a crime.  I’ve worked with...

Cultivating the Next Crop of America’s Farmers

| Jul 12, 2023 | Economy / Business|Editors Picks|Food / Farming|HP SubfeaturedI consider my days in the sun as a young, organic farmer to be the most rewarding work I’ve done. The days were long, hot, and unforgiving, but I felt free. Farmers have my utmost respect and I believe them to be the backbone of America.  But for young people like me,...

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...

Corporate Food Chains Are Ripping You Off

| May 17, 2023 | Economy / Business|Food / Farming|HP SubfeaturedOftentimes, when you suspect you’re being gouged by corporate price fixers, you’re right. Take the rat-a-tat-tat of today’s price jumps at supermarkets and chain restaurants. They make you want to race to the cash register before they raise prices again. No, no cry...

Credit Card Holders Get Protection from Fraud. Shouldn’t EBT Users, Too?

| Feb 15, 2023 | Economy / Business|Food / Farming|HP SubfeaturedA few years ago, someone stole my card information and took over $100. You’d assume the bank or credit card company would reimburse that fraud, right?  Not for me, unfortunately. The skimmed card number was for my Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which allows...