Economy and Business
Putting the Heat on What Takes the Edge Off
Help For Struggling Millionaires Is On the Way
It isn’t easy being a millionaire these days, especially if you’ve got less than $20 million. Fortunately, Congress is watching out for you. Yes, the Republican tax cut bonanza targets lower end millionaires for special relief. Now those struggling to scrape by with...
America’s Farmworkers Face Poverty, Neglect, and Now Deportation
Every decade or so, America’s mass media are surprised to discover that migrant farmworkers are being miserably paid and despicably treated by the industry that profits from their labor. Stories run, the public is outraged, assorted officials pledge action, then…...
Tips Should Go to Workers, Not Their Bosses
Thea Bryan is a single mother putting herself through graduate school. She spends her days at an unpaid internship for her social work program. At nights, she bartends for tips. Sometimes, the pay is lucrative. But around October, her work — and money — started to...
After Moore, the Deluge
The defeat of Roy Moore in the Alabama senate race tells us something about voters. Women — especially black women — made the difference. Some 57 percent of Alabamian women voted against Moore, while 56 percent of mostly white men stuck with him. That also tells us...
Cat’s Pajamas and Other Signs of Holiday Endtimes
Your cat doesn't want to wear pajamas. Really. This shouldn't be a revelation to anyone who's ever seen or met a cat. And yet there are now advertisements for cat pajamas. Apparently, according to the advertiser, you should buy your entire family matching pajamas for...
The Real Spirit of Giving
This special day got me thinking about America's spirit of giving, and I don't mean this overdone business of Christmas gifts. I mean our true spirit of giving — giving of ourselves. Yes, we're a country of rugged individualists. Yet there's also a deep,...
Death and Taxes
Corporate Interests Are Warping the Internet
My identity was stolen this year. The perpetrator didn't open credit cards in my name or gain access to my finances. Instead, they used my name to submit a comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of repealing net neutrality rules. Those...
Is This the End of Free and Open Internet Access?
Free and open access to the internet is a virtuous democratic principle known as “net neutrality.” It means that it doesn't matter if you're a brand-name corporation or an unknown start-up, a billionaire or a poverty-wage laborer — you're entitled to equal treatment...
