Economy and Business
Auditioning for the Electorate
Around Washington you can tell football season is upon us because Congress is lining up to punt its work until after the elections. Lawmakers have plenty to do over the next month, but little will — and even less incentive — to do it. Congress is grappling with the...
That Gosh Darn Minimum Wage
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wanted to share his long-repressed feelings about a traumatic event. "It was," the Kentucky Republican confided, grim-faced, "the worst day of my political life." Was he talking about the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America? No....
Do You Want Some Hogwash with That Burger?
Burger King bills itself as "home of the Whopper," a name intended to convey to burger eaters that this one is a whale of a deal. But "whopper" also means a prevarication, a crock, a tall tale — hogwash. Both meanings apply to Burger King's current effort to take over...
Taming Modern Monopolies
Analysts at the OECD, the Paris-based research agency, have just shared a grim prediction: If current trends "prevail," all developed nations will show by 2060 "the same level of inequality as currently experienced by the United States." If we let those current trends...
The King of Tax Dodging
Let’s Give Workers Something to Cheer About
Labor Day is supposed to be a celebration of workers, but it's been a long time since workers have been celebrated — or for that matter, have had a reason to celebrate. That's because the union movement that gave us this holiday is, at least numerically, a shadow of...
A Prescription for Treating Runaway CEO Pay
You've surely heard many things about the Affordable Care Act, including the website headaches that embarrassed the Obama administration during the new program's rollout. But you probably didn't realize that when you pay your premium today, you can rest assured that...
Clamping Down on the Labor Extortion Racket
This Labor Day, you can mull some good news about American jobs for a change. Take the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour — please! That poverty pay is a shameful stain on our extremely rich nation. But don't count on Washington, D.C. to lift our wage floor....
Extreme Makeover: Canal Edition
Panama! Panama-ah-ah-ah! The lyrics from the eponymous Van Halen song could just as easily be the nation's port policy — if the country had one. Panama is nearing completion of retrofitting the Panama Canal to accommodate much larger ships. The prospect of these ships...
Is Wal-Mart Treating Workers Like Pop-Tarts?
Wal-Mart loves keeping track of data. For instance, the retail giant's researchers know that before and after major storms, customers buy strawberry Pop-Tarts at a rate that's seven times faster than normal. How does Wal-Mart use this data? To stock its shelves with...
