Economy and Business
Preying on Our Paychecks
Labor Day weekend should be a time for Americans to celebrate the economic achievements of workers with barbecues and beach trips. But with U.S. corporations routinely taking advantage of their low-wage employees, we might as well rename it Labor Exploitation Day. The...
Trump’s Tall Tax Tales
An old saying asserts that falsehoods come in three escalating levels: Lies, damn lies, and statistics. But now there’s an even higher category of lies: a Donald Trump speech. Take his recent address on specific economic policies he'd push to benefit hard-hit working...
Reagan Sold Your Future, Trump Will Too
Two generations ago, many white working-class Democrats bought into Ronald Reagan’s promise of a better nation. Eager for "morning in America" — and swayed by fear that advances for black people would come at their expense — they didn’t see that the shadow of a long...
Taking Back Our Finance System
Instead of griping about the greedheads of Wall Street and the rip-off financial system they’ve hung around our necks, why don’t we Take On Wall Street? That’s both the name and the feisty attitude of a nationwide campaign that a coalition of grassroots groups has...
Where Has All the Money for Our Schools Gone?
As fall approaches, millions of moms and dads are scrambling to prepare for the first day of school, excited to support their children’s success. But are schools ready to receive our kids and foster that success? Increasingly, the answer is no. In at least 18 states,...
Trump’s Taxes Won’t Go Away
Every day we get a new headline on Donald Trump, each one more bombastic than the last, as reporters attempt to keep up with his latest provocation. But which headline wont fade away as we near November? His tax returns. Or more to the point, his lack thereof. Every...
Debt Collectors Get Away With Daylight Robbery
I thought Donnie Trump and his fellow Republicans were big law ‘n order politicians. So, why are they trying to scrap the sheriff and unleash thousands of robbers to run wild across America? The sheriff they want to nix is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The...
The Disney-fication of Our National Parks
It’s summer vacation time and gasoline is quasi-cheap. So why not pile the family into the mini-van and pay a visit to the historic Budweiser Statue of Liberty, or motor out west in your Camry to Toyota’s Yellowstone National Park? That's right, our thoroughly...
Trump’s Trickle-Down Ticket
It was easy to get caught up in the circus that was the Republican National Convention. Rousing speeches (plagiarized and original) and raucous floor votes make for great television and funny internet memes. Unfortunately, as we’ve come to expect from events organized...
There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Free Market’
The debates leading up to the election this year will no doubt invoke the "American value" of capitalism. But what, exactly, does that mean? And what should it mean? I'm no economist, but I took a few economics courses while earning an undergraduate business degree....
