Economy and Business
The Rigged Housing Market
An upscale housing development in Wilton, Connecticut (all of Wilton is upscale) is having no trouble selling its 20 units for $800,000 each. On average, homes in that town now fetch more than $1 million a piece. And real estate experts only rank the region that...
Wall Street Charges Ahead
Take this Compromise with a Grain of Salt
The two cousins who run the private equity giant KKR took home an astounding total of $327 million in 2013, new regulatory filings reveal. Much of this lush windfall came via "carried interest," Wall Street-speak for the cut that private equity kingpins take on the...
Obama’s Budget Asks What’s Valuable
Obama's new budget, is it DOA? Can tax breaks for the poor really see light of day? Well, Paul Ryan's budget will cut taxes too. Granted, not for the many...just for the few. A budget expresses what a nation finds valuable: A good wage in Harlem? Or a new yacht in...
Without any Grassroots, This Austerity Group Withered
The austerity mania that plagued our political system for four years is finally subsiding. The latest sign is President Barack Obama’s decision to nix the Social Security cuts he had previously included in his budget proposal. This was a body blow to the most powerful...
Can Someone Please Cancel this Pity Party for the Rich?
The über rich are full of ideas. Not ideas to help humanity, unfortunately. They've thought up new ways to help themselves grab more money and power at our expense. Take Tom Perkins. He's one of a growing number of the put-upon rich — billionaires who grabbed a...
The Way Forward: Tax and Spend
Have you heard? Our economic policy debate is getting some spring cleaning. President Barack Obama has signaled that he's had it with all that talk about America being broke and the belt-tightening austerity measures that went along with that chatter. His proposed...
Seniors of America Unite! You Have Nothing to Lose but Your Chains.
Listen seniors and those disabled The Chained CPI has now been tabled Cost-of-living increases you rely on Were to be replaced with a shoulder to cry on But because conservatives refused to play And end the corporate tax giveaways Obama decided to toss the "Grand...
We’ve Got a Long Way to Go, Baby
When General Motors named Mary Barra the company's new CEO in December, the announcement made instant headlines. No woman had ever steered a major global automaker . But the hurrahs for GM's historic hire turned into hoots of derision when a company filing revealed...
Buying More Than a Piece of the Rock
One thing about the tea party Republicans in Congress is that they do know who butters their biscuits. Several have recently rushed forward with an anguished plea in defense of Wall Street barons, CEOs, and billionaires: Stop the vilification of wealthy people! I'm...
