Economy and Business
My Oily Heirloom
I'll feel empowered when ExxonMobil convenes its upcoming annual shareholders meeting. Oddly, that’s because I’ve sold all my stock in the company. Shareholders like me and some major institutions, including New York State’s $178 billion pension fund, have urged the...
Caught in the Corporate Feeding Frenzy
The “human resources” departments of huge corporations are known for issuing helpful bulletins to employees, such as this old joke: “The beatings will continue until morale improves.” Beatings of workers these days take the form of slashing wages and benefits,...
Requiem for a Wrecking Ball
Aubrey McClendon’s 2013 Chevy Tahoe ignited after he slammed into an Oklahoma City overpass at high speed. Flames charred the brazen oil and gas executive’s body so badly that medical experts relied on dental records to verify that he'd died. One day before McClendon...
Paying for Low-Wage Pollution
Imagine if a corporation set up shop in your community and immediately dumped toxic sludge in your local waterways and buried radioactive waste next to your biggest playground. You and your neighbors, I bet, would demand full compensation from that corporation to pay...
Al Gore Moves to the Bright Side
Remember An Inconvenient Truth? In addition to proving that people will pay good money to watch a movie costarring Al Gore and a PowerPoint presentation, that Oscar-winning documentary elevated climate change to an issue that everyone should fret about. In the decade...
The Billionaire Bankrolling the Latest Trade Deal Push
A New York Times article about Barack Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership opened with this sunny headline: “Trade Pact Would Lift U.S. Incomes, Study Says.” But wait, a study by whom? It comes from the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics....
Cracking Down on Abusive Debt Collectors
Have you ever picked up your phone to find an aggressive voice on the other end demanding payments on a debt you know nothing about? You’re far from alone. Once you’re in the sights of a debt collector, the impact on your life can be devastating: Your wages can be...
America’s Hollow Paradises
Think back to your favorite vacation. Wouldn’t it be delightful if that trip never ended? Imagine moving to that fantastic destination town, finding a job and a house, and living the dream. Even if you had to wait tables or stock store shelves, who needs a desk job...
Drowning the Oil Industry
With oil cheaper than bottled water, the average American driver saved $540 at the pump last year. But oil prices are also battering Alaska’s economy, rattling the stock market, and leaving thousands of workers in states like North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas jobless....
Turning Our Backs
With the winter winds of January came a flurry of reports that several states were moving to cut thousands of people from their Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP, or “food stamp") rolls. In New Jersey, for example, Governor Chris Christie pulled the...
