Economy and Business
No Taxpayer Dollars for the ‘Bank of Boeing’
Have you heard of the Export-Import Bank? It’s little-known yet high on the list of special-interest priorities these days. Created in 1934, this government agency loans money to foreign buyers of American products and gives U.S. exporters loan guarantees. It also...
What’s the Matter with Saying ‘Middle Class’?
Presidential candidates are getting creative when it comes to describing the middle class, The New York Times reports. Why? Because the middle class in America is shrinking. As a result, the term no longer connotes aspirational, feel-good emotions. Long associated...
The New Face of Noplace, USA
As everyone who travels a lot soon learns, it's easy to forget where you are. Those big chains uniformly offer all the charm of Noplace, USA. This disorienting sameness has become more dizzying in recent years as the chains have merged and conglomerated. Weary...
Shocking Schumer
Senator Chuck Schumer, a leader of the corporate wing of congressional Democrats and heir apparent to outgoing Minority Leader Harry Reid, never met a global trade deal too ugly to hug. So when he says, "This is really troubling," you know his eyes have been singed by...
The Cutting Edge of Waste
Lots of folks in America today really need more money. Our kids, for starters. We ought to be investing in their futures, not stuffing them in overcrowded classrooms or forcing them to graduate from college with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. And plenty of...
Gouging the Sick
Words can be discombobulating, especially when people twist them to fit concepts that mean the exact opposite of what you think is being said. Consider the current debate in Washington over the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a controversial trade and investment pact...
Lending Dreams
Nina Bailey has wanted to buy a home in her adopted city of Detroit for years. Instead, like tens of thousands of other Detroiters, she rents an apartment, where she lives with her two children. Bailey can afford a monthly mortgage payment. She’s got a decent-paying...
The For-Profit College Scam
This spring, around 100 indebted college grads came up with a novel strategy for dealing with their crushing debt: They simply weren't going to pay it. These students — the so-called "Corinthian 100" — attended schools owned by the now-defunct for-profit education...
Coddling the Rich
Question: How much did Congress save taxpayers last year when it cut food stamp benefits for 16 million poor children? Answer: Less than the windfall Congress is trying to bestow on a few of the richest American families by ending the federal estate tax. The House has...
Letting Deadly Bosses off the Hook
They say there's honor among thieves. I say: That depends on the thieves. Your common street thief, yes — but not those princely CEOs of corporate larceny. The elites in the top suites are pickpockets, swindlers, thugs, and scoundrels, routinely committing mass...
