Economy and Business
Civil War and the Safety Net
My great-grandfather Albert Cordner was a private in the Union Army. In a pocket-size diary, he recorded battlefield experiences that were the stuff of movies.
Taxes Worth Fighting For
Today, war and taxes remain our nation’s two most tragic issues. While we haven’t quite finished losing those pointless shooting wars, we’ve surely lost the tax war.
Put a Human Face on Spending Priorities
Across the country, state legislatures are grappling with billion-dollar deficits. The prevailing narrative among Republicans–and many Democrats–is cut, cut, cut. But in some of the nation’s most populous states, a few legislators are pushing back.
Obama, Inc.
When you dance with the devil, never fool yourself into thinking that you’re leading.
Roadmap to Disaster
The Republicans told us what they wanted to do in their “Pledge to America” last year: cut government, slash taxes, and shrink the national debt. But they didn’t tell us how they were going to do it. Now they have.
Squeezing Ordinary Californians and New Yorkers
Following World War II, the United States produced something the world had never seen: a mass middle class. For the first time, a majority of a major nation’s people had real money left over after paying for basic food and shelter.
MLK’s Dream in Jeopardy
The world has changed since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared his dream on the National Mall in 1963. But this year, during Black History Month, we should remember that King’s messages remain as powerful–and necessary–today.
Meet the New Media Monopoly
For more than a century, American law has recognized the destructive power of corporate monopolies. When one company controls an entire resource, means of production, or delivery system for products, it gets an unfair advantage over competitors. It can overcharge them out of existence or drive them into bankruptcy. Since Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, our government has tried to ensure that monopolistic business practices don’t destroy fair pricing and consumer choice.
A Banker who Gets It
Populist banker. Now those are two words you rarely see linked together.
But Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, truly is a rarity. Firmly rooted in small-town Iowa and Kansas, he has never aspired to be part of the Wall Street-Washington power elite, and he doesn’t hesitate to challenge their financial orthodoxy and obsequious kowtowing to the preening barons of big banking.
A Lousy New Year for Workers
“What’s good for General Motors is good for the country,” Defense Secretary nominee–and former GM CEO–Charles Wilson famously told the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1953. These weren’t his exact words, but they have resonated nonetheless.
