Economy and Business
Stop Investing in Sexism
My entire working life, roughly 50 years, I’ve been hearing the same old excuses for women not advancing in corporate America. Two are dominant: “we can’t find qualified women,” and “just wait until the pipeline gets filled and things will automatically get better.”
Academic Freedom for Sale–Cheap
Billionaires are different from you and me for obvious reasons, including the fact that they buy much pricier baubles than we do.
Big Oil’s Free Ride
Over Memorial Day weekend, tens of millions of Americans will take road trips, emptying their wallets at the pump.
Tax Holiday Would Cheat American Taxpayers
What if your family’s finances were tight, and you had a water bill that you couldn’t afford to pay? What if you had a client who owed you enough to cover the water bill? Would you tell your family they would have to go without water, or would you tell your client to pay up?
DSK’s Defense
Deconstructing a Paul Ryan Sound Bite
Rep. Paul Ryan from Wisconsin revels in his reputation as America’s ultimate conservative policy “wonk.” He plays the part well. At the drop of a hat, the Republican lawmaker can rattle off a stream of stats that make his rich-people-friendly budget nostrums seem almost reasonable.
State Budget Battles are about More than Cutting Deficits
Earlier this year, people across the country were riveted to the politics of Wisconsin. Claiming to address the state’s budget crisis, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker proposed eliminating the right of public workers to unionize. Wisconsin’s citizens immediately took to the streets in massive protests — only to see the union-busting legislation pushed through by the state senate in a late-night surprise vote.
Debt Ceiling Kabuki
The Kabuki tradition in Congress over raising the federal government’s debt ceiling is in full flower. It’s a more reliable Washington ritual than the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Colombia Free Trade Deal Could Boost Cocaine Exports
Manuel Esteban Tejada was a teacher in the Colombian province of Cordoba, near the Panamanian border. Unfortunately for him, he was also a union member. On January 10, paramilitary gunmen broke into his house at 6 a.m. and shot him multiple times, killing him.
America’s Housing Paradox
As the Bible pointedly reminds us, rains fall alike upon the just and the unjust. Nowhere is this axiom more pointed than in securing a place to live. Sure, maybe some of those luckless homeowners who fell victim to the Great Mortgage Scam were indeed trying to pull a fast one on their creditors–but most folks were simply plodding nobly through the American Dream. It didn’t matter. Honest or shady, Wall Street took them all down.
