Economy and Business
Koch Kollege for Right-Wing Social Engineers
Breaking news: An amazing new school for political activists is training thousands of people to be community organizers. They're using Saul Alinsky's classic manual, Rules for Radicals. The Grassroots Leadership Academy gives how-to lessons in everything from mounting...
Building a New Populism in the Era of Trump
Imagine you're standing in line for the American Dream. You work hard, sometimes in dangerous jobs. You lead a moral life. But the line is stalling, even moving backwards. Yet you see newcomers up front — some of them immigrants and people of color. Maybe you've...
A Bigger AT&T Is the Last Thing We Need
The American mainstream media spent the last year normalizing and propping up a racist, xenophobic, misogynist candidate whose closest advisers include white nationalists and politicians with a track record of oppressing women, people of color, and the LGBTQI...
Uncle Sam Needs a Better Handle on Your Money
A decade ago, thousands of California National Guard troops reenlisted to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. For valiantly responding to a shortage of troops, they were promised a signing bonus. This October, the Pentagon ordered these thousands of veterans to pay back...
Wells Fargo is Rotting from the Top Down
Just when you thought that, surely, big banker greed had bottomed out with 2008's Wall Street crash and bailout, along comes Wells Fargo, burrowing even deeper into the ethical slime to reach a previously unimaginable level of corporate depravity. It's one thing for...
The Best and Worst Presidents on Taxes
With all the debate over Donald Trump’s tax-dodging, I've been wondering how taxes have played into presidential politics in the past. For some answers, I turned to Bob McIntyre, head of the nonpartisan research and advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice. For 40...
The Stumpf Banking System
"Stumpf" is a German adjective for someone who's obtuse, slow on the uptake, imperceptive, or to put it bluntly, stupid. Ironically, it also happens to be the surname of Wells Fargo's CEO, who's now mired in the most shameful banking scandal yet. For seven years or...
Clinton’s Surprising Debate Stumble on Trade
In her first debate with Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton delivered one of her more memorable one-liners when she quipped, "I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. You know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president." Debate rules be...
Trump Was Born on Third Base
Donald Trump was born on third base, but claims he hit a triple. Throughout history, we’ve had many "born on third base" presidential candidates, including Mitt Romney, George W. Bush and now Trump. These politicians trumpet their business acumen, but reveal little...
Another For-Profit College Folds
Picking the right college isn’t a fun process. Whether you’re a high school student eyeing your next step or a bit older looking to improve your career, the cycle of researching dozens of schools, preparing lengthy applications, waiting to hear back, and then figuring...
