Economy and Business
Inequality Is Costing Us Big-Time
Have you ever wondered what inequality costs the average American family? That is, what price do we pay — in actual dollars and cents — for tolerating an economy fixated on pumping our treasure to the top? That question has no simple answer. How much, for instance,...
When Bootstraps Won’t Work
Obama Strengthens His Backbone
Republican lawmakers are setting the stage for a disastrous two years in Congress marked by manufactured crisis after crisis and ignoring the needs of working families. Fortunately, President Barack Obama is showing some much-needed backbone by refusing to cave to the...
Who Polices the Pay Police?
One difference between top executives and worker bees is that those at the top can lower the pay of those down below while simultaneously raising their own. If you wonder what's causing America's rapidly widening income gap, there it is. Technically, CEOs do not set...
Fight for $15 in ’15
Looking for some good news on the job front? This should be a big year for the "Fight for $15," a national movement to turn low-wage jobs into "living wage" jobs that pay enough to lift workers out of poverty. The movement got a big push in December when pro-living...
Tilting at Turbines
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and several of John D. Rockefeller’s heirs have some investment advice for you. They want you, your college or alma mater, your local firefighters’ pension fund, and all other investors — big and...
A Corporate Coup in College Football
Growing up in Texas, I learned that God and guns were important, but football — well, football was the real religion. So I can understand the hyperbolic exuberance of a radio hypester in Montgomery, Alabama, who declared that the December 20 Camellia Bowl was “going...
Basketball’s One-and-Done Dilemma
It's been nine years since the last high schooler was selected in the NBA draft. That's because back in 2005, the NBA raised the minimum age for eligibility to 19. With this rule in place, the days of high school students going straight to the pros are over. For now....
Washington’s Slow-Motion Thaw
The strangest part of seeing the Cuban embargo officially deemed past its use-by date is how long this took. I first traveled to Cuba in 1995, after convincing my editor that it would become a huge business story once President Bill Clinton normalized relations. Like...
Port Strikes Mirror Organized Labor’s Roots
Port truckers in California walked off the job in November to protest their dismal working conditions. Required to lease trucks while paying insurance and maintenance costs, drivers often earn less than minimum wage. The strike came just days after big box retailers,...
