| Sep 18, 2013 | Economy / BusinessThe federal budget expresses our nation’s values and priorities in numbers. It’s a blueprint for how our elected officials plan to make money and how they plan to spend it. What happens in Washington, D.C. has a profound local impact. About 80 percent of...
| | Peace / SecurityMy wife Sanaa is from Syria. Her family, most of whom are who are Alawite farmers, still lives there. As a former U.S. senator of Middle Eastern descent, I oppose any kind of U.S. attack on Syria and hope that Congress does too in its upcoming vote on the matter. As...
| | Food / FarmingAs the fast food workers’ minimum wage campaign gains momentum, another group of workers is expanding the fight to address one of the least-known economic outrages. You may not realize it, but the measly $7.25 an hour McDonald’s and other fast-food giants...
| | Economy / BusinessFast-food workers are holding strikes and demonstrations in dozens of U.S. cities. The “Fight for 15” campaign demands a $15 living wage and the right to form a union without interference from employers. Critics say a living wage would drive fast-food...
| | Economy / BusinessMy cousin Mona called me the other day about her husband Harry, who had came home from work and said: “We’re spending too much money, Mona. It’s got to stop. We’re going broke.” “Really? I thought we were doing OK, sort of.”...