An Independent Thinker’s Guide to the Tax Debate

An Independent Thinker’s Guide to the Tax Debate

For 40 years, tax cutters in Congress have told us, “we have a tax cut for you.” And each time, they count on us to suspend all judgment. In exchange, we’ve gotten staggering inequality, collapsing public infrastructure, a fraying safety net, and exploding...
A Tax Plan Only a One Percenter Could Love

A Tax Plan Only a One Percenter Could Love

After the failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), the Trump administration has set its sights on its next big project: so-called “tax reform.” And the “reform” they seek appears guaranteed to elicit disdain from all...
Away with the Clowns

Away with the Clowns

Is it me or are the GOP presidential debates getting more circus-like each time? The recent CNBC “Your Money, Your Vote” debate began with this beauty pageant question: “What’s your greatest weakness?” Who asks a bunch of narcissists that...
Nuts to First Class

Nuts to First Class

I recently had the occasion to fly first class. As a poet and director of a small non-profit organization, this was a rare treat indeed. So why couldn’t I enjoy myself? It started with the warm nuts. I’d settled in with my free cocktail, having mastered the...
Fiorina’s Dubious Cheerleader

Fiorina’s Dubious Cheerleader

You know your presidential campaign is in a heap of hurt when you need Tom Perkins to defend your “abilities, intellect, and talent.” But there Perkins was in The New York Times recently, having bought a full-page ad attesting to the presidential...