There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Free Market’

There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Free Market’

The debates leading up to the election this year will no doubt invoke the “American value” of capitalism. But what, exactly, does that mean? And what should it mean? I’m no economist, but I took a few economics courses while earning an undergraduate...
Dining Out? Here’s Some Food for Thought

Dining Out? Here’s Some Food for Thought

Americans now spend more on dining out than on groceries. But while we increasingly seek out organic and fair trade goods at the store, we usually don’t think about the social and environmental impacts of dining out. We should. The last time you ate at a restaurant,...
A 2-Pronged Assault on Women

A 2-Pronged Assault on Women

We heard a lot about the “war on women” during the 2012 election cycle — mostly over Republican attacks on abortion rights and birth control. While the phrase has faded in this election year go-round, the war on women has not. The only change is that now...
Paying for Low-Wage Pollution

Paying for Low-Wage Pollution

Imagine if a corporation set up shop in your community and immediately dumped toxic sludge in your local waterways and buried radioactive waste next to your biggest playground. You and your neighbors, I bet, would demand full compensation from that corporation to pay...
Winning the Fight for $15 in 2016

Winning the Fight for $15 in 2016

Millions of low-paid Americans rang in 2016 with a raise, as a handful of state minimum wage increases went into effect on the first day of January. Many of those raises are a barely noticeable 15 or 20 cents an hour — little comfort to people struggling to make ends...