Another View of the Capitol

Another View of the Capitol

Four and a half miles due East of the U.S. Capitol is a neighborhood called Capitol View. It sits on a hill that offers that iconic view of the Capitol and the Washington Monument that symbolizes official Washington. But the view feels less than majestic for the...
Mexican Food for Thought

Mexican Food for Thought

As I stepped off a bus in Mexico earlier this month, a tour guide urged my family and everyone else on the trip to go home and tell others that his country was safe. “Nobody got shot, eh?” he asked, explaining that stories about Mexico as a modern-day Wild...
None of My Business

None of My Business

It was late, I was grumpy, and the woman in front of me was buying cigarettes. I noticed the items in her cart: brand-name snacks, colas, and frozen foods. I looked at how she dressed, considered the carton of cigarettes she requested, and made a wager to myself that...
Boosting the Economy from the Bottom Up

Boosting the Economy from the Bottom Up

The minimum wage is $7.25. If it had kept up with inflation since 1968, minimum-wage workers would be earning $10.69 an hour today. During his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama put a face on the growing chasm between the “haves” and...