Archive
A Better Way To Tax The Multinationals
We the People put together a system here with schools, universities, scientific research, courts, a stable financial/monetary system, infrastructure like roads, dams, airports, and all the other components of a (used-to-be) prospering economy. That takes money, and...
The "Truman Show" Economy
A Northern Ireland county made news this week when it literally created a false front of prosperity for dignitaries in town for the G8 conference. The Irish Times reports that County Fermanagh spent roughly £300,000 ($456,000 at today’s exchange rates) to conceal the...
Social Security Report Takeaway: Keep Calm And Strengthen Benefits
Today the Social Security trustees released their annual report, and regardless of what you might hear otherwise from the chattering class, the underlying message is that there is no need to consider cuts in Social Security or Medicare benefits. In fact, we can and...
Oh Heck, It Turns Out The GOP IRS Commissioner Wasn't Plotting With The WH After All
When I read this piece in the Daily Caller yesterday, I have to admit I thought "oh hell." I assumed there was a good explanation for why the IRS commissioner had spent so much time in the White House (they aren't so dumb that they would openly plan an IRS jihad against the Tea Party right in the oval office) but I also knew this story would feed the scandal.
Garance Franke-Ruta of The Atlantic cleared it all up this morning.
The June Fight Over Student Loans
Today President Obama is joining college students at a White House event launching a new push to keep student loan rates from doubling in July. Among the various plans offered, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's plan is the most affordable for students, while the Republican plan...
Our Continuing Healthcare Crisis, Part 3: The Obamacare Scorecard
(This is Part 3 of a series on our ongoing - and worsening - national healthcare crisis.) As major provisions in the Affordable Care Act are rolled out, we'll need a way to track its effectiveness - a scorecard for "Obamacare," as it's now universally called. What's...
Losing Hope in Detroit
Losing Hope in Detroit (via Moyers & Company) Jobs. They are supposedly the foremost concern of every Democrat and every Republican, and they are certainly the greatest concern for the 20 percent of American workers who are unemployed or underemployed, and the...
Too Many Families Living On The Financial Knife's Edge
Don’t be fooled. Despite what politicians and the media have led many to believe, struggling middle-class Americans are not in a real recovery. The latest evidence is in a report released this month by the Investor Education Foundation of the Financial Industry...
Low-Wage Workers Strike In Seattle
Something's happening out there, in fast food restaurants, retail shops, and other places where people work for minimum wage or minimal wages, and don't earn enough to live on. It started in New York, and from there spread to Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Milwaukee,...
$2 Trillion Wasted In Tax Breaks For Wealthy
A new Congressional Budget Office report is making headlines for finding that the top 10 income and payroll tax "expenditures" – deductions, credits and other tax breaks – amount to $12 trillion over a 10-year period. That's more than Medicare, Social Security or...
