Bankers and economists are not your friends, and never have been; they are in the business of making money, and the expertise they bring to that job does not include doing what is right for you, but rather, what is right for the bank, and by extension, for them personally. That is the lesson that I learned from Inside Job, … Read More
The High Cost of Disaster
The recent and ongoing events in Japan, the third wealthiest country in the world (after the U.S and China), are familiarly tragic; it is only weeks ago that we woke to similar headlines from New Zealand, slightly more than a year since disaster struck Haiti, five and a half years since New Orleans sank under the winds and waters of … Read More
Union Busting In Wisconsin
On the off chance you’ve been fully occupied studying the protests and revolts in the Middle East and have not been paying close attention to what’s happening closer to home, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is attempting to eliminate almost all public employees’ collective bargaining rights, as well as slash their health care and pension benefits. In response, the state employees’ … Read More
Revolution Is In the Air
The seed of revolution is political repression, its fertilizer, economic inequity. Revolution is not a new phenomenon; it first came into existence when civilization divided itself into the political strata of rulers and subjects, freemen and slaves. The list of recorded insurrections is long, beginning in Sumer almost 4400 years ago and continuing to the present day. Some are the … Read More
The Wonderful World of Tax Season, 2011
Times may change, civilizations may rise and fall but there is nothing surer than inevitability—taxes are, for good or ill, forever and the April filing deadline is just around the corner. 2010 was a year filled with tax legislation and new regulations. In addition to changing how we will deliver and pay for health care in the future, we altered … Read More
The High Cost of Not Caring
My thoughts have been occupied this week by a public drama and a personal tragedy. It may seem odd to connect the death of my mother-in-law in Glasgow, Scotland on New Year’s Day with the shooting approximately six thousand miles away in Tucson, Arizona, where a mentally disturbed Jared Loughner killed six and wounded fourteen, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. But … Read More
Dear President Obama,
Dear President Obama, I want to express my gravest concerns regarding the proposed tax legislation currently pending before Congress. This legislation, which you negotiated with the Republican leadership without input from Democratic leaders in Congress, is a sell-out. In exchange for extending unemployment benefits, you’re in danger of strangling Social Security, taking a giant step towards making the Bush-era tax … Read More
Of Pork, Congressional Redistricting, and the 2010 Census
As 2010 draws to a close, the official results of the 2010 U.S. Census will soon be published, and we’ll know for certain how the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be allocated between the states. Congressional redistricting isn’t a sexy issue, or even particularly interesting, but the decennial census results determine the political makeup of the … Read More
Corporate Socialism and the Television Industry
Paying for television has always bothered me. As a child, everyone enjoyed free, clear transmission, albeit with the cutting-edge technology of rabbit-ears or rooftop antennas. There were few channels, but once the television was plugged in, the sole additional cost was pennies for electricity. Forty years later, my family’s satellite dish stands proud in the front yard, and we receive … Read More
Locking Your Doors Against Identity Thieves
Preventing identity theft by guarding private information, such as date of birth and social security number.