At last, our political leaders in Washington are taking action for low-wage workers and the middle class, striking a bold blow for America’s historic values of economic fairness and common good. Gosh, I hope you don’t think I meant Washington, D.C.! No, no – the same old corporate mentality of stiffing workers and stripping any […]
National – Jim Hightower
Posted inOpinion
Wall street rewards Ben and Tim for stiffing you
Not only has the Wall Street bailout restored the banksters who wrecked (and are still wrecking) our economy to full prosperity but it’s also paying off very handsomely for the bank overseers who orchestrated the bailout. Perhaps you’ve been wondering: How are good ol’ Ben and Little Timmy doing these days? Extremely well – thank […]
Posted inOpinion
Has America gone crazy?
It might appear that the U-S-of-A has gone bonkers. So let me clear up any confusion that you might have: Yes, it has! Yet, it hasn’t. More on that in a moment. First, though – whether looking at the “tea party” congress critters who’ve swerved our nation’s political debate to the hard right, or at […]
Posted inOpinion
Koch brothers demand more
Hypothetical conundrums can provide some valuable learning experiences for students of corporate management and ethics, so let’s study one. Suppose you’re a corporate chieftain who’s an adamant acolyte of Ayn Randian, free-enterprise fundamentalism, despising government regulation, compulsory taxation and government intervention in the purity of the holy marketplace. But – whoopsie daisy – suddenly a […]
Posted inOpinion
The power of organizing
Hard work, we’re told, always pays off. Sure it does – ask a farmworker, a roofer or a home health aide. In our economy, those doing the hardest work get the worst pay, the weakest job protections, the least respect and zero say in the way things work. Such laborers are the downest and outest […]
Posted inOpinion
Growing ‘populist lobby’
Imagine a bold headline blaring, “An Army of 1,500 Lobbyists Swarms Capitol Hill.” But that wouldn’t be news, since it happens every day. In fact, an occupying army of Gucci-clad corporate lobbyists is permanently encamped in Washington, numbering not a mere 1,500 – but more than 12,000. Yes, that works out to nearly 22 lobbyists […]
Posted inOpinion
Rick Perry’s bespectacled mess
He’s back. And, this time, he has eyeglasses. Yes, Rick “Oops” Perry, is back, pitching himself for another presidential run. What fun! Who can forget the Texas governor’s nationally televised pratfall during a 2011 presidential debate, when he couldn’t remember the third federal agency he intended to ax? Well, he later sniffed on “Fox & […]
Posted inOpinion
From farm workers to cheerleaders
It doesn’t take an IQ much higher than room temperature to realize that it’s way past time to raise America’s sub-poverty minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. But let’s also pay attention to the millions of people trying to make ends meet on – believe it or not – America’s sub-minimum wage. Some of our […]
Posted inOpinion
NSA spying is here to stay
On Monday, April 14, the Washington Post and the Guardian U.S. newspapers received the Pulitzer for Journalism Public Service for their reports on NSA spying. In light of their hard work, let’s recap events of the last year. Embarrassed and irritated by Edward Snowden’s leaks, Obama charged last year at a press conference that Snowden […]
Posted inOpinion
Sniffing the ethical rot in Wall Street’s culture
Not too many years ago, any news story about bonus money would’ve been about some 20-year-old baseball player – an up-and-coming superstar getting $100,000 or so on top of his salary as an extra incentive to join the Yankees, Giants, Red Sox or whatever team. Sportswriters dubbed them: “Bonus Babies.” How quaint. These days, stories […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s re-fund America
The powerhouses of Wall Street have tunneled directly into the cloistered backrooms of Washington deal making, extracting trillions of dollars worth of government bailouts, special tax breaks and regulatory favors every year. Yet, in a stupefying act of hypocrisy, they have also been the major force pushing policymakers to embrace extreme laissez-faire bunkum and to […]
Posted inOpinion
The symbolism of one adjunct professor’s death
If one obscure college professor dies, does it make any difference? If you’re Margaret Mary Vojtko, yes. Margaret Mary died last summer at age 83 – and her death has turned her name into an emotional rallying cry for adjunct college teachers who’re seeking justice from their schools. Vojtko had taught French classes for 25 […]
