Donald Trump, Sean Spicer, And The George Costanza Rule Of Lying
In a seminal episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld turns to his mendacious friend George Costanza for advice on how to beat a lie detector test. After first comparing the request to asking famed Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti…
The Bank Of England And The ECB Have A Credibility Problem
Mainstream media are worried about 2017 shocks. So they should be. If you had gambled a pound (or euro) this time last year on a triple accumulator; Leicester City to be English football champions, Brexit, and then Trump, you would…
Reich: Trump’s Infrastructure Scam
Our country is in dire need of massive investments in infrastructure, but what Donald Trump is proposing is nothing more than a huge tax giveaway for the rich. 1. It’s a giant public subsidy to developers and investors. Rather than…
Here’s Another Disgraceful Way Wells Fargo Took Advantage Of Its Customers
Reprinted with permission from ProPublica. Wells Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in the country, portrays itself as a stalwart bank that puts customers first. That reputation shattered in September, when it was fined $185 million for illegally opening as many…
In Nebraska, New Bill Proposes Protections Against Rampant Debt Collection
Last year we reported on a little-known hardship facing Nebraskans struggling to pay their medical debts: They were being sued over doctor bills of just a few hundred dollars. Unheard of in most states, such lawsuits are filed in Nebraska…
Ahead Of Trump Armageddon Is Taken Very Seriously In Silicon Valley
Getting ready for Armageddon is no longer monopolized by conspiracy theorists on the fringe. As a lengthy New Yorker story explains, it’s actually quite common among the richest Americans in Silicon Valley. For the uber-rich, preparing for a breakdown in…
While New York Times Editors Bickered, Trump (And Putin) Got Away
Now that the horses have left the barn, trotted out the front gate, and are galloping headlong down the county road, editors at the New York Times have taken to public bickering about who left the stalls unlatched. Not that…
Edward Snowden’s attorneys appeal to European Union’s parliament for asylum
Edward Snowden’s attorneys asked the European Parliament on Monday to consider granting asylum to the former NSA contractor in lieu of letting him risk a potential life sentence in the United States should he be ordered out of Russia. U.S….
Fiverr Stops Accepting Bitcoin-What It Means
Fiverr, the global marketplace for service beginning at just five dollars (hence the name) has announced that they have ceased taking Bitcoin as payment for their gigs. They began taking the currency in February of 2014 but have decided to…
Inequality, not poverty
THE key social, economic and political concern of our times, both domestically and globally, ought to be inequality, not simply poverty. Poverty has been far easier to address and to reduce, inequality, far more complicated, almost near impossible. Poverty is…