"Words that make actions speak louder."
The irony is killing me. Two stories run next to each other in today’s (July 15, 2009) Washington Post. Together they show the triumph of the pseudo-economy over the real economy. Page A12 carries an article called, The Trickle-Down Effect: An Auto-Parts Maker Fades in the Fallout From Detroit. It’s about a man whose auto-parts […]
When the U.S. added modest “Buy American” provisions to the February stimulus bill to help keep (some) U.S. assistance in the U.S. economy, people cried foul. — “A classic protectionist measure,” charged Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. — “The worst instincts of Congress,” declared the Wall Street Journal. — […]
The Waxman-Markey Clean Energy and Security Act squeaked through the House of Representatives late last week (219-212). Although some expressed doubts, many people consider the bill a terrific breakthrough and important step in the right direction. But one unheralded addition to the Manager’s Amendment in the closing hours makes the bill even stronger and more […]
I’ve blogged about my novel, 2044, here and here. 2044 is a future tale that starts where George Orwell’s 1984 left off. The problem in 2044 isn’t Big Brother and the leviathan government. The problem is Big Brother, Inc., and the all-powerful marketplace. This post broadens the horizons. FireDogLake will feature 2044 on its book […]
Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison for one of the biggest investment frauds in Wall Street history. The punishment seems to fit the crime…. But there is no closure here. We can’t let Madoff’s sentence distract us from the underlying problems. This isn’t just about Madoff. This is about the system […]
Remember a while ago I wrote about my new novel, 2044? 2044 starts where George Orwell’s 1984 left off. The problem isn’t Big Brother and the leviathan government. The problem is Big Brother Inc., and the all-powerful marketplace. The 2044 story is about water. Giant businesses control the water supply. An entrepreneur who figures out […]
I’m torn. On one hand, a wonderful event is taking place today, the annual U.S.-India Business Council “Synergies Summit” in Washington, DC. It is a high-powered business summit in the beautiful flag room of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. India West describes the agenda as a “Who’s Who of business between the U.S. and India.” […]
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched yesterday “a sweeping national advocacy campaign … to defend and advance America’s free enterprise values in the face of rapid government growth and attacks by anti-business activists.” The Chamber of Commerce doesn’t get it. They aren’t defending capitalism and free enterprise. They are all but destroying it. Free-market fundamentalists […]
The wind is at our backs. The media still calls America a “center-right” nation, but “center-left” is closer to the truth. On issues ranging from health care to energy, the public is more progressive than people think. Demographic groups from youth to Hispanics are voting farther left and in larger numbers than ever before. The […]
I just finished a new novel, 2044. 2044 starts where George Orwell’s 1984 left off. The problem isn’t Big Brother and the leviathan government. The problem is Big Brother Inc., and the all-powerful marketplace. Orwell was right for his time, of course. Europe lay in smoking ruins, and the statist Stalin peered over the wall […]