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Thorstein Veblen — the turn of the (nineteenth) century social scientist who coined the term “conspicuous consumption” — would blush if he were to witness today’s consumption patterns. Luxury and excess have been taken to new flights of fancy, and have become the object of desire for an ever greater portion of the population. In…

On May 19, 2000 the House passed a bill providing fiscal year 2001 funding of $55 billion for the transportation department. The vote wasn’t even close — 395 votes for and 13 against. Attached to this bill was a “rider” that prevents the Department of Transportation (DOT) from raising fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles…

The China Lobby is on the march — and posing serious problems to citizens in the United States and China alike. Big Business is pulling out all the stops to encourage Congress to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR, formerly known as permanent most favored nation) status. The many corporations that have endorsed PNTR are…

On May 7, 2000 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, released data on serious crime in the United States. The FBI notes that both murder and robbery registered 8-percent drops since 1988. Missing from the FBI news release were any data on crime in the suites. That information vacuum is notable because corporate crime and violence…

As the titanic antitrust case against Microsoft moves into its end-game, the question of the hour is what remedies will be effective in taming this wealthy and ruthless monopoly. The goal of any set of remedies should be to ensure that there will, in fact, be innovation, competition and reasonable prices in some of the…

In a recent annual report, Coca-Cola assured its shareholders that it had plenty of room for growth. The company only sold one billion of the world’s 48 billion beverage servings, the annual report noted. “A billion a day is just the beginning,” the company proclaimed, “because people still say, ‘for all the tea in China.’”…

Six months ago, who could have imagined a crowd of 20,000 or more gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank? What were the odds that such a demonstration would accompany thousands more in the streets engaging in festive civil disobedience during the spring meetings of…

Last year the Congress made Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan a virtual regulatory czar over financial services corporations. Considering the waves of adulation that have been sweeping over Greenspan, the anointment was not a surprise. Before placing this important regulatory power under the Federal Reserve, it would be reasonable to assume that Congress undertook…

Few American corporations live a more charmed existence than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant enterprises which dominate the nation’s housing finance markets. As former entities of the federal government, Fannie and Freddie exist in a corporate twilight zone in which they rake in huge profits as private corporations without being required to sever…

Industrial hemp is one of the longest and strongest natural fibers in the plant kingdom. It is also one of the most versatile plants, with approximately 25,000 uses, ranging from paper to textiles to cosmetics, and is a good rotation crop that can be grown with a minimum of pesticides. Once deemed an indispensable commodity…