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Like a relentless Moloch, commercialism is no longer just creeping; it is charging into arenas hitherto off limits. Remember when Olympic competitions were amateur sports; now the paid stars sport corporate logos that get louder and larger the better to be seen on television.Remember when the public schools provided students with the sanctuary of their…

The newspapers and the airwaves are filled these days with reports and discussions about President Clinton’s deficit reduction and tax proposals. Words like “investments,” “savings,” “incentives,” “job training,” “government-industry partnerships,” “industrial policy,” and “technology transfer,” are repeated again and again. Two weeks ago in Los Angeles, California Speaker of the House, Willie Brown, convened an…

A month ago the invisible hand of the marketplace became very visible to over 400 customers of Jack in the Box hamburgers in the Seattle area. Two children have died and about 50 are in agonizing condition. The invisible hand dealt these people E. Coli — a bacteria that can become deadly when suppliers of…

In Michigan last week, Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Donald Shelton issued a ruling that could well spark a long-delayed national debate about what local communities receive in return for providing taxpayer subsidies to demanding companies operating plants there. Judge Shelton’s 28 page opinion ruled that General Motors could not transfer production of its Chevrolet…

Do women pay more for certain products and services than men? Are women exposed to more marketplace hazards than men because they are women? The answers to both questions are yes. Many a woman has a story about how an auto repair or home repair firm took advantage of feminine stereotypes and tried to gouge…

Four years ago, when the voters of California enacted Proposition 103, the insurance reform initiative, the property/casualty companies roared defiance and some forecast their withdrawal from the state. Using every obstructive tactic they knew, the large auto insurance companies spent tens of millions of dollars fighting Prop 103 in the courts. Last week the National…

This column was published by Mr. Nader in January 1977 and handed to the new President, Jimmy Carter, at a White House meeting. Because of the article’s continuing timeliness, for the new President, Bill Clinton, it is reprinted here. If the lessons of recent Washington history are to be heeded, Jimmy Carter should be launching…

Nothing in Clinton’s selection of Cabinet members illustrates so well his seesaw personality than the choice of Cong. Les Aspin as the Secretary of Defense. Clinton who campaigned as an “outsider” to bring fresh ideas and fresh people to Washington adds yet another “insider” to his growing Cabinet of “insiders.” Aspin, the Chairman of the…

Hardly a week goes by without the newspapers reporting on the skyrocketing costs, the fraud and waste of the health care industry. Long-time physicians and nurses bewail the hyper-commercialism and greed which drive so much of this marketplace. That is why it is good sometimes to reflect on the practice of medicine, as if people…

Ottawa — Another example of how the proposed international trade agreements, that are heading for the parliaments of over 100 countries next year will operate, unfurled itself recently in this neat capital city of Canada. Prime Minister Mulroney is pushing a bill through Parliament that would end the country’s unique system of compulsory licensing of…