In the Public Interest

More than ever, politics and policy decisions in our Nation’s capital are dominated by big money. Contributions from U.S. and multinational corporations heavily influence the outcome of elections. And lawyers and lobbyists representing wealthy business interests dominate proceedings in Congress, in the courts and before federal agencies. It is time for the Congress to do…

The late, great journalist I.F. Stone used to say that the evidence of government scandals lay in publicly available documents as much as in concealed material. Read what the government actually says, Izzy claimed, and you will find scandals aplenty. That insight holds true today. Consider the recent testimony of the acting director of policy…

It never seems to end this relentless merger of corporate lobbyists and their government buddies. The latest display of cushiness was at the annual summer meeting of the National Governors’ Association (NGA) at Pennsylvania State University. The NGA is a private association on the corporate hospitality take. And, man, do these corporations give to get…

Imagine the following: The New York Times announced today that it was replacing its columnists, Thomas Friedman and Paul Krugman with the two leading bilingual writers from the Beijing Daily. A Times spokesman explained that the move was necessary to meet the global competition. The two prize-winning Chinese newspaper columnists — Li Gangsun and Mao…

Never doubt the importance of language in politics. In labeling as “death taxes” what should properly be understood as an Equality and Fairness Fee or an Anti-Dynasty Tax, corporate-funded think tanks and their Congressional allies have launched a retrograde initiative to repeal the federal inheritance tax. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives succumbed to…

Imagine a well-written book, on an important topic, that you can read online for free. Making A Killing: HMOs and the Threat to Your Health, by Jamie Court and Francis Smith (Common Courage Press, Monroe, ME) www.makingakilling.org/— paints a troubling tale of what has become of our health care system. Jamie Court and Francis Smith…

“No sensible democracy would opt for an economic system in which the financial wealth of the top 1 percent of households exceeds the combined wealth of the bottom 95 percent.” That is the commonsense observation with which Jeff Gates begins his provocative new book, Democracy at Risk: Rescuing Main Street from Wall Street. (Perseus Publishing,…

It is time for the Clinton Administration and Congress to end one of the most unnecessary corporate giveaways in recent times. The name is soothing — The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) — but the program is aggravating. PNGV is a collaboration between the Clinton-Gore administration and the Big Three automakers —…

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…