In the News
Study finds extreme CEO-worker pay disparity at taxpayer-supported companies
Some of the most extreme examples of the gap between executive and median worker pay occurs at companies directly supported by federal contracts and subsidies, a new study has found.…
The Military Budget Grows Bigger and Bigger
By approving the FY2019 military budget not only did the U.S. Congress and President continue the long history of massive budgets for the military, they exceeded even their past largesse.…
Elite CEO Pay Jumps to Average of $19 Million, As Fears Mount Over the Wealthy Pocketing Gains
Top executives of America’s biggest companies saw their average annual pay surge to $18.9 million in 2017, according to a report released Thursday, fueling concerns about the gulf between the nation’s…
The Department of Defense Wants to Protect Itself From Climate Change Threats It’s Helping to Spur
The Department of Defense may be one of the only parts of the Trump administration that openly admits that climate change is a threat. On Monday, President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization…
Next Avenue: Critics Cry Foul Over Donor-Advised Funds
What do you think is the nation’s biggest charity? The United Way? The American Cancer Society? The Salvation Army? Nope. It’s something called Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, which is also…
Trump Signs Legislation Pumping Billions More Into War Machine
President Trump signed the 2019 defense spending authorization bill on Monday, increasing domestic spending on what is already the world’s largest military. This comes as global military spending reaches the…
Renewable Energy & Clean Tech: It’s The Jobs, Stupid!
While Donald Trump — the preening peacock of the Potomac — goes around bragging (his favorite activity) about how many jobs he is creating, the renewable energy industry is quietly…
Poverty, Violence, and Spiritual Wildfires
“They take advantage of that opportunity and they shoot into a crowd, no matter who they hit.” The news this past weekend emerging from my fair city, Chicago, felt like…
Why Big Companies Are Buying Up Their Own Stocks
Analysts at Goldman Sachs say S&P 500 companies are on a shopping spree, buying up shares of their own stocks. In a letter to clients this month, Goldman projected that…
The Bipartisan March for Militarism
Republicans and Democrats like to claim that they are on opposite sides of important issues. Of course, depending on which way the wind blows, they sometimes change sides, like over…
Warehousing Tech Elite’s Wealth? New Path Urged for Silicon Valley Charity
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation grew into the largest philanthropy of its kind over the last decade by jumping on a trend: It offered technology’s nouveau riche an attractive charitable…
There Are Many Rich Minorities. So Why Are There No Black Koch Brothers?
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey is worth nearly $3 billion. Basketball legend-turned-businessman Michael Jordan’s net worth is a reported $1.65 billion. Businessman and philanthropist Robert Smith is worth more than both…
Worker Wages Remain Stagnant as Wealthy Executives are Rolling in Cash
Congressional Republicans and President Trump continue to push their sole legislative accomplishment, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as a game-changer for average working Americans — but the…
Will You Be Banned From the U.S. If You Admit to Using Drugs? The Answer is Maddeningly Inconsistent
VANCOUVER—An American lawyer is criticizing a long-held and unspoken convention allowing some Canadians to cross into the United States freely despite having publicly admitted to prior drug use while others…
This Popular Form of Charity Might Just be a Tax Shelter for the 1%
Some philanthropic donors may be promising to give a lot of money to charity in order to get a nice tax break–but ultimately not delivering on the cash. The trick…
Exposing Murder Rings and the Realities of McCarthyism: A Deep Dive into FOIA
1. Taking Another Look One morning last October, a middle-aged man named Francisco Letelier stepped to a microphone in Washington, D.C.’s Sheridan Circle, surrounded by light Sunday traffic, and spoke to a…
Britain: the newest ‘Pacific Island’ paradise?
Out of the European Union and into the Trans-Pacific Partnership In a somewhat surreal twist, in what is already an increasingly surreal global landscape, UK trade minister Liam Fox announced last Wednesday,…
Uneasy calm in Gaza after Hamas-Israel deal
A fragile calm has taken hold in the besieged Gaza Strip as a deal between Hamasand Israel appears to be holding. The deal, brokered by Egyptian and United Nations officials, was designed to restore…
Some Pacific Northwest CEOs earn 200 or 400 times what the average employee is paid
After years of wrangling over the rules, public companies are now disclosing their workers’ median annual pay and showing how that number stacks up against what the CEO makes. Federal…
Bernie Sanders: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet Have More Wealth Than Bottom Half of U.S.
Do three Americans really have more wealth than half the country? It’s a claim made by the runner-up for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president, Bernie Sanders. Campaigning on July 14, 2018…
Bernie Sanders: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett have more wealth than bottom half of U.S.
Do three Americans really have more wealth than half the country? It’s a claim made by the runner-up for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president, Bernie Sanders. Campaigning on July 14, 2018…
His View: Iran vs. North Korea: Obama got a better deal
I can’t decide which is more embarrassing for our country: President Donald Trump buddying up to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, or Trump praising Russia’s Vladimir Putin for being “strong”…
Elon Musk and Tesla Stocks
Elon Musk jumped into a scandal of his own making last week when he called a British cave diver who was instrumental in the rescue of a dozen Thai boy scouts from a flooded cave…
Residents, Activists Embrace Community Control over Police
In what has been a recurring cycle, a slew of gun-related violence in D.C. and subsequent conversations about public safety have spurred calls from residents and council members alike to…
States with the Most At-Risk Youth
Growing up can be hard. Without a stable home, positive role models and tools for success, many young Americans fall behind their peers and experience a rocky transition to adulthood.…
Black voters exist in the Midwest. Democrats, ignore us at your peril.
The surprise victory of democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against mainstream Democrat Joe Crowley for New York’s 14th District couldn’t be a better case study in how candidates running on unabashedly…
Black Americans’ Median Wealth Could Disappear in One Generation
It’s no secret that, as the saying goes, “The rent is too damn high.”Across the nation, housing is becoming increasingly expensive for many Americans. But the story of the present-day housing…
Common Ground: For Secure Elections and True National Security
Many Americans remain deeply concerned about reports of Russian interference with the 2016 election. Meanwhile, relations between the United States and Russia are at their lowest and most dangerous point…
Urging Europe to Mirror America’s Wasteful War Budget, Trump Tells NATO Leaders to Double Spending
One of the chief reasons that most European nations enjoy a higher standard of living and their residents annually express larger levels of collective happiness than people living in the United States is because…
