How does this man still have a job? I wish the NYT would hire me. I’m not sure I could match his stupidity, but I’d try my best.How does this man still have a job? I wish the NYT would hire me. I’m not sure I could match his stupidity, but I’d try my best.Patents are not inherently bad. As with anything else, gaming the system by applying them to extremes is bad.A patent is supposed to give an inventor a limited monopoly to profit from his/her invention. (Used to be for 17 years, now 20.)Companies with armies of lawyers find ways to essentially corrupt this simple premise, harming us all...…How does this man still have a job? I wish the NYT would hire me. I’m not sure I could match his stupidity, but I’d try my best.How does this man still have a job? I wish the NYT would hire me. I’m not sure I could match his stupidity, but I’d try my best.Patents are not inherently bad. As with anything else, gaming the system by applying them to extremes is bad.A patent is supposed to give an inventor a limited monopoly to profit from his/her invention. (Used to be for 17 years, now 20.)Companies with armies of lawyers find ways to essentially corrupt this simple premise, harming us all...WW…

We report what they do, not just what they say.CaltansQuick, how much is $2 trillion? That’s the amount President Joe Biden wants for his.OK, it is more money than even Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have, put together. That probably still doesn’t give people too much information since most people don’t have much familiarity with these folks’ fortunes. But it might be helpful if the media made some effort to put the proposed spending in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package in a context that would make it meaningful.The spending is supposed to take place over eight years which...…We report what they do, not just what they say.CaltansQuick, how much is $2 trillion? That’s the amount President Joe Biden wants for his.OK, it is more money than even Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have, put together. That probably still doesn’t give people too much information since most people don’t have much familiarity with these folks’ fortunes. But it might be helpful if the media made some effort to put the proposed spending in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package in a context that would make it meaningful.The spending is supposed to take place over eight years which...WW…

We report what they do, not just what they say.Tax Break for Wealthy, US Treasury, Trump, distraction, political cartoon A new shows that the top five executives of major corporations pocketed 15 to 19 cents of every dollar their companies gained from two recent tax cuts. The paper, by Eric Ohrn at Grinnell College, should be a really big deal.The basic point is CEOs and other top executives rip off their companies. The officers are not worth the $20 million or more that many of them pocket each year.Again, this is not a moral judgment about their value to society. It is a simple...…We report what they do, not just what they say.Tax Break for Wealthy, US Treasury, Trump, distraction, political cartoon A new shows that the top five executives of major corporations pocketed 15 to 19 cents of every dollar their companies gained from two recent tax cuts. The paper, by Eric Ohrn at Grinnell College, should be a really big deal.The basic point is CEOs and other top executives rip off their companies. The officers are not worth the $20 million or more that many of them pocket each year.Again, this is not a moral judgment about their value to society. It is a simple...WW…

Photograph by Nathaniel St. ClairThe push for a $15 an hour minimum wage has developed considerable political momentum over the last decade. It is a very real possibility that we will see legislation imposing a national minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2024 if Joe Biden wins the election this fall.That would be a great thing, it would mean a large increase in pay for tens of millions of workers, but it is still very modest compared to what the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with productivity growth. As is often mentioned, the purchasing power of the minimum wage hit its peak in...…Photograph by Nathaniel St. ClairThe push for a $15 an hour minimum wage has developed considerable political momentum over the last decade. It is a very real possibility that we will see legislation imposing a national minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2024 if Joe Biden wins the election this fall.That would be a great thing, it would mean a large increase in pay for tens of millions of workers, but it is still very modest compared to what the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with productivity growth. As is often mentioned, the purchasing power of the minimum wage hit its peak in...WW…

SharePolitics & ElectionsRacial JusticePolitics & ElectionsEnvironment & HealthPolitics & ElectionsWar & PeaceWill Facebook run ads calling Donald Trump a “money launderer?” This is an interesting question to consider. If an individual or group proposed to run television or newspaper ads describing Trump as a money launderer, the outlet would almost certainly refuse to take it. In spite of the strong probability that the charge is true, these outlets would be afraid of a major lawsuit from Trump. Facebook has no such concerns, and that is a big problem.Facebook founder...…SharePolitics & ElectionsRacial JusticePolitics & ElectionsEnvironment & HealthPolitics & ElectionsWar & PeaceWill Facebook run ads calling Donald Trump a “money launderer?” This is an interesting question to consider. If an individual or group proposed to run television or newspaper ads describing Trump as a money launderer, the outlet would almost certainly refuse to take it. In spite of the strong probability that the charge is true, these outlets would be afraid of a major lawsuit from Trump. Facebook has no such concerns, and that is a big problem.Facebook founder...WW…

SharePolitics & ElectionsRacial JusticePolitics & ElectionsEnvironment & HealthPolitics & ElectionsWar & PeaceThe “need” to strip benefits from poor and working people to help maintain the lifestyles of the Mar-a-Lago set is one of the fundamental principles of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. The rich always “need” more tax cuts, so when budget deficits get in the way, those at the middle and bottom are just going to have to sacrifice.This is the reasoning behind the large budget cuts that the president has proposed for Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps in his...…SharePolitics & ElectionsRacial JusticePolitics & ElectionsEnvironment & HealthPolitics & ElectionsWar & PeaceThe “need” to strip benefits from poor and working people to help maintain the lifestyles of the Mar-a-Lago set is one of the fundamental principles of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. The rich always “need” more tax cuts, so when budget deficits get in the way, those at the middle and bottom are just going to have to sacrifice.This is the reasoning behind the large budget cuts that the president has proposed for Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps in his...WW…