After "amnesty" and "protecting religious freedom for Muslim Americans," few terms provoke conservative fury like "political correctness." It's no surprise that so many Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans are turning to Donald Trump's brand of "testicular fortitude" in denouncing it. What is even less surprising is a recent dust-up over supposed political correctness at the […]

Back in my days as a denizen of Silicon Valley, we start-up types used to joke that Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California was the single most important street in the world. After all, for almost five decades that one-mile mecca of the venture capital world has helped fund every high-tech transformation of the […]

The last days of 2015 brought some very interesting news about America's record-high income inequality. On December 29, Noam Schieber and Patricia Cohen of the New York Times revealed a "private tax system" that saves the wealthiest billions every year. In conjunction with the Bush cuts to income and investment income tax rates, between 1995 […]

During his failed 2012 presidential campaign, Republican nominee Mitt Romney offered this sage advice to college students worried about finding jobs after graduation. Citing the experience of a friend who secured a $20,000 loan from his parents, Romney counseled, "Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you […]

Papa John's is everywhere. Its 4,500 restaurants, most run by franchisees, are in all 50 states and 34 countries. The Louisville Cardinals play their college football in Papa John's Stadium, while Papa John himself regularly appears in TV ads with his business partner, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. And as the business press has been […]

Over the last few weeks, the U.S. media have hyped the growing love affair between Republicans and the ride-hailing service, Uber. The reasons why are no mystery. Extolling the virtue of Uber and its ilk in the "sharing economy" lets the GOP seem hip, offer the façade of a future looking economic vision and accelerate […]

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican nominee John McCain traveled to Ynez, Kentucky to announce his economic vision in the place where LBJ launched the War on Poverty back in 1965. His solution for Americans struggling to make ends meet? Ebay: "Today, for example, 1.3 million people in the world make a living off eBay, […]

In the span of just two weeks, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has catapulted into Republican superstar status. Mitt Romney's premature withdrawal from the 2016 presidential race cracked open the doors for the emergence of a hardline right-wing alternative to the Party establishment's lone remaining consensus candidate, Jeb Bush. And with his surprisingly animated speech at […]

Working Americans have a problem. And that means President Obama and his Democratic Party have a problem, too. Despite the robust economic recovery, the steep decline in unemployment, a surging stock market, rising investment and plummeting gas prices, wages have hardly budged. After briefly dipping during the great recession which began in late 2007, income […]

Workers at Walmart used the Black Friday shopping rush to elevate their demands to receive a living wage from the nation's largest employer and retailer. Among the protesters are 12 who gave up their Thanksgiving feasts and instead went on a 24-hour fast. But while many Walmart workers and their supporters are making great sacrifices--and […]