Terminology matters. As the 2020 presidential election cycle heats up, there is a great deal of banter in the air, among politicians, pundits, journalists, citizens, etc., about terms such as “socialism,” “Democratic Socialism,” “the radical left,” “welfare state,” capitalism and others. I am not an expert in economics or political science, but I offer the […]
Europe’s Promise (book)
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Making a Profit, and Contributing to the Common Good
When a corporation does something that we might consider courageous – taking an action that might hurt their bottom line or invite harsh criticism from previous supporters – we should hold them up, recognize their actions and thank them. At the moment, this applies to Dick’s Sporting Goods, which has recently taken the following steps […]
“What do you Pay for Health Care?”
“Employer-provided health care is the biggest obstacle to grassroots movement for single-payer in America. Because if you ask most Americans, ‘What do you pay for health care a year?’ They’ll go, ‘I don’t know. My employer provides it. I just have a little bit taken out of my check.’” This was former Vermont Governor Peter […]
A Physician’s Support for “Medicare for All”
We are fortunate in southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire to have access to the free Business Journal, published monthly and full of interesting and helpful articles about many business topics, especially small local businesses. In the July/August 2017 issue, the first page as one opened the magazine prominently featured a Letter to the Editor […]
Helping Small Businesses Succeed: Initiatives from the Left
November 26, 2016, has been designated “Small Business Saturday.” This is a good time, then, to contemplate an area where both conservatives and liberals/progressives can probably agree: small business is extremely important to the US economy. How to support small business, however, is often a sticking point. While conservatives might argue that the “government needs […]
Making Millions Off Others’ Suffering 1: The Way Things Are
We need to wake up to a harsh reality: much of what we see around us in the United States, which we often attribute to the free market or American ingenuity and resourcefulness, is actually creativity and money-making off people’s suffering and needs. As I have argued in past posts, other advanced nations do not […]
SPLC on BLM: Important Distinctions When it comes to Hate Groups
Let’s look from another important angle at Black Lives Matter (BLM), their message and goals, and the recent murders of police officers in our nation. As I have done in the past, I turn for wisdom to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), whose work I have followed and supported for decades. Recently supporters received […]
News Stories that Don’t Go Far Enough
They stop short: journalists reporting stories about serious problems in the US, in even the most respected outlets, who often stop at the problem rather than explore possible solutions. Significantly, many possible solutions can be found in Europe and other advanced nations. While I greatly appreciate the depth and professionalism in which the journalists cover […]
Workfare versus Welfare: The European Approach to Social Support Services – and Life
Let’s face it: our “war on poverty” and “war on drugs” haven’t worked very well. As Senator Bernie Sanders has pointed out time and again during the current presidential campaign, most new wealth in our country goes to the top one percent of Americans, there is vast income inequality (and has been for awhile), and […]
The Ethical Imperative for Making America Better: Learn from our Peer Nations
For physicians, the Hippocratic Oath forms the ethical basis of their practice. Our leaders in Congress take a solemn vow to defend the Constitution of the United States. Law enforcement officials make promises to “serve and protect.” Whether these promises are actually kept or not, the people making them are, in effect, undertaking an ethical imperative […]