Most of us, one might hazard to guess, try to avoid crises; our lives are crazy, complicated and chaotic enough. We in the West crave moments of serenity, sanity and normalcy. Not so our current President, Donald J. Trump. Here we will not only show ways in which he creates false crises and then rides […]
Franklin Roosevelt
Beware of Seductive Ads
You may have seen some recent ads on TV with a focus on tax reform, jobs, and supporting the so-called American Health Care Act (AHCA) of the Republicans. These ads promote middle-class growth, support companies being “unfettered” from government regulation, and laud supposed “choice” and freedom when it comes to health care. These stated goals […]
Good Government versus Bad Government: Don’t Throw the Baby out with the Bath Water
We Americans have a long history of ambivalence toward government at all levels. We have recently witnessed the stand-off in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon between authorities and anti-government protesters. Republican presidential candidates cry out for abolition of government agencies – and have been doing so for decades (recall Ronald Reagan’s frequent rallying […]
The American Workplace 5: Wages, Savings and Debt
How is your dollar doing? A look at some statistics about wages, savings and debt in the US is instructive. If you are not doing terribly well financially, you are not alone – and there are ways out of our collective problems, if we are willing to look seriously at ideas from other nations and […]
The American Workplace 4: Work and Overwork
Work – overwork – the dignity of work. In this fourth installment of my series on the American workplace, I want to challenge the pervasive American notion that working excessively is a virtue and that not working practically around the clock means that one is a “slacker.” I also want to put the issue into […]