Many giant profitable U.S. corporations are increasingly abandoning America while draining it at the same time. General Electric, for example, has paid no federal income taxes for a decade while becoming a net job exporter and fighting its hard-pressed workers who want collective bargaining through unions like the United Electrical Workers Union (UE). GE’s boss, Jeffrey … [Read more...]
The rise of re-use
Last week I read that the glitzy world of virtual reality created instant multi-millionaires and several billionaires when Facebook went public selling shares. Last week I also noted the important real world problem of some 250 million tons of solid waste a year in our country alone. Guess which “world” gets the most investment, status, fame, klieg lights, and attention … [Read more...]
The Politics of Lowered Expectations
Ezra Klein, the bright, young, economic policy columnist for the "Washington Post" believes that Obama came out ahead last year in the "administration's bitter, high-stakes negotiations with the Republicans in Congress." He cites four major negotiations in 2011 with the Republicans that Obama won. Obama won the game of chicken played in February by the House Speaker John … [Read more...]
#25: Thoughtful repurposing
As we mentioned in Reason #27, the vast majority of the content on Transition Voice is original. We do it with the fresh on! But occasionally we do repurpose articles, especially when it comes to some of the greats, like climate activist Bill McKibben, climatologist James Hansen, economist Jeff Rubin, or democracy advocate Ralph Nader. Let's face it, the Internet is, in … [Read more...]
Not made in America
"Here, look at this handsome L.L. Bean catalog and tell me what you want for Christmas," said a relative over Thanksgiving weekend. I started leafing through the 88 page cornucopia with hundreds of clothing and household products, garnished by free gift cards and guaranteed free shipping. I wasn't perusing it for any suggested gifts; instead, I was going through every offering … [Read more...]