Mar 18 We’re talking about inequality all wrong By Laurence Kotlikoff, Alan Auerbach The right measure is not how much wealth or income people have or receive, but their spending power after the government has levied taxes on those resources and supplemented those resources with welfare and other benefits. Continue reading
Mar 17 Watch 9:18 Should the NCAA pay college athletes? By PBS News Hour March Madness means a huge payday for coaches, colleges, networks and advertisers -- everyone except the athletes themselves. Although television rights for the NCAA tournament this year alone brought in nearly a billion dollars, the players won’t see a penny,… Continue watching
Mar 17 Trump faces obstacles in bid to shake up corporate America By Bernard Condon and Michael Liedtke, Associated Press Donald Trump's railing about what's wrong in corporate America goes further than the typical political populism: He vows to rewrite trade deals, tax imports and punish U.S. companies. And he's naming names. Continue reading
Mar 17 A major contributor to the Syrian conflict? Climate change By Vikram Mansharamani Starting in 2006, Syria suffered its worst drought in 900 years; it ruined farms, forced as many as 1.5 million rural denizens to crowd into cities alongside Iraqi refugees and decimated the country’s livestock. Water became scarce and food expensive. The suffering and… Continue reading
Mar 17 Column: What Ayn Rand got wrong about human nature By Denise Cummins The annals of history show that even if one is talented enough to create enormous wealth, monopolizing that wealth for oneself is a dangerous course of action. Continue reading
Mar 16 Watch 53:20 PBS NewsHour full episode March 16, 2016 By PBS News Hour Tuesday on the NewsHour, President Obama has nominated a judge to fill the late Antonin Scalia’s spot on the Supreme Court, despite opposition from Congressional Republicans. Also: A look at the Supreme Court nominee’s record, Tuesday’s primaries leave Donald Trump… Continue watching
Mar 16 Get ready for big changes in Medicare drug pricing By Philip Moeller Medicare announced a test program last week to help combat this rising drug prices. Continue reading
Mar 16 Missed a credit card payment? Just call your credit card company By Kristen Doerer A new survey finds that 89 percent of those who had bothered to call about a late fee succeeded in having it reversed, and 78 percent were able to get a lower APR. Continue reading
Mar 15 Social Security’s divorced widow abuse — an isolated case? By Laurence Kotlikoff It's important for anyone dealing with Social Security to know exactly what they are due and to tell, not ask Social Security to give them what's theirs, writes economist Larry Kotlikoff. Continue reading
Mar 14 Watch 53:35 PBS NewsHour full episode March 14, 2016 By PBS News Hour Monday on the NewsHour, more campaign chaos emerged as candidates readied for Tuesday’s primaries. Also, a look inside the battle for Ohio, Amy Walter and Stuart Rothenberg talk politics, the migrant crisis continues to worsen as Syrian peace talks begin,… Continue watching