Jun 04 A creepy vision of the new economic order, harvested from you By Anna Bernasek, D.T. Mongan What happens when corporations become Big Brother? Anna Bernasek and D.T. Mongan paint a Orwellian future, where big data reigns. This data collection won’t just infringe on the privacy of real people, they argue, but also on market competition. Continue reading
Jun 03 Watch 11:41 Opposite parties, same goal: change U.S.-China relations By PBS News Hour China is on track to eclipse the U.S. as the world's largest economy by 2016, and it hasn’t been shy about flexing military muscle. Henry Paulson and Bob Rubin, former treasury secretaries from different parties, say the U.S. and China… Continue watching
Jun 03 Should I be paying for this? And more of your Medicare questions By Philip Moeller You can't sleep. Your doctor prescribes you a durable medical device to help—one that Medicare usually covers. But what do you do when the bill falls on you?… Continue reading
Jun 03 That free trial? It might not be so free after all By Anna Bernasek, D.T. Mongan You may have thought you signed up for a free trial, but did you read the fine print?… Continue reading
Jun 01 25 examples of why you can’t trust what Social Security says By Laurence Kotlikoff I receive emails virtually every day from people who have been misled or misinformed, sometimes terribly, by Social Security. This generally involves particular staffers at Social Security telling people to do things they shouldn't do, telling them they can’t collect… Continue reading
Jun 01 Is trickle-down economics science or scam? By Nick Hanauer In this column, venture capitalist Nick Hanauer critizes the theory that a higher minimum wage will cause increased unemployment. Going further, he suggests that economic theories in general are not science, but merely social and moral constructs. Continue reading
May 29 Why the Freddie Gray riots began at a shopping mall By Paul Solman Editor’s Note: When economic correspondent Paul Solman went to Baltimore earlier this month to report on how the riots there affected the local economy, he spoke with Johns Hopkins historian N.D.B. Connolly. Connolly brought Paul to the mall where the… Continue reading
May 28 Watch 6:07 For this CEO, mindful management means yoga for employees By PBS News Hour For Mark Bertolini, CEO of health insurer Aetna, a near-death experience led him to make big changes in his personal life and at the company. Living with pain from a skiing accident inspired him to take up yoga and meditation,… Continue watching
May 28 Good pay, good worker, good company? Aetna CEO thinks so By Making Sen$e Editor Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini stunned corporate America when he announced that Aetna would raise its minimum wage to $16 an hour. But what motivated such a move? Was it empathy, or was it good for business?… Continue reading