Economy Archives - Page 7 of 18

Corporations

Semiconductor Subsidy Doom Loop

There’s an ugly state-federal feedback loop happening

June 13, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

That doom loop is happening because Congress is dangling large federal semiconductor subsidies out there, but hasn’t approved them yet, and states want those funds to land within their borders, so are spending a lot all by themselves in the hopes that it will lead to an even bigger payoff....

Labor

People Do Not Live with Indignity Forever

June 7, 2022 • by Annelise Orleck

On May 3, I—and about a hundred million other women—was reeling in the aftermath of Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s contemptuous assault on women’s bodily autonomy. We had learned about it that day because of a leaked draft decision that will eliminate the right to safe, legal abortions in ...

People Do Not Live with Indignity Forever

Corporations

Meet A Corrupt Company Town

Anaheim is a prime example of the nexus between corporate subsidies and public corruption

June 3, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

Communities can take on the Amazons and Disneys of the world and win. We all just need to share the resources and tactics that make those wins possible....

Capitalism

Capitalism Is Trumping Democracy at Home

During the Cold War, American leaders came to treat democracy and capitalism as if they were interchangeable

May 27, 2022 • by Heather Cox Richardson

All day, I have been coming back to this: How have we arrived at a place where 90% of Americans want to protect our children from gun violence, and yet those who are supposed to represent us in government are unable, or unwilling, to do so? This is a central problem ...

Capitalism Is Trumping Democracy at Home

Corporations

The Future of DC’s Antitrust Fight With Amazon

State attorneys general can challenge the damaging practices of the largest corporations in America

May 27, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

Last year, Karl Racine, the attorney general for Washington, D.C., sued Amazon under the District’s antitrust laws. And his case was a novel one. While Amazon in the American zeitgeist is associated with low prices, Racine alleged that Amazon was actually using restrictive and unfair agreements with its third-party sellers ...

The Future of DC’s Antitrust Fight With Amazon

Higher Ed

The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives

Jonathan Malesic on the history and psychology of burnout and the origins of the high ideals we bring to our dismal jobs

May 6, 2022 • by Jonathan Malesic

I have arrived at the antithesis of the good life I had glimpsed when I was a student. The professor whose life I envied was never pedantic. In class, he sat with us in a circle and nodded his head as we spoke, inviting us to “say more” when we ...

The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives

Economy

Parking Meter Monopoly Malfeasance

Chicago reveals the perils of non-competes in infrastructure projects.

April 27, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

A group of Chicago drivers earlier this month filed an appeal in an antitrust lawsuit they brought, which alleges that a deal the city made to privatize its parking meters for 75 years constitutes an illegal monopoly. They want the court to give the city the power to cancel the agreement outright, ...

Corporations

Dueling Secret Deals

Kansas and Oklahoma: So many NDAs, so many corporate handouts, so little time

April 22, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

Back in February, Kansas legislators approved a $1.2 billion corporate subsidy package for an as-yet-still unnamed corporation. Many members of the legislature signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from divulging the proposed recipient of that taxpayer largesse. Events this week show why the corporation in question hasn’t come out from behind the curtain in ...

Corporations

The Film Tax Credit Sequel Stinks

Two thumbs down to subsidies for film and TV production

April 15, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

There’s a new sequel coming out, and let me tell you, it is terrible. No, I’m not talking about whatever film is actually up on the silver screen at the moment, but a push in statehouses across the country to revive or create film and TV tax credit programs, one of ...

Corporations

Why Taking on Turbotax Matters

Intuit is a scourge

April 8, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

Tax Day 2022 is almost here, so it seems like a good time to talk about one of my least favorite corporations: Intuit, the makers of Turbotax, the now ubiquitous electronic tax payment software. A couple of weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission — which enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection ...

Corporations

Ban Secret Deals

Meet the new coalition pushing to ban NDAs in corporate subsidy deals

April 1, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

As regular readers know, I am a pretty big critic of the use of non-disclosure agreements in economic development deals. These agreements — signed by governors, members of state legislatures, mayors, city council members, and other local leaders — prevent public officials from disclosing anything about a corporate subsidy deal ...

Corporations

Subsidized By Taxpayers, Stealing From Workers

Wage thieves should get no public favors

March 28, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

The U.S. Department of Labor earlier this month found that Seaboard Triumph Foods, a pork processor in Sioux City, Iowa, illegally stole wages from workers by not paying them for work done before and after their official shifts, including time for “set up, clean up and knife sharpening.” Seaboard was ...