Work Archive

President Obama gave an impassioned 45 minute speech on rising income inequality and reclaiming the American Dream on December 4, 2013.  President Obama Speech on Economic Mobility (12/04/13), (Video: President’s Speech).  The President detailed how several earlier Administrations challenged social and economic discriminatory practices to protect workers and ensure equal

AP writer Chris Rugaber reports today that a majority of 36 interviewed economists by the Associated Press last week say rising stock market gains and compensation are accruing to the top 20% income earners and therefore the economy does not have as many potential spenders to support economic growth.

The intelligentsia is duly concerned with the rising disparity of executive compensation in the United States and western capitalist democracies and supports expensive public company disclosure requirements to report executive versus median worker wage differences as a hopeful nudge to contain executive compensation (September 2013 SEC rule on comparative

Andrew Huszar, the former head of the Federal Reserve bond buying program, wrote an honest mea culpa opinion piece acknowledging that the Fed’s $3.578 trillion bond buying program was a Wall Street bail out and did nothing to stimulate the private economy.  The program simply lowered the banks’ cost

Our Veterans’ enduring sacrifices to defend our liberty, free choice, and opportunity inspire and demand a concomitant sacrifice from the American people to solve our nation’s fiscal irresponsibility.  Reflect a minute on the millions of US war veterans’ sacrifices as noted: Continental Army brutal winter in Valley Forge (1777-1778);

Bill Gross, Pacific Asset Management, recently wrote in his monthly newsletter that the top 1% of income earners should pay ordinary income rates on capital gains and US companies should be investing in new US plants and hiring US-based labor instead of cutting expenses and investing in stock buy-backs

California Governor Jerry Brown has recently highlighted a classic case of what I call ‘Remedy Politics’: special interest groups elect representatives using their democratic power to pass legislation to ‘remedy a wrong’ affecting their group in an expensive win-lose game with the rest of the citizens and taxpayers.  On

Here’s a Win-Win-Win for employer profitability; employee savings, productivity and happiness; and resource conservation and cleaner air:  telecommuting including a potential federal refundable tax credit if needed to nudge employers to make the move.  The federal government could create a refundable tax credit program (‘Reward Work at Home’) to

Sean Parker, Facebook’s first President, offered David Choe, a painter, stock instead of cash to paint the walls of Facebook’s first corporate office in Palo Alto.  At the IPO, David’s stock was worth over $150 million.  As this NY Times article recounts: We need a nation of David Choes 🙂

What is the solution for: 6.7 million youth disconnected from work and school, official unemployment at 15.6% (for those actively seeking jobs), and student debt now guaranteed by US taxpayers over $1 trillion ($26,000 average/borrower)?¹ 1. Health care consumer responsibility and health savings accounts that permits pre-tax student debt