Ronald Reagan won the White House in 1980 partly by campaigning against incumbent Jimmy Carter and partly by campaigning against the 70% top income tax rate. Reagan preached a new gospel of “supply-side” economics, arguing that tax cuts would put money back in the pockets of ordinary Americans and unleash a wave of new economic… Read More

Democrats in Congress are working on an impressive list of spending priorities they hope to pass as soon as this week. There’s an infrastructure bill with $1 trillion for roads, bridges, climate resilience, and broadband access. There’s a budget reconciliation package with another $1.75 trillion for fighting climate change, child care and universal pre-kindergarten, and… Read More

    Back in 2000, a scrappy little startup named Netflix was losing millions every month on their business renting DVDs online, mailing them to subscribers through something called the “Post Office.” (Remember them?) The founders had the bright idea to sell their company to Blockbuster video — for the princely sum of $50 million… Read More

  Fifty-five years ago, NBC debuted a new series that producer Gene Rodenberry called “a Western in outer space — a so-called  Wagon Train  to the stars.”  Star Trek  starred a journeyman Canadian actor named William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, helming a crew of comically diverse stereotypes (the Russian! The Scot! The Vulcan!) aboard the Starship Enterprise.… Read More

  People have always aspired to “make the grade” and take their place on the lists of the world’s most famous and accomplished people. A generation ago, business executives and politicians aimed for Who’s Who in America, while athletes aimed for the Hall of Fame and entertainers pined for stars on the Walk of Fame. Today,… Read More

In 1895, H.G. Wells launched his sci-fi career with a tale about a Victorian gentleman who travels to Earth in the year 802,701AD. The “Time Traveler” discovers that humanity has evolved into two different species: the Eloi, elfin descendants of the upper-classes, and the Morlocks, ape-like descendants of the working classes who live underground and… Read More

  Captains of industry like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and JP Morgan created enormous fortunes before dying and passing their wealth to their heirs. A century later, most of that money is so old it’s gone, vanished into the spray of mansions, parties, and philanthropy that defined Gilded Age and Gatsby-era wealth. Forbes estimates today’s Rockefeller… Read More

  Everyone knows that Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer — one last blowout weekend for trips to the beach or lake, cookouts, and carefree fun. So which holiday kicks off fall? Obviously, that’s National Talk Like a Pirate Day, which we celebrate on September 19. Talk Like a Pirate Day kicks off… Read More

    To paraphrase Tolstoy, “All honest taxpayers are alike; every dishonest taxpayer is dishonest in his own way.” But what happens when a dishonest taxpayer is dishonest in every way? Turn on your speakers and cue the theme from Cops while you enjoy this week’s story. Philip Pesin earned a degree in finance from the University of Arizona and… Read More

  Back in the early 1880s, American workers toiled as much as 12 hours per day at the coal mine or the bobbin factory. Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, proposed a parade followed by a picnic for a demonstration of the budding labor movement’s solidarity and… Read More