I was surprised to read that in the U.S., workers “have an estimated $50bn-plus stolen from them every year, … surpassing all robberies, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts combined,” the Guardian said on Thursday, June 15, 2023 (read story here). I knew wage theft was a problem, a[...]
Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
The commercial real estate crisis
The commercial real estate sector is in trouble for two big reasons: High vacancy rates, and falling property values. Nationally, about 18% of America’s office space lacks tenants. There may have been some overbuilding, but this is primarily due to the switch to working from home. The pandemic[...]
Panicky Buffett dumps shares in Taiwan chipmaker
Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s holding company, has sold all its recently-acquired shares in Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), which makes nearly all the world’s most advanced computer chips. He was explicit about why: He’s worried about the location of TSMC’s factories in T[...]
What’s wrong with work requirements?
As part of their debt ceiling demands, Republicans are demanding expanded work requirements for food stamps and Medicaid. On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, GOP House Speaker McCarthy seemed to enlarge that to all safety net programs (read story here). It looks reasonable on its face. But as with many things[...]
March 15th, 2023 - 10:06 pm § in Business
Is Elon Musk costing Tesla sales?
Could be. Vox, citing surveys, says here a year ago Tesla was the first choice of 17% of potential EV buyers, ahead of all other carmakers. But that has dropped to 9% and Tesla now trails Toyota and BMW in buyer preferences. Overall, Tesla’s U.S. market share for EVs has fallen from 78% to 58%[...]
What is a “woke” bank?
There are big banks, regional banks, community banks, niche banks, and … “woke” banks??? This week, a broke bank is a “woke” bank, which roughly translated means a ripe opportunity to blame its failure on everything Republicans don’t like — diversity, equity[...]
Insurrection senator gave free pass to crooked insurance company
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who raised a clenched-fist salute in solidarity with violent rioters trying to overthrow the 2020 election (photo, left), ignored “a Christian-backed medical insurance company” that was stealing from his constituents when he was Missouri attorney general (read st[...]
Why are banks failing again?
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed on Friday, March 10, 2023. Government officials scrambled to reassure the public their deposits aren’t in danger. Are they? At the larger banks, at least, probably not. To begin with, the FDIC insures individual depositors against up to $250,000 of losses. This[...]
Arkansas relaxes child labor laws
Kids under 16 no longer need work permits in Arkansas. The new GOP governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders (photo, left), a hardcore cheap-labor conservative, signed a bill this week doing away with requiring parental permission for minor children to work. The bill also weakens other child labor protection[...]
Tucker Carlson’s war on M&Ms
“I bet you didn’t think M&M’s were pushing intolerance, but they were!” Tucker Carlson ranted when Mars Inc. changed Green M&M’s boots. He also called Purple M&M “obese.” “M&M’s will not be satisfied until every last cartoon chara[...]