America experienced mass strikes after the end of both world wars. For example, in 1946, 10% of the U.S. workforce struck employers. The reason? Companies had made a lot of money during the war, and they wanted their share. What makes a “mass strike” different from an ordinary strike is [...]
Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
January 2nd, 2022 - 2:40 pm § in Business
Blackberries stop working in 2 days
Remember Blackberry? The status symbol? Pffft. If you still have one, it stops working on Tuesday, January 4, 2022. Or at best, just sputters along the side of the road, watching newer and fancier technologies whizzing by. Good riddance. Unless you were a real CEO or celebrity, a Blackberry was an i[...]
When 1-3 is a majority, until it isn’t
Trump’s FDIC chair, Jelena McWilliams, wasn’t ousted; she quit. (Story here.) The FDIC is the federal agency that insures bank deposits (details here). McWilliams was appointed in 2018 to a 5-year term expiring in 2023. By December 2021, she was the only Republican on the 5-member board,[...]
Minimum wage hikes on 1/1/22
States raising minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2022: Arizona: $12.15 to $12.80 California: $14 to $15 for large employers, $13 to $14 for small employers Colorado: $12.32 to $12.56 Delaware: $9.25 to $10.50 Illinois: $11 to $12 Maine: $12.15 to $12.75 Maryland: $11.75 to $12.50 for large employers, $11.60 t[...]
Florida chalks up 3 cruise ship outbreaks in a week
There’s another Covid-19 outbreak on a South Florida-based cruise ship “for the third time this week,” as Florida’s case count “hit its highest level since the start of the pandemic,” ABC News reported on Friday, December 24, 2021 (story here). Florida Gov. Ron De[...]
Psychologist: “America is not well”
The capitalist system demands that you work, come hell or high water. But “for a moment in early 2020, it seemed like we might get a break from capitalism,” a Vox article says (read it here). It continues, “A novel coronavirus was sweeping the globe, and leaders and experts recomme[...]
Is Federal Reserve public enemy #3?
I’m leaving the first two slots on the Public Enemy list blank, for you to fill in as you please. (I have my own nominees.) Biden has just nominated Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, for another 4-year term, and the Senate will soon vote whether to confirm him. This article is about wh[...]
Your life or your job
“As a catastrophic tornado approached [Mayfield, Kentucky] Friday, employees of a candle factory — which would later be destroyed — heard the warning sirens and wanted to leave the building. But at least five workers said supervisors warned employees that they would be fired if they left [...]
December 10th, 2021 - 1:42 pm § in Business, Law and Courts
Why businesses must be regulated
Businesses normally engage in single-minded pursuit of profits — which is what business leaders see as their role and responsibility — and it’s left to government regulators and unions to look out for the health, safety, and best interests of workers. That’s why we need gover[...]
Hershey ad triggers GOP official’s racism
The GOP official is Lisa Leisy, who’s campaigning for Janice McGeachin, a white supremacist and rightwing extremist who hobnobs with violent militia groups and is trying to unseat Idaho’s GOP governor in next year’s Republican primary. Read here what provoked her. (Spoiler: The ad [...]