17 percent of America lives in rural communities, who are often maligned by those in urban and suburban areas. Questions of government funding can be a particularly sore point.
Notes from the urban/rural divide: Government funding
Category: economy
The future of the marijuana market post-legalisation
So you’ve legalised: Now what? Why many marijuana-based businesses are very concerned about the ramifications of legalisation.
Drug resistance could cost us millions
The economic devastation caused by drug resistance could rival the 2008 financial crisis, so why aren’t we hearing about it?
Since when is relocation the best solution to high housing costs?
The response to complaints about cost of living is often a suggestion to relocate. That’s not reasonable, for a host of reasons.
Coemployers or contractors? How the tech industry washes its hands of the dirty parts of labour
The practice of abusing independent contractor status to avoid being responsible for labour abuses is entrenched in the tech industry and it needs to stop. The people primed to push for change are those within the very companies that do this.
California’s minimum wage victory: More to Come?
After the possibility of a minimum wage initiative on the ballot, Governor Jerry Brown successfully facilitated a minimum wage deal: Californians will earn $15 hourly in a slowly scaled minimum wage, changing the working landscape in the state forever. Here’s why it’s a good thing.
Talk of a renter’s tax credit is distracting pablum
While homeowners have long been able to claim tax credits related to property maintenance and mortgage expenses, renters haven’t had the same privilege. Proposals for extension of a similar tax credit sound appealing, but are really just distracting from larger structural inequality.
I’m getting tired of people whining about minimum wage increases
Nationwide, the push for a higher minimum wage is causing escalating traction: Minimum wages are creeping up across the country to reflect changes in cost of living, fundamental working rights, and the need to address a world in which people working full time cannot afford to support themselves and their families. Yet, to my disgust, […]
Blogging Against Disablism Day 2016: The economics of disability
Each year, disability bloggers from all over the world gather for Blogging Against Disablism Day, which falls on 1 May. Astute readers will also note that 1 May is May Day, the international day of labour action. Since I take disability and labour alike very seriously, and there are numerous intersections between the two that […]
Justifying tax dodging in the name of innovation is nonsense
Some of the largest companies in the US pay very little when tax time comes around, unlike small businesses, low-income and middle class individuals, and sole proprietors, who have limited options for hiding money, moving it offshore, and taking advantage of other tactics that allow the rich to accumulate and hold wealth. This exacerbates social […]