For the last ten years there was no increase in the federal minimum age. When the Republicans took control of Congress in President Clinton’s second year in office they turned their back on any minimum-wage increase. Ironically, the Congress of the United States voted to increase its own stipend in line with the rise in…
China is now being charged with depressing the value of the yuan, its primary currency. With a weak currency, Chinese consumers would find it hard to buy goods made in other countries, and they would find it easy to sell their goods in other lands. Hence, the weak yuan would help promote a favorable balance…
Last year, the United States ran a trade deficit of $232 billion with China. The Congress of the United States is enraged and wants China to open up its market to products “made in America.” The first question to be asked is just how it has happened that China has such a huge trade surplus…
The Republican White House and the Democratic Congress have reached an agreement on a new kind of trade pact. It applies to pending agreements with Columbia, Peru, Panama and South Korea. What is distinctive about these trade agreements is that they go beyond the simple exchange of goods. They oblige the parties to observe certain…
Michael E. Baroody has been a senior lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers. He has been named by President Bush to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The NAM is delighted — as might be expected. What was not expected was a gift of $150,000 from the NAM to Baroody. Such a gift is…
The overblown compensation of corporate executives has been a matter of major concern to the American democracy as far back as “the Gilded Age” as America entered the 20th century. What could be done to contain this runaway self-indulgence of the mighty moguls? The corporations found a way. They hired experts in the field of…
The classic warning was that “Thou shalt neither a lender nor a borrower be.” At this moment, there are mighty financial moguls who are both borrower and lenders. Here’s the way they play the game: They are known as “leveraged” take-over artists. The term “leveraged” means that they borrowed the money for their operation. With…
The story of Youngstown, Ohio, is the sad tale of a tragedy “made in America.” Youngstown was once one of the greatest producers of steel in the world. Today, it is a ghost town. It can no longer depend on its once thriving steel mills to provide employment for its people. In search of a…
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