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Category Archives: Economy

Clinton's agenda for first 100 days is underwhelming. And predictable. And paid for by the usual suspects.

Posted on 2016.05.25 by winterSmith One comment

On infrastructure and immigration, half measures and vested interests dominate Hillary’s planning. Duh. There’s news about what would-be President Hillary Clinton has planned for her first 100 days in office. Pending details, there are things to be cautiously optimistic about. A Clinton aide indicated today that within her first 100 days in office, the likely Democratic nominee would send Congress a

Dear Human Resources: four ways employers can help America’s job hunters (and themselves)

Posted on 2014.05.23 by winterSmith 4 comments

“Hiring managers” say only apply for jobs you’re qualified for. Fine. Now, here are some things HR needs to do in return. I subscribe to a number of industry mailing lists and content services as part of my work, and periodically they’ll publish stories aimed at helping job seekers – how to find opportunities, how to network, résumé tips, that sort of

Walmart “Working Man” ad: Rush sold out their fans. Big time. #WTF

Posted on 2014.02.17 by winterSmith 57 comments

Rush’s decision to license “Working Man” to a company that has declared war on American workers is one of the biggest betrayals of trust in Rock history. Yesterday I offered up a brief post wondering what the folks at Walmart were thinking when they chose to use Rush’s iconic “Working Man” as the soundtrack for their ad on investing more

Are you a socialist? Take the test….

Posted on 2014.01.08 by winterSmith 18 comments

A 2011 study yields surprising results. The word “socialist” was, for all intents and purposes, dead and buried after the fall of the Iron Curtain. But it has enjoyed a huge resurgence in popularity since, oh, 2008 or so. The thing is, since we hadn’t had any real socialistm for awhile, our understanding of what the term means has gotten

Goodbye 2013. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.

Posted on 2013.12.31 by winterSmith 5 comments

The economic recovery hasn’t reached my house yet. I called 2010 the worst year ever. Then I elaborated a little. Sometimes I look back and wonder how the hell I survived that hateful, soul-destroying twelve months. Other times I look back and I’m not sure I actually did. Pieces of me died in 2010 and I carry the emptiness around

Economy

Thanksgiving is now Black Thursday and Black Friday is upon us: what should America not be thankful for?

Posted on 2013.11.28 by winterSmith 8 comments

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Black Thursday

The nation gives thanks … for what? I was never a William Burroughs fan, but I nonetheless find myself thinking about his 1986 “Thanksgiving Prayer,” surely one of the most caustic (and insightful) takes on our great American holiday. I’m in this sort of mood for a reason. Or two, or three. First off, you may have noticed all the

American mobility: all the places I’ve lived – 2013 update

Posted on 2013.08.25 by winterSmith 11 comments

This post has moved — click here.

Predicting North Carolina’s future: if GOP wins again in 2014, expect a severe case of brain drain

Posted on 2013.07.29 by winterSmith 5 comments

Via our boy Dr. Jim Booth: BuzzFeed last week presented “11 Things The North Carolina Legislature Gave Us This Session.” The list isn’t pretty. It includes: Moral Mondays Harsh abortion restrictions hidden in a motorcycle bill The most restrictive Voter ID laws in the country The decimation of public education as North Carolinians know it The assumption that all those

Responding to a small businessman who says he did it without any government help AT ALL

Posted on 2013.07.06 by winterSmith 6 comments

A few days ago I offered up Art Pope and Pat McCrory leading North Carolina into the 19th century, a collection of thoughts on the state I was born and raised in. The comment thread wandered a bit, as they tend to do when you say things other people don’t want to hear, and eventually one commenter – a Stan

Art Pope and Pat McCrory leading North Carolina into the 19th century

Posted on 2013.07.01 by winterSmith 23 comments

Back in 2008 North Carolina – the state in which I was born, raised, and lived 32 years of my life – absolutely shocked me by voting for Barack Obama over John “The Maverick” McCain. Obama is hardly any kind of messiah figure, of course. But in symbolic terms, this was huge – North Carolina cast its electoral strength behind a

Cost over quality: Chicago Sun-Times fires its photo staff, and journalism’s death spiral continues

Posted on 2013.05.31 by winterSmith 4 comments

That crashing sound you just heard from the Upper Midwest was the Chicago Sun-Times throwing its photography staff out the window. All 28 of them. Pulitzers and everything. The paper explained thusly: The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and

The most important lesson we should all learn from the 2012 election

Posted on 2012.11.13 by winterSmith 8 comments

“You idiot! Get back in there at once and sell, sell!” As we set about the process of compiling and canonizing the 2012 election post-mortem, one thing we keep hearing over and over is how utterly stunned the Romney camp was at their loss. Republicans across the board apparently expected victory – the conservative punditry seemed certain of it – and

Elections are educational! 14 things we wouldn’t have known without Campaign 2012

Posted on 2012.10.23 by Bonesparkle 3 comments

Everybody seems to be so negative about campaign season. They hate the ads, they hate the mudslinging, they hate the lying, they hate the candidates. Not me – I LOVE campaign season. Why? Because it’s an opportunity to learn stuff that not only didn’t I know before, but that I’d never learn any other way.

Mayors call for end to NHL lockout

Posted on 2012.10.11 by winterSmith One comment

I don’t always see eye-to-eye with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, but I’m 100% down with him on this one. DENVER — Mayor Michael B. Hancock joined mayors and city leaders whose cities host National Hockey League teams across the country to call for the NHL owners and players to return to the bargaining table and end the lockout. “This is about