Tag Archives: lobbying

The Devil went down to Georgia… ALEC caught on tape wining and dining state legislators on behalf of corporate lobbyists in Savannah

By Mark | May 25, 2015

Have you ever wondered how legislation gets written and passed into law at the state level? Did you think, as I once did, that ideas for new laws percolate up from local constituents who contact their elected representatives with legitimate concerns that need to be addressed for the good of society? Well, thanks to a […]

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Georgia, lobbyists, money in politics, Savannah, threats to Democracy | 5 Comments

As it’s become impossible to pass laws in Congress due to Republican obstructionism, the fight for the minimum wage has moved aggressively to the states… Here’s what’s happening

By Mark | April 7, 2014

Last night, Zingerman’s co-founder Paul Saginaw and I met up for a late dinner at Dalat to discuss the various campaigns being waged across the country right now to raise the minimum wage, and how it came to pass that he’s become a spokesman for the movement. My hope is to share my notes later […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Economics, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged Adam Zemke, ballot initiatives, Barack Obama, cheap labor, Congressional Budget Office, Costco, Economic Policy Institute, executive orders, Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, GDP, inflation, Jeff Irwin, jobs, Koch brothers, Mark Schauer, Michigan House Bill 4386, minimum wage, Paul Saginaw, Plutocracy, Plutocrats, political strategy, poverty, Raise Michigan, Republican obstructionism, Tom Harkin, Zingerman's | 23 Comments

The invisible hand of the market to smush together two enormous turds (Comcast and Time Warner), creating an even larger and more profitable mega-turd

By Mark | February 13, 2014

Comcast, the nation’s largest provider of cable and internet service, as well as the world’s largest media company, made clear their intention today to purchase Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable company in the United States. Assuming the $44 billion deal is allowed to move forward by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged American Airlines, American Customer Satisfaction Index, anti-trust, Brian Roberts, cable, Comcast, competition, consumer rights, duopoly, Federal Communications Commission, France, free market, internet, invisible hand, Justice Department, media consolidation, mergers, monopoly, Obama, scumbag meme, telecommunications, the free market will fix everything, Time Warner, Tom Wheeler, turds, US Airways, Verizon | 34 Comments

Robert Reich on income inequality, his new film, and the need to get money out of politics

By Mark | September 23, 2013

For those of you without access to public television, Bill Moyers celebrated the fifth anniversary of “the fiscal meltdown that almost tanked the world economy” a few days ago by speaking with my hero, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich about wealth inequality in the United States, and his soon-to-be-released documentary film Inequality for All. […]

Posted in Economics, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged 99%, An Inconvenient Truth, banking, Bill Moyers, deregulation, Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Eisenhower, get the money out of Washington, Glass-Steagall Act, income inequ, Inequality for All, money in politics, Occupy Wall Street, Robert Reich, shared prosperity, the threat of Socialism, the top 1%, Wall Street deregulation, wealth inequality | 8 Comments

Author Amy Cortese on the burgeoning “locavesting” movement, and how we can harness it in Michigan

By Mark | October 25, 2012

Next Tuesday, October 30, Think Local First will be bringing author Amy Cortese to Ann Arbor to discuss her book Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It. Following is my interview with Amy, who, in addition to being a published author, has written for the likes of the New York […]