Dollars & Sense articles from May 2003

Dollars & Sense archives from May 2003

From the editors.
May 1, 2003... With this issue, we are happy to introduce two new regular columns. "Econ-Atrocity," by the Center for Popular Economics, will highlight hidden depredations of capitalism. "Balance Sheet" will weigh lists of newsworthy numbers--a left-of-center...

Aerospace giants on the dole. (The Short Run).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Who says the United States doesn't have a safety net? The Air Force just gave $538 million in corporate welfare to aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin to subsidize their rocket-launch businesses, even though a slump in the commercial...

Blame the Kids. (The Short Run).(Marijuana use)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... At the 2002 Super Bowl, the federal government unveiled a slick multimillion-dollar ad campaign. Its dubious message--"Kids who smoke marijuana fund terrorism"--was met with skepticism by thinking teenagers everywhere. Now the private...

Facial space for rent. (The Short Run).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Are you one of those people who feel you aren't getting enough advertising in your life? A London firm, Gunning Stunts, has started renting out advertising space on people's foreheads. Provided that you are sufficiently hip and good-looking,...

Hungry for profit.(rise of obesity in the United States)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The United States' epidemic levels of obesity can be traced back to the 1970s and 1980s, according to Greg Critser's new book, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World. That was when the Department of Agriculture pushed...

WTO's leaked secrets. .(General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... In February, Public Citizen and other civil society groups released secret negotiating documents leaked from closed-door World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. The documents leave no doubt that the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in...

Life savers or loan sharks? .(medical bills force individuals into bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Medical bills are the second leading cause of personal bankruptcy. Thanks to usurious practices that are legal and common among hospital collection departments, complete financial ruin can easily befall those unable to pay their hospital bills....

Promoting compassion?(US foreign aid policies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Press coverage of the new foreign aid budget--with headlines like "Bush proposes huge increase in foreign aid" (AFP) and "Bush Seeks Funds to Fight AIDS Globally" (AP)--applaud the administration for "promoting compassion."...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... To the Editor: The excellent article "Class Conflict" (January/February 2003) describes economic barriers students face in seeking a college education. These barriers are so significant that by the end of the decade as many as 4.4 million...

Does TANF empower Big Business? (Active Culture).(Welfare Warriors campaign to show the results of removing the welfare safety net)
May 1, 2003... Welfare Warriors kick off "Boycott Big Business, Buy Small" campaign. Is big business suffering from a debilitating "dependency"--on welfare reform? Welfare Warriors, a group of moms in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who publish Mother Warriors...

Refusing to be human guinea pigs: Oregon consumers take on the biotechnology industry.(Measure 27 aims to give consumers label information to determine genetically-engineered food)
May 1, 2003... "Money talks!" So replied a football fan on his way to a game last fall in Eugene, Oregon, after an activist had implored him not to be fooled by the $5 million corporate campaign against Measure 27, a ballot initiative to require the labeling...

Which path to a safer world? (Balance Sheet).(costs of peace versus cost of war)
May 1, 2003... Which Path to a Safer World? TOOLS FOR PEACE 11 blankets for refugees $100 3-day training for 160 youth in peace $4,000 building Enroll 2 children in Head Start $14,000 2 home...

The decline of the dollar system: a falling dollar could mean the end of U.S. world economic domination. (Making Sense).
May 1, 2003... Today, the U.S. dollar is the world's reserve currency. Nations around the world invest most of their foreign exchange reserves in dollar assets. The international economic position of the United States depends on this. So long as foreign...

The working class on the war front and the home front. (In Harm's Way).(impact of the Iraq War on the power of unions and workers rights)
May 1, 2003... "Old man Bush wasn't half the president his son is. When the father was president, I only took a 15% pay cur. Now that his idiot son is president, I get to take a 40% pay cut. Way to go, George!" a US Airways Fleet Services union activist...

The invisible gag: in the privatized, commercialized world we live in, corporations pose a growing threat to freedom of speech and information.(examples of organizations attempting to prevent individual freedom of speech)
May 1, 2003... During the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, Margaret Gilleo of Ladue, Missouri, put up signs in her front yard reading, "Say 'No' to War in the Persian Gulf, Call Congress." When the signs were stolen and vandalized, she complained to the police,...

Is it oil?(is oil the real root of the Iraq War 2003)
May 1, 2003... Before U.S. forces invaded Iraq, the United Nations inspection team that had been searching the country for weapons of mass destruction was unable to find either such weapons or a capacity to produce them in the near future. As of mid-April,...

Some way, some how: human service workers cope with state budget cuts.(burden for social assistance falling on the nonprofit sector)
May 1, 2003... Peggy Johnson is a 29-year-old mother of two who once relied on public assistance but now aspires to work in early childhood education. For the past several months she has participated in First Steps into Child Care Careers, a program of Action...

Red ink, blue bloods, and bad policy: bush squanders the budget surplus.
May 1, 2003... It's worse than we thought. In January 2001, when George W. Bush took office, the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected federal budget surpluses as far as the eye could see. Some $5.6 trillion in budget surpluses would...

A Palestinian labor leader speaks out: interview with Mohammed Saleh Aruri.(leader of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU))(Interview)
May 1, 2003... In the three years since the current intifada, or uprising, began, the already-fragile Palestinian economy has nearly broken down. Under military and economic siege, entire economic sectors have collapsed. Unemployment runs well over 50%, with...

Ask Dr. Dollar.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Dear Dr. Dollar: Bush's budget has the federal government running huge deficits for years to come. Democrats say this will cause high interest rates and low growth. Republicans argue that deficits don't matter at all. Isn't this the exact...

Flowers for Mother's Day? (Econ Atrocity).
May 1, 2003... Planning to give your mother flowers for Mother's Day? Before you pick up the phone or head over to your local florist, consider a few environmental facts: Conventional--that is, non-organic--flower growers use huge volumes of deadly...

State budgets in crisis: states in crisis raise the tax burden on the poor. (Economy in Numbers).
May 1, 2003... The mainstream press tells us that the recession is over. And George W. Bush has proclaimed the economy "strong." But many states are facing their worst budget deficits since the Great Depression. Overall, state governments are contending with...