Dollars & Sense articles from November 1998

Dollars & Sense archives from November 1998

Banana politics.(expose on the working conditions of Chiquita Brands International's plantation in Guatemala)
November 1, 1998... Chiquita Brands International managed to intimidate the editors of the Cincinnati Enquirer, which published an expose on the company's human rights abuses last May only to apologize for its reporter's use of "confidential" email messages in the...

The real problem with Bill Clinton.(economic policies)
November 1, 1998... Not long ago, in a pre-impeachment-talk era, Forbes magazine attributed Bill Clinton's economic successes to his implemention of Ronald Reagan's agenda. Corporate-sponsored forums praised Clinton for creating a positive climate for business...

Stocks run amok.(impact of the increasing stock prices on the economy)
November 1, 1998... First, the bad news. The 1990's bull market, with its stratospheric stock prices and double-digit annual returns, was a bust for the typical U.S. household. From 1990 to 1996, while stock prices quadrupled, wages fell, median family income...

The fake federal budget surplus.
November 1, 1998... If politicians were really impeached for abusing political power and lying to the American public on vital matters, then it would be the congressional Republicans rather than Bill Clinton on the hot seat. For many of them want to take the...

Fed rubber stamps Citicorp-Travelers merger.(Federal Reserve Board's approval of the merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group)
November 1, 1998... In September, the Federal Reserve Board approved the largest merger in U.S. history, allowing Citicorp and Travelers Group to combine into a new entity, "Citigroup." The joining of these financial giants is unprecedented not only in magnitude,...

Capitalist collapse: how can Russia recover.(Russia's economic condition)
November 1, 1998... Russian scientists were once famous for launching he world's first space satellite. Their counterparts today survive by growing vegetables in their small yards. These are not retirees enjoying some well-deserved leisure-time gardening, but...

Learning from the Southeast Asian crisis.(includes related article on the impact of the Asian financial crisis on the US economy)
November 1, 1998... April 1995: Narongchai Arkansee, a Thai economist turned investment banker, addresses a group of foreign executives and diplomats, Europeans and Asian businessmen, gathered in the ballroom of a luxurious Bangkok hotel. After his talk Narongchai...

Can the Korean labor movement defeat the I.M.F.?(includes related article on the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' letter criticizing the IMF restructuring programs)
November 1, 1998... On July 31st, 5,000 militant Hyundai workers and members of their families took over the largest auto factory in South Korea, vowing to occupy it until Hyundai Motor Company withdrew the pink slips it had just sent to 2,000 workers. Two weeks...

Credit card pushers pump up profits - and risk.(includes related article on the US banking industry's efforts to increase the supply of credit cards and restrict consumer's access to bankruptcy protection)
November 1, 1998... Tell your friends and relatives you're writing an article on credit cards and see what happens. Everybody has a horror story. Here are only two I've heard recently. A friend who pays off her credit card balance every month received a...

Why is it so hard to reform the Teamsters?
November 1, 1998... Today in the Teamsters the stakes in the struggle between an Old Guard led by Jimmy Hoffa and a reform movement headed by Tom Leedham and backed by Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) seem pretty clear. The union will either go forward with...

Wall Street's fondest dream: the insanity of privatizing social security.(includes related articles)
November 1, 1998... In past years Alan Greenspan looked out for his friends on Wall Street by hiking interest rates, even when doing so cost workers their jobs. Now he backs privatization of Social Security, an equally bad deal for working families - especially...

Earth for Sale: Reclaiming Ecology in the Age of Corporate Greenwash.(Review)
November 1, 1998... by Brian Tokar (South End Press, 1997) Global warming, artificial toxins, clearcuts, and the increasingly rapid loss of species diversity add up to a huge, apparently unfixable environmental problem that can leave individuals feeling...

Feeding Dependency, Starving Democracy: USAID Policies in Haiti.(Review)
November 1, 1998... by Laurie Richardson (Grassroots International, 1997) U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) designs its policies in Haiti to "feed the hungry and create jobs." That is the public face the agency puts on its work. Grassroots...

Ask Dr. Dollar.(high compensation of CEOs)
November 1, 1998... Dear Dr. Dollar, Why do companies compensate CEOs with such high salaries and bonuses? Do the CEOs themselves decide on their pay? Isn't it always said that no one is indispensable. - Gwen Nottingham, Laurel, Montana CEOs and...

Black men still jobless.(unemployment rate of African Americans)
November 1, 1998... With national unemployment rates below 4.5% during 1998, there is a broad consensus that anyone who wants to work can find a job. But for black men the official unemployment rate is twice this high, and if biases in the government's numbers...