Welfare, Inequality, and Poverty

This chart is the best explanation of middle-class finances you will ever see

Economists and financial experts have been telling us for years how great things are for U.S. workers and consumers. The stuff we buy is dirt cheap, and living standards are higher than ever. Wages are keeping pace with inflation. Inequality probably isn’t as bad as you’ve been led to believe. The stock market is booming! […]

It’s not thanks to capitalism that we’re living longer, but progressive politics

In recent years prominent pundits including Steven Pinker, Jordan Peterson and Bill Gates have invoked the progress in global life expectancies to defend capitalism against a growing tide of critics. Certainly there’s a lot to celebrate on this front. After all, average human life expectancy has improved a great deal. “Intellectuals are apt to do […]

U.N. warns that runaway inequality is destabilizing the world’s democracies

Runaway inequality is eroding trust in democratic societies and paving the way for authoritarian and nativist regimes to take root, according to a dire new report from the United Nations. The findings note that solutions — including robust social safety nets, an active redistribution of wealth and the protection of workers rights — “have been […]

How Private Equity Buried Payless

The financiers who had taken over Payless ShoeSource didn’t have much experience selling low-priced footwear, but they had big ideas about how things ought to be done. One was capitalizing on enthusiasm for the 2018 World Cup in the Latin American countries where the company had hundreds of stores. When they saw an opportunity to […]