America Trends

Admittedly that would not make a great Hallmark card sentiment.  Then again coming from one of the leaders of the white nationalist movement upon learning of Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, what might you expect?  Vegas Tenold, author of the book ‘Everything You Love Will Burn’ was embedded with groups like the KKK, the National … Continue reading EP 126 EVERYTHING YOU LOVE WILL BURN

Elaine Pofeldt reminds us that nearly 40 percent of people in the workforce are free agents, otherwise known as independent contractors, freelancers and anything but full-time, salaried employees with benefits.  This change will call for reforms in a host of different areas of our society. For instance, how do you get credit from a bank … Continue reading EP 125 A NEW ECONOMY OF FREE AGENTS

he lead political story for 2018 may well be the number of women who have decided enough is enough and are running for political office on every level. The numbers reported thus far for Congress are astonishing. What’s driving this: the #MeToo Movement and Donald Trump would seem to be the answer. But women often … Continue reading EP 124 WOMEN ON THE RUN (TO OUST INCUMBENTS)

Joseph A. Califano, Jr. has been one of the most trusted and sensible voices in Washington for nearly a half century.  Trusted adviser to Presidents and a passionate defender of our system of government, he has seen enough. In his new book, ‘Our Damaged Democracy’, he details where each branch of the federal government has … Continue reading EP 123 OUR DAMAGED DEMOCRACY

That provocative title for a book was intentional.  It connotes an America not as far from its slave past as many would like to think.  Dr. Angela Hattery and Dr. Earl Smith tackle some very difficult issues in our society as to ways that black bodies are regulated from public education to the criminal justice … Continue reading EP 122 POLICING BLACK BODIES: HOW BLACK LIVES ARE SURVEILLED AND HOW TO WORK FOR CHANGE

There have been a number of highly-publicized accidents on America’s railroads recently.  Yet, according to a 2017 data from the Federal Railroad Administration released by the Association of American Railroads, the train accident rate, equipment caused accidents, track caused accidents and derailment rates are all down substantially over a fifteen-year period.  So what are we, … Continue reading EP 121 IS IT SAFE TO RIDE THE RAILS IN AMERICA?

Retirement expert, Bob Powell, who you read on The Street and in ‘USA Today’ offers the most up to date advice on financial planning for a comfortable retirement.  He focuses on the growing number of Americans retiring with too much debt(and what to do about it)and the trend of working longer as the surest path … Continue reading EP 120 IS THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL RETIREMENT WORKING LONGER?

Moms and dads were always imploring us not to leave the table without finishing everything on our plate.  That wasn’t a bad maxim at a time when we hadn’t supersized meals. As food has become cheaper as a part of our required expenses, does that admonition still mean anything?  Restaurants often think bigger is better, … Continue reading EP 119 IS ‘FOOD WASTE’ REALLY A WASTE?

If you’re looking for the epicenter of problem-solving in America today, Congress is hardly the beacon for effective governance. We find in our review of how America is now dealing with human needs that networks of local organizations, including local and regional governments, are filling the breach Congress has left. Hospitals, colleges, non-profits and local … Continue reading EP 118 LOCAL COMMUNITIES INNOVATE, WHILE D.C. STALEMATES

Perhaps, but given the paucity of data about its value in the workplace as a driver of greater achievement and advancement, the truth is we don’t know. A snapshot of one recent year shows that 760,000 master’s degrees were awarded. So, does this give you a leg up on someone who has only achieved a … Continue reading EP 117 IS THE MASTER’S DEGREE THE NEW BACHELOR’S?

You might want to get more comfortable with machines taking on responsibilities you never imagined, according to Amir Husain, founder and president of SparkCognition and author of ‘The Sentient Machine” which details the coming age of artificial intelligence. He’s of the ‘glass half full’ school when it comes to how these machines will interact with … Continue reading EP 116 CAN YOU MAKE SENSE OF SENTIENCE AND AI?

  That’s the name of a new report from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and it reminds us that the trend is toward more encampments for those without permanent housing.  The primary reason is that we have not built enough affordable housing to keep up with the demand. And, yet, our approach … Continue reading EP 115 Tent City, U.S.A.

Like many of us, you’re wondering what the fuss is all about when it comes to Bitcoin. It’s part of something we’ve long heard was on the horizon–a cashless society. Perhaps, you hear terms like ‘Bitcoin wallets’ or block-chains and your eyes glaze over. We asked Mark Jamison, of the American Enterprise Institute, to break … Continue reading EP 114 WILD ABOUT BITCOIN

It’s fair to say the answer to that question for many of us is a long time ago. Given the rapid, almost unimaginable, disruption in every sector, caused by technology, how could schools remain immune from this? Or are they? One of our listeners asked that we look at the future of public education. In … Continue reading EP 113 WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A CLASSROOM?

  In laws as complex as the one involving significant tax changes, adherents on all sides can say just about anything they want about its impact on one group or another before its implemented. So, we decided to turn to Steve Malanga, an expert in state and local finance at the Manhattan Institute, to break … Continue reading EP 112 BLUE STATES OBJECT TO NEW TAX LAW: WILL IT HURT AS MUCH AS THEY SAY?

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Jake Bernstein, introduces us to a world apart–offshore and out of view to most except the wealthiest and most powerful. And yet, the investigative team he was a part of that broke the Panama Papers story shook that world to its core recently by exposing the methods and means they use … Continue reading EP 111 THE SECRET WORLD OF SHELL COMPANIES AND OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS

While we can blame the internet or Amazon, in particular, or the smartphone that brought them to us so easily, the way we shop has changed forever.  But, according to Kristen Bahler, in an article in a December 2017 article in MONEY Magazine, don’t give up on the brick and mortar store just yet as … Continue reading EP 110 The Future of Shopping

  Many have predicted much doom about the FCC’s striking down of net neutrality rules put in place during the Obama Administration.  Some suggest that you will now pay for the Internet the way you do(or did)for cable television–in bundles.  Our guest, Professor Richard Hanley, of Quinnipiac University, does not think we can rush to … Continue reading EP 109 WILL YOUR INTERNET EXPERIENCE BE CHANGING IN THE YEAR AHEAD?

Zak Dychtwald is an American millennial. And while he has great faith in his fellow countrymen, he is quite impressed with those his age in China. They are many times larger in number than their American counterparts and determined to help China achieve very ambitious goals in their lifetime. And while they may be different … Continue reading EP 108 HOW RESTLESS CHINESE YOUTH WILL CHANGE THE WORLD

Why, then, are they called ‘The Leftovers’? You will have to listen to author, Roseann Lake, bend your perceptions of modern China as it relates to their demographics in the wake of the newly discarded ‘one child policy’. On the face of it, it may not be clear why there are so many well educated, … Continue reading EP 107 THE WOMEN SHAPING THE WORLD’S NEXT SUPERPOWER