People are waiting for months to get tickets for the musical “Hamilton.” But if Democrats want to win in November – they better skip the show and brush up on Alexander Hamilton’s plan to foster American manufacturing,
For more information on the stories we’ve covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com – freespeech.org – and RT.com. You can also watch tonight’s show on Hulu – at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And – be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!
Howard Schiller, interim CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, and Nancy Retzlaff, chief commercial officer for Turing Pharmaceuticals, listen during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill February 4, 2016 in Washington, DC. – BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
In 2015, Valeant Pharmaceuticals was at the top. The business was valued at $90 billion and centered on the cult of personality of then-CEO Mike Pearson. But now it’s all one big, hot mess.
The company is in the midst of a several federal and state investigations for price gouging, and its Wall Street backers are scrambling to salvage their investments and reputations.
Bethany McLean, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, wrote the story for its summer issue, out now.
The Egyptian government has implemented new measures to deal with water wastage in the country. Among them – a proposed law that could see deliberate water wasters sent to jail. CCTV’s Adel EL Mahrouky has more
For those of us feeling insecure about our jobs and our futures, this story may sound like a fairy tale. Imagine for a moment an employer that takes care of you from cradle to grave, a company that hosts lavish carnivals for your family, a place where workers feel intensely loyal because they’re treated so well. That company was IBM.
“In the middle of the 20th century, it was the most famous, the most admired, the most widely respected company in the world,” said Quinn Mills, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, and the author of “The IBM Lesson” and other books about its history and culture.
By the late 1960s, IBM had become the apex of how companies treated workers and thought of their roles in society.
Its culture was called “cradle to grave,” meaning if you got in, they’d take care of you. There were lavish carnivals for workers and their families. Around the country, there were country clubs and golf courses where workers at all levels could play for virtually nothing.
For many people, it feels like the wheels have come off the American Dream. Wages are stuck. The once sure-fire step up, a college degree, is becoming unaffordable. Jobs a family can plan a future around can seem scarce. Much of the angry passion this election year stems directly from these concerns about Americans’ personal economies.
In response, candidates for president have offered a wide range of solutions: Bring back jobs from overseas. Keep out immigrants. Drop out of international trade agreements. Rein in Wall Street. Reform campaign finance laws. Invest in infrastructure. Train Americans for jobs of the future. Slash taxes on job creators, the rich.
What the candidates all shared was an outdated vision of corporate America. They grew up in an economy ruled by big corporations like General Motors, General Electric and IBM, which provided careers and the financial security that defines middle class.
These corporations put customers first, then employees, then community and then shareholders. But in the last half-century — in the candidates’ lifetimes — that corporate ethos turned upside down.
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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