The current capitalist approach to business says that growth is good. Corporations and other businesses are supposed to grow every year, sell more products, provide more services, and earn more money.
I say that’s not sustainable. How could it be? How can we possibly expect infinite growth?
But aside from growth being unsustainable in the long run, [...]
Economy
Posted on December 13th, 2009 in Economy
I’ve written before about Why I Really Don’t Do Walmart (and many people commented). Here’s another reason: poor sick leave policy.
Walmart’s come under fire from the National Labor Committee (a nonprofit organization supporting human and worker rights) for penalizing workers, possibly to the point of termination, for staying home sick. Here’s the scoop from their [...]
Posted on August 24th, 2009 in Economy, Sustainability
Cash for Clunkers is about to end (again). This fall, the U.S. is scheduled for a program of cash rebates for purchase of energy-efficient appliances, which of course is now being dubbed “Cash for Appliances,” even though it barely resembles Cash for Clunkers and has been done before.
It’s simple, really. People who buy new appliances, [...]
What do you think about this sugar shortage business? Here’s what AOL’s Walletpop blog is reporting:
On Aug. 5, General Mills, Hershey Co, Mars Inc., and Kraft Foods alerted Thomas J. Vilsak, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, of their combined forecast of low sugar supplies. These food companies warned that if the Agriculture [...]
The current U.S. health care system isn’t working. The health care reform bill under consideration now might help, or it might be too little too late.
Many countries use a single-payer system, which sounds good. The government collects taxes. The government pays for health care. The people pay nothing (aside from the taxes) or minimal co-pays [...]
Posted on July 04th, 2009 in Economy, Sustainability
With the new national jobless rate at 9.5%, critics are saying that President Obama’s economic stimulus package isn’t working.
That’s highly debatable. It could be that it’s really not working. It could be that the federal stimulus is keeping things from being much, much worse. I’m not sure how you’d measure that.
Regardless of this argument, what [...]
Posted on June 29th, 2009 in Economy, Sustainability
If you’re a regular reader, you’re probably not surprised to find that I don’t shop at Wal-Mart. It’s not just some knee-jerk reaction for me, though. I know Wal-Mart has changed or improved some of their environmental and human resources practices. I know people who work there and have no problems. I know people who [...]
Posted on April 28th, 2009 in Economy, Technology
I just read this amazing post by Portland’s Rick Turoczy, the Silicon Florist. In the post, he explains why he spent $4000 attending free tech events last year (Silicon Florist sponsored several events put on by the Legion of Tech and others).
Some people have asked me “What’s the ROI of that investment?”, “How many leads [...]
