Voting is fundamental to our system of democracy. It is through our votes that we pass initiatives that shape our laws. It is through our votes that we elect people to the halls of government. Without the ability to voice our political desires, democracy does not exist. But, as with so many other facets of […]

In democratic societies, government is said to be “for the people, by the people, and of the people.” In the broadest sense, one could infer from this that governing institutions such as ours are not controlled by hereditary clans or moneyed interests, but instead are an amalgam of the interests of the general public, instituted […]

By the end of the 19th century, business interests had grown so powerful in our society that their stranglehold on individual prosperity created an inequity between the common citizens and the wealthy, industrial class. Tired of working harder and getting less than those who owned the businesses they helped succeed, and angered by conditions that […]

To the average person living in a democracy, capitalism, and the social changes it forges, rarely is given much thought. And yet our very lives, not to mention our livelihoods, are so wholly connected to our capitalistic economy, that the line between people and business has become blurred, and the properties of one has been […]

The curtain has been firmly pulled back now and Americans of every stripe are finally facing the facts of what we’ve all known but ignored for so long, namely that our government is a farce of what it pretends to be. The machinations of the corporate oligarchs and their puppet politicians have been revealed for […]

The outpouring of assistance from everyday American citizens and small businesses is almost enough to quell the anger that has been directed towards our government in their complete lack of effectiveness in dealing with this disaster. Yet were it not for the generosity of each and every one of us who has been touched by […]

Feelings of helplessness tonight have turned to frustration and anger as I watch the news channels and see the failings of our corrupted political system. While Congress waits to approve money for aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, people are starving on the rooftops of New Orleans. While President Bush strolls back from a […]

It is often said that the only things you can really count on are death and taxes. Of the two, death is probably easier to accept. Death, at least, is fairly applied to everyone. Taxes, on the other hand, are a complicated, unequal, seemingly arbitrary and often manipulated endeavor. And while we all can accept […]

Sometimes, bad things just happen. It’s a fact of life, plain and simple. Houses burn down. Stores get robbed. Cars get wrecked. People get cancer. In each of these scenarios (and any number of misfortunes) there is likely to be emotional, physical, or material damage. There is also a negative financial impact that can run […]

Financially speaking, bankruptcy occurs when you don’t have enough money coming in to cover your bills. As a legal maneuver, bankruptcy offers an individual, business, or government entity an opportunity to crawl out from under their accumulated debt and either restructure a repayment plan, reduce amounts to be repaid to creditors, or liquidate real assets […]