Taxpayers are picking up the tab for Wal-Mart’s low wages and meager benefits, according to a new congressional report. Prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and released by Rep. George Miller in February, the report concludes that the federal government is providing an average of $2,100 annually in public assistance per Wal-Mart employee. … Read More
Time To Think Big by David Morris Originally published on TomPaine.com, March 4, 2004 For advocates of renewable energy, these are the best of times and the worst of times. The good news is that renewable energy is growing in spectacular fashion. Wind electric production in the United States alone is up more than 200 percent … Read More
Folly of running government as a business by David Morris Originally published in Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 3, 2004 Conservatives believe government should be run like a private business. They’re wrong. Now Minnesota is paying a stiff price for their mistake. By law, a private corporation must strive to maximize the economic return to a handful … Read More
Gimme Shelter by David Morris Originally published in The Minneapolis Observer, February 17, 2004 Politics involves making choices. This legislative session we’re making choices about how to spend some three quarters of a billion dollars. The menu is largely restricted to constructing shelters(buildings) of one sort or another. It gladdens me to see how much our … Read More
Cruising the Ethanol Highway Hybrid cars using plant-based fuel and electricity could save huge amounts of gas. Hydrogen is no answer now. by David Morris Originally published in the Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2004 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared his support for a “hydrogen highway.” By 2010 he wants hydrogen fueling stations on all of … Read More
Faulty Intelligence My Eye by David Morris Originally published in AlterNet, February 3, 2004 David Kay was the perfect choice to head up Bush’s search for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He was in Iraq in 1991 with the UN inspection team. He was one of the most visible and vocal believers in the existence of … Read More
Before a standing-room-only crowd, the Tuolumne County, California, Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in January to ban retail outlets over 60,000 square feet, about half the size of the average Home Depot store. The vote came after several months of review and more than two hours of public testimony in which residents overwhelmingly endorsed the measure. "Towns that have resisted the boxes have a vital diverse downtown business climate," one resident told the board. … Read More
After months of pressure from a vocal citizens group, the City Council in Stoughton, Wisconsin, adopted an ordinance banning stores over 110,000 square feet. Stoughton is a community of 12,500 about 20 miles southeast of Madison. Last year, after Wal-Mart announced plans to close its 40,000-square-foot Stoughton outlet to build a 183,000-square-foot supercenter on undeveloped land, a citizens group called Uff-da Wal-Mart formed. Uff-da is a Norwegian expression of disdain. … Read More
In his State of the State address, Vermont Governor James Douglas proposed closing a tax loophole that gives national chains an advantage over local businesses. The loophole allows multi-state corporations to shift income made in the state to subsidiaries in low- or no-tax states like Delaware and Nevada, thereby evading Vermont corporate income taxes.… Read More
