"Polls show that public opinion on NSA spying shifts back and forth depending upon who is in the White House. In other words, liberal or conservative voters generally aren’t opposed to mass surveillance as long as their party is in power."
The beneficiaries in this seemingly zero-sum game? Arms manufacturers, of course, but also US uranium producers, who in a complete coincidence are currently agitating for protection from foreign competition.
"Even though the M.T.A. is paying for its capital construction with taxpayer dollars, the government does not get a seat at the table when labor conditions are determined. Instead, the task of reining in the unions falls to the construction companies — which often try to drive up costs themselves."
"Grocers are under pressure, in an already thin-margin business, to cut costs and make the shopping experience more enjoyable for customers."
"Earning a small wage is better than earning nothing at all due to unemployment. It’s easy to vilify restaurants and other companies when they respond to higher costs with layoffs. But it’s important to place the blame where it belongs. In this case, it’s bad policy."
"China’s financial regulator has vowed to rescue the Chinese banking system immediately to avert a banking crisis when the bubble bursts, issuing a blanket guarantee that no major institution will be allowed to fail. Beijing says it has studied the errors that led to the Lehman crisis in the 2008 and will not allow a chain reaction to occur, even if this means paying a price in terms of lost economic growth and dynamism."
"Much of that gold comes from outlaw mines deep in the jungle where dangerous chemicals are poisoning rainforests and laborers who toil for scraps of metal, according to human rights watchdogs and industry executives. In comparison, the U.S. gold supply, mostly mined in Nevada and Alaska, offers stiff competition and regulations. Big companies control the big mines. Smaller companies looking to deal in U.S. gold are restricted to buying recycled 'scrap' gold from pawnshops and jewelry stores. To gain a competitive edge, many U.S. gold traders look south."
"Everybody needs food, but the government does not require entrepreneurs to obtain a certificate of need before opening or expanding a grocery store. Everybody needs healthcare at one time or another, but the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and 35 states require hospitals to obtain certificates of need (called CONs) before they open their doors or expand. Certificates of need tend to favor large non-profit operations, which are now blocking competition while scamming patients and taxpayers alike."
"Still fighting the culture wars, Reagan and his advisers decided early on that marijuana was the biggest drug threat facing the country. And so a couple of years into his first term, federal and California officials came up with a battle plan to target cultivation in the northern part of the state. The phrase 'battle plan' isn’t much of an exaggeration here."
"County Attorney Harris announced the crackdown, saying he will seek protection orders restraining pregnant women from any non-medically prescribed use of illicit drugs or alcohol, and those who violate the orders will be jailed to 'incapacitate' them."