Tag: corporate-welfare

  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 9: Death, Taxes, and Everything In Between

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    The Fee Economy Lisa decided to track every fee she paid for one month. Not the big stuff—rent, car payment, insurance. Just the fees. The extra charges. The convenience fees. The service charges. The processing fees. All those little costs that companies tack on for doing business. She’s 29, works as a marketing coordinator in…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 8: Insurance

    Mandatory Purchase, Shrinking Coverage David is 38, lives in Tampa, Florida. He’s a physical therapist making $68,000 a year. He’s healthy, doesn’t smoke, exercises regularly, hasn’t had a car accident in 12 years. He’s the kind of customer insurance companies claim to want. Here’s what insurance costs him every year: Health insurance: $4,800/year Auto insurance:…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 7: Phone and Internet

    The Monopoly You Can’t Escape Rachel lives in suburban Atlanta. She works from home as a customer service rep for a health insurance company. Her job requires reliable high-speed internet—it’s not optional. She’s on video calls, accessing patient records, processing claims in real-time. When she moved into her apartment, she called to set up internet…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 6: Food Monopolies

    Paying More While Farmers Make Less Let’s follow a gallon of milk from farm to your refrigerator. At the dairy farm in Wisconsin: Tom has been dairy farming for 30 years. He has 150 cows. He wakes up at 4:30 AM every day—no weekends, no holidays. Cows need milking twice a day, every day. His…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make LessPart 5: The Auto Trap

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    Forced to Buy What You Can’t Afford Jennifer lives in Phoenix, Arizona. She’s a single mom with two kids, works as a pharmacy technician, makes $42,000 a year. Her shift starts at 7 AM at a CVS 8.5 miles from her apartment. She doesn’t own a car by choice. She owns a car because there…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less. Part 4: Credit Cards

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    The Debt Trap Jason is a high school teacher in Arizona. He makes $48,000 a year, which is about what teachers make there. He’s 32, married, has a two-year-old daughter. His wife works part-time as a medical records clerk, bringing in another $22,000. Combined household income: $70,000. They’re not living extravagantly. They rent a two-bedroom…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 7: Climate Change: The Profit Model of Denial

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    What Fossil Fuel Companies Knew—And When They Knew It For eventhatsodd.com – What Is Wrong With Us? In 1977, a senior scientist at Exxon named James Black briefed company executives on carbon dioxide and climate. His message was clear: burning fossil fuels was increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, this would cause global warming, and the…

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  • Broken By Design Part 19: The Corporate Tax Dodge

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    How Corporations Profit from Our Tax Investment While Avoiding Theirs You’ve heard the story a thousand times: we need to cut corporate taxes to incentivize job creation. Lower the rates, reduce regulations, and watch the jobs flow. The “job creators” need their freedom and their profits, and if we just get out of their way,…

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