Business & Economy

Palestinian Authority Officially Recognized — by AT&T

Staff / Truthdig Aug 10, 2006 Calls made to the Palestinian territories will carry their own designation, rather than appearing on AT&T bills as calls to Israel. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Army Nixes ‘Six Flags Over Fort Bragg’

Blair Golson / Truthdig Aug 9, 2006 The Army shot down a developer's proposal for a military theme park, saying it preferred something "tasteful and appropriate." (Above photo a satire.) Of course, this is the same military whose recruitment efforts have included inserting story lines into episodes of "The Mickey Mouse Club," according to the book "Operation Hollywood." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bono Buys a Piece of Forbes

Staff / Truthdig Aug 7, 2006 A group of investors, including the U2 frontman, bought a minority stake in the financial publishing company. An investor partner says Bono ?drove this part of the discussion and likes the fact that there has been a consistent philosophy throughout its history.? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush, Congress Cut Welfare Programs

Staff / Truthdig Aug 7, 2006 New welfare rules written by Congress and the Bush administration are taking effect, denying assistance to the poor for education and drug addiction treatment. The rules also require welfare recipients to work more hours a week, without providing additional child support subsidies. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Senate Kills Estate Tax Bill

Staff / Truthdig Aug 4, 2006 Normally, this would be cause for unbridled celebration. However, Republicans had cowardly and self-servingly tacked an estate tax reduction onto a bill designed to raise the minimum wage. So good legislation had to die in order for a terrible bill never to live. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

New Treasury Secretary Channels Paul Krugman

Staff / Truthdig Aug 2, 2006 Bush's new secretary of the Treasury, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson, said in his first public remarks since taking office that he recognized the economy was not benefitting all Americans That's quite an understatement -- as Paul Krugman made abundantly clear in a 2002 N Times Magazine essay -- but for a Bush appointee, it was a hell of an admission . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Don’t Take Any More Money Out of Your House

Staff / Truthdig Jul 30, 2006 The cooling of the U.S. housing market has begun to pull down the entire economy, just as experts had been predicting for several years now. This was inevitable after the ludicrously overheated highs of the last few years, and we can only hope it's going to be a slow leak. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Sprinkling the Poor, Showering the Rich

Staff / Truthdig Jul 29, 2006 House Republicans tacked a cut in estate taxes onto a bill to raise the minimum wage. Yeah, you read that correctly: The economically distressed would get an additional $2.10 an hour, whereas the Walton kids and the Hilton sisters would get untold millions. Must be that compassionate conservatism we've heard so much about. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Profits up 40% at Shell, 36% at Exxon

Staff / Truthdig Jul 27, 2006 No need for creative accounting at these outfits: It's good to be an oil company these days. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

NYU Prof Launches Experiment in ‘Open-Source’ Journalism

Staff / Truthdig Jul 27, 2006 It's called NewAssignment.net, and the idea is for everyday citizens to fund specific reporting projects that will be assigned to professional journalists. This could be the birth of an entirely new paradigm in reporting: professionals and amateurs working together in a truly networked way. Check it out. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

US Airways to Sell Ads on Air Sickness Bags

Staff / Truthdig Jul 27, 2006 Seriously, we're not making this up: ads on barf bags. You have to wonder: How do you value the publicity that comes from associating your product with vomit? (above picture a Truthdig spoof) And if it works, we're suddenly one step closer to the advertising hell depicted in Spielberg's "Minority Report." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Foreign Companies Buy U.S. Roads

Staff / Truthdig Jul 19, 2006 U.S. roads and bridges paid for by American taxpayers are being sold to companies abroad. Selling roads and bridges to private companies provides states with extra cash in the short term, but as Indiana's House Democratic leader has argued, these deals are shortsighted taxpayer rip-offs that funnel long-term profits to foreign coffers. (h/t AmericaBlog) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )