Business & Economy

Google’s Wi-Fi Plan Stirs Big Brother Concerns

Staff / Truthdig Apr 12, 2006 The company's free wireless service in San Francisco would allow Google to monitor all its users' whereabouts--ostensibly to serve up location-specific advertising. The feeling you just got? That would be the hairs on the back on your neck rising. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows

Staff / Truthdig Apr 10, 2006 More than $2 million in debt, the conservative Christian organization founded by Pat Robertson is struggling to hold on to its chapters. Amen Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Whistle-blower: AT&T Colluded With NSA on Wiretaps

Staff / Truthdig Apr 9, 2006 AT&T gave the National Security Agency open access to its customers' phone calls and Web-surfing activities, according to a former AT&T employee cooperating in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against the company The full story and a public statement by the whistle-blower . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Mass. Pushes Mandatory Health Insurance

Staff / Truthdig Apr 5, 2006 In what would amount to the country's first universal coverage plan, the Massachusetts Legislature approved a bill that will require all its residents to buy health insurace or face legal penalties. How did they finally eke out a winning strategy for such a long-sought goal? The program is modeled on the state's policy on auto insurance. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Debt Clock Running Out of Space

Staff / Truthdig Mar 28, 2006 When the U.S. national debt crests the $10-trillion mark within the next two years, the famous Manhattan signboard will no longer be able to display the entire amount. But don't worry: Congress, which recently raised our debt limit, won't suffer from any such limitations. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Panic in the Newspaper Biz

Molly Ivins / Truthdig Mar 23, 2006 "I don't so much mind that newspapers are dying -- it's watching them commit suicide that pisses me off." Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Going Deeper and Deeper Into Hock

Staff / Truthdig Mar 17, 2006 Congress just raised our debt ceiling--the amount we're allow to borrow--by $781 billion. It was either that or default on our treasury notes. This is the fourth debt-ceiling increase since Bush took office--some $3 trillion in total. Dick Cheney may have said that deficits don't matter, but try telling that to the next generation of Americans, who are going to have one helluva credit card bill to pay off. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Judge Orders Google to Turn Over Some Data

Staff / Truthdig Mar 14, 2006 A federal judge says he will require the search engine company to provide the government with some search-query data in connection with the Justice Dept.'s attempts to revive an online child pornography law. It's unclear what kind of and how much data the judge will order turned over. That strange shifting underneath your feet? It's the slippery slope we're all sliding down, toward an Orwellian future. Truthdig's Google expert Mark Malseed has the skinny on the implications of this battle. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Report: Tax Cuts Don’t Pay for Themselves

Staff / Truthdig Mar 10, 2006 A nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank concludes: "the tax cuts have not paid for themselves, recent economic growth and revenue growth have not been particularly strong, and revenues remain lower than had been predicted before the tax cuts were enacted." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fastow: Enron’s Lay ‘Lied About Enron Finances’

Staff / Truthdig Mar 9, 2006 The energy company's former CFO testifies that Ken Lay, the former CEO, lied about the company's financial situation in the months before the company's collapse. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Former Enron CFO Implicates Skilling

Staff / Truthdig Mar 8, 2006 Andrew Fastow, the company's former chief financial officer, testifies that he concocted fraud in face-to-face meetings with Enron's chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling Also, check out Robert Scheer's latest column on Enron, or a compendium of earlier ones . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Family Savings Look Scary Across the Board

Staff / Truthdig Mar 6, 2006 The Federal Reserve finds that the average family has only about $3,800 in the bank, no retirement account and no stocks or bonds, and can't pay off a $2,200 credit card balance Pretty grim But don't fear Tax cuts for the rich will make everything all better. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )