The predatory schools of the for-profit college industry — Kaplan, Corinthian, Bridgepoint, and others — are on high alert. President Obama recently signed an executive order aimed at protecting veterans from bad behavior by these colleges. Speaking to U.S. troops at Fort Stewart, Georgia, the President called the conduct of these schools “appalling” and “disgraceful”
Continue Reading >>>

Today, Bank of America held its annual shareholder meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. As hundreds protested the bank’s heavy-handed political giving outside, a group of shareholders inside voted on various resolutions. Charlotte Observer business reporter Andrew Dunn notes that all shareholder resolutions failed. But a resolution calling on the company to disclose more about its
Continue Reading >>>

Today, 2012’s Fortune 500 list was revealed. The list ranks the largest American corporations by revenue and profits, in an attempt to label the country’s most successful businesses. In an America where Big Money buys access and power in our politics, it’s important to realize that the companies that top the Fortune 500 list not
Continue Reading >>>

One of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, D.C. is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The organization, which has opposed everything from the Americans with Disabilities Act to various attempts to fix the American health care system, uses its enormous lobbying dollars to push both Democrats and Republicans to tow its Big Business line. It
Continue Reading >>>

The corporate front group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) likes to claim that it’s about “free market” ideas. But if that were true, it wouldn’t be fighting against conservative lawmakers to manipulate tax policy to harm mom and pop stores in favor of giant corporations (who just happen to be their corporate donors). Here’s how
Continue Reading >>>

The words “foreign aid” conjure up images of American tax dollars being sent overseas to populations far away from our shores. Critics of foreign aid see this as a transfer of taxpayer money to non-Americans. Supporters see it as a way for America to support struggling people in developing nations, promote our values, and protect
Continue Reading >>>

One way to tackle Big Money’s role in the political system would be to better regulate corporate political spending. Right now, big corporations can engage in widespread political spending and hide much of it behind opaque bureaucracy. Activists are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue rules that would govern this spending. One
Continue Reading >>>

In America’s schools, the barrage of standardized testing kids have come under is overwhelming. From the Iowa Test of Basic Standards (ITBS) to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the alphabet soup of bubble-in tests that fill our schools is provoking a backlash from educators and parents who think kids are over-tested and denied
Continue Reading >>>