Warren Buffett pays taxes on a smaller percentage of his billions in income than his cleaning lady. Eric Alterman billionbuffettclean Change image and share on social
Whether people care enough about local news to pay for it is, sadly, an entirely different question than whether our democracy requires a strong watchdog function at the local level to ensure safeguards against abuse, chicanery, and outright dishonesty. Eric Alterman abusecarechicanery share on social
Apple is a wonderful company for its customers and investors. So, too, Pixar. (NeXT, not so much...) But Apple is also an engine of misery for its subcontracted Chinese workers. Eric Alterman applechinesecompany Change image and share on social
Certainly there are worse sins than doing everything possible to make your presidency matter. Eric Alterman badlymakematter Change image and share on social
President Obama has lowered taxes more than he has raised them, and they are today lower than they were in President Reagan's time. But you don't hear conservatives crowing about that. Eric Alterman conservativecrowhear Change image and share on social
Liberals do not appear to address potential solutions with anything like the far right's aura of God-given self-confidence. Eric Alterman addressauraconfidence Change image and share on social
Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and, in some cases, their sense of mission at a pace that would have been barely imaginable just four years ago. Eric Alterman advertiseragobarely Change image and share on social
Local politics, like everything else, are not what they used to be. But the fact is that our political system - like our physical existence - still breaks down along geographical lines. Eric Alterman breakexistencefact Change image and share on social
There are more people at Obama's table offering ideas than there were five years ago, but when it came to facing up to the Republicans' threat to force a double-dip recession if they didn't get their millionaires' tax cut, they still amounted to nothing. And therein lies our fundamental problem. Eric Alterman agoamountcut share on social
It's not merely that conservatives are better at selling their product, or that they happen to have an easier-and undoubtedly simpler-ideological product to sell. It's that they know what they are selling. Liberals in general and Obama in particular cannot say the same. Eric Alterman conservativeeasygeneral share on social