This episode of the web series, “Toward a More Perfect Union,” is called “The Problem with Billionaires.” It looks at the scourge of billionaires, including Elon Musk, and what can be done about them. Massive wealth inequality is the natural byproduct of having so many billionaires: the 50 richest Americans have a worth of $2
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What Woody Guthrie Can Teach Us Right Now
This episode of the web series “Toward a More Perfect Union” is about Woody Guthrie and what he can teach us right now. Through his words and through his songs, Woody advocated for workers, farmers, the downtrodden, and all those that have been through hard times. Ultimately, Woody believed that this land was made for
An Introduction to the Web Series
This three minute video introduction to the web series “Toward a More Perfect Union,” created by Michael Wayne, gives an overview of the series and the themes that will be discussed.
The Future is Ours, If You Want It
We live in a world with no shortage of serious issues—wealth inequality, climate change, the rising tide of authoritarianism, war, nuclear weapons proliferation, mass extinctions, water shortages, soil depletion, pandemics, and more. It’s enough to drive fear through your heart and make you feel hopeless and helpless. Yet, believe it or not, there is a
The Silence of the Yams
You may remember Hannibal Lecter, aka “Hannibal the Cannibal”—a renowned carnivore who truly enjoyed what he ate, eating, as he called it, “the terminally rude.” Because of that trait, Lecter has been called “the Robin Hood of killers.” Lecter, of course, is a fictional figure, first appearing in the novel “Red Dragon,” and then a
The Best Things in Life Are Free: The Uncommonness of the Commons
After Elon Musk went public with his proposed $44 billion purchase of Twitter, he tweeted out “Twitter is the digital town square.” I would argue that’s the farthest thing from the truth. Twitter could be a digital town square, but to do so, it would have to not be owned by anyone, and certainly not a
What Exactly is Money? What’s the Point of it?
And, why are we so beholden to it? In my prior essay, Money Love, Money Lust, I ended the essay by asking, What’s the Point of Money? We put money on a pedestal, as if it should be the central focus of our lives. And unfortunately it is, as most people are either stressing that they
Money Love, Money Lust
How much is enough? And what exactly is the point of money anyway? A little later on in this essay, I will answer a question that, while it may seem gruesome, is tied in with what I’ll be talking about in this essay. The question is: Why did Richard Cory go home last night and
It’s High Time the U.S. Declared War…on Delaware
If You Want to be Anonymous, Delaware’s the Place to Go While the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, with Russia adding to their status as pariah nation with their horrific war crimes, there is a region of the world that has slipped under the radar and gone completely unnoticed, all while their complicity in
Ponzis, Putin, and Private Equity: The Clash of Titans
From the Ashes, a New World Can Be Born On March 3, 2012, 22-year-old Russian conceptual artist and political activist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, also known as Nadya Tolokno, was arrested by Russian authorities and charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.” By August 17, 2012, she was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. Her case