"How many parents here want their kids to grow up to be welders?" House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer asked yesterday morning's gathering of The New England Council. Not a hand went up. But Hoyer had a point to make. Many welders are enjoying six-figure incomes and making things that matter. That's a lot better than what …
Continue reading Make it in America should be a bipartisan issue
It’s staggering that millions of voters are prepared to vote for Donald Trump with less information on what’s under his hood than they would ever accept from a used car salesman. Since Watergate days when Richard Nixon sought to dispel the idea that he was a crook playing fast and loose with his taxes, all major …
Continue reading Why we should all care about Trump’s tax returns
Whatever happens in individual games over the next two weeks, this may be the most depressing Olympics since Berlin in 1936 and Munich in 1972. And it makes me happier than ever that Boston came to its senses and dropped its 2024 bid. The opening ceremony said it all. Unremitting commercials interspersed with some tape-delayed …
If you're an executive for one of the big guys, like EMC or Boston Scientific, or if you depend on the support of the big guys, as does the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, you're probably pretty happy that the legislature failed to pass non-compete reform. Signing non-compete clauses means employees must wait a year or more …
Continue reading Legislature fails to pass non-compete legislation
Last night’s historic moment almost seemed anti-climactic. I had shed my tears at the historic milestone when Hillary Clinton had clinched the Democratic nomination. I held my breath for weeks thereafter until Bernie Sanders had endorsed her, making it clear just how high the stakes are in this election. Last night was all about reinforcing that …
Continue reading Hillary chooses morning over mourning in America
Will Hillary Clinton get the post-convention bump she needs to reassure even her anxious supporters and would-be donors that she can win in November? Tonight will determine that. Days one through three have set the table, but they won't necessarily matter as the convention memories recede. It's the candidate who counts. On Day 1, it was Michelle Obama who …
Stock market and share prices are near record highs. At the same time, Republicans and Democrats alike bemoan a sluggish recovery that has left too many behind. As delegates gather in Philadelphia this week, I wonder how many of the speakers will address this disconnect seriously, especially when so many there contributed to this …
Bernie Sanders has been saying for eight months that the Democratic National Committee rigged the primary system. He also has long said that, in the interest of fair play, DNC Chair Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz should be forced to resign. Emails written by DNC CFO Brad Marshall, released yesterday by Wikileaks, suggest Sanders had it right. …
Continue reading Debbie Wasserman Schultz should be fired now
Donald Trump's kids shone at the Republican national convention. Poised, articulate, attractive, they'd make any parent proud and certainly reflect well on their parents. Ivanka Trump's call for pay equity and child care support were a welcome contrast to the GOP platform. So, too, was PayPal CEO Peter Thiel's assertion that the party shouldn't let "fake …
Two down, two to go. Days, that is, of the Republican National Convention. I'm not watching gavel to gavel. I have a life. But, as a political junkie, I'm drawn to watch the evening activities, as deplorable as they are. From an organizational perspective, especially for an alleged master of the spectacle, Day One was …
Continue reading Republican convention: Red meat turns rancid, mean, and poisonous
Marjorie Arons-Barron 