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Democracy Has a Customer-Service Problem [Brian Klaas, The Atlantic]

By William McClain
In [The Atlantic]
February 27, 2023
260 views
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  • Input Legitimacy vs. Output Legitimacy: Democracy requires two forms of legitimacy to survive: input legitimacy (processes and procedures) and output legitimacy (government effectiveness).
  • Output Legitimacy is Falling: Only 41% of Americans are satisfied that democracy is working well, and only 39% have faith in the U.S. government to solve domestic problems.
  • Politics of Resentment: People are less likely to rally to defend democracy if they believe the system is failing them, which can lead to a “politics of resentment”.
  • Distant Power Centers: Many people feel that the sources of power—both public and private—are far away and unresponsive, and that when something goes wrong, they’re on their own.
  • Compensate for Mistakes: Companies that engage in predatory billing should face serious fines, and corporations that steal people’s time through their own mistakes should be forced to compensate them.
  • Make it Easier to Cancel Services: Regulators should ensure that it is as easy to cancel a service as it is to sign up for it.

Published February 25, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Brian Klaas’s original post Democracy Has a Customer-Service Problem

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The environmental awakening of Tucker Carlson [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
February 15, 2023
283 views
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• On February 3, a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed in Ohio near the small town of East Palestine, releasing toxic fumes and causing a massive fire.
• Residents were ordered to evacuate and there are ongoing concerns about the safety of their air, soil, and water.
• Far-right pundit Tucker Carlson expressed concern that the EPA was not aggressive enough in exercising its regulatory authority to protect residents.
• It would take regulations and reining in corporate greed to minimize the risk of train derailments and protect communities from environmental disasters.
• Rail companies have vehemently opposed federal safety initiatives for years, especially when it comes to the transport of hazardous materials.
• The Trump administration authorized the transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by rail and the Biden administration has yet to reinstate the brake rule or expand the kinds of trains subjected to tougher safety regulations.
• Freight rail has become more dangerous due to cost-cutting systems like Precision Scheduled Railroading, which has resulted in job cuts and reduced inspection times.
• Norfolk Southern has used the higher profits from Precision Scheduled Railroading to repurchase shares of its own stock, benefiting executives and investors.

Published February 15, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post The environmental awakening of Tucker Carlson

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The GOP’s bogus war with corporate America [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
January 17, 2023
208 views
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• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in January 2023, and Republicans have reportedly embraced populism and are at war with corporations.
• Fox News reported that McCarthy has refused to meet with representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and House Republicans have proven to be hostile to corporate interests.
• On February 7, McCarthy will host a mega-fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington, DC, with all proceeds benefiting McCarthy’s reelection campaign, McCarthy’s leadership committee, and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
• Jeff Miller, a member of McCarthy’s inner circle, is the host of the fundraiser and has raised millions for McCarthy’s Super PAC and affiliated non-profit organization.
• Miller is also the founder of Miller Strategies, a federal lobbying firm that represents more than four dozen major corporations, including many of the “”woke”” companies McCarthy is supposedly taking on.
• John Stipicevic, a former McCarthy deputy chief of staff and now Chief Advocacy Officer for CGCN, is a co-host of the fundraiser and is a registered lobbyist for Disney.
• Jim Richards and Ben Howard, both corporate lobbyists, are also co-hosts of the fundraiser.

Published January 17, 2023.

Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post The GOP’s bogus war with corporate America

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How Walgreens manufactured a media frenzy about shoplifting [Tesnim Zekeria & Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
January 12, 2023
281 views
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• Walgreens has been claiming that shoplifting is an existential threat to their business, but recently their CFO admitted that they may have “cried too much” about the issue.
• Publicly available data contradicts the theft-wave narrative, with shoplifting offenses dropping 46% between 2019 and 2021.
• Walgreens has been closing stores in San Francisco due to alleged shoplifting, but police data revealed that the stores had fewer than two recorded shoplifting incidents a month on average since 2018.
• Walgreens’ claims were spread unchecked by major news organizations, with the New York Times publishing at least six stories warning readers of retail theft.
• The overblown claims in this media coverage have political consequences, with California Republican Chair Jessica Millan Patterson using the Walgreens closures as evidence that “Democratic policies have created a crime spike.”

Published January 12, 2023. Visit Popular Information to read Tesnim Zekeria’s original post.

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“Director of First Impressions”: How corporations use phony titles to dodge billions in overtime [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
January 11, 2023
294 views
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• Corporations are giving workers in low-wage jobs fancy-sounding titles in order to evade the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and deny them overtime pay, resulting in $4 billion in overtime payments avoided annually.
• To be exempt from overtime pay, an employee must pass three tests: the salary basis test, the salary test, and the duties test.
• Misclassifying workers to evade overtime pay laws is illegal but not uncommon, with a 485% increase in the usage of managerial titles for salaried employees just above the salary threshold set in the Federal Labor Standards Act.
• Major companies such as JPMorgan, Avis Budget Car Rental, and Walmart have been ordered to pay millions in back wages and damages for misclassifying employees and failing to pay them overtime.
• The companies with the highest percentage of “overtime avoiding positions” include Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Jiffy Lube, Burger King, GNC, H&R Block, Dairy Queen, Subway, Jimmy John’s, Little Caesars, Office Max, and KFC.

Published January 11, 2023. Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post.

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Where in the World: Quartzite and Greentech [Peter Zeihan, Zeihan on Geopolitics]

By William McClain
In Peter Zeihan [Zeihan on Geopolitics], Politics
December 21, 2022
296 views
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  • Green Tech solar and wind are heralded as a cure-all, however the process of producing PV cells is extraordinarily damaging to the environment.
  • Silicon, which is used to produce PV cells, is mined and refined with a blast furnace, often powered by coal, making the carbon footprint of the production process extreme.
  • Solar panels are not effective in most cities due to lack of sun, needing to run five times as long to make up for the carbon debt.
  • Wind turbines are a better option; they are non-toxic to manufacture, often created with carbon fiber and aluminum, and can be situated in places that make sense.
  • Wind power is more reliable, reaching higher speeds and able to be used for base load capacity, while solar power is intermittent and cannot be used for peak demand.
  • If solar is not used in the right location, it can become part of the environmental problem instead of the solution.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LV-D9mKoig – December 21, 2022

Website: https://zeihan.com/where-in-the-world-quartzite-and-greentech/

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Walmart claims low prices require long prison terms [Judd Legum & Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information], Politics
December 13, 2022
270 views
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  • Walmart CEO Doug McMillon claims that the retailer may have to raise prices or close stores due to insufficiently aggressive prosecution of retail theft.
  • Publicly available data contradicts McMillon’s claims, with the number of shoplifting offenses dropping 46 percent between 2019 and 2021.
  • Retailers have spent millions opposing changes to felony theft thresholds, but data shows that raising the threshold does not increase shoplifting.
  • Most shoplifters are not making a calculation about the potential legal consequences, and are instead driven by addiction.

Click HERE for original. Published December 13, 2022

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