capitalism

Hamilton Nolan · 12/12/14 10:25AM

"You've seen a little bit of a tension between capital and labor," says Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Hey, let's not go overboard.

Mexican Farmworkers Treated Worse Than Sharecroppers 

Hamilton Nolan · 12/10/14 12:10PM

For several days, the Los Angeles Times has been running an excellent series on the exploitation of farm workers in Mexico. Here is a bit of information on how the people who grow the produce you buy at Walmart are treated.

This Is What Boyz II Men Has Been Reduced To

Hamilton Nolan · 06/30/14 08:30AM

Boyz II Men: one of the most beloved R&B groups of our youth, whose songs provided the soundtrack to the vast majority of the slow dances, graduations, and funerals of the 1990s. What are those guys up to now?

Media Shocked to Learn "Christian" Metalcore Band Frontman Is Atheist

Adam Weinstein · 06/19/14 01:58PM

As I Lay Dying is super hardcore Christian. Sure, they never came out and said "Jesus" or "God" in their songs, but they talked a lot about being Christian rockers and got themselves a following. Who knew that it was all a ploy by godless capitalist screamo dudes just to sell records?

Do PR People Deserve Our Sympathy?

Hamilton Nolan · 06/12/14 10:05AM

We often make it a point to mock the very worst public relations people and pitches that we see, on the principle that mocking PR is an honorable and useful activity. But are we all being too hard on the poor PR peons themselves?

Beretta Sponsors a Nutty Post on Hiding Your Gun From "Jackboots"

Adam Weinstein · 05/30/14 04:13PM

When you're one of the world's oldest firearms makers, you can't rest on your centuries-old reputation. You need to stay relevant to today's gun owner. Which is why Beretta—for a minute, at least—sponsored a popular gun site's now-missing post on "Down and dirty solutions to hiding your handgun" at home.

​Let's Boycott Amazon! Now Where Do We Buy Stuff?

Tom Scocca · 05/28/14 03:55PM

Amazon has gone too far. Now. Now that it is apparently trying to extort ebook concessions from Hachette by delaying delivery and blocking preorders of regular Hachette books—this is it.

Conspicuous Consumption Grows Along With Capitalism's Contradictions

Hamilton Nolan · 05/01/14 11:21AM

As the twin phenomena of regulatory capture and decrepit political structures controlled by a small plutocracy enable a small class of rentiers to accumulate an ever larger share of the world's wealth, our patriarchal society spawns status-obsessed males seeking glory through gaudy displays of finery.

Bank Tellers Ask Banks: Please Don't Replace Us With Video Screens

Max Rivlin-Nadler · 11/03/13 05:00PM

Outsourcing is a time-honored American tradition. First, you had a job. Then your job was given to someone, somewhere else, who could do it cheaper. But what if instead of a low-wage worker in China, you were replaced by a low-wage worker in Florida, who was sitting at a desk, staring into a camera and doing your old job by video? Then you'd be a bank teller.

Rich People Want Customer Service on Defective Congress They Bought

Tom Scocca · 10/10/13 04:00PM

Remember how Congressional Republicans went to the shut-down World War II Memorial to protest the fact that the Republican majority in the House of Representatives had just shut down the government? In a spectacular meta-expansion of that story line, today's New York Times checks in with the right-wing organizations that spent millions on millions of dollars to elect and entrench a Republican majority in the House. They're upset.

Hamilton Nolan · 09/20/13 04:10PM

If you're unlucky enough to be in Times Square, you'll surely leap at the chance to publicly register your displeasure with capitalism.

JPMorgan Hit With Puny $920M Fine Over ‘London Whale’ Debacle

J.K. Trotter · 09/19/13 09:53AM

Titanic financial firm JPMorgan Chase posted $6.5 billion in profits during its last quarter—a company record. For lying to multiple governments and its own investors about losses of $6 billion, however, the bank will have to pay just $920 million, or 0.03 percent of its current holdings. With total assets of $2.35 trillion, JPMorgan could pay the same fine every hour for three months, or every day for seven years, before their coffers would run dry.