THE SHAME ECONOMY
Buying a stake in a company in order to publicly excoriate or laud its CEO—and manipulate that company’s stock price—is called “talking your book.” And new Trump advisor Carl Icahn is about to bring it to the White House.
Michael Maiello is a New York–based columnist, performer, author, and playwright. He has written for Forbes, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Newsweek. He is currently a columnist for The Daily.
Bookkeeping
Mark Zuckerberg pledged to place 99 percent of his Facebook shares into a charitable organization. But there are over 300 million reasons why it’s a good deal for him right away.
Vaporizing Money
What’s behind the turmoil? Fundamentally, we have too many resources, nobody wants them, and the people making them aren’t being paid enough.
Double Standard
After five of the world’s biggest banks pleaded guilty to criminal charges—and no one will face jail time for those crimes—it’s time to admit Stewart should have never been behind bars.
Flash Crash
The government says Navinder Singh Sarao’s market manipulation caused the 2010 Stock Market “Flash Crash,” which had the Dow plummeting 1,000 points in minutes. Sarao was allowed to trade for four more years after the crash—and it’s proof the markets can’t, in fact, police themselves.
Quiet Crisis
It doesn’t matter how “thrifty” almost half of America is. According to one economist, the system has made it almost impossible for them to save any money.
Not Enough to Live
Hold your applause. Even after a new $9 minimum wage policy, the average employee—depending on how many kids he or she has—will live below, at, or barely above the poverty line.
Let’s See What This Headline Does
The price of Bitcoin shot up $20 today, and it might have been because somebody at Davos said it was the future. That means, of course, it is not the future.
Lies Upon Lies
Michael Maiello reviews ‘Octopus,’ Guy Lawson’s new book about Bayou Hedge Fund founder Sam Israel.
Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party could learn from dueling theorists Keynes and Hayek, says Michael Maiello on a new book that proves why they’re still essential.