I know a woman. Works like a dog. She’s a loving mother, raising a lovable boy. She’s also a good businesswoman, running a successful salon. But she’s not married to the father, though he lives with her … year after year. As for work, he does a little bit of this and a little bit […]

The people of Denton, Texas, recently voted to ban fracking within the city limits. They were tired of the noise, lights and fumes caused by the 277 gas wells, some placed right next to housing developments. A blowout in 2013 covered homes in clouds of benzene. Some had to be evacuated. One can hardly blame […]

A new report on consumer spending shows that consumers are not spending. Economists thought that the savings from cheaper gasoline — hundreds of dollars a year for most — would be hauled to the stores. But non-gasoline retail spending didn’t budge last month, flat after falling a bit in December, according to the Commerce Department. […]

We’ve seen senior discounts for buses. We’ve seen senior discounts at movie theaters. We’ve seen senior discounts in supermarkets. Most make some sense, helping businesses attract older customers at slow times when others are working. What makes no sense whatsoever is applying senior discounts to economic policy. Older Americans vote, and nowadays they tend to […]

She was a lawyer, noisy but nice. He was a Marine, quiet and even nicer. They seemed an attractive, comfortable couple, so I was greatly surprised when — after he left to use the men’s room — she leaned over to me at the next table and asked, “What do you think of him?” They […]

The recent economic crisis hit the American middle class hard. But for the youngest adults trying to gain a foothold in the good life, it’s been devastating. So why did so few millennials, the huge cohort of 18- to 29-year-olds, vote last November? Only 21 percent bothered. Let’s dispense with the excuse that they don’t […]