David and writing fellow Emma Janssen discuss their contributions to the Prospect’s weeklong series on affordability.
corporate power
The $79 Trillion Heist
We’re in an affordability crisis because workers aren’t being paid at the same levels they earned in the past.
Prices in the Machine
AI’s real contribution to humanity could be maximizing corporate profit by preying on personal data to raise prices. In fact, it’s already happening.
Sources of America’s Hidden Inflation
How market power jacks up prices, and how Trump’s policies add to the pressure
Selling the Poor on Spending Like They’re Rich
How plutonomy, premiumization, and social media squeeze the middle class
Grocery Bills and Corporate Taxes Dominate Upset Bid in Tennessee
Aftyn Behn is trying to flip a seat Donald Trump won by 22 points in a December 2 special election. She’s sounding populist messages to do it.
Chicagoans Grill AT&T for Facilitating ICE Terror
Organizers in Chicago are demanding the telecom giant cut ties with the Department of Homeland Security. It’s part of a larger strategy targeting corporate complicity in the federal immigration crackdown.
Starbucks Workers Tell Bosses: No Contract, No Coffee
Starbucks baristas didn’t want to go on strike. But after four years of waiting for a contract at any of their hundreds of unionized stores, 12,000 workers at one of the world’s biggest fast-food companies are demonstrating their resolve.
Can Trump Turn TikTok MAGA?
After making the case that TikTok was a national-security threat, Trump did a 180 in the weeks leading up to his re-election. The president has since admitted that he would like to see the platform become “100 percent MAGA.”
OpenAI Is Maneuvering for a Government Bailout
For artificial intelligence to ever pencil out, some truly enormous revenue streams will be required. And if you need trillions of dollars for data centers forever, there’s only one entity to turn to: Uncle Sam.
