Economic Issues

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Drawing inspiration

Anarchist Seth Tobocman brings radical comic-book to the Lucy Parsons Center
"Die, yuppie scum," chants the long-haired man, to the beat of a pounding drum. "You don't need to fuck people over to survive."
By VALERIE VANDE PANNE | June 16, 2010

Beer on a budget

In defense of expense
The beer industry is generally considered recession-proof, since people are still going to drink beer when times get tough. But has the same been true for more expensive craft beer in the recent recession?
By JOSH SMITH | May 19, 2010

How Rhode Island can eliminate homelessness

The concept is as simple as it is radical: give the homeless a place to live, with no strings attached
Making it a reality is a matter of political will.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 14, 2010

A Providence non-profit loans out the future

Where Credit Is Due
Eva Jiménez came here from the Dominican Republic in September 2001.
By MARION DAVIS | May 12, 2010

Joe Paolino weighs a different kind of mayoral run

The Independent
It had been rumored for some time.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 14, 2010

Maine women take to the gridiron

Full Contact
Saturday will be a different kind of ladies’ night at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | April 08, 2010

Tanked

A few guppies short
The term "think tank" looks as if it signifies something impressive.
By AL DIAMON | March 17, 2010

Get smart

Budget problems? It's the stupidity, stupid.
There are lots of theories about what's wrong with Maine's economy.
By AL DIAMON | March 10, 2010

Romney's new character: Macho man

In his new book, Mitt makes himself over as a muscular defender of America
Few things are more predictable than a GOP presidential candidate posturing as a he-man protector of America, and depicting his Democratic counterpart as an effete, appeasing girlie-man on the dangerous world stage.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 10, 2010

Bay State's top lobbyists

Talking Politics
Nearly everyone in Massachusetts felt the pinch of the recession in 2009 — even Beacon Hill lobbyists had to tighten their belts.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 08, 2010

Trying times for Obama

Tough times for the nation
It was only a matter of time before President Barack Obama turned into a deficit hawk. But it is a measure of the desperation sparked by Scott Brown's election to Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat that Obama hatched before the conclusion of the 2010 congressional elections and unveiled a spending freeze.
By EDITORIAL | January 27, 2010

A nation hooked on cars

Vroom! Vroom!
The car is at the center of many of our troubles — our addiction to oil, the warming of the planet. Car accidents do incalculable damage.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | January 27, 2010

What’s next for Cicilline?

After a couple of tough years — and some jabs from Buddy — how bright is his political future?
Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline rode into office seven years ago as the fresh-faced anti-Buddy. Bleach for a soiled City Hall.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | January 21, 2010

Parish Cafe and Bar

A veteran Back Bay restaurant expands to the South End
The edge of gentrification can present some close-minded folks with a barrier to finding good cheap eats.
By MC SLIM JB | January 13, 2010

Instead of cuts: guts

Raise taxes on the rich? Only one candidate says ‘yes’?
Let’s assume, reader, that you’re concerned about economic and social justice. For those in real need — people who are poor, sick, old, mentally ill, addicted, disabled — you want decent care. You’re concerned, too, about proper funding of schools, community colleges, and university campuses.
By LANCE TAPLEY | January 06, 2010

Looking back, going forward

A diverse display for 2010
Economic recession and post-racial themes abound in Boston’s early 2010 theater repertoire.
By MADDY MYERS | January 13, 2010

Nobody dies

The Department of Economic and Community Development dodges the axe
Some things in life are essential — beer, the MLB Network, caller ID — and some things aren't — tofu, Jay Leno, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.
By AL DIAMON | December 30, 2009

2009: The year in cheap eats

A good year to dine 'On the Cheap,' for many reasons
In the wake of the Bush Recession, it's been gratifying to spend 2009 noting how many good budget-priced restaurants Boston has.
By MC SLIM JB | December 24, 2009

Worth the gamble?

A push for full-scale Vegas-style casinos is in the cards again. Can poker and craps save a state in freefall?
Just three years after Rhode Island voters killed plans for a full-scale, Vegas-style casino, big-time gambling is in the cards again.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 16, 2009

Kristof on the ‘paramount moral challenge’ of our era

Q+A
Since he began writing a column for the New York Times eight years ago, Nicholas D. Kristof has become the closest thing we have to a voice of conscience on human rights abuses around the world.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | December 16, 2009

Even more recession recipes

Big Fat Whale
Scamfast
By BRIAN MCFADDEN | November 25, 2009

City Table

Sampling the perks of a recession
I'm enjoying this restaurant recession more than the last one.
By ROBERT NADEAU | November 18, 2009

Has Obama peaked? No, he hasn't

Obama’s days of greatest power and popularity lie before him. But be warned: he might not do what you want with it.
Barack Obama's popularity should not be judged by the day-to-day, media-driven vagaries of politics — nor by the wishful thinking of his opponents.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 12, 2009

Conservation in Copenhagen

Going Green
In about a month, representatives from almost 200 nations will converge on Copenhagen, Denmark, for what could be the most meaningful meeting on climate change, ever.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 04, 2009

A turbine grows in Warwick

Windy City
If all goes well, Shalom Housing in Warwick, a division of Jewish Seniors Agency, will be the home of a 100-kilowatt wind turbine, part of new federal “green” stimulus award of up to $1.5 million from the US Housing and Urban Development to retrofit the 30-year-old, 100-unit low-cost senior housing project.
By RICHARD ASINOF | November 04, 2009

Prodding the free market

The Yes Men’s irreverent crisis of conscience
Yes Man Mike Bonanno on the most fun aspect of co-directing the new documentary, The Yes Men Fix the World: “climbing into an abandoned flooded quarry in a business suit with 30 pounds of rocks in the pockets to combat buoyancy for the underwater scenes.”
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | October 21, 2009

Affordable housing in a wealthy redoubt

At Home
Barrington, not exactly known for its welcome mat to working poor families, now has its first affordable housing project in living memory.
By RICHARD ASINOF | October 21, 2009

The battle for our city schools

Boston Phoenix letters, October 23, 2009
In your recent story “ Boston Public-School Apartheid? ”, charter public schools are faulted for taking disadvantaged Boston students and sending them on to excellent high schools and, eventually, college. Why shouldn’t low-income students of color have access to such life-changing opportunities?
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | October 21, 2009

Co-dependent? The US and China

Action Speaks!
Action Speaks!, the panel discussion series at Providence art space AS220, continues its fall run with a conversation about the increasingly dependent relationship between the United States and China.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 14, 2009

Con Sol

Shining light on a secret Iberian bargain
Three-year-old ethnic bargain spot Con Sol snuck under reviewers' radar with an Iberian menu that draws mostly on Portuguese-American food — a cuisine that feels native to long-time Cantabrigians, but otherwise is little known north of New Bedford and Fall River or west of Provincetown.
By ROBERT NADEAU | October 14, 2009