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Billionaires compensate us many times over, wealth taxes endanger that

No matter what happens in Tuesday's elections, support for wealth taxes keeps growing. Its justification is based on the idea that the very rich owe all of us something, and taxing their fortunes is collecting on that debt. We're told their success fuels inequality and that it's selfish of ...

Almanac for Nov. 3, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 3, the 307th day of 2026. There are 58 days left in the year. Today in history: On Nov. 3, 1979, five Communist Workers Party members were killed in a clash with heavily armed Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis during an anti-Klan protest in Greensboro, North Carolina, in what became known as the Greensboro massacre. State and federal trials subsequently acquitted six defendants of murder and rioting charges. Also on this date: In 1908, Republican William Howard Taft was elected president, defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan. In 1911, the Chevrolet ...

Almanac for Nov. 2, 2026

Today is Monday, Nov. 2, the 306th day of 2026. There are 59 days left in the year. Today in history: On Nov. 2, 1948, in one of the most unexpected results in U.S. presidential election history, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman defeated the heavily favored Republican governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey. Also on this date: In 1783, Gen. George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Army. In 1861, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln relieved Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont of his command of the Army's Western Department, following Fremont's unauthorized ...

The grumpy, trumpy turkey on the table

Pick a Thanksgiving table, any Thanksgiving table in America, and it's sure to have a turkey and a grumpy uncle. Sometimes they are one and the same, stuffed with all the trimmings. As the midterms draw near, this November will be an especially heated month, right? We the people are so ...

Almanac for Oct. 31, 2026

Today is Saturday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2026. There are 61 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi, India's Prime Minister for more than 15 years, was assassinated by two of her own security guards. Also on this date: In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation making Nevada the 36th state, eight days before the presidential election. In 1913, the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across the United States, was dedicated. In 1941, work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in ...

Social (In)Security

"We will always protect Social Security, Medicare!" says President Donald Trump. That would be nice. But when I look at these programs' balance sheets, I don't see how he's protected anything. Both Social Security and Medicare are on track to run out of money. Politicians mostly ignore the ...