Message here from Banter central: Happy Fourth of July!! Even though we're headed up by a Brit, it's still a great day that celebrates what's great about America - the independent spirit and lots and lots of food. Back to our normal schedule tomorrow!! - The Banter ...read more

The charity 'Barnados' has uncovered a worrying trend in the UK where legal loan sharks entrap the poor into a vicious cycle of debt with high interest payment schemes for basic household goods (via the Guardian): Its report, A Vicious Cycle: The Heavy Burden of Credit on Low ...read more

Anyone believe the dream any more? Gawker's Hamilton Nolan on the rapidly disintegrating middle class in America: We have become and will become ever more so a nation in which a vast economic underclass caters to a tiny upper class that possesses the lion's share of the ...read more