Originally published in Paste Magazine.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty

The past couple of years have been among the most politicized of the last decade, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. Depending on where you live, you’re probably hard pressed to go a day without seeing a red “Make America Great Again” hat or “Nasty Woman” t-shirt. There’s certainly nothing wrong with wearing your politics on you sleeve—or head, lapel or otherwise—it’s a practice that’s carried on for centuries. However, you’ve likely noticed an irrefutable uptick in merchandise specifically marketed towards feminists. Kendall Jenner was just spotted in a $710 Dior t-shirt that says “we should all be feminists,” and controversy was spurred when a gaggle of white celebrities promoted Suffragette in a t-shirt that said “I’d rather be a rebel than a slave.” While it’s understandable that women want to bring attention to the fight for women’s rights, when does all of the merch just become a capitalistic ploy, profiting on a contentious time in American politics?

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Originally published in Paste Magazine
Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty

Commentary on the ongoing feud between millennials and baby boomers has been done to death. Millennials are lazy and entitled. Boomers ruined our chances of ever being able to retire. No matter how much we harp on it, we’re not going to stop taking selfies and our parents aren’t going to stop asking us when we’re going to just settle down and buy a house already. However, a mentality that’s pretty widespread across both generations is that there are jobs that aren’t necessarily “worthy” of a living wage.

Now, few people who think the Fight for $15 is absurd would actually use the phrase “not worthy of a living wage,” because that would make them sound like dicks. But, you’ve probably heard that “service jobs are starter jobs” or “flipping burgers isn’t a career.”

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Originally published in Paste Magazine.
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty

The marijuana business in the United States is booming. Though the country’s current administration is focused on the coal industry and other manufacturing jobs that are nearing obsolescence, New Frontier Data has predicted that if given the chance, the legal marijuana market—medical and recreational—can create over a quarter of a million jobs by 2020. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that this is far more than the manufacturing industry is expected to create—in fact, jobs in this field are expected to fall by over 800,000 in the next three years.

The legal marijuana industry has quickly gone from being almost nonexistent to one of the biggest moneymakers in record-breaking time. Though the drug has been prohibited in various capacities in the United States since the early 1900s, there was never a time in American history that it wasn’t present, either as a way to treat pain, relax or use recreationally.

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Originally published in Paste Magazine.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty

Customers can be a finicky entity. One day they’re singing the praises of a company, and the next day people are deleting apps and unsubscribing from email lists en masse. Since the public is the source of a company’s cash flow and determines its ultimate success or demise, deleting and unsubscribing can be incredibly detrimental. While an angry consumer base isn’t always the kiss of death for a company, it can be the beginning of a downward spiral.

There are a few reasons that cause people to begin “boycotting” individual businesses. It could stem from the company’s political beliefs, uncovered shady business practices or the fact that people feel betrayed by their values.

Surely, there are some powerhouses out there—like Walmart—that no amount of bad press or angry customers can knock down, and there are some brands out there that have such a monopoly on the industry—like Comcast—that people have no choice but to just deal with it.

However, for smaller and mid-sized brands, it can take a lot of damage control to get back into the good graces of your bread and butter.

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Originally published in Paste Magazine.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty

It’s undeniable that the media has a certain power that plays a huge role in a celebrity’s success. After all, that’s their primary method of reaching the masses. They say that all publicity is good publicity, and for a few untouchable celebs that tends to be true. For example, no amount of controversy or bad press will ever knock the Kardashians down. In fact, we could probably argue that one of that family’s greatest talents is their ability to twist and turn all press—good or bad—to their advantage. Some love ‘em, some hate ‘em, but we have to give them credit for staying relevant.

Not all celebrities are so lucky, though. Is it the people or the media, though, who ultimately determines a public entity’s fall from grace? It’s a chicken or the egg situation. Sometimes, the media coverage is what warps the public’s opinion of someone and other times, it seems as if the media’s coverage is tailored to appeal to public opinion. As consumers of what celebrity’s produce and also of the media, we should acknowledge how much pull we have over the entertainment industry as a whole.

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Originally published in Paste Magazine.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty

Donald Trump  has officially been the President of the United States for what feels like the longest month of all time. When he accepted this role, with his 306 electoral college votes that we’ve heard about time and time again (it actually wound up being 304, as two electoral college voters did not cast their ballots for him in states that he won), he said, “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me.” It would be rad if this turned out to be one of the campaign promises he kept, but it doesn’t seem likely.

In February, Trump went three press conferences without answering a single question from a news source that didn’t identify as conservative. On Feb. 10, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he took questions from The New York Post and Fox Business. On Feb. 13, with Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, Trump called upon WJLA and The Daily Caller. Then, on Feb. 15, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he allowed reporters from the Christian Broadcasting Network and Townhall.com to ask questions.

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