The 10 Best Ear to the Ground Stories of 2018

This year’s top Truthdig Ear to the Ground stories include secrets from the 1 percent, a peek into the D.C. prep school world that raised Brett Kavanaugh, and why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is upending the Washington political establishment.

One Dire Prediction for Trump’s Tax Cuts Is Already Coming True By Jacob Sugarman A disturbing new report finds broad-based wage increases could be a thing of the past.

A Disney Heiress Reveals the 1 Percent’s Worst-Kept Secret By Ilana Novick The poor get poorer and the rich get more yachts.

How D.C. Prep School Culture Builds Men Like Brett Kavanaugh By Ilana Novick An alumna of one such school speaks out in a powerful USA Today op-ed.

As Registration Deadline Approaches, Texas Voters Jump Hurdles By Naomi LaChance The Texas secretary of state removes more than 2,000 people who tried to register to vote online.

For First Time as President, Trump to Answer Questions Under Oath By Gregory Glover Summer Zervos is about to achieve what Robert Mueller, Michael Avenatti and Stormy Daniels have so far failed to do.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Defends Amazon Deal at Sanders Event By Naomi LaChance Critics on the left worry the massive tax incentives and subsidies that New York offered Amazon will eclipse any potential public benefits.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Already Making Democrats and Republicans Nervous By Natasha Hakimi Zapata The incoming House representative is giving as good as she gets.

Naomi Klein: We’ve Entered a Frightening New Era of Capitalism By Jacob Sugarman The 1 percent so dominate our institutions that they consider political power their birthright. Call it the Age of the Pampered Princeling.

It’s True: Your Boss Is Making More Than You Do. Maybe 3,101 Times More. By Ilana Novick The wage gap is only getting worse, the Economic Policy Institute finds.

Post-9/11 War Costs Approaching $6 Trillion By Naomi LaChance A new report argues that “unsustainable” military spending poses a threat to national security.