The preternaturally-named Louise Story ought to be the model for a new superhero. If democracy requires an informed electorate in order to function, then Ms. Story’s unsurpassed work in service of this goal should easily earn her hero status. She could wear the sobriquet Democra or Pluribus or some such. (A little help, Stan Lee?) She’d certainly be at home in the Hall of Justice, where superheroes convene. Justice is the skeleton of her journalism. Its flesh is what really goes down in grim, germy nexus where business and government collide. She is a great revealer. Through all kinds of mazes she follows the money, which is often yours. And she has the required special powers too, curiosity and tenacity not least. With these she battles the evil forces of obfuscation. Story squeezes a situation until it tells the truth.
She tells America about—for starters—secretive banking cabals, corporate tax swindles, how banks occasionally bet against their clients, what too big to fail really means, the meaning of mortgage-backed securities, minimum wage work-arounds, political power for sale, and—the whale—tax incentives. She shines light into places kept purposely dark by the powers that be, and explains things that affect the lives of normal people—“regular folk” in politician parlance—while those people are busy trying to get honestly through their days. If you’re one of those people, Louise Story is looking out for you. She may have just flown by your window.