Month: June 2010

Guest Columnist: Solving the nations fiscal problems

The United States can be fiscally responsible and meet the urgent necessities of the American people by stopping corporate welfare to concentrated industries, taxing the wealthiest that profited from three decades of tax breaks and reigning in weapons and war spending. Expanding Medicare to cover all Americans will save money and improve health.

New York State continues to reform drug laws

Today life-saving legislation that clarifies confusion between the public health code and penal code around syringe possession passed and is heading to the Governor of New York. Syringe exchange programs reduce transmission of HIV and Hep C, but some people were afraid to participate because cops would often arrest them for possession of used syringes. […]

INTELLIGENCER NEW ERA

An article “Pennsylvania Academy of Music gets OK to use restricted endowment money to pay operating expenses; Former benefactors try to block move” reports: “A bankruptcy court judge’s ruling Tuesday was music to the ears of Pennsylvania Academy of Music officials. The judge allowed PAM to use money in a restricted endowment to pay operating […]

US scraps plan for $19bn bank fee

From the FINANCIAL TIMES: US lawmakers scrapped a proposed $19bn bank fee on Tuesday night as Democrats struggled to secure sufficient votes to pass the Wall Street reform bill. Chris Dodd, the Democratic chairman of the Senate banking committee, dropped the fee and proposed new ways to pay the costs of the legislation to win the […]

The Promise, President Obama, Year One

Jonathan Alter writes concerning the Recovery Act, “The biggest frustration involved infrastructure.   Obama said later that he learned that ‘one of the biggest lies in government is the idea of “shovel-ready” project.’  It turned out that only about $20 billion to $40 billion in construction contracts wear truly ready to go.  The rest were tied […]

How we got into our current mess

“Cornered is a real eye opener for American’s business community. Barry Lynn details how the concentration of power in large global corporations can hurt entrepreneurs, stunt innovation, and slow growth. This book is essential to understanding how we got into our current mess.” – Michael Mandel, chief economist, Business Week

LETTER: Comment and columnist’s response re “Ill Fares The Land”

“Your comment is pure BS. I will read Judt’s book but from your comment it seems like hyper socialism to me. Medicare is about to be screwed big time by withholding care from the elderly based on a Govt bureaucrat who, by virtue of his / her position will not be affected by it. The more welfare you pay the more welfare required. Read “Losing ground” by Charles Murray.”

A Forum on a Constitutional Convention with Tim Potts

The Manheim Township and Warwick Democrats are sponsoring an open forum with Tim Potts, co-founder of Democracy Rising, on July 7th at the Manheim Township Municipal Building. The forum will discuss the possibility of a Constitutional Convention to reform state government. Discussion will begin at 7:00 pm. Democracy Rising is a non-partisan organization focused on […]

Report: US Overestimated Ability of Afghans

From NEWSMAX / AP: The U.S. has often overestimated the ability of Afghan military and police units to fight on their own, according to an independent report released Monday that calls into question the strategy to win the war and bring troops home… In one stark example, a police district in the northern Afghan province […]

GUEST COLUMN: Last three decades have undone the most successful programs of the 20th century

I finished Tony Judt’s “Ill Fares The Land.” It was an excellent read and I agree with his premise that we need to develop a new language that builds on the success of social democracy programs (in the U.S. those would be New Deal and Great Society programs) combined with putting forward a new vision for an economy that works for more than the top 0 .5%. Indeed, social democracy is probably the closest to my political ideology when it comes to economics…

Geithner: Keeping Recovery On Track Is Top Focus

From NEWSMAX / AP: World leaders must work together to make sure the global recovery stays on track, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Saturday…. Asked if the global economy could slip back into another “double dip” recession, Geithner said the answer to that question hinges on decisions made by world leaders. “It is within the […]