The finale of the debt-ceiling theatre is nearing, and it is shaping up to be an exciting one. With this self-imposed disaster looming, two plans have moved ahead as front-runners in the negotiations. The two plans — proposed by Harry Reid and John Boehner — cut a basically identical amount of spending, with the exception… Continue reading Boehner and Reid agree that poor students should pay more
Race to the bottom leads to corporatism
Right-wing advocates of limited government often argue that locating political power in state governments is preferable to locating it in the federal government. The reasoning they give for why this is the case is a bit complicated. On its face, it seems like it is irrelevant where government power is located. After all, a state… Continue reading Race to the bottom leads to corporatism
Centrist third party destined to fail
Thomas Friedman’s article on an upstart third party in Sunday’s New York Times has been generating buzz. Friedman explains that the new party — Americans Elect — will be one of a radical centrist variety. Eschewing the normal nominating processes, it will harness the power of the internet to nominate its own candidates for President… Continue reading Centrist third party destined to fail
The race and class dynamics of old age entitlement programs
The President and leaders in Congress have been bandying about different ideas for reforming Medicare and Social Security. As one might expect in a deficit reduction showdown, these ideas uniformly seek to reduce the costs of the programs for the federal government. Of course, any time a politician or commentator mentions reducing the costs of… Continue reading The race and class dynamics of old age entitlement programs
Unemployed still suffering with nowhere to turn
Despite the two-year anniversary of the official end of the latest recession, around 14 million people are still unemployed, and the unemployment rate is at a staggering 9.2 percent. With the last couple of months having been monopolized by the high-stakes debt-ceiling theatre, this particular problem has been completely neglected with the exception of a… Continue reading Unemployed still suffering with nowhere to turn