Archive for February, 2009
California Open Primaries Would Help Independents
Independents would be the true beneficiaries of California’s open primary initiative because primaries will occur on a more level playing field. It gives independents a greater chance to win the primary, and thus win the election, by opening the field to competition, regardless of party affiliation or ideology. Which is why it’s strange
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Support the Open Primary Ballot Initiative In California
Are you exasperated by the partisan bickering and gridlock in Washington that continues despite the best efforts of an enlightened, forward-looking President? What about the ideological rancor within the California legislature leading to over three months of an embarrassing budget stalemate, while
The SEC Fiddled While Rome Burned (Part 2 of 3)
Part 2 of 3. In 1992, the Securities & Exchange Commission was presented with a trail straight into Bernie Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme. But the SEC ignored it. Then, in 2000, in a memo urging the SEC promptly to investigate Madoff, an independent forensic accountant outlined his
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The SEC Fiddled While Rome Burned (Part 1 of 3)
Part 1 of 3. In 2004, the Securities & Exchange Commission made a decision that doomed our economy to failure. In a meeting lasting less than an hour on April 28, 2004, the agency approved of a rule that let the country’s five largest investment banks–including Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers,
The Paradox of Thrift: Can Consumer Spending Save The Economy?
After 9/11, George Bush infamously told us all to relax and spend as much money as possible. While Barack Obama was fond of mocking Bush’s one-dimensional directive on the campaign trail, even Obama knows that Bush’s statement was based on at least one kernel of wisdom–that ours is
An Economy of Hope
Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, has been enjoying an abundance of coverage recently, owing not only to the bicentennial but also to the comparisons of Lincoln to Barack Obama. Obama is from Illinois, the “land of Lincoln,” and began his historic campaign on the steps of the Old State
Can we trust the President?
Last week, growing impatient and testy over President Obama’s efforts to achieve bipartisanship in Congress on the stimulus package, Maureen Dowd argued that instead of trying to reach out to Republicans, “Mr. Obama
Judd Gregg And The Fate of Bipartisanship in the Obama Era
On Thursday, on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, President Obama’s own “team of rivals” lost some of its diversity when Senator Judd Gregg, the President’s choice for Commerce Secretary, withdrew his name for the position. Gregg is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative from New Hampshire
History, Joy, Hope, Irony, and Sadness: Remembering January 20, 2009
History and Joy: January 20, 2009: The day after the Martin Luther King Holiday, over 40 years after Martin Luther King suggested that within 25 years there would be a black president, 147 years after the declaration of the emancipation of slaves, 232 years after the creation of a nation that promised
The Trillion Dollar Era
When news came out about the Wall Street bonuses in 2008 totaling about $18.4 billion, a funny thing happened. Before long people started rounding the figure up. But we weren’t rounding up to $18.5 billion, or even $19 billion, let alone down to $18 billion. Rather, we were rounding up to
