"Words that make actions speak louder."
In June 2008, former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr.—a conservative who is now seeking the Republican nomination to get his old job back—was at an education conference in which he touted charter schools, private institutions that operate in competition to public schools based on school board-approved charters, as a “political winner.” There’s no disputing that […]
What happens to societies that don’t share the wealth? They spend — and waste — a fortune guarding it. The latest over-the-top example: Oracle has spent $4.6 million on “residential security” for billionaire CEO Larry Ellison. The Great Recession seems to have America’s CEOs spooked. Corporate spending on executive security, already high before hard times […]
The financial services reform bill is on the Senate floor this week. The recently announced criminal investigation of Goldman Sachs, the bumbling testimony of Goldman’s “Fabulous Fab” and the rocking Wall Street protest last Thursday show that momentum is with reformers. This bill could codify the “doom loop” of a “boom and bail” economy or […]
We thought we’d write a little radio ad for the SAFE Banking proposal being put forward in the House and Senate. But this ad’s not just promoting a policy – it’s selling a litmus test. This amendment finally gives us a chance to find out whether those politicians who are giving great speeches about “too […]
Suddenly the word is all over the place that the Congress is not going to extend unemployment benefits further! It seems that the economy is booming (for Wall Street, top corporate executives, and Washington legislators) so it doesn’t feel like there is a need to keep carrying these people. Is the economy booming? Michael Moore’s […]
OK. Maybe just a Barnum world — P.T. Barnum, that is. This legendary promoter of famous hoaxes comes to mind once again as I watch the various congressional hearings related to the financial crisis, or read of the testimony from those hearings. Why? Because the most famous thing he probably never said — “There’s a […]
Recently, the U.S. Treasury Department delayed publication of its semi-annual report on currency. The three-month rollback was intended to give China an opportunity to demonstrate progress on adjusting its undervalued currency, the Yuan. This grace period will likely prove fruitless, noting Beijing’s subsequent intrasigence on the issue. Because Beijing is unwilling to make an effort, […]
When you think about building a new mass transit system, or funding (and cuts) top operate bus and rail lines you tend to think about the construction, manufacturing, operating and maintenance jobs created (or cut). That’s a lot of jobs, but those jobs are almost beside the point. Transit is part of the infrastructure that […]
Today is the big day: thousands of people will march on Wall Street this afternoon to protest big bank abuses. After watching Wall Street stack the economic deck against, well, just about everybody, it’s time for reform. Big Banks secured the most generous bailout in history back in 2008, and today they’re back to business […]