“Where’s Obama?” It’s the unavoidable question that is leaving Obama’s constituency largely dumbfounded – a question that has two answers and dramatic implications for our future. “Where’s Obama?” Answer #1: When it comes to fighting for fiscal priorities, he’s nowhere. On Tuesday, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan proposed to dramatically shrink the welfare state, …
An Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood, Texas, allegedly kills 13 of his service mates. A Pakistani immigrant tries to set off a car bomb in Times Square. An American convert to Islam murders a military recruiter in Arkansas. Each reportedly subscribed to a radical strain of Islam that, they believed, directed them to defend their …
Continue reading “Burying our heads in the sand will encourage new attacks”
Senate Republicans proposed a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution today which, if ratified, would make recessions worse, violate basic principles of democratic rule, and set up a dramatic clash between the goal of capping annual spending and public support for major domestic programs. Taking effect five years after ratification, the amendment would require …
Continue reading “Balanced Budget Bullies Disrespect Democracy”
Pity the progressive deficit hawks. They should be the most tortured souls in Washington. The progressive case for deficit reduction is clear. The higher the deficits, the likelier that we’ll face an economic crisis that will force precipitous budget cutting, putting in jeopardy all federal programs on which tens of millions of middle- and low-income …
Continue reading “New Headaches for Progressive Deficit Hawks”
We don’t know whether this “Arab Spring” of protests for freedom and democracy will spread further across the Middle East and northern Africa, or whether the tyrants of Tripoli, Tehran, Riyadh, and other capitals will snuff it out. We do know, however, that we should finally retire the notion of Arab “exceptionalism,” the idea that, …
Continue reading “Seeding Democracy: The Best Return on Foreign Aid”
The nation’s Social Security debate has a certain stale, mindless and ultimately destructive predictability to it. When syndicated columnist Robert J. Samuelson suggested this week that many of its benefits amount to “middle class welfare,” the program’s fervent supporters immediately sprung into action. The Center for Economic and Policy Research blasted Samuelson as “inaccurate” and …
Continue reading “Off Limits: Social Security Debate Shuts Down”
Not even the most ardent supporters of public employees can deny the numbers. A fifth of states’ general spending goes for salaries and benefits. So as states face another round of huge budget deficits, you can’t blame policymakers of either party for targeting state employees for at least some savings. But the argument by Republican …
Continue reading “Collective Bargaining: A Case for Preserving It”