Archive
No Fixing Housing Woes Without Dealing with Jobs First
Our country has plenty of housing. It’s just in the wrong place. There are lots of houses in Detroit, East St. Louis and rural spots where jobs have left. Cheap. But who wants to settle there?
Times Square Bomber Popped a Bubble
Bubbles are built on illusions. We believed that our high-tech companies and, after that, our houses would continue to rise in value and then…pop! We believed that we could continue offshore oil drilling without environmental consequences and then…pop! And we believed that the drone program in Pakistan, which expanded in 2009 and has killed hundreds of civilians, would not generate any blowback and then…Faisal Shahzad.
Supremely Important: Genetically Engineered Crops
Fifteen years after farmers and agribusinesses began planting genetically engineered crops in our nation’s fields, we still know very little about their long-term environmental, economic, and social consequences.
Tough Budget Choices
As in recent years, military spending accounts for over half of the 2011 discretionary request: 58 percent. In January, President Barack Obama announced plans to freeze spending for many discretionary programs for three years to control the government’s spiraling debt. However, he exempted from this freeze “security-related” programs including the Pentagon, foreign aid, veterans’ programs, and homeland security.
Fragrances Can Really Stink
A loophole left by the 1973 Fair Packaging and Labeling Act means the FDA doesn’t require manufacturers to list all the ingredients in “fragrances” as is required for other cosmetics.
Angry about Arizona
Banks Put on Notice
The Senate has passed an amendment to the Wall Street reform bill to prevent lenders from earning money by deliberately steering homeowners to risky loans and mortgages they can’t afford.
American Power Act
In introducing the “American Power Act,” one would think that Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) would be mindful of the various public relations disasters the industries favored in their bill had suffered in recent weeks.
Baseball Boycott
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the nation’s only Latino senator, is calling on the Major League Baseball Players Association to boycott baseball’s 2011 all-star game in Phoenix.
CEOs Tip the Pay Scale
The CEO of TJ Max more than doubled his compensation to $14.8 million.
