Washington, Are You Listening?

Washington, Are You Listening?

Patrick Pylvainen grew up in a small town outside Minneapolis. The Minnesotan college student has seven siblings, so he borrows money for his tuition — Stafford loans from the federal government, plus loans from private banks that require interest payments while...
Avoiding a 21st-Century Dust Bowl

Avoiding a 21st-Century Dust Bowl

Mother Nature found a cruel way to demonstrate the difference between political rhetoric and reality when this summer’s record-breaking drought coincided with the writing of a new U.S. Farm Bill. The House Agriculture Committee’s draft 2012 Farm Bill will...
How Romney Could Blow Iowa

How Romney Could Blow Iowa

Should Congress renew the wind-energy production tax credit that’s scheduled to expire at the end of 2012? It depends on whom you ask — a Democrat, a Republican, or another Republican. On August 1, Mitt Romney declared his strong opposition to this tax...
Steering Clear of the Iceberg Ahead

Steering Clear of the Iceberg Ahead

“Doomsday!” “Taxmageddon!” “Catastrophe!” Next year will begin with both a bang and a whimper unless Congress can escape its apparently hopeless deadlock. Unless our lawmakers get their act together, there will be the equivalent of...