Oklahoma’s Biblical Irony

Oklahoma’s Biblical Irony

There’s an almost biblical irony to Oklahoma’s latest tornado disaster. Not a funny irony, but the grim, tragic kind so common to acts of God. Four months before this twister, five of Oklahoma’s seven members of Congress — including both of its...
Flying Over an Act of Monumental Stupidity

Flying Over an Act of Monumental Stupidity

I knew that Congress would come to its senses eventually, that it would realize that the ham-handed budget cuts ordered by the so-called “sequester” weren’t going to work, that some government functions were too important to be cut. And I was right,...
Austerity Will Leave Us Crying ’96 Tears’

Austerity Will Leave Us Crying ’96 Tears’

Aging baby boomers may remember a 1960s rock band that sported an all-time great name. That band — Question Mark and the Mysterians — may now have a worthy rival on the name front. Make way for Reinhart-Rogoff and the Austerians. Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and...
No Game-Changer

No Game-Changer

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama deftly nudged the national debate further away from the dominant austerity framework that brought us the misguided budget deal on New Year’s Day. He also brought much-needed attention to the critical jobs...