Archive for May, 2010
May 8, 2010
The Big Obama Lesson Now Unfolding in London
Parties of the Left that choose to govern in the Center invariably pave the way for the return of government by the Right. There is an understandable fascination this weekend with all things politically British. From the editorial pages of the liberal press to the comedy program of Stephen Colbert, there seems to be a […] read more »
May 7, 2010
On the Regulation of Wall Street
Two major developments in late March and April 2010 One was the decision of the SEC to bring a civil law suit against Goldman Sachs. This re-opened the flood gates of criticism of morally (even legally) dubious Wall Street practices. Goldman Sachs stood accused of betting against some of its financial products, in particular against […] read more »
May 7, 2010
The Foreclosure Crisis
The foreclosure crisis is not going away any time soon. Data released in March 2010 showed the number of houses facing foreclosure rose in the 4th quarter of 2009, with households at least 90 days delinquent on their mortgages standing at 1.6 million. The number of foreclosures that quarter stood at 128,859, with an additional […] read more »
May 7, 2010
Chapter 9: May 2010 Update
The war in Afghanistan has largely vanished from public view in 2010. The death toll among US service personnel crossed the 1000 mark in late February, but went largely unreported. The rising cost in US lives reflected the new military push against the Taliban in Helmund province. US casualties in Iraq have now leveled out, […] read more »
May 6, 2010
Chapter 8: May 2010 Update
As ever, a mixed bag of progress and defeat on the issues traditionally grouped together as the Right’s social agenda The last minute wheeling and dealing on health care reform cost women heavily. Women were beneficiaries of moves to block elimination because of pre-existing conditions, restrictions on gender rating, improved access to Medicaid and SCHIP, […] read more »
May 5, 2010
Chapter 7: May 2010 Update
The big development in April 2010 came in Arizona with the signing of Senate Bill1070 into law, giving police officers (from August) the right to stop anyone when they had reasonable suspicion of their illegal presence in the country, and request papers. Defended from the right by Limbaugh (Obama would be defensive on papers, wouldn’t […] read more »
May 4, 2010
Chapter 6: After the Vote
Several key developments immediately followed the passing of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” on March 21 2010. Details of the Act became readily available on the website of the Kaiser Family Foundation, where you can also see a comparison between the various bills canvassed in 2009, and a comparison of the Act as […] read more »
May 3, 2010
Chapter 5: May 2010 Update
The depth of the recession reportedly created in 2010 the situation long projected for 2016 – the moment at which the Social Security Fund paid out more than it took in: a projected small shortfall for 2010 of $29 billion in a total inflow and outflow of $700 billion. The gap will be more than […] read more »
May 2, 2010
Chapter 4: May 2010 Update
The ‘progressive’ elements of the health care reform passed March 21, 2010 – especially the proposed taxation of so-called “Cadillac plans” and the payroll taxing of incomes over $250,000 – continued to attract rightwing criticism, in a year in which CEO pay in the 200 major U.S. companies continued to decline slightly. The median package […] read more »
May 1, 2010
Chapter 3: May 2010 Update
On the TARP front, Ben Bernanke (in a April 8 speech at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress) defended the way central bankers and public policy-makers had acted since September 2008, having learned the lessons of the Great Depression and so averted an even worse calamity. ‘In the current episode,” he […] read more »
