-
Sponsored Links
Follow Us!
Author Archives: Chris
Gene Sperling in as Director of the NEC
It’s official – Obama has replaced Larry Summers with Gene Sperling as Director of the National Economic Council. Sperling served in the same position under Clinton from 1996 to 2000, where he got plenty of experience dealing with a Republican congress. In my personal opinion, this is great. The Director of the NEC is the top Economic advisory position to the President, and it’s responsible for interpreting all the information coming from elsewhere in the administration. Larry Summers may be a genius, but he’s not known as the diplomatic type – one had to wonder whether the President was hearing opinions from people that Summers disagreed with. When Sperling was head of the NEC under Clinton, he could filter people … More >>
Tagged barack obama, economics, economy
Leave a comment
How the New York State Democratic Party Actually Works…
In honor of Primary Day (don’t forget to vote!), the MYD media team took a crack at putting together an infographic to explain how the various Democratic party positions work.
Tagged democratic party
5 Comments
What’s Wrong With the Banking Industry
It’s pretty simple: Desired outcomes for consumers don’t align with profit incentives. In other words – banks don’t want you to make good decisions for your own financial health. They’d rather see you miss a credit card payment, overestimate your balance – and – as evidenced below, overdraft your account. Why? Because they make money when you screw up. I got this message on my TD Bank account a week ago… Looks like a pretty cool program right? It’s a little hard to read on the image, but the text says: Keep Your Debit Card Working When You Need it Most A new regulation that takes effect soon could change the way your debit card transactions are approved or declined – … More >>
Act NOW On The Shareholder Protection Act of 2010
The House is debating the bill right now… exercise your rights as a citizen in real time! Watch live, and email your congressman with the form letter below: YOUR NAME YOUR ADDRESS YOUR PHONE NUMBER Dear Congressman ________, I live in your district and support H.R. 4790, The Shareholder Protection Act of 2010. The recent Supreme Court ruling in the “Citizens United” case protects corporations as an association of individual citizens with rights to participate in the political process. By that same token, this association of citizens, i.e. corporate shareholders, has the right to determine how their corporation participates, and that means voting to determine how corporate money is spent or donated. Under the law, corporate shareholders already have oversight … More >>
The Disaster in the Gulf May Only be the Beginning…
We have yet to calculate the full extent of the damage in the gulf, but it’s looking like it may be the worst environmental disaster ever. Unfortunately, I’m afraid this is only the beginning… A couple of years ago, I read a book called The Wrecking Crew by Wall Street Journal columnist Thomas Frank (also the author of the great book, What’s the Matter with Kansas). He gets deep on the how the Bush Administration systematically broke down and sold off large portions of our government’s functions to the private sector. I can’t totally do it justice – you gotta read the book – but the gist of it is that conservatives don’t really believe that government should do much of anything. Ever since … More >>
Tagged administrative law, Bush, Federal Government, george w bush, obama, oil, oil industry, oil spill, Reagan Revolution, regulation, Thomas Frank
Leave a comment
Nay On Brown-Kaufmann – A Vote For Wall Street Or Sound Policy?
I strongly disagree with Mike’s contention that Democrats who voted for Wall Street sold out by voting down the Brown–Kauffman amendment. I understand the frustration with a political system that seems beholden to special interest groups, especially those from Wall Street. However, I believe that voting down this amendment was a sound policy decision, not an act of fealty to the financial sector We need financial reform, but we need reform that is substantive and on point, not amendments aimed at scoring political points. Spinning off swap desks, auditing the Fed, capping the size of banks – these are good rallying cries for the populist crowd, but they don’t actually address the problems in our system. Our focus should be … More >>
Tagged Brown-Kaufman amendment, financial crisis, financial services reform, senate, too big too fail
Leave a comment
