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… Read More

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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.

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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… Read More

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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… Read More

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The Disaster in the Gulf May Only be the Beginning…

The Wrecking CrewWe 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… Read More

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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… Read More

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