Author Archives: Zac Townsend

Gay Marriage Good for the Budget

The Times’ Economix blog reported on an interesting study from The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. The study reports that legalizing gay Marriage in Rhode Island could bring the state an additional $1.2 million over a three year-period. That’s a pretty small sum, although they estimate that “Marriages of approximately 1,048 of Rhode Island’s same-sex couples would be recognized in the next three years.”

We can only assume that there would be… Read More

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Cuomo Begins Swinging Budget Axe

This past week, Governor Cuomo submitted his Executive Budget to the State Legislature, including the briefing book, five-year capital program and financing plan, five-year financial plan, economic and revenue outlook and all that actually appropriation bills. Although the budget may seem like an abstract thing, the budget is the place where most policy decisions are made and where policy objectives are implemented in concrete financial terms.

So what’s next? The Division of the… Read More

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“Don’t Be a Jerk” Campaign On Bike Etiquette

One of the great accomplishments of the Bloomberg administration, in my mind, has been the creation of bike lanes all over the city. Some estimates claim that bike ridership has nearly doubled in the last five years. However, the roads are still confusing for bikers, drivers and pedestrians. I often bike around the City on weekends, and despite the relative calm compared to weekdays, I’ve seen everything that Borough President Stringer notes:

“We’ve got seniors who think bike lanes are

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Inside Sarah Palin’s Inner Circle

Sarah Palin is clearly going to run for president:

“I am,” Sarah Palin told me … when I asked her if she was already weighing a run for president. “I’m engaged in the internal deliberations candidly, and having that discussion with my family, because my family is the most important consideration here.”  Palin went on to say that there weren’t meaningful differences in policy among the field of G.O.P. hopefuls “but that in fact there’s more to the presidency than

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Political Cartoon: “Negotiation” by Clay Bennett

(Cartoon by Clay Bennett, as seen here.)

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Youth Vote Should Come With Power

Courtney Martin, a fellow NYC young progressive, wrote an article earlier this week on the youth vote in The American Prospect. In it she suggests that “Instead of drawing inspiration from political candidates, young people must be motivated by the promise of a country that reflects our deeply held values:”

Chalk it up to my old age (I’m staring down 31 next month), but it seems to me that counting on candidates to provide incentives for voting is a

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