Ohio McDonald's gives voting advice in paychecks

In this article, Julie Carr Smyth reports about a handful of McDonald's employees that received handbills in their paychecks suggesting they vote for Republican candidates. "If the right people are elected we will be able to continue with raises and benefits at or above our present levels," the insert said. "If others are elected we will not." Because this act violates Ohio election laws, this incident has been the source of much discussion. Many have said that the insert was clearly meant to intimidate the voters at the risk of their jobs, raises, and benefits and it is illegal to influence the opinions of voters, especially with the voting date only 4 days away. Canton franchisee Paul Siegfried has publicly apologized and said that it was not his intention to offend anyone. This mistake on the part of Siegfried is a good example of a violation of a social regulation. He crossed the line that separates what is acceptable when it comes to voting and freedom of choice.

-Victoire Iradukunda

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39918181/ns/politics/

Solar Power Projects Face Potential Hurdles

The United States is finally starting to develop its first large-scale solar energy plants, beginning with the $2 billion Ivanpah project. This plant is the first of nine solar farms slated to begin construction before the end of the year. These projects have been made possible by billions of dollars in federal grants and loan guarantees, and will generate enough electricity to power three million homes.

The problem is that these grants and loan guarantees expire in about a year. With the midterm elections and a round of spending cuts so close, energy experts are worried that these projects will gain momentum, and then without more government incentives the solar energy trend will taper off again.

This situation demonstrates that while tools of government action, like grants and loan guarantees, are effective in starting projects, there needs to be continuity in their efforts or the projects will eventually be abandoned. We can only hope that the "green revolution" among American citizens will cause grassroots support for these projects that draws government attention.

-Stephanie Doctrow

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/business/energy-environment/29solar.html?ref=us

As College Fees Climb, Aid Does Too

According to College Boards annual reports the average in-state student pays $16,140 per year for tuition and room and board at a public university. Looking at the numbers in this article tuition prices have raised for every type of university, from community colleges to private universities. The good news is that financial aid is rapidly increasing to keep up with this increase in tuition. In 2009-2010 students got $28 billion in Pell grants, which is $10 billion more than last year. There has to be something done to keep tuition prices from rising every year because it’s just not feasible that the government is going to be able to continue having an increase of $10 billion every year for Pell grants.
Matt Rister
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/education/28college.html?_r=1&ref=us

Texting Bans Add Risk to Roads

This article discusses how bans against texting while driving may actually increase road crashes instead of reducing them. In states where this ban has been imposed, research found that people were lowering their phones while texting to evade police, thus taking their eyes further from the road for a longer time. This is a type of social regulation as we discussed in class since it puts a restriction on a private action that threatens safety. The characteristics of this regulation are that it’s the responsiblility of citizens not to text and drive, police officers are used to enforce this in some states where the ban has taken place, and for those who deviate from the rule a ticket is issued and a fine imposed.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2010-09-28-1Atextingbans28_ST_N.htm

-Kelly Neary

College tuition costs climbing again this fall

College tuition costs shot up again this fall, and students and their families are leaning more on the federal government to make higher education more affordable in tough economic times, according to two reports issued Thursday. When adjusted for inflation, the tuition increases this fall amount to 6.6 percent at public four-year colleges and 3.2 percent at private ones, according to the College Board. Many students are finding relief in expanded federal aid, including tax credits, veterans' benefits and a record expansion of the Pell Grant program for low-income students. In 2009-10, 7.7 million students received $28.2 billion in Pell Grants - an increase of almost $10 billion from the year before, according to a companion College Board report, "Trends in Student Aid."

For now, government subsidies and aid from schools are helping hold down net tuition and fees — the actual cost students pay when grants and tax breaks are factored in. Experts’ caution that federal aid can only do so much and that even higher tuition is likely unless state appropriations rebound or colleges drastically cut costs.

Posted by: Ziying Yuan

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303443904575578651983962836.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

End the War on Pot

Nicholas Kristof from the New York Times writes a great op-ed on the need to legalize pot.  This is an issue that is getting the most notice at the state level with California being the leader because their vote coming up soon on whether or not to make it more legal.  Kristof lists some great evidence for legalizing pot with stats like California spending more on incarceration than schooling and the 18 billion dollars saved in taxes from legalizing. Also, minorities are disproportionally arrested for having pot.  Other countries like Portugal who have legalized all drugs have not had the problems like exorbitant drug use as predicted.  Legalize it!

Posted by: Mark Brady

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/opinion/28kristof.html?src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB

Economy for Sale

Recently Mark J. Kamstra of York University and Robert J. Shiller of Yale proposed a new way of investing in the US government. This new method is essentially like buying a share of the economy. This would give the government another way to gain capital and stimulate growth. This uses a sort of voucher policy tool. The interesting aspect of this is (not mentioned in the article) is that if this sort of investment into the economy starts picking up, then more pressure will likely be put on the government to start thoroughly auditing it's institutions and making the information public. This type of transparency would greatly improved the efficiency and overall legitimacy of the program and the US government.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/buying-shares-in-the-u-s-economy/?ref=business

One week until elections

With one week until elections it is still unclear in many Senate and House races who will win. The results of these races will change the policy process in Congress. It seems like the Democrats will lose control of the House and possibly the Senate. If Republicans take control it will force President Obama to work more closely with them. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and traditionally more gets done when there's a mix of a Democrat and Republican control in the executive and legislative branches. So by next week we will know whose in and whose out. Lets hope these new leaders can get the changes needed in place.

Max Monahan

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39854465/ns/politics-decision_2010

New rule: No more up-front fees for debt fixers

A new policy states that companies who help people lower their debt cannot charge upfront fees. These companies now have to show customers how much money they can save and how much they will spend by using the company, then, the customer decides whether or not to move forward. If they decided they do not want to use the company they owe no fees.
This is related to politics because it is a policy that was implemented because citizens felt used by these companies that promise to lower customer's debt. This is because many people end up paying more money for using the services. It is also related to politics because the national debt is on the public agenda, and these services help lower debt.

-Elizabeth Woollen

http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/27/pf/debt_settlement_fee_rule/index.htm?cnn=yes&hpt=t2

Daniels' PAC puts $1M in House races

Elections are coming up and the competition has increased greatly. This year especially is crucial for each political party. Whichever party takes control of the House, gets the right to construct new legislative plans which will affect outcomes for the next decade. Mitch Daniels' political party has spent nearly $1 million dollars in order to deliver his message and action plans to the public. All of the parties combined are said to spend over $18 million. These numbers seem to be quite steep considering America is in an economic crisis. Shouldn't these candidates be more frugal with their campaign budget and in turn use the money to implement their ideas?
-Mallory Lyon
http://www.indystar.com/article/20101027/NEWS05/10270344/Daniels-PAC-is-piling-nearly-1M-into-House-races

War On Drugs

In 2009, over 700,000 people were arrested for possesion of marijuana not including the people who were arrested for intent to sell or buyers. "The War on Drugs" is usually seen as the DEA locking up all the big time dealers, but the money being spent is suggesting something different. Many people feel as if the $40 billion being spent every year is a waste because the main targets are the people who have possesion, not the distributors. This failure has caused California to propose Proposition 19. Proposition 19 will make marijuana available to those 21 and older and it will hopefully descend "the war on drugs" in America. America's spending should be re-evaluated to better enforce their ideas and the policies being represented.


http://www.change.org/petitions/view/support_proposition_19_regulate_tax_and_control_marijuana_in_california

U.S. Nuclear Society in need of loan guarantee

The US Department of Energy says loan guarantee changes are needed if they are to increase the number of nuclear power plants in the country. They help the environment but are rather costly. The government gave an offer of $7.5 billion loan guarantee with an attached fee of $880 million. This shows the government knows this program needs revisions. There has been a halt in developing new nuclear power plants because additional government support is needed. In this example the US needs a loan guarantee instead of a loan because of the expensive price tag. This change in the program because of loan guarantees helps illustrate the indirect form of government helps implement public policy. The US Department of Energy was even brought up in class as an example of loan guarantees even though it is in need of reform.

http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Nuclear/8107310

Michelle Watkins

Reduction in Fuel Emissions

The federal government set new standards for big vehicles made in 2014 to use less fuel. It will require, for example, 20% less fuel consumption by off-road tractor-trailers by 2018. The Obama Administration used the tool of action, social regulation, to form this policy. It should be responded to with a high level of legitimacy from the over-all public, but not to the businesses that will have to use more resources to reduce the emissions of the tractor-trailers they produce. The effectiveness of this plan will probably be mediocre because if will reduce jobs and it will not have a big enough impact on lessening fuel consumption.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/business/26trucks.html?ref=us.
Eric Cunningham

Public Housing Repairs Can’t Keep Pace With Need

Most of the public housing in American need repairs on a yearly basis for basic up keeping but the federal government does not have the funds for these basic repairs according to this New York Times article. This article focuses on the public housing in New York and New Jersey and many tenants complain about drainage holes and paint chipping and both can lead to serious health hazards. The drainage holes lead to mold growing and insects and rodents invading the public housing and there is a wait of up to 3 years to get any of these repairs done, some of the time a nonprofit organization will have volunteers help with the repairs. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has drafted a proposal where the the public housing agencies to use their land and houses as equity and get loans from the private sector and money from Congress will repay the debt over time. This is a great example of the 3 legged tool analogy of how the 3 sectors (private, public and nonprofit) all work together. The government bureaucrat( HUD) is using the nonprofits to help with their public housing needs but is also is relying on the private sector for the funding.


-Hannah Shearer

www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/nyregion/25repairs.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us

China to raise retail prices of gasoline, diesel

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, said that the retail prices of gasoline increase by 230 yuan ($34.5) and that of diesel by 220 yuan from Tuesday. After the change, the price of gasoline will be 7420 per ton and the price of diesel will be 6680 per ton. The Chinese government allows NDRC to adjust the price when the price of international crude oil changed over 4 percent in 22 straight working days.

For-Profit Colleges Oppose Tighter Regulation in U.S.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/us/25iht-educSide25.html?_r=1&ref=us

After talk with school supporters, governments ability to further regulate for-profit colleges has been put on hold. Not profit colleges have been misleading causing many student into dept because the school may not have properly trained students for work. Florida's attorney general announced an investigation into Kaplan and for other institutions. The new rules are meant to make these schools responsible for to protect students from abuse.

Poster by: Matthew Abelman

Companies Pump Up Pension Plans

Several, large, American corporations have started allocating chunks of annual revenue to enhance their employee's pension plans. A big incentive for this is the public action tool of tax expenditures. Apart from safe-guarding human capital from future adversity, these fiscal boosts are tax deductible. Thereby incentivizing companies to cut into their profit margins and redistribute the money elsewhere. This tool is particularly successful in partially lifting the United States out of the recession, because it efficient in allowing employees greater fiscal security, equitable, since it applies to all employees within the company, effective in promoting positive corporate culture, manageable for companies, as a portion of the revenue is simply extracted and redistributed, and a legitimate step towards the economic betterment of the nation.

Scammers Target Desperate Job Seekers

With the current unemployment rate being so high, a lot of jobless people are looking various places for some sort of income. This is quite fortunate for people who run scams that promise get rich quick schemes. This, in turn, is even worse for those who are already unemployed. One must wonder if anything will be done to prevent these, obvious to some but not enough, rip offs.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-job-scams-20101024,0,2286668.story

Posted by: Sam Livingston

Obama likely to focus on deficit in next 2 years

    WASHINGTON – Preparing for political life after a bruising election, President Barack Obama will put greater emphasis on fiscal discipline, a nod to a nation sick of spending and to a Congress poised to become more Republican, conservative and determined to stop him. He will enforce his health care and financial overhauls and try to protect them from repeal should Republicans win control of Capitol Hill. He will use executive authority when blocked by Congress, and steel for scrutiny and investigations if the GOP is in charge.
     After having seen this news about President Obama, I strongly believe this policy will partly bring some alteration to boost the development of the American  economy, safety, health and education. Although we can not say for sure that this statement can completely solve the problem, but at least Obama are getting actions.  There are mentioned in the second half of my news. My view is that this policy can truly ease the U.S. deficit, and debt reduction to increase employment opportunities for the people.
      
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101024/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_how_will_he_govern;_ylt=AnxQm2xeyESI58nTQCayQgGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNyYXQ2cDJzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMDI0L3VzX29iYW1hX2hvd193aWxsX2hlX2dvdmVybgRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29iYW1hbGlrZWx5dA--

In Losing the Midterms, There May Be Winning....get some.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/weekinreview/24baker.html?_r=1&hp

Political strategists are making the argument that President Obama's chances for re-election will go up if Republicans do in fact take over both the House and Senate, with the latter still plausible. The argument is that with a Republican controlled Congress, Obama could seem as "the good guy" and be able to get his support back from the public. Bill Clinton was effective when Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House, as well as Truman when he had to compromise with the Do-Nothing Congress in the '40s. It will be interesting to see how the next two years play out and if President Obama can do enough to make his case for a re-election.

Public Housing Repairs Can’t Keep Pace With Demand

A major issue currently presenting itself in places like New York City and the rest of the country is the condition of public housing. Public housing is falling apart and federal money has been unable to keep up with repair needs of aging buildings. Agencies sold or torn down decrepit properties over the last 15 years, as 150,000 public housing units have been lost. David Lipsetz, a senior adviser in the Office of Public and Indian Housing with the Department of Housing and Urban Development believes that it will take over $32 billion to rehabilitate the nation's buildings. In response, a bill has been drafted that would allow housing agencies to borrow public and private money while using their land and buildings as equity in order to finance repairs. There is no doubting that this is a major issue as it is clear that the quality of living in many cities around the country is declining as a result of the economic climate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/nyregion/25repairs.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&hp

Mandatory Health Insurance

This article discusses how Obama is making health insurance mandatory for every American. He stated that employers would have to share in the cost and that there would be a waiver for those who could not afford insurance. This relates to the legitimacy discussion we had in class, in that this type of government could be rejected as illegitimate. This also relates to the common themes about legitimation, especially money and knowledge are key influences. Officials think that this reform of the healthcare system will ultimately lower our federal deficit.

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/should-health-insurance-be-mandatory/?scp=1&sq=required%20health%20insurance&st=Search

-Kelly Neary

Outside of the spill, but still people want to be paid

The BP oil spill while physically only reaching Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; have had adverse economic effects throughout the nation with many claims having be failed against BP from companies and people in all 50 U.S. states, looking for financial compensation for loses caused by the spill. This will soon become a large public issue, with the multiple parties needing to get involved including the U.S. government, to step in to help allocate these compensations. Because BP cannot physically provide this fiscal compensation for even a small percentage of the claims, a standard and or system needs to be put in place in order to provide the means of determining what percent of both the claims and the amount being asked for, are paid.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/business/24claim.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=us

Ben Rains

One-Note Tax Debate

This article discusses how Obama’s budget calls for making tax credits permanent along with the tax cuts on the middle class. These laws would ensure that people kept more of their earned income credits, which would help ensure that employed people do not fall below the poverty line. This relates to the tools of government lecture from class, specifically the tax expenditures since there is favored tax treatment for the middle class. It also relates to the two philosophies we discussed; those in favor of the classical liberalism approach would argue that they deserve to reap the benefits of their labors, and that the government doesn’t have a right to take their money. However those in favor of civic republicanism would argue the responsibility of philanthropy, and that we should be sharing our money more widely.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/opinion/21thu2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=earned%20income%20tax%20credit&st=cse

-Kelly Neary

Will LED light bulbs be the "new hot topic?"

Jet engines are the inspiration for GE's new energy-saving light bulb. This stunning new technology was derived from the amount of over heating jet engines that do not have the proper cooling techniques similar to LED bulbs. LED bulbs are not as good as engines when it comes to staying cool, so scientists inserted a few jet engine cooling mechanisms inside LED bulbs. The outcome of this is a lightweight 1,500 lumen LED bulb that produces as much light as a 100 watt halogen bulb while using a third of the energy. GE's 1,500 lumen bulb is actually half the size and weight of the 600 lumen LED bulb available today. This new invention proves that technology is becoming more reliable and it is also taking away the number of jobs available to citizens.


http://www.fastcompany.com/1696953/ge-debuts-jet-engine-inspired-led-bulbs

Health Care Overhaul Depends on States’ Insurance Exchanges

Health Care policy enacted by President Obama and the Congressional Budget Office predict that 24 million people will be insured by 2019. In order to successfully insure the American people, "insurance exchanges" that act as a shopping entities that organize a variety of plans suitable to different families are necessary. States such as Utah and Massachusetts have been the first to act upon such insurance exchanges. In Utah, employees of small businesses can go to a state Web site and sign up for insurance over the Internet, searching for the the plan that is most suitable. In Massachusetts, people typically file paper applications for subsidized coverage offered by one of five state-approved insurers. Massachusetts has had a government-run "insurance marketplace" for four years. The states along with federal government are working toward similar systems so consumers and employers can make knowledgeable and realistic comparisons. The White House has provided $49 million to states to help them set up exchanges.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/health/policy/24exchange.html?_r=1&ref=us&pagewanted=print

No surprise: Democrats and Republicans differ on election predictions

The 2010 mid-term elections come down to campaign basics in the final nine days until vote counting begins. For now, the two parties agree that Republicans will win more seats than they currently hold, but they differ sharply on how many and whether a major power shift will occur.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele told NBC's "Meet the Press" program that an unprecedented GOP wave would win control of both chambers as well as state legislatures in a broad condemnation of President Barack Obama and Democratic policies.

The Delaware race is a prime example. Christine O'Donnell's primary win over nine-term Republican Rep. Mike Castle made a Senate seat once considered likely Republican now an apparent Democratic victory for previously little-known Chris Coons.

O'Donnell's campaign became a national joke over a long-ago comment that she once "dabbled in witchcraft" and other missteps. It also exposed a rift within the political right between the mainstream Republican establishment, which criticized O'Donnell and other Tea Party backed candidates, and the more conservative Tea Party movement.

Jobless topping 420,000

Since the start of October people filing for unemployment benefits rose 13,000 from October 2 until October 9. Since last November the level of unemployment claims has hovered around 400,000 (plus or minus). This provides evidence according to a PNC analyst that the job market is still hobbled and needs help. "Claims are going in the wrong direction again, but it's a one week move after several weeks of improvements" he said. Smoother sailing should be ahead as the last of the temporary workers hired by the Census work through the system. The U.S. has begun using the tools of government (employment services, ect) to help implement aid for those claiming for unemployment benefits

Hayden Wolf

http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/14/news/economy/jobless_claims/index.htm