Senate Passes Overhaul of Food Safety Regulations

The Senate just passed an overhaul of the nation's food safety system. The new legislation will give more power to the FDA and encourage government agencies to be on the lookout for unsafe foods before illness breaks out instead of just dealing with crises as they come along. The bill is unusual in that it has strong bipartisan support.

Direct government and social regulation approaches were the wisest tools of government to use in relation to food safety reform. Foodborne illnesses cause millions of deaths each year, which makes it an immediate problem; manufacturers should not be rewarded with grants for making changes, they should be punished for not meeting standards that shouldn't even be questioned. The passage of this new legislation shows that when used with the appropriate issues, direct government is an effective and valid tool for quick and successful results.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/health/policy/01food.html?_r=1&hp

- Stephanie Doctrow

For-profit colleges to face new regulations?

The federal government sees the need to improve the monitoring of for-profit schools after being accused of using deceptive tactics to lure students into taking on high debt for poor education. The rules include the ability to take action against schools engaging in deceptive advertising and marketing and eliminating federal aid to those programs with low paying jobs at graduation. Students enrolled in for profit colleges account for 26% of all student loans and 43% of loan defaulters. It is clear something needs to be done to control these schools before the problem gets worse. Banks, students, and the government are all unhappy. By using direct government and social regulation, these problems can be fixed. They must use a top-down approach because the goals are clearly defined and we will have an easier time assessing the effectiveness of these new regulations.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/29/nation/la-na-colleges-profit-20101029

Michelle Watkins

Obama warns of policy reversals without Democratic surge in polls

Obama spoke at a rally in Philadelphia with the intent of encouraging democrats to not only vote but also spread the word about voting. Obama warned that if democrats don’t go to the polls there will be repercussions: “we can fall short and all the progress we've made over the last couple of years can be rolled back.” Obama is speaking of healthcare and economic progress, both of which have been enacted through direct government which is a policy tool that republicans are historically less likely to use. Republicans, at least theoretically, are opposed to large bureaucracy which many people believe Obama has expanded. Obama’s speech was meant to persuade voters that republican’s policies will be detrimental to the nation.

Kate White

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-philadelphia-20101031,0,1426913.story