Articles > April 2010
April 2010
The Freeze and the Fire
President Obama has been rumored for weeks to be considering appeasements to the budget deficit critics.
The United States of Corporate America: From Democracy to Plutocracy
"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato, ancient Greek philosopher ...“The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.” Alex Carey, Australian social scientist “The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations.” Noam Chomsky, M.I.T. emeritus Professor of Linguistics On Tuesday, January 19 (2010), the Obama administration got a kick in the pants from the Massachusetts voters when they filled former Senator Ted Kennedy's seat by electing a conservative Republican candidate.
Obama Scores Points for Transparency
The Obama administration has scored high marks for curbing lobbyist influence and transparency, says a new report by a group of government watch dogs.According to the report jointly authored by Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters and US PIRG, "The cumulative effect of the administration's actions has been to adopt the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an administration to govern its own activities."The report covered seven areas, of which the administration earned "A's" or "B's" in six.First, the president changed the rules governing the ability of former administration officials to find jobs as lobbyists.
Obama Admin. Announces Investments in Green Manufacturing
As new government data show the economy shed an additional 85,000 jobs in December, President Obama this week announced funding for tax credits to promote new job growth in the clean energy manufacturing sector.Over 180 companies will receive about $2.3 billion in tax credits to directly create 17,000 jobs.
The Big Push: Final Passage of Health Reform
As Congress prepares its final push to pass health reform, a coalition of congressional progressives, the labor movement and health reform advocates are calling for some major tweaks to several key provisions in the finished product.
