All Articles of 2009

Charity Is an Insult to Small Business

Kate Schuler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:12:00 -0500

Goldman Sachs, the most profitable firm on Wall Street, announced last week that it will set aside $500 million for "10,000 Small Businesses," a charity co-sponsored by famed investor Warren Buffett and devoted to helping small American businesses survive the economic crisis.

While Goldman may see this as a generous move, its charity is an offense to struggling entrepreneurs and a symbol of failed government policy.

Not Serious -- This Time

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:20:00 -0500

Is the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership, which is currently proposing to seek United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 border, about to shake up the Israeli-Palestinian paralysis in a game-changing way? The answer for now would appear to be "no." Both U.S. and EU officials were quick to distance themselves from the idea and label it premature. For their part, the Israelis took umbrage at this hint of Palestinian unilateralism. In case anyone

America's House of Lords Debates Health Care

Kate Schuler — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:35:00 -0500

The health care debate has been like a tennis match, bouncing from the Senate to the House and back again. Now it's back in the Senate, as the United States tries to end its status as the only advanced economy without universal health care for its people. One hundred Senators from 50 states will decide what lives and what dies, health-care wise.

With so much at stake, it makes sense to ask: who are these 100 Senators? Might that give us a clue as to what to expect from America's upper chamber?

Is It Time for Malpractice Reform?

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:12:00 -0500

Year after year, Republicans try to pass legislation that would limit medical malpractice awards. Fix the tort system, they argue, and we fix rising health-care costs. And year after year, Democrats resist placing arbitrary caps on awards to people who may have suffered from an egregious medical error. The fight plays out like a predictable old Western -- good guys versus bad guys. Depending on your politics, the villain is either the greedy doctor or the greedy trial lawyer.

Health reform invites a fresh look at malpractice. The Republican tort reform

Engaging Cuba on Human Rights

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:19:00 -0500

Normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba was widely seen as exactly the kind of high-value, low-hanging fruit that would be ideal for a president elected under the banner of "change." But a scathing new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," will make lifting sanctions against the Castro regime -- on travel, remittances, trade -- more difficult for President Obama.

The Right Role For Sarah Palin

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:33:00 -0500

When Sarah Palin resigned on July 4th weekend, it certainly looked as though she had decided to abandon politics, or at the very least given up on running for president in 2012. And despite the saturation coverage of Palin's Going Rogue book tour, it's not obvious that she hasn't. As Republican political strategist Patrick Ruffini has observed, a Palin presidential run would have profited from releasing the book a year from now, maximizing media exposure in the crucial year before Iowa. Granted, John McCain also capitalized on his political

How Copenhagen Died During Barack Obama's Asia Trip

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:21:00 -0500

He did it! During his trip to China, President Barack Obama mentioned human rights and the importance of free thinking, and China didn't dump its massive pile of U.S. dollars. America must still have some sway left in the world.

Perhaps Obama is now on a roll and will score a last-minute deal with China on climate change reduction targets or revaluing the Chinese yuan to get the global economic order rebalanced. Not.

End the GOP's Filibuster Folly

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:49:00 -0500

A year ago, Barack Obama was elected to bring change to America. But his efforts to transform Washington are being stymied by one of the capital's oldest of political traditions: the Senate filibuster. Ten months into Obama's presidency, Democrats have passed just one major piece of legislation, February's stimulus package.

Colleges Need a Lemon Law

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:24:00 -0500

The College Board reports tuition is up 9 percent this year in inflation-adjusted terms, despite declining prices throughout the economy and stagnant median family income. Parents want to know why the rise and why college costs so much in the first place.

The answer, in a word, is demand. Until we channel the demand for higher education in a more rational direction, tuition will continue to outpace inflation, grant aid, and family income.

The Assassination of Greg Craig

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:50:00 -0500

Gregory Craig, White House counsel to President Obama and national security advisor to Obama during the presidential campaign, resigned his post this past Friday. But when rumors broke Thursday of his imminent departure, Craig had not written his farewell note and may not have planned to leave -- yet.

Where Stupak Leads

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:24:00 -0500

Last week, the debate over the Democratic health reform effort took a brief and unexpected philosophical turn. Bart Stupak, a pro-labor Catholic Democrat representing Michigan's 1st congressional district, managed to pass the Stupak amendment as part of the House health bill. Sensing that an insurrection among anti-abortion Democrats threatened to derail the legislation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who ardently opposes restrictions on abortion, allowed Stupak to offer the amendment, and it passed by a wide margin thanks to Republican votes.

China's Upper Hand

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:48:00 -0500

To hear the Obama administration tell it, the problem with American foreign policy towards China is that we haven't been paying enough attention. In the weeks and months leading up to the President's arrival in Beijing, a bevy of administration officials implied that the Bush administration had become so preoccupied with the Middle East that it gave China free reign to expand its influence in Asia. Now, by sending Obama to the continent in his first year -- after sending Hillary Clinton there on her first foreign trip-Team Obama is trying to signal

Obama's Townhall in Shanghai

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:39:00 -0500

This afternoon in Shanghai, U.S. President Barack Obama held a townhall-style meeting with university students. It was an event that his staff had worked hard to include on his China trip itinerary. After a brief speech extolling the importance of core values to the success of the United States as a nation and Americans as individuals, Obama took questions from the audience and online.

Think Again: Green China

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:42:00 -0500

Two years ago, the New York Times reported that China was "choking on growth," with rapid economic development ravaging its environment. But in a recent column, the Times' Tom Friedman declared that "Red China [has] decided to become Green China," writing that the developing country now outpaces the United States in its pursuit of alternative energy.

China Confronts Global Warming Dilemma

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:27:00 -0500

China awoke to climate change with a storm. It was late January 2008, a time when people across the country were busily gathering recipes, stocking fireworks, and preparing to welcome relatives to celebrate the Lunar New Year. But suddenly, severe ice storms brought much of the nation to a standstill. For two weeks, fierce winds, sleet, and snow downed power lines, shuttered businesses, and razed more than 200,000 homes across southern and central China.

Havel's Velvet Anniversary

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:25:00 -0500

Twenty years ago this month, protestors massed for ten days in Prague's Wenceslas Square, demanding an end to communist rule, and chanting: "Havel, na Hrad!" (Havel to the Castle.)

Obama Can't Count on Karzai

Kate Schuler — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:48:00 -0500

Before President Obama releases his strategy for Afghanistan, he should think twice about fully re-embracing Hamid Karzai.

By rigging the first round of elections with more than a million fraudulent votes, rigging the second round of elections with more than 500 'ghost' polling places to generate another flood of fake ballots and refusing to reform the electoral system, incumbent President Hamid Karzai abused his office to steal a democratic election from the people of Afghanistan.

A Better Way to Regulate Financial Markets: Asset Based Reserve Requirements

Kate Schuler — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:38:00 -0500

There is widespread recognition that the financial crisis, which triggered the Great Recession, was significantly due to financial excess, particularly in real estate lending. Now, policymakers are looking to reform the financial system in hope of avoiding future crises. But like the drunk who looks for his lost keys under the lamppost because that is where the light is, policymakers remain fixated on capital standards because that is what is already in place.

Be More Like Medicare

Kate Schuler — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:27:00 -0500

The Medicare payment reforms in both the House and the Senate bills will help to slow the growth of costs by rewarding value over volume, as will the proposed Medicare commission and the tax on insurers who offer high-cost health plans, which are in the Senate Finance Committee bill. And both House and Senate legislation also include “innovation centers” which will allow us to test different payment models and health care processes.

Even with these steps, the reform bills could be strengthened. Specifically:

Three Anniversaries

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:32:00 -0500

Three calendar dates. Three anniversaries. Three eras in the history of the United States and the world.

Policymakers Beware: Falling $US and Undervalued Yuan a Recipe for Disaster

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:31:00 -0500

Over the past several weeks, the US dollar's depreciation against the euro and yen has grabbed global attention.

In a normal world, a weaker US dollar would be welcome, as it would help the US come to grips with its unsustainable trade deficit.

But because China links its yuan to the US dollar at an undervalued parity, the US dollar's depreciation risks major global economic damage, complicating the recovery from the worldwide recession.

Caijing Editor Resigns

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:41:00 -0500

The editor of China's most influential financial muckraking journal, Hu Shuli, has resigned. For several months, Hu had been under pressure to tone down the aggressive, investigative tone of the magazine from Caijing's business partners, who in turn had come under pressure from government officials. Hu will assume a new post as dean of Sun Yat-sen University's School of Communication and Design, and is expected to launch another editorial venture, likely involving several of her top editorial staffers, who quit alongside their editor-in-chief.

China's Race Problem

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:44:00 -0500

Is racism universal? Since the end of the colonial era, the rising powers of the developing world have been quick to condemn Western racism. Ethnocentrism and color prejudice can be found in virtually all human societies, going back centuries if not thousands of years.

Cold War Nostalgia

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:39:00 -0500

The global celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall aren't entirely about commemorating the rebirth of freedom or reliving those thrilling moments when a perverse and repressive system collapsed. Listen closely to the exalted commentary recounting the events of those historic days and you're also likely to hear the subtle intonations of regret and nostalgia.

Turn America into a Nation of Savers

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:26:00 -0500

In pursuit of an economic recovery, President Obama has argued that we must transition from an "era of borrow-and-spend to one where we save and invest." It is an appealing concept, especially as the disappearance of surplus assets and historic levels of debt helped transform a garden-variety business cycle recession into a historic collapse.

But how does the saving and investing square with high levels of government borrowing and spending to stimulate the economy, protect those thrown out of work, and prop up consumer demand?