Washington Post

Maya MacGuineas in Washington Post | 'McCain Camp Distorts Obama's Tax Policies, Exaggerates Their Adverse Impact'

Communications — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:56:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...Maya MacGuineas, a budget expert at the New America Foundation, said the McCain camp is trying to create an exaggerated impression of the number of people from lower- and middle-income groups who would be hurt by Obama's tax proposals. "It is legitimate to say that they can find a cleaning person or a waitress somewhere who will be affected, but the numbers should not be overwhelming," she said...LINK

Maya MacGuineas in Washington Post | "McCain Camp Distorts Obama's Tax Policies, Exaggerates Their Adverse Impact"

Communications — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:02:00 -0400

New America in the News:

. . . Maya MacGuineas, a budget expert at the New America Foundation, said the McCain camp is trying to create an exaggerated impression of the number of people from lower- and middle-income groups who would be hurt by Obama's tax proposals. "It is legitimate to say that they can find a cleaning person or a waitress somewhere who will be affected, but the numbers should not be overwhelming," she said. . .

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Wireless Future Program event with Larry Page in Washington Post | 'Google's Page Talks Wireless Policy'

Communications — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:52:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...[T]he soft-spoken and baby-faced Page met with key lawmakers including House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and policy makers at the Federal Communications Commission to push an idea to use empty television broadcast spectrum, called white spaces, for high-speed wireless connections by anyone, anywhere in the U.S. That spectrum will be freed up with the conversion of analog to digital television in February 2009. "There's a huge opportunity to make this stuff work," Page said in a discussion this morning hosted by the New American Foundation. LINK

"Confronting the Debt Culture" Conference in the Washington Post | "Let's Make It Cool to Save"

Communications — Sun, 11 May 2008 12:45:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

A coalition of consumer advocates, public policy groups and academics wants to attack our country's dependence on debt by creating a national campaign much like the one used to curb smoking. . .

The organizations leading this effort include the Institute for American Values, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, the New America Foundation, Public Agenda, Demos, the Consumer Federation of America, and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions. . .

The coalition is holding a conference in Washington tomorrow and Tuesday and has issued a report, "For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture."

There's no major revelation in the 68-page report. It merely lists the many ways debt has taken down so many people.

Foreclosures, which soared to more than 1 million in 2007, are predicted to affect about 2.5 million households this year. Consumer bankruptcy filings are also up significantly.

Of course, there is the mortgage meltdown. And now auto loan and credit card delinquencies are also rising.

But even before the subprime debacle, many people were struggling with debt. The Federal Reserve recently reported that consumer credit increased by $15.3 billion in March, to $2.56 trillion.

"Millions of families today feel the American dream slipping away," the coalition's report says. "They are losing hope of escaping from the cycle of over-indebtedness, holding a good-paying job, or moving up the income ladder."

So who's at fault for all this indebtedness?

Is it the consumers?

"Clearly, human frailty is part of the story," the report says. "Some people get over their heads in debt because of their own profligacy and irresponsible choices."

Are we are a nation of debtors because it's what's best for the overall economy?

To be sure, the ceaseless temptation to overspend is also part of the story, the coalition leaders say. And just blaming or railing against consumers won't fix our debt problem. We've got to look at the financial institutions, or anti-thrifts, as the coalition calls them. . .

"The anti-thrifts have worked relentlessly to reduce the traditional inhibitions and stigma associated with over-indebtedness," the report says. . .

Scapegoats in an Unwelcoming Land

adminn — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:20:00 -0500

Last Wednesday, a car-bomb blast on a crowded Beirut street killed Brig. Gen. Francois Hajj, one of Lebanon's top generals. The capital began buzzing with speculation that Hajj had been assassinated in retaliation for his role as the operational commander of the army's bloody three-month battle with an armed Islamic group last summer. In May, Fatah al-Islam -- a foreign jihadist group inspired by al-Qaeda, led by veterans of the struggle in Iraq and made up mostly of Saudis, Syrians and even some Lebanese -- ensconced itself on the outskirts of Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon,… more

Five Myths About Sick Old Europe

Articles — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 04:22:00 -0400

In the global economy, today's winners can become tomorrow's losers in a twinkling, and vice versa. Not so long ago, American pundits and economic analysts were snidely touting U.S. economic superiority to the "sick old man" of Europe. What a difference a few months can make. Today, with the stock market jittery over Iraq, the mortgage crisis, huge budget and trade deficits, and declining growth in productivity, investors are wringing their hands about the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, analysts point to the roaring economies of China and India as the only bright spots on the global horizon.

But what about… more