The Chicago Tribune

CRFB in Chicago Tribune | "Republicans' Fight Against Tax Realities"

Communications — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:08:00 -0400

New America in the News:

. . . [John McCain] rules out tax increases to cut the deficit, while vowing to get tough on spending. But the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that while his proposals would slow the growth of spending, total outlays would still rise faster than inflation. Result: a larger deficit. . .

Gregory Rodriguez in Chicago Tribune | 'Clinton's Hispanic Edge'

Communications — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:01:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Clinton's Hispanic edge over Obama (Chicago Tribune)

Currently, at least eight black U.S. congressmen represent districts that are heavily Latino, according to Gregory Rodriguez, author of "Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America."

Michael Calabrese in Chicago Tribune on Smart-Radio Technology

Communications — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:42:00 -0500

New America in the News:

...Arguments that smart radios cannot use white space without causing TV interference are off the mark, said Michael Calabrese, vice president of the New America Foundation. The U.S. military uses this technology, he said.

One segment of radio spectrum controlled by the Department of Defense for radar transmissions is open to sharing with unlicensed devices in much the same way proposed for TV white space, Calabrese said. This month, the UK approved a digital TV white-space sharing plan similar to the one at the FCC.

Calabrese dismisses concerns over problems raised in testing the Microsoft gadget.

Failure of a single prototype is no reason to worry, he said, because FCC engineers are gathering information, not approving products for operation. Field tests are scheduled for January, and advocates hope that final FCC rules for white-space devices will be adopted in the spring.

"Smart-radio technology to detect radio signals and avoid interference has been around for a while," said Calabrese. "Darpa [a research affiliate of the military] has an XG program that allows the military to set down anywhere in the world, sense activity on airwaves and make a mesh network out of empty spaces.

"Getting this approved for civilian use is more a political hurdle than a technical one." ...

For the complete article, please click here.

Chicago Tribune Quotes Michael Dannenberg on Education Department

Communications — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:00:00 -0400

New America in the News:

WASHINGTON -- In their most aggressive action yet in response to problems in the student loan industry, U.S. Department of Education officials said Monday that they have sent warning letters to more than 900 colleges and universities reminding them not to limit student choice in picking a lender.

The letter was sent to campuses where 80 percent or more of the federal student loan volume in 2006-2007 was handled by one lender.

Jeff Baker, policy liaison at the Education Department's federal student aid office, said a search of a student loan database showed that a vast majority of students at each of 921 campuses chose the same lender...

Baker said that campuses could face fines or be barred from participating in the federal lending program, known as FFELP, if they violate the department's student loan policies. That also includes a prohibition that bans college administrators from accepting gifts, payments or other perks in exchange for steering student borrowers to a particular company.

Some critics say the Education Department's involvement is overdue...

"This is a good step...but they should be far more aggressive in policing the relationships between lenders and colleges," said Michael Dannenberg, education policy director of the non-profit New America Foundation...

For the complete article, please visit The Chicago Tribune website.

Chicago Tribune Quotes Ghaith al-Omari on Gaza, Bush, Olmert

Communications — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:39:00 -0400

New America in the News:

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration promised direct financial aid Monday to a new West Bank-based Palestinian government that is amenable to peace with Israel, while offering indirect humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza following the territory's takeover by the militant Hamas organization...

Five years to the week after Bush articulated a goal of a "two-state solution" for Israelis and Palestinians, the hostile takeover of Gaza by Hamas, which the White House calls a terrorist organization and which rejects Israel's right to exist, poses the toughest obstacle yet.

After a tumultuous weekend in which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas moved to establish a new government in the West Bank, the White House acted to bolster Abbas, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announcing the U.S. will release up to $86 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority that had been frozen after Hamas gained control of the Palestinian parliament in elections last year...

Bush and [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert believe the tenuous Abbas-led government in the West Bank holds the best prospect for a peaceful resolution of a deepening Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the same time, experts said, the U.S. cannot simply abandon the Palestinians isolated within Hamas-run Gaza...

Ghaith al-Omari, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation who was a political adviser to Abbas, predicted that Hamas, faced now with the responsibility of governing Gaza, "will fail." At the same time, he said, "No Palestinian leader can sit back and watch Gaza starve." And, he said, Bush and Olmert must reject any "assumption that we can separate the West Bank and Gaza..."

For the complete article, please visit The Chicago Tribune website.

Chicago Tribune Quotes Michael Dannenberg on College Officials, Stock

Communications — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:40:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Chicago State University steers students who need loans to a bank led by a university trustee and in which university President Elnora Daniel is a director and shareholder, a Tribune investigation has found...

Chicago State's financial aid Web site admonishes students to "choose your lender carefully," then recommends five companies, including Seaway.

Daniel owns stock in the private, South Side bank and was appointed to its board of directors in 2004, according to state records. Since then, the bank has seen a nearly 200 percent increase in the number of federally guaranteed loans to Chicago State students, for a total of $1.5 million, according to a market research firm that collects data on federal loans...

"College officials ... who hold stock in student loan companies are apt to have financial interests that are not always in line perfectly with student loan borrowers," said Michael Dannenberg of the nonprofit New America Foundation...

For the complete article, please visit The Chicago Tribune website.

Stephen Burd on College Student Relief Act in The Chicago Tribune

Communications — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 19:20:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Student-loan borrowers cheered last month when the House voted to halve interest rates on federal loans. But don't start celebrating just yet.

The bill, called the College Student Relief Act of 2007, would reduce the current rate on subsidized Stafford loans from a fixed 6.8 percent to a fixed 3.4 percent over five years.

Subsidized Stafford loans are awarded based on financial need, and the federal government covers the interest while you're in school.

The loan's counterpart, the unsubsidized Stafford, is available to any student, and interest accrues while you study. It would continue to carry a 6.8 percent fixed rate.

"There's no question that the bill would help a lot of students," said Stephen Burd, a senior research fellow who covers financial-aid issues for the New America Foundation, a non-partisan public policy group, "especially when students are becoming increasingly indebted..."

For the complete article, please visit The Chicago Tribune website.

Inheritances Should be Taxed the Same as Income

Articles — Thu, 14 Sep 2000 03:00:00 -0400

Should death be taxed? Congressional supporters claim that this is the issue that was at the core of the failed legislation to repeal estate and gift taxes. Certainly this type of an exit tax would seem not only morbid but unfair. But … more