Senate Compromise Avoids Government Shutdown

For the third time this year, the Government avoided a major shutdown, this time due to a deadlock over disaster relief funding. What led to the standoff was the republicans demand that, if they were to allow the Democrats to spend 3.65 billion dollars on disaster relief funding for FEMA, the Democrats would have to cut an auto loan program popular with democrats to avoid adding significantly to the budget deficit. The showdown ended yesterday when FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) stated that they could make ends meet without the billion dollars in proposed funding this week. They will be able to use the remaining 2.65 billion beginning Saturday and running through November 18th. As a result of this, the Democrats have not had to cut the auto loan program. Many, such as Majority Leader Harry Reed, who stated that "it will be a win for everyone," are optimistic and pleased with the way the two sides met half-way on this issue. However, a conflict over how to fund FEMA and how much funding FEMA needs is one which is sure to happen soon, and compromises such as this will not always be available; something will have to be done.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/todays_paper?dt=2011-09-27&bk=A&pg=1

Health Insurance

As the United States continues to grapple with a stubbornly weak economy, the cost of health insurance for many Americans this year has climbed more sharply than in previous years, outstripping any growth in workers’ wages and adding more uncertainty about the pace of rising medical costs. Health insurance, unlike other industrialized countries, is largely provided by employers. Although the latest Census found more Americans losing company-sponsored insurance, almost 170 million Americans were on employer-based plans in 2010. Many businesses cite the high cost of coverage as a factor in their decision not to hire, and health insurance has become increasingly unaffordable for more Americans. Over all, the cost of family coverage has about doubled since 2001, when premiums averaged $7,061, compared with a 34 percent gain in wages over the same period. A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that the average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year. “The open question is whether that’s a one-time spike or the start of a period of higher increases,” said Drew Altman, the chief executive of the Kaiser foundation. Slowing down those soaring costs is one of the main issues on the agenda of a bipartisan congressional deficit-reduction panel that is due to make recommendations by November 23 on how to slash the U.S. budget deficit by at least $1.2 trillion.

Sarah Palin for Office?

Sarah Palin has been uncommonly quiet in the political world in the last few weeks… Fox news hasn't featured her in a while, and even her twitter and Facebook accounts show no recent activity. The reason for this, according to Tim Crawford (the chief of her political action committee), is because she is "on the verge of making her decision of whether or not to run for office."

So, will Palin run? If so, she has a lot of work to do from now until mid-October concerning her eligibility for running… For one thing, she and her team will have to send a letter of candidacy to the Secretary of State in Utah if she wants her name to appear on that state’s ballot. Then, the same must be done for Florida if she wants the Republican vote. And that's just the beginning.

If Ms. Palin does not run, however, it's said that her pick for president is Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. But the questions is this: will Palin be backing Perry in the race for president, or herself?

We shall see...

Disaster Relief Spending

On Thursday, The House of Representatives is expected to take action on a bipartisan agreement ending a dispute over disaster relief spending that threatened to cause a partial shutdown of the government by the end of the week. The House is going to approve legislation that will pass a short-term spending extension through October 4. On Monday night, the Senate approved bills, which together will fund the federal government for the first seven weeks of the new fiscal year beginning Saturday. Democrats and Republicans have been arguing over whether or not to cut spending elsewhere in order to offset increased disaster relief funding in the current fiscal year. On Monday, FEMA ended their dispute by saying that it has enough money to get through the rest of the current fiscal year without assistance. The new agreement may only provide a temporary solution to FEMA's funding woes. Administration officials say that more funds will be required for the agency soon. The Senate had initially passed legislation providing $6.9 billion in funding for FEMA and other federal agencies, to be used for disaster relief both immediately and in the new fiscal year. If Congress had failed to reach a new spending agreement, a partial government shutdown would have occurred at the close of the current the fiscal year at midnight Friday. We shall see whether or not the government is willing to cut spending elsewhere in order to provide more assistance for disaster relief spending.

National Forest Care

The Obama administration is crafting a new plan to manage the nation's 155 national forests, including six in Arizona, for the next 15 to 20 years. At stake is the future of 193 million acres of forests and grasslands that are the nation's single largest source of drinking water and home to more than 15,000 species of plants and wildlife.
As President Barack Obama's administration takes up the crucial but contentious issue, it is under intense scrutiny from competing interest groups that hope to shape the plan to their liking. Neither environmentalists nor business interests are happy with the first draft of the new forest rule. Conservation groups say it lacks adequat protection for wildlife and water and gives individual forest managers too much discretion in how to carry out the plan. Business groups say some of its provisions to protect species could end up kicking ranchers, timber companies and others off the land. The first draft of the Forest Service plan focuses for the first time on how to strengthen the health of forests in the face of climate change and includes enhanced protections for water resources and watersheds, updated provisions for sustainable recreation, and a requirement that the land be managed for such multiple uses as mining, logging, energy production, outdoor recreation and wilderness protection.The final plan, which does not require congressional approval, is expected to be published in November.

In-state Tuition for Undocumented Students

Recently, Governor Chafee of Rhode Island has voiced his support for a controversial measure: allowing undocumented students the access to reduced college tuition in the state of Rhode Island. The new policy entails that the student has to have attended a public RI high school, received a diploma, lived in RI after high school for at least three years, and taken an affidavit saying that he has intentions of becoming a legal citizen as soon as he becomes eligible. Chafee advocates this policy because he believes it will "improve the intellectual and cultural life of our state while strengthening our workforce and helping our economy". He and others believe that students will be left behind if they don't provide assistance. One of those others is Governor Rick Perry. He and Mitt Romney have been at odds with the issue for quite some time. People like Romney believe that accepting this policy will encourage illegal immigration. From a previous debate, Perry said, "I think you don't have a heart. This was a state issue. Texans voted for it and I still support it greatly." Romney then weighed in, "I think that if you're opposed to illegal immigration, it doesn't mean that you don't have a heart, it means you have a heart and a brain." This issue could be settled as soon as Monday night.

Is "No Child Left Behind" History?

Friday morning, ten years after the Bush administration’s landmark attempt to revamp the nation's education system with the No Child Left Behind law (by 2014 be proficient in math and reading), President Obama proposed to allow states to opt out of the heavily criticized guidelines. He believes education standards needs to be redifined and the focus should be on preparing students to be college and career ready. The law, which passed with broad bipartisan support in 2001, required public schools to meet targets aimed at making all students proficient in reading and math by 2014 or face stiff penalties. Obama's new proposal is that states and districts will have to set basic guidelines to evaluate a teacher's performance based on a number of factors, not simply student performance. The purpose is not to give states and districts a reprieve from accountability, but rather to unleash energy to improve our schools at the local level,” President Obama said in a statement released by the White House. One of the major criticisms of the current No Child Left Behind guidelines is that it encouraged schools to lower standards rather than improve.The new guidelines "should reduce the pressure to teach the test and the narrowing of the curriculum," one administration official said. Some critics fear the new guidelines will give the federal government an even larger role in state's education decisions, but Obama administration officials deny the accusation maintaining the new guidelines will actually give states more flexibility including how to spend 20% of their Title I money, which funds low-income education and can account for as much as one billion dollars nationwide.

GOP Nomination Confusion

This week the GOP nomination race became more confusing on who a clear leader would be. Most thought that Governor Rick Perry and Mitt Romney would be the front runners in the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando, FL on Saturday. However, Herman Cain won this weeks straw poll by more than 20%, with 37% of the votes compared to Gov. Perry's 15%. Could this weeks straw poll make Herman Cain a strong candidate for president? Although so people doubt his experience to run for president Perry, who finished 2nd, and Romney, who finished 3rd, were disappointed and hope to have done better. Mean while, Michelle Bachmann's campaign was dealt a serious blow when they finished last at the straw poll with only 1.5% of the votes. After winning the Iowa Straw Poll Bachmann's candidacy is hurting for supporters. The GOP race has yet to have a clear leader.

Federal Regulations

“The current regulatory burden coming out of Washington far exceeds the federal government’s constitutional mandate, and it’s hurting job creation in our country at a time when we can’t afford it,” Cantor’s fellow House Republican, Speaker John Boehner, said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington last week. Whether it’s in a Republican job agenda, a presidential executive order or a think tank report, some government regulations have been targeted as avoidable burdens. And at a time when job creation is the most important goal of most lawmakers, decreasing businesses’ regulatory burden is one way politicians, especially Republicans, are looking to motivate private businesses to create jobs. Even with claims that American businesses have too many regulations and are over-burdened “ the United States still ranks as one of the best countries to start a business. Worldwide, only Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have a more business friendly environment” according to the 2010 International Finance Corporation and World Bank “Doing Business” report. In spite of the U.S. having an overall good rankings worldwide, regulations still remain a major hardship for American businesses, although the exact price tag for federal regulations is highly disputed. Federal regulations are divided into four categories: environmental, economic, workplace and tax compliance. All told, in 2000 federal regulations cost small firms (less than 20 employees) nearly $7,000 per employee annually. Compliance costs for medium size firms (20 to 499 employees) and for large firms (500+ employees) were close to $4,320 and $4,460 per employee respectively. “There’s no bright line in the sand that tells you this is too much this is too little,” said James Gattuso, a senior fellow for regulatory policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “That’s one thing that makes regulatory policies so tough.”

Source: CNN and New York Times online newspaper

Tax Increase on the Rich

One of President Obama's ideas for jump starting the economy is to increase federal taxes on people who make $250,000 or more of yearly income. People have different ideas about this: some people think it's a good idea because they feel like wealthier Americans don't contribute enough while some think it would be better to keep income in private hands. One of the people who supports the first way of thinking is a billionaire named Warren Buffett. Obama would call the tax increase the "Buffett Rule" after him because Buffett is one who believes that it isn't fair that the wealthiest Americans are paying a lower tax than most middle class Americans. Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner takes the other route: he doesn't think raising the taxes on people will help the economy. Instead, he advocates the panel in making spending cuts and entitlement reforms. As the panel meets eventually, a compromise will be attempted between the Republicans and Democrats.

Gallup Poll on the Race Between Perry and Romney

A recent poll taken by Gallup of the approval of the Republican Presidential candidates shows a few different things in the race for the GOP Presidential nomination. First, this poll shows what everybody knew: Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are far ahead of the rest of the pack. 31% of those polled prefer Perry, 24% prefer Romney, and the next best is Ron Paul, who garnered 13%, although nearly everybody knows that Ron Paul has no realistic shot at being elected. This poll also shows that Republicans seem to be slightly favoring Rick Perry over Mitt Romney. Ever since the former Governor from Texas joined the race in August, he has been gaining ground on Romney, the previous front-runner for the nomination, and clearly has the momentum at the moment. When the poll was narrowed down to just Perry and Romney, Perry held an even wider margin, with 49% choosing Perry and 39% choosing Romney.

Despite all of this, another poll taken by Gallup indicates that perhaps a swing back to Romney will occur for the basic fact that many think he's a much more electable candidate. One thing making him more electable at the moment is the far right nature of Rick Perry, which would potentially drive away moderate voters. In a poll of nationally registered voters, Romney vs. Obama saw a 49-47% line in favor of Romney. The same poll with Perry saw a 50-45% line in favor of Obama. Although it's still very early, it will be intriguing to see which way Republicans lean, and at the moment it seems like a very possible scenario for many will be the following: do I want the candidate who may better represent my values (Perry), or do I want for the candidate who has the best opportunity to remove Barack Obama from office? Time will tell.

Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/149552/Perry-Looks-Better-Against-Romney-Against-Obama.aspx

Trust in Government?

Many people have stopped trusting the government because of various past occurrences. Especially in terms of Social Security. LZ Granderson, a journalist for CNN, said that even though he has paid into Social Security he does not expect to benefit from it. He says that the "reform can keeps getting kicked down a road that's getting shorter and shorter by a bunch of politicians who know better but are too afraid of losing voters who won't be around when the money's all gone anyway". On Monday, Obama introduced another plan without touching Social Security. Obama didn't say he and the members of Congress might not get paid if the debt ceiling wasn't raised, but that Social Security and military checks may not go out. Politicians use Social Security as one of its many chess pieces to manipulate people to vote a certain way. GOP presidential candidates are saying whatever they can to appease their base (except for Jon Huntsman, which is why he is in last place) . "It's all a game, and election after election, we keep getting played" (Granderson). With all this dishonesty coming from politicians, why should the American people trust the government? If our politicians are only looking out for their best interests, our country is not going to get anywhere.

Repeal of ban on gay military service

After years of debate and months of final preparations, the military can no longer prevent gays from serving openly in its ranks. Repeal of a 1993 law that allowed gays to serve only so long as they kept their sexual orientation private took effect Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. EDT. Some in Congress still oppose the change, but top Pentagon leaders have certified that it will not undermine the military's ability to recruit or to fight wars.
A leading advocate, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, said Monday the repeal is overdue."Our nation will finally close the door on a fundamental unfairness for gays and lesbians, and indeed affirm equality for all Americans," the California Democrat said.
Existing standards of personal conduct, such as those pertaining to public displays of affection, will continue regardless of sexual orientation.

'Dissatisfied' is an Understatement

Our country has been through a lot even over the past six months when it comes to the economy. Due to the recent debt ceiling agreement, many Americans became (or remained) dissatisfied with Congress. The word 'dissatisfied' seems a bit of an understatement, though, because when we look at the approval ratings for Congress, we see that as a nation we have reached a record low. Only 12% of Americans right now are satisfied with Congress, while the majority of the nation is ready for new representatives. This should not be surprising, though, due to the scrambling, indecisive actions that Congress exhibited during the debt crisis. This attitude of disapproval has reached an all time low for Obama as well. Only 39% of Americans to date are satisfied with how he's running the country. So, we can ignore these facts, but it won't change the 'dissatisfaction' --to say the least--of the American people. Many foreign republics in history have fallen due to disapproval of the leader... Will America follow in those footsteps, or will we grow from this bitter battle of disunity?

Obama's Debt Reduction Plan

On Monday President Obama outlined his new debt reduction plan. His plan wants to create $3 trillion of savings in order to peck away at the massive debt the country has. This plan will be added on top of the spending cuts. The plan includes a $1.5 trillion new revenue proposal, which is generated largely by higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Most Republicans do not agree with the president's plan and believe it to be unfair. This is yet again, another Obama plan which is being criticized by the GOP

source= MSNBC and The Washington Post

Debt Cuts

Today Barack Obama unveiled a plan, which ended the Bush-era tax breaks, and called for $1.5 trillion in new taxes in an attempt to slow the nation's escalating national debt. If everything goes according to plan, this new debt cut will cut the national debt by roughly $3 trillion over the next decade. “If we don’t act, the growing debt will eventually crowd out everything else, preventing us from investing in education and programs like Medicare,” he said.

The main idea behind this proposal is that high-income individuals and corporations should pay more taxes. This means individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and families earning more than $250,000 will have to bear more of the burden and are likely to be left worse off by the proposed changes to the U.S. tax system. Obama strongly believes this is the right course of action and states he “will not support any plan that puts all the burden on ordinary Americans.”

Obama's Jobs Bill

President Obama revealed Monday that he's sending his $447 billion jobs bill to Congress, asking lawmakers to pass it "immediately." The president says the proposal would boost the economy and argued there's no reason for Congress not to pass it. "This is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country," Obama said. "This is the bill that Congress needs to pass. ... No games, no politics, no delays." While the bill contains a number of proposals that have received bipartisan support in the past, the overall package, while smaller, bears many similarities to the 2009 stimulus bill that Republicans dislike. GOP leaders have said they're willing to work with the president. The bill requires a blend of state aid, tax breaks and infrastructure spending, as well as unemployment assistance. The main feature of the plan is lower Social Security payroll taxes for individuals and businesses. It also includes new spending to hire teachers and rebuild schools, among other things. Several Republican lawmakers and governors are disinterested in taking the federal money, especially if it “locks in costs they will have to account for once the aid runs out.” The bill would make the second, sizable mixture of federal money to states in less than three years, coming up just as they are running out of the last of the billions of dollars they received under the 2009 stimulus act.

Source: CNN and FOX News

GOP Candidates vs. Rick Perry

This week I followed the CNN GOP Tea Party debate which was on Monday. One of the highlights of this debate was Congresswomen Michelle Bachmann’s criticism of Governor Rick Perry’s executive order in 2007 to vaccinate Texas girls against human papillomavirus. Senator Rick Santorum agreed with the Bachmann, and throughout the night criticized Governor Perry. Perry was also criticized for signing the Texas DREAM Act in 2001, which granted in-state tuition to some children of illegal immigrants during the debate. Most of the issues Perry was criticized for would have most likely not have been mentioned in a Democrat debate. Does this mean Rick Perry would be too liberal for the nomination? Or does this mean his opponents are more conservative?

Executive order=An order issued by a government’s executive on the basis of authority specifically granted to the executive branch.

source: CNN (TV)

American Jobs Act

In Obama's speech last Thursday, he laid out a plan to get America back to work, focused on his proposed American Jobs Act. In this speech, he strongly encouraged Congress to pass the $450 billion jobs package. Obama challenged congress to put the good of the nation over political benefit and pass the huge jobs plan. He said the purpose is to “to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working.” I'm sure he also hopes this will increase his chances of being re-elected and boost his approval rating. Obama believes we we need to rebuild the economy the American way, based on balance, fairness, and the same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main Street. We can do this by creating jobs of the future by helping small business entrepreneurs, by investing in education, and by making things the world buys. He hopes to provide more jobs which will “jolt the economy”. The economy desperately needs this “jolt”, but is Congress ready to back it up? “Everything in this bill,” Obama explained “will be paid for.” But, the question is, by whom? He tells us that he is asking the 12-member super-committee Congress set up under the debt ceiling bill to add another $450 billion or so to the $1.5 trillion in savings it is charged to come up with. The next few weeks will tell whether Congress will rise to meet Obama's challenge.

Source: ABC news (tv)

Israel Policy Hurting Obama's Campaign

President Obama made a dangerous move in stating his opinion for a permanent Palestinian state to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He suggested that Israel should return to the borders created back in 1967 after the Arab-Israeli War. This upset pro-Israel activists, and gave a bad name to the US making our country seem unreliable. The real question is: how will this affect Obama's campaign in the 2012 election especially with Jewish voters? According to a recent poll by the Siena Research Institute, the Israel policy isn't nearly as important to Jewish voters as the economy, although, 58% of all Jewish voters say that Obama's Israel policy is "very important" in deciding their vote. Many Democrats are now saying, as well, that they don't agree with Obama's statement about the Palestinian borders. Joining the Republicans, the same Democrats are beginning to challenge Obama's Israel policy. If President Obama doesn't begin to mend his relationship with Israel, he will probably lose many of his previous supporters especially Jewish and pro-Israel voters.

Poverty Rate Highest in 18 Years

The national poverty rate in 2010 hit 15.1 percent — the highest level since 1993, according to a report Tuesday from the census bureau. The census found 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty last year. Since the census began tracking poverty figures in 1959, never have more people been recorded living in poverty. And only once, in 1983 was the poverty rate recorded higher.
The report also found the percentage of people covered by private health insurance dropped slightly, from 64.5 percent to 64.0 percent, while the percentage covered by government health insurance increased from 30.6 percent to 31.0 percent.
For a family of four, the census set the poverty line at a combined annual income of $22,314. For a single person, the level is set at $11,139. The nation’s median household income last year was $49,445, 2.3 percent lower than 2009 levels.

This could be categorized as the great depression of our generation. While perhaps more toned down now, it is still difficult for Americans to get a job in something they even went to college for.

Source: Politico

Poverty in America

Poverty in American has risen to %15.1. It has not been this high since 1993. Due to our economy, this result is not surprising. With so many people out of jobs, this only makes sense. About 2.6 million more people are in poverty compared to last year. Middle-class income was said to have fallen in 2010. While most households saw their incomes fall last year, those making $100,000 or more have seen a rise in income. There has been a shift in where the income has gone. Percentages of states below poverty are all different throughout the country. North Carolina has %17.4 below poverty. Mississippi, the state with the most below poverty, has %22.7 below poverty. New Hampshire, the state with the least below poverty, has %6.6 below poverty. As you can see, it varies throughout the country. It also varies with age. The poverty rate of those aged 64 and under has all risen. Those 18 and under has risen the most. The poverty rate of those 65 and older has not changed as much. All of this information comes from a new census that was released last Tuesday. Not only does this census make us aware of our nation's poverty, it also shows us the need for a good strong jobs plan. Will Obama's plan be strong enough to get our country out of poverty and back to where we were in 2000 at %11.3?

Source: CNN

Perry Wrestles With His Political Past

Last night, the eight candidates for the Republican nomination gathered in Tampa, Florida, for the third debate between the eight in the last two weeks. Perhaps the most striking part of the debate was the manner in which the candidates went at front-runner Rick Perry for his past policies, most notably three actions of the Governor during his time leading the state of Texas. First, and perhaps most strongly, the other candidates went at Governor Perry for his executive order in the state of Texas ordering young girls to get a vaccine against the HPV Virus, which can cause cervical cancer. Perry responded to this criticism stating that he would've done things differently now, but his primary motivation was to protect life. Second, Perry's action of providing in-state tuition for certain illegal immigrants drew much criticism from his fellow candidates. On this issue, Perry stood firmly behind his actions, stating that "I'm proud that we are having those individuals be contributing members of our society rather than than telling them, 'You go be on the government dole.'" Lastly, Perry was criticized for terming Social Security a "Ponzi scheme." On this issue, he didn't exactly back down from calling it that; he did, however, rephrase and guarantee that for those relying on Social Security, it would still be there under his Presidency.

These three issues are ones to get familiar with as Governor Perry continues his campaign as they will be continually brought up, and the Governor will have to decide how he plans to deal with and manage them in a way so as not to compromise his values and what he stands for while at the same time not scaring away many of the American people whose vote he relies on. It's a fine line, and one which Perry will undoubtedly struggle to find at certain times throughout his campaign.

Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/perry-wrestles-with-his-political-history/?ref=politics

GOP Debate: Romney, Perry, and Bachmann

Sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express, a GOP Presidential debate in Florida occurred yestereday (13 September) ten days before the FL straw poll. The candidates present were Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum. All of the candidates spoke, but considering how long each one spoke made it clear which of them are truly in the running. I think that those two are Romney and Perry. Although stats show that Perry was leading Romeny 32% to 21%, Romney was able to play offense last night during the debate, squaring off against Perry on the issue of Social Security. Perry also suffered major blows from Bachmann and Santorum concerning the HPV vaccine. Despite his argument that he was “airing on the side of life”, the audience was still unsatisfied. Even though Bachmann had a successful night last night, bashing Perry and winning applause from the audience, I still don't think that she has a shot at the presidency. Upon listening to this debate, I would say that Romney is leading, with Perry and Bachmann behind. But who will be our next president? I guess we'll have to see...

Sources—

1. The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/florida-republican-presidential-debate-winners-and-losers/2011/09/12/gIQAFKgHOK_blog.html?wpisrc=nl_politics)

2. CNN

Obama's Approval Rating Reaches an All-Time Low

As the day his speech to congress nears, Obama's approval rating reached an all-time low according to a Washington-Post-ABC News Poll. 53% disapprove of Obama's current job as president and 78% are concerned about the direction the country is headed. Obama will try to gain back support by creating new jobs and trying to boost the economy during the next few months. As Democrat supporters worry about Obama, Republicans like Romney are trying to gain support by describing what their economic plans would be like if he was president. Obama will try to provide an extensive economic plan for his speech to congress. We will see what the future holds.

Sources:

CNN (TV)

Washington Post

How Italy's Austerity Plan Affects U.S.

Under pressure to balance out the budget by 2013, Silvio Berlusconi (leader of the mass center-right political party—one of the largest in Europe) is responsible for the recent, major austerity cuts in Italy, which have in turn affectd the global market economy. Italian students held a strike today though in opposition to the austerity budget plans, claiming that it “fails to create jobs while putting too much burden on workers.” (NPR) Italy is the “United State's 16^th largest trading-partner, with total bilateral trade of $42.7 billion comprised of exports to Italy totaling $14.2 billion and imports from Italy worth $28.5 billion.” (www.state.gov). As if our debt crisis isn't enough, our economy is suffering even more from the close economic connection we have with Italy.

Sources—

1. The Washington Post

2. www.state.gov

   3. NPR

Vocabulary / Political jargon

Austerity— Difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce a budget deficit, esp. by reducing public expenditure.

“The Italian parliament was expected to begin debating a new austerity program of tax increases and budget cuts, and unions planned to strike in opposition.”

From: “U.S. Markets Down as Crisis in Europe Deepens” The Washington Post, 6 September 2011

G-8 (The Group of Eight)— (formerly the G6 or Group of Six) is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of eight major economies: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Russia.

“The United States and Italy cooperate closely on major economic issues, including within the G-8.”

From: Background Note: Italy, “Italy-US Economic Relations” www.state.gov, 12 May 2011

Lower Manhattan: Rising from the ashes

A decade after the September 11 terrorist attacks on America, a rebuilt and upgraded World Trade Center is rising from the ashes. Mayor Bloomberg commented on the revival of Lower Manhattan saying, “I believe the re-birth and revitalization of Lower Manhattan will be remembered as one of the greatest comeback stories in American history.” Since September 11, 2001 the population of Lower Manhattan has doubled, adding more people than “Atlanta, Dallas, and Philadelphia combined” Bloomberg noted. Along with the new tower a new underground Fulton Street Transit Center will connect Lower Manhattan to nearly all areas of the island. “Four new skyscrapers, a memorial and park are due to be completed on the 16-acre site of the attacks by 2015 or 2016”, said developer Larry Silverstein. The new building will be 76 stories high, the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere. One of the biggest changes is a revised World Trade Center design that “corrects that original towers' biggest flaw: a fortress-like design in the heart of downtown.” The project has used $11.3 billion of federal money, most of it coming from direct aid and tax breaks.

Source: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/bloomberg-hails-lower-manhattans-revival-since-911/

FEMA Disaster Aid Account Running Low

Even with it’s much appreciated help in responding to Hurricane Irene, FEMA may not be able to provide much more assistance to those who need help recovering from natural disasters. FEMA’s spokesperson Bob Josephson said, “FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund is running low – down to between $800 million and $1 billion.” When that happens, the agency will only be able help with immediate response, rather than long-term rebuilding. FEMA recently admitted that the disaster aid shortfall could approach $5 billion for the upcoming budget year, and that's before accounting for Irene. Even with Missouri's senators promising to push to get full funding restored and House Republicans wanting to double funding this spring, President Obama's budget office has only requested $1.8 billion for the FEMA disaster fund. As a result, aid to states and local governments for this year's disasters have been frozen. FEMA is only paying for “the immediate needs of disaster-stricken communities, which include debris removal, food, water and emergency shelter.” With this kind of funding long-term help may not be available to communities hit by natural disasters in the future.

My source is the Huffington Post online newspaper

Educational Issues

Big increases in educational spending by the government over the past few years has not yielded a better educational product. For example, one school district spent almost $16,000 per student, three times more than a different district, and yet the students had similar test scores. Obviously money cannot buy wisdom. Instead of improving education, government spending has bought more teachers and professional staff. In Texas during the 2010-2011 school year, nearly 5 million students attended, up 19 percent from 2000-2001. The number of classroom teachers in the state's public schools rose 23 percent during the same period. Increased spending on education has not improved average student achievement and behavioral problems have also worsened. Many conservatives blame these issues on corrupt teachers, administrator organizations, colleges of education, etc. This is true to an extent, however, fixing schools depends of fixing families first. Many kids are distracted by their dysfunctional families and find it too hard to concentrate and work hard academically. An Educational Testing Service report concluded that educational progress was unlikely apart from “increasing marriage rates and getting gathers back into the business of nurturing children.”

Source: World Magazine

Paul's new ad

Presidential candidate Ron Paul has a new ad going up soon that highlights his support for Ronald Reagan in 1980 in contrast to Texas governor Perry's support for Al Gore's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Paul campaign confirms to CNN that they will spend six figures to run the commercial in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the primary and caucus calendar, and that they'll email a web version of the ad out to a couple of million supporters.
Basically the ad shows that Paul , as a young politician, stood by Reagen as a leader despite all the opposition. While Perry chose Gore who was wanting to raise spending and raise taxes.
This shows that in politics absolutely everything you do and support will always be associated with your career. I believe that Paul is focusing on Perry because he feels he is the major threat as a potential candidate and is getting his campaigning in early.

-Jackson R.

Election 2012: Contrasts Between Obama and the Republicans

On Labor Day, President Obama held a rally in Detroit. His target audience that day was union supporters who he promised that he would aim to create new jobs and "restore the middle class in America". He reportedly "challenged" Republicans by saying that they have been merely trying to score political points by "obstructing progress". However, it is clear that Obama is attempting to win over some votes himself now that election time is nearing. "We're fighting for good jobs with good wages ... [and] an economy where hard work pays off and gaming the system doesn't work," he says. Republican candidates for the 2012 election also speak out about their campaigns. Several candidates such as Mitt Romney, Michele Bauchmann, Herman Cain, and Ron Paul attended a forum at Senator Jim DeMint's home. Richard Perry was also supposed to be at the forum, but he backed out due to growing wildfires in Texas. Perry criticized Romney saying that the GOP needs "someone who has a very stark difference [with] the president of the United States ... and I would suggest to you I'm that person." Sarah Palin also spoke out although she hasn't announced whether or not she will be running in the upcoming election. "We're up against ... Barack Obama's very strange fundamental transformation of the country that we so love," Palin said. "We don't need a transformation. As you know, we need a fundamental restoration of all that is good and strong and free in America." As the election time grows nearer, throughout the campaigns and debates that are to come, we will see who is capable of saving our country from the pit that it has fallen into.

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/09/05/labor.day.events/index.html?hpt=po_bn1

President Obama's Approval Rating Dips to All-time Low

My Current Events story for the week is one which came out this morning--the approval rating of President Obama sinking to its lowest number of his entire presidency. Obama received horrible ratings in a Washington Post--ABC News poll, especially in two of our nation's biggest issues at the moment, the economy and the stagnant jobs situation: both received at least 60 percent disapproval ratings. Overall, only 43 percent of those surveyed said they approved of the job he is doing overall, while 53 percent said that they disapproved, both all time highs. These numbers are especially significant right now as Obama presents his jobs proposal Thursday night to a joint session of Congress--that proposal now has added significance with the release of these latest polling numbers, as Obama must get his approval ratings up before his attempt at reelection in 2012. As Jon Cohen and Dan Balz stated in their article in the Washington Post on the numbers, "By this time in their presidencies, approval ratings for both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton--who also suffered serious midterm setbacks during their first term--had settled safely above the 50 percent mark." The American people are showing their disapproval right now for the way Obama is handling his Presidency, and if he continues on this track, his reelection will be in serious jeopardy.

Article URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-ratings-sink-to-new-lows-as-hope-fades/2011/09/05/gIQAIytZ5J_story.html?hpid=z1

Extra credit opportunities

Students - I have emailed you some extra credit opportunities for this week.  Be sure and check your email!

Mrs. P

Finance Problems

Since August is over and a new month has begun, new statistics are up. A main concern is about jobs, financial problems, and stocks. The Government has reported that there was no job growth in august. The labor department says employers didn't add or eliminate jobs last month. Palin, Huntsman, Bachmann, Romney, and Obama each have their own job creation plans about how to boost economic growth and job creation. Most Republicans "call for major reforms of the tax and regulatory systems that proponents say will ease the burden on businesses, allowing them to increase investment and hire more people". There is a lot of concern about the US economy slipping back into a recession. Financial problems are so dire, even the postal service is in danger. On September 30, the US Postal Service has to pay $5.5 billion to a retiree health care trust fund. Post offices may close down and/or we might not get mail as often- maybe five days a week. Not only are there job and financial problems, stocks have also dropped. Stocks all over the world are dropping because of debt concerns. A tough cycle is coming about. "When employment drops, incomes fall. When income falls, sales fall. When sales fall, production falls. When production falls, employment falls ". This week Obama will be proposing a job plan and hopefully we will not only get out of the tough cycle but also see a growth in jobs.

My source for this was cnn.

Hurricane Irene

Last week a major topic in the news was hurricane irene. Hurricane irene was headed towards the east coast- from north carolina all the way up to new england. Because of this, many different forms of preparation took place.Vacuation ensued all across the coast, even in parts of New York City. The government sent Red Cross help. Bottled water, flashlights, and generators were cleaned out of stores. Flights were canceled. Twenty seven US navy ships were sent out to sea to avoid the storm. The Martin Luther King Memorial dedication was postponed. Most or all of these preparations affected the government. After the hurricane hit there were consequences. There was flooding and many power outages. 260 Vermont roads were affected. People were stranded on Ocracoke Island. Over 8,500 people ended up in Red Cross Shelters. Airports re-opened after canceling for a weekend. The US gov. says that wind damage will exceed $1 billion. The US Navy sent 3 warships to help with search and rescue. The death toll was approximately 40 people across 11 states. Approximately 3.3 million ended up without power. The Outer Banks highway faces extensive, costly repairs. Even though hurricane irene was over exaggerated, as you can see from above, there were still consequences. This hurricane ended up costing the government money from wind damage, road repairs, etc.