In January 2009, then president-elect, Barack Obama, rode into Washington, DC on an Amtrak train. His, pre-inaugural, one-day trip was a symbolic nod to Lincoln’s similar journey, some years ago. Exactly one month later, now, President Obama signed in-to-law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA, among other things, provided $8 billion towards … Continue reading
Author Archives: mjbolen
Obama-Biden Plan: Round Two
It seems that the approaches on how to fix the economy fall on two distant sides. Mr. Obama proposes raising taxes on the wealthiest in the nation to increase revenue and help lower the deficit. Mr. Romney offers an extension of tax cuts to everyone, while reducing the deficit by closing loopholes. In the past … Continue reading
America / Economy / Fiscal policy / Politics / Presidency / Regulation
A Comparison: Reagan, Obama & Jobs
A myriad of articles have been written on how the presidential election of 2012 should garner a stringent comparison to that of the 1980 presidential election. I agree. During both presidential elections the United States economy was and is hurting. But, the focus of this article is: how did the presidents perform after they won … Continue reading
The Power Grab: Federalism Today
The growth and immersion of our government is not only felt by the people in our daily lives, but by the government itself. The states, each and every one of them, have felt the burden of new laws and regulations. Federalism, by rough definition, is a contract between several pre-existing groups or states that are … Continue reading
CFTC / Economy / Fiscal policy / Regulation
The Dodd-Frank Act’s Effect on: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), an independent agency, is charged with helping to regulate futures markets. The CFTC Chairman, Gary Gensler, stated that, “the Wall Street reform bill (Dodd-Frank) will – for the first time – bring comprehensive regulation to the swaps market place. Swap dealers will be subject to robust oversight.” The Dodd-Frank … Continue reading
Policy Interns 