What does 6 billion dollars buy you? Apparently in politics, it buys you an almost unchanged House, Senate, and President. In fairness, out of the 6 billion dollars spent, only – and I say only because in perspective it can be qualified as such – around 680 million was spent by super PACs on independent … Continue reading
Author Archives: smclallen1
Nobody likes a sore loser
What ever happened to bowing out gracefully? The night of the election, Mitt Romney looked the most presidential I had ever seen him, delivering a gracious concession speech and leaving the stage for the final time with his pride and honor still in tact. The President even proposed a meeting so that he and Romney … Continue reading
The Fiscal Cliff: More of the Same
The “Fiscal Cliff” seems to the be the buzz-word of the month. Why shouldn’t it be? The numbers are scary. An almost 600 billion dollar combination of tax increases and across the board spending cuts that go into effect on January 2, 2013. Broken down the majority of the cost comes from 440 billion dollars … Continue reading
What is Wrong with this Picture?
“Gerrymander: to divide (a territorial unit) into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible (Merriam Webster Dictionary).” The 2011 Maryland Congressional districts take gerrymandering to a whole new level. It is well … Continue reading
The “I can see Russia from my house” Effect
There are many factors that contribute to a voter’s decision for presidential candidate: party affiliation, the state of the economy, running mate selection, media coverage, high profile debates, and Saturday Night Live? Maybe not as obvious, but SNL has been influencing presidential races since Gerald Ford’s bid for reelection in the 70’s. You have to … Continue reading
Coming Down from the Sugar High that is QE3
“The election is a reaction to the stock market. If you see strength in the market, consumer sentiment and confidence among the voters is higher. If you see volatility, you are going to see investors take that out on the incumbent,” said Eric Vermulm, an InvestTech Research senior portfolio manager. I’m not much of an … Continue reading
Policy Interns 