When I go back to New York City, sometimes, I feel like I’m living in a twilight zone. Or perhaps George Orwell’s world in 1984, where words can be deemed to mean the exact opposite of what people mean when they say them. If not the exact opposite, then just something far different. In New … Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Utility MACT Rule, Destroying Jobs and Saving Lives?
A Cast of Characters An Native American and an Evangelical walk into a bar… Or let me rephrase that; an Native American and an Evangelical walked into the Rayburn House Office Building on February 8, 2012 to act as a part of a panel put together by the Subcommittee … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012 ECONOMICS: Obama holding full news conference; housing, politics, gas prices, foreign tests on tap http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-hold-news-conference-amid-international-challenges-improved-standing-at-home/2012/03/06/gIQAMTi7tR_story.html President Barack Obama is aiming mortgage relief at members of the military as well as homeowners with government-insured loans, the administration’s latest efforts to address a persistent housing crisis. In his first full news conference … Continue reading
House Committee on the Judiciary
Lie, Damn Lies, and Statistics This was Chairman Cobles (R, NC-6) opening statement for the House Committee on the Judiciary on February 27, 2012. He observed the Department of Labor concluded that unemployment is at 8.3% compared to 10% last October. Asserting that the federal government destroys jobs, and Congress is unable to create jobs, … Continue reading
CFTC / Events / Regulation / Uncategorized
CFTC Amending the Dodd-Frank Act
Opening Statements Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Gary Gensler began what would be an almost four-hour hearing on several rules that may be applied to the Dodd-Frank Act. Declaring that the hearing was about promoting transparency, developing internal business conduct rules, and compliance rules to protect the public, he seemed very … Continue reading
Short Memories: Repeating Policy Mistakes for “Positive Externalities”
About a month ago President Obama delivered the State of the Union Address. In it he pandered to the broad interests of teacher’s unions and educational institutions. He framed the issues as educational reform, affordable education, and transitioning priorities. President Obama calls for more resources for teachers, better pay for high quality teachers, and replacing … Continue reading
STEM Cannot Support Top-Down Policy
STEM Cannot Support Top Down Policy In 2008, over 61% of advanced degrees in engineering from American universities were awarded to non-U.S. citizens. For mathematics, 50% of advanced degrees went to foreigners. But foreigners only composed 8% of those who received education degrees.[1] This trend is alarming for two reasons. First, it shows that the … Continue reading
America / CFPB / Economy / Other / Regulation / Uncategorized
Rebuilding and Altering the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Deep Breath Before the Plunge It would be an understatement if the hearing on February 8th, 2011 would be considered as anything less than tame. During opening statements alone, which were typically no longer than two minutes, both attacks and decibels were on the rise. Whether on the attack or coming to the defense of … Continue reading
EPA Hearing — The Industry Strikes Back
In the 8th Regulatory Reform Hearing, The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations discussed “Private-Sector Views of the Regulatory Climate One Year After Executive Order 13563.” Overseeing the committee, Mr. Stearns opened expressing concerns that over one half of private industry refuses to hire based on concerns due to healthcare costs and regulation overburden. The adjusted … Continue reading
The Future of (Health) IT
With speedy communication networks and smartphone apps covering everything from restaurant reviews to interactive games, it seems that information technology (IT) is on the path to dominate the 21st century. With it, investments in IT promise to bring efficient communication methods to various industries including health care. A recent report published by the Bipartisan Policy … Continue reading
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