On Student Loan Relief and the Potential for the American Economy

This morning, while checking some of the news and pundit websites I follow, I found a link to a chart at Mother Jones on student loan debt. To describe the charts in words, over the last decade, student loan debt in the United States has quintupled. Americans now owe more in student loans than theyContinue reading “On Student Loan Relief and the Potential for the American Economy”

On Cynicism, Mitch Daniels, and the Thin Republican Field

Mitch Daniels, the former Bush administration Office of Management and Budget director and current governor of Indiana, has decided not to seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012. Many Republicans saw him as a viable candidate in a weak field, yet Daniels has decided to join former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who would himselfContinue reading “On Cynicism, Mitch Daniels, and the Thin Republican Field”

On Obama’s Tax Cut Capitulation

Yesterday, President Obama and the Congressional Republican leadership agreed on a two year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. It’s not entirely a done deal — Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont, has threatened a filibuster, and the deal still has to be sold to wary Democratic legislators, some of whom were willing to take PaulContinue reading “On Obama’s Tax Cut Capitulation”

On Economic Choices and Political Outcomes

After two days of political prognostication and analysis, I turn my attention to matters economic. The economy is in pretty dire shape — and has been since mid-2008. In President Obama’s first months in office, an economic stimulus bill was passed to inject some energy back into the economy. At the time, economists believed thatContinue reading “On Economic Choices and Political Outcomes”

On Presidential Primary Thoughts

I’ve said very little about the ongoing primary battle between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the past few weeks. The reason’s fairly simple — I don’t have a horse in this race. Maryland voted weeks ago, and I didn’t vote for either candidate. But whichever candidate receives the Democratic Party’s nomination in NovemberContinue reading “On Presidential Primary Thoughts”