Wall Street Journal (September 3)
“All across American agriculture, production is up and prices are down.” With bumper crops expected, “corn prices have tanked, dropping to about $2.85 a bushel today from $6.50 three crop-seasons ago.” The Department of Agriculture is stepping in to help farmers with some subsidies and other programs, but what farmers really need is for Congress to “approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” which would boost demand overseas substantially.
Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Corn, Crops, Demand, DoA, Farmers, Overseas, Prices, Production, Subsidies, TPP
New York Times (June 3)
“If T.P.P. falls apart, China wins. It’s as simple as that. Nonratification would signal that Beijing gets to dictate policy in the region…. “Like the best trade accords, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is also a strategic boost to liberty and stability in the fastest-growing part of the globe. Congress should resist populist ranting and ratify it.”
Tags: China, Congress, Liberty, Nonratification, Policy, Populists, Ratify, Stability, Strategic, T.P.P., Trade accords
New York Times (January 19)
“China’s announcement last year that it would set up a national cap-and-trade system was hugely encouraging—the world’s largest emitter agreeing to tax itself to help solve a problem that, only a few years ago, it barely acknowledged.” This stands in stark contrast with the U.S. Congress where heads remain firmly planted in the sand of denial and falsehood. “Congress has refused to act even as it becomes clear that putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions is the most direct and cost-effective way to address climate change.”
Tags: Cap and trade, China, Climate change, Congress, Cost-effective, Denial, Emissions, Greenhouse gas, Tax, U.S.
Los Angeles Times (January 6)
“With gun epidemic raging, Obama finally bypasses Congress.” The president detailed his “modest steps” in a sometimes tearful speech. Ultimately, further Congressional measures will be necessary to solve what has become “one of the most vexing political issues of our time.” The over 30,000 gun related deaths each year show the “grotesque human cost…. At some point, the American people need to inform their leaders that this price is just too high to pay.”
LA Times (November 8)
“So are we better off with or without the TPP? If Congress ratifies it, that won’t turbocharge the U.S. economy. If Congress blocks the deal, that won’t stop globalization. And like any trade agreement, it creates winners and losers.” The strongest argument for the agreement may be its geopolitical role, but the costs to many Americans have become “clearer than their benefits…. The president still has a lot of persuading to do.”
Tags: Benefits, Congress, Costs, Economy, Geopolitical, Globalization, Ratify, TPP, U.S.
Washington Post (November 3)
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, is beginning its third year “amid fierce criticism from the law’s detractors.” The ACA has, in some regards, performed better than expected, though weaknesses remain. “Instead of wasting more time on repealing the law or important individual components, such as the ‘Cadillac tax,’ Congress should be looking at changes that would help the ACA finish the phasing in process.”
Tags: ACA, Cadillac tax, Congress, Criticism, Detractors, Obamacare, Phase in, Repeal
New York Times (September 3)
“A disaster has been averted. The nuclear deal concluded by six major powers with Iran is now unstoppable in Congress.” Had the deal “unraveled in Congress, so would America’s standing as a global power. Russia, China and the European Union would have concluded that the United States is unserious.”
USA Today (July 24)
“America has a transportation problem. Its highways and bridges are in desperate need of repairs. Its major population centers are in desperate need of road and rail capacity to get people and products out of traffic jams. And the Highway Trust Fund—used to build and maintain those roads, bridges and transit systems—is running short of cash.” Congress needs to take action and increase the “federal gasoline tax which hasn’t been raised since 1993.” This “simple and fair” solution “hits people who use the roads the most and drive the least fuel-efficient vehicles. Just raise it already.”
Tags: Bridges, Congress, Gasoline tax, Highway Trust Fund, Highways, Rail, Repairs, Road, Traffic jams, Transportation, U.S.
New York Times (June 19)
“The timing of ‘Laudato Si’ could not have been better.” Nor could the compelling content on global warming. “Echoing the virtually unanimous findings of mainstream scientists, Pope Francis fixes the blame squarely on humans and their burning of fossil fuels.” But some U.S. politicians may remain too stubborn to change. “A pope in Rome worries about how we can shepherd the planet safely into the future. If only the senator from Kentucky and others in Congress could join him in thinking bigger.”
Tags: Congress, Fossil fuels, Global warming, Laudato Si, Pope Francis, U.S.
New York Times (May 6)
“In recent years, the number of patent-infringement lawsuits has increased sharply, by 25 percent just in 2013.” This explosion of frivolous lawsuits has “made a mockery of the protections the government grants to inventors.” Fortunately, Congress looks poised to pass legislation that could reduce some of the worst abuses.
Tags: Abuses, Congress, Frivolous, Government, Infringement, Inventors, Lawsuits, Legislation, Patents
