The Financial Times (January 20, 2014)
“At a time when US federal government is largely paralysed, it is in the states–and particularly the cities–where America’s future is being played out.” City leaders are innovating to solve problems they can no longer rely on Washington to solve. This is hardly new. “The abiding lesson of most of US history is that when Washington fails to function, the action moves to the states, cities and municipalities.” This is what “keeps the US moving.”
Tags: Cities, Federal, Government, Leaders, Municipalities, States, U.S., Washington
The Financial Times (October 19)
“The debt drama in Washington stirred a jumble of emotions in Europe. Cold fear that a US default could tip the world back into a slump jostled with schadenfreude as Europeans recalled the stern American lectures on their handling of the euro crisis. The eurozone may be dysfunctional, but so too is the US.”
Tags: Americans, Default, Dysfunctional, Emotions, Euro crisis, Europe, Europeans, eurozone, Schadenfreude, U.S., Washington
Washington Post (October 15)
“A reopening, for now, of government, a postponement for a few months of a possible default on federal debts, a promise to negotiate again over fiscal disagreements — in a rational, functional world, these meager accomplishments would not be cause for celebration. In today’s Washington, they would count as achievements.”“A reopening, for now, of government, a postponement for a few months of a possible default on federal debts, a promise to negotiate again over fiscal disagreements — in a rational, functional world, these meager accomplishments would not be cause for celebration. In today’s Washington, they would count as achievements.”
Tags: Achievements, Celebration, Default, Federal debt, Functional, Government, Rational, Reopening, Washington
USA Today (October 7) USA Today (October 7)
“There are two Americas, all right. There’s one that works — where new and creative things happen, where mistakes are corrected, and where excellence is rewarded. Then there’s Washington, where everything is pretty much the opposite.”“There are two Americas, all right. There’s one that works — where new and creative things happen, where mistakes are corrected, and where excellence is rewarded. Then there’s Washington, where everything is pretty much the opposite.”
Tags: Corrected, Creative, Excellence, Mistakes, Rewards, U.S., Washington
Bloomberg (October 4)
“The U.S. doesn’t deserve Asia’s money, not with half of its government in financial jihad mode…. The biggest economy has long taken its reserve-currency status for granted, but the events of recent days raise Washington’s hubris to entirely new levels…. The more the U.S. plays with fire with its Aaa rating, the more Asia will find an alternative.”
Tags: Aaa rating, Asia, Economy, Government, Hubris, Reserve currency, U.S., Washington
Washington Post (August 2)
Washington may be badly broken, but “it works extremely well for its most important citizens: the lobbyists. The permanent government of the United States is no longer defined by party or a branch but by a profession comfortably encamped around the federal coffers. The result is that Washington has become the wealthiest city in the nation, and its relative position has actually improved over the past five years, during the worst recession in 75 years. The country might be struggling, but K Street is not.”
Tags: Country, Government, K Street, Lobbyists, Recession, Struggling, U.S., Washington, Wealth
Chicago Tribune (November 8)
After two years of fighting, the score in Washington looks just the same: a Republican House and a Democratic Senate. “Guaranteed gridlock? Not necessarily.” The Tribune is hopeful status quo will actually provide the momentum to overcome the looming fiscal cliff. “With Washington’s power equation constant, this is, surprisingly, the ideal moment to take unpopular steps and rescue our government from potential doomsdays — the first of them scheduled for Jan. 1, less than eight weeks away…. This lame-duck Congress and re-elected president could give the American people a marvelous holiday present.”
Tags: Congress, Democrats, Fiscal cliff, Gridlock, Republican, Washington
Washington Post (July 3)Washington Post (July 3)
A “freak summer storm that laid waste to much of the mid-Atlantic on Friday night left chaos in its howling wake — and a mess of questions about the region’s capacity to cope with the unexpected.” Emergency 911 phone service was disrupted, as was electricity supply. In certain areas, nearly 10% of customers were expected to still be powerless a week after the storm. “The storm gave rise to massive inconveniences and discomforts across the Washington area. Usefully, it also exposed the region’s absence of reliable fail-safes, spotty preparedness and sluggish response times in the face of emergencies. Now it’s up to leaders to identify and act on those shortcomings.”A “freak summer storm that laid waste to much of the mid-Atlantic on Friday night left chaos in its howling wake — and a mess of questions about the region’s capacity to cope with the unexpected.” Emergency 911 phone service was disrupted, as was electricity supply. In certain areas, nearly 10% of customers were expected to still be powerless a week after the storm. “The storm gave rise to massive inconveniences and discomforts across the Washington area. Usefully, it also exposed the region’s absence of reliable fail-safes, spotty preparedness and sluggish response times in the face of emergencies. Now it’s up to leaders to identify and act on those shortcomings.”
Tags: 9/11, Disaster preparedness, Electricity, Storm, Washington
Washington Post (May 1)
Tokyo and Washington made “a welcome step forward” with the decision to move 9,000 marines to other Pacific bases. This “small but significant diplomatic breakthrough” will finally ease “the two-year-old standoff over U.S. bases on the Japanese island of Okinawa.” The deal will strengthen “an alliance that both countries need more than ever” and may even “open the way for an invigoration of strategic cooperation at just the right time in East Asia.”
Washington Post (May 25)
In London, Paris, Madrid and Athens, governments are moving from fiscal stimulus to spending cuts. But in Washington, “the long-awaited ‘pivot’ to fiscal restraint” remains unseen. Instead, Congress is sneaking new spending into as many places as possible. The Post finds much of this spending wasteful and self-serving.
In London, Paris, Madrid and Athens, governments are moving from fiscal stimulus to spending cuts. But in Washington, “the long-awaited ‘pivot’ to fiscal restraint” remains unseen. Instead, Congress is sneaking new spending into as many places as possible. The Post finds much of this spending wasteful and self-serving.
Tags: Congress, Governments, Stimulus, Washington
