First the President goes to India — China’s long-term rival and border contestant — and agrees to give India nuclear fuel. Then the Secretary of State goes to Southeast Asia for what are billed as “security talks” with Australia and Japan. Before she leaves she says China could become a “negative force” in the region. […]
Robert Reich
Robert B. Reich, a co-founder of The American Prospect, is a professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, one of the books featured in the Prospect’s High School Essay Contest.
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Bush’s Skunktails
In contrast to a president’s coattails that sweep his party to congressional victories, skunktails have the reverse effect. Bush’s skunktails consist of abuses of power, corruption, and incompetence now so widely recognized that, according to recent polls, those who “strongly disapprove” of his administration now equal those who merely “approve.” Because turnout in midterm elections […]
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Debt Be Not Proud
You may hear it called the ‘debt limit’ or ‘debt ceiling’ or ‘debt cap,’ but usually you don’t hear about it at all because most people in Washington don’t like to talk about it. It’s the maximum amount of money the United States can borrow. And that maximum is set by Congress. Until Congress votes […]
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Old Wine in New Bottles
Although billionaire investor Carl Icahn couldn’t get other big investors to go along with his scheme to break up Time Warner, most investors agree the conglomerate’s performance in recent years has been less than stellar. Although Senators Joe Lieberman and Trent Lott may not succeed in their effort to break up the Department of Homeland […]
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Who’s Taking Over What?
Before we go nuts about an Arab company taking over some of our ports — or for that matter a Chinese company taking over one of our oil companies or, say, a Russian company taking over an American nuclear power plant, or a Turkish company taking over an American chemical plant, or a Bulgarian company […]
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Logging Off on China
The Republican chairman of the House subcommittee on human rights calls it a “sickening collaboration.” A leading Democrat says it’s a “disgrace,” and asks how the companies’ chief executives can sleep at night. They’re talking about American internet companies who are helping the Chinese government suppress free speech in China: Cisco Systems selling networking equipment […]
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White House Strategy Leak
The following is the transcript of a recent White House meeting of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove. The Justice Department is probing this leak. HASTERT and FRIST (hereafter, H&F): Thanks for seeing us, Mr. President. POTUS: Hastie! Billie! […]
Posted inColumns
White House Strategy Leak
The following is the transcript of a recent White House meeting of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove. The Justice Department is probing this leak. HASTERT and FRIST (hereafter, H&F): Thanks for seeing us, Mr. President. POTUS: Hastie! Billie! […]
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Chickens and Eggs in New Orleans
More than five months after Hurricane Katrina — and almost five months of political verbiage and posturing and name-calling and blame-mongering — New Orleans is still a wreck. Two thirds of the Big Easy’s pre-Katrina residents continue to live in exile, only a handful of schools have reopened, only a third of the city’s former […]
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A Letter to Ben
Dear Ben, Congratulations on taking over the Fed. You’re now the most powerful person in the American economy. It would be presumptuous of me to tell you how to do your job. But I’m about to tell you anyway. First off, don’t worry about speculative bubbles. Just because there’s irrational exuberance in one sector or […]
