Blog: Policy Shop

“They believe in teacher’s unions. We believe in teachers,” Governor Chris Christie declared to rapturous applause during his keynote address to the 2012 Republican National Convention. What he neglected to mention is that those all powerful unions have been in decline for years, now buried beneath the clout of idiosyncratic individuals and corporations. Throughout his […]

Barnett Shale drilling in North Central Texas. www.edf.orgI’m not sure what’s worse: the toxic influence of money in politics and policy or blatant full-out hypocrisy. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has given us both. On the one hand, the Mayor very clearly came out against fracking in the Marcellus Shale stating: “The portions of […]

There’s no corporate income tax in Bermuda. Can we really compete with that? In The Wall Street Journal today, John McKinnon and Scott Thurm revive the zombie of too-high corporate taxes causing businesses to flee offshore. Needless to say, they give too large a megaphone to international outsourcers and too little to their critics. Based […]

The EPA released finalized fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards today that will increase fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025. In the accompanying press release, the Obama Administration noted that the new standards will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reduce U.S. oil consumption […]

The city of Los Angeles fired a shot across the bow of big banks today. In response to US Bancorp’s lack of upkeep on its 1,500 foreclosed properties in the city, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich announced today that LA will sue, calling on banks to “step up and do the right thing” for the community. […]

Given stagnating wages and frustratingly high unemployment, it’s unsurprising that popular opinion has turned against the rich. Inequality is not merely a material issue. It permeates our society in myriad, unpleasant ways. A new Pew Survey takes the temperature of the Americans on the rich, and most are not happy. A majority (65%) of respondents […]

Camden, New Jersey, just can’t seem to catch a break. Fox News, of all outlets, broke the news yesterday that the city of Camden will disband the department and transfer half the officers to a new non-union division. The move comes at the tail end of a long fight over workers salaries culminating in the […]

There is such hysteria about the problems facing Social Security, that it’s easy to forget a simple fact: Much of the program’s shortfalls in future years will go away if we just raise payroll taxes. And, as it turns out, that solution is more popular with the public than cutting benefits. This is the finding […]

One of the scariest moments of the 2008 financial crisis was the run on money market funds. It was a moment when, suddenly, many regular investors feared that their own cash could disappear into thin air — along with the billions going poof at big firms like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. The federal government […]

Here’s what happens when partisan politics takes over policy making: a thriving industry comes to a screeching halt. In 2011, the wind industry was responsible for over 30 percent of all electric generation capacity added. The 6,800 megawatts added was a 31 percent increase over 2010 and lifted the total wind power generation in the […]