deregulation

The Contradictions of Ronald Reagan’s America

As the memory of President Ronald Reagan’s administration recedes, estimation of his deeds grows, and for good reason. A cursory look at his end-of-office stats impresses the casual observer — 67%  increase in GDP, from $3 trillion in 1981 to $5 trillion in 1988, net job addition of about 18 million, reduction in the unemployment […]

Do People Where You Are Care That Much About Clean Water? Enough To Make Them Vote One Way Or The Other?

EPA Failure by Nancy OhanianWhere are there voters who would get enthusiastic about rolling back a regulation that limits the amount of pollution and chemicals in our nation’s rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands? Where? Well, not in states, but at Republican Party meetings... they always go for abolishing regulations.

Josh Gottheimer-- The Worst Democrat In Congress... And So Far He Has No Primary Opponent

There are a lot of bad Democrats in Congress. It's fair to say Josh Gottheimer is the worst non-freshman in the House. By the numbers, he has the lowest score of any Democrat for 2019-- 20.83. Even the garbage pile of freshmen Democrats the party would be better off without have voting records that aren't as bad as Gottheimer's:

You'd Think Democrats Would Have Learned-- People/Voters Don't Like A Rigged System, But... Meet The Bailout Caucus

Almost a month ago, Alan Rapaport did a piece for the NY Times, Democrats Add Momentum to G.O.P. Push to Loosen Banking Rules about how conservative Wall Street-friendly Democrats in the Senate are helping Republicans "loosen rules imposed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis."

It’s Not If the Next Financial Crisis Will Happen – but When

There’s been lots of fire and fury around Washington lately, including a brief government shutdown. In Donald Trump’s White House, you can hardly keep up with the ongoing brouhahas from North Korea to Robert Mueller’s Russian investigation, while it already feels like ages since the celebratory mood over the vast corporate tax cuts Congress passed last year. But don’t be fooled: none of that is as important as what’s missing from the picture.  Like a disease, in the nation’s capital it’s often what you can’t see that will, in the end, hurt you most.

Pyramid Schemes, Congress And Deregulation

Even the phrase "multilevel marketing" sounds a lot better than "pyramid scheme," let alone "Ponzi scheme." Even "multilevel marketing scheme" sounds vaguely better than "pyramid scheme." But pyramid schemes are often illegal and, somehow multilevel marketing schemes are usually not. The Federal Trade Commission differentiates between legitimate multi-level marketing (MLM) companies and pyramid schemes claiming that MLM "have a real product to sell" while pyramid schemes don't. "If the money you make is based on your sales to the public, it may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan.

Why Didn't The Democrats Move To Break Up The Too Big To Fail Banks? Too Many Conservative Dems Eager to Work With The GOP

I feel like Austin Frerick, the former Treasury Department economist running for Congress in the Des Moines-based Iowa seat (IA-03), has become a friend aside from just one of the Blue America-endorsed candidates. I feel like I learn something every time I talk with him.