http://time.com/3533559/campaign-inflation/
The amount of money spent on elections by campaigns and outside groups has been growing at an incredible rate. It has even grown faster than the rate of health care and private college tuition. They have been using these unlimited bank accounts to get more airtime, mailings, and any other get-out-the-vote methods. The reason the cost of campaigns has increased so much is because of the national economy growth, the extremely tin margin that decides congressional control, and the revisions made to the campaign-finance rules. This growth should continue to increase over time.
This article is related to our class for a couple of reasons. First, it talks about how money is spent for election campaigning. It also discusses the growth rate of issues like health care and private college tuition. Lastly, it talks about the effects that the increasing rate will have on the election campaigning. For example, the NBC affiliate in Iowa decided to add an hour to the nightly newscast to get money from all the political ads.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Alabama Literacy Test
The Alabama literacy test was used to see whether or not you could vote if you were African American before 1965. I thought the test would be pretty easy and that I would do good on it. When I took it though, I discovered how hard it was and I think it was unfair to judge if you can vote or not with this test. I did not do nearly as well as I thought I would on this test. I am surprised by how hard the test was and I thought I would to better on it then I did.
Friday, October 24, 2014
What Will Happen If the Republicans Win the Senate
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21625788-two-scenarios-next-two-years-if-republicans-win-senate
According to most polls, the Republicans will most likely take a slim lead in November’s mid-term elections for the Senate. If this happens, the result will either be political paralysis or finding common ground between the Republicans and the Democrats. The pessimistic view of this scenario is saying that there will be no important laws passed while there is a Republican Senate because the two parties are so antithetical that they never agree on anything. The optimistic view counters this by saying that the Republicans and the president will have to work together to keep both their legacies alive. For example, Republicans are stating that they believe if the Republicans win the Senate, they will see advancement in policies such as free trade, corporate-tax reform, deficit reduction, federal highway funding, and revising the legal basis for the war in Iraq and Syria.
I do not think having a majority of the Senate being Republicans would be a good thing. I believe it would just make it even more difficult to agree on things than it already is. Many Republicans believe Obama is a hazard whom Americans should oppose. On the other hand, many Democrats think there is no point trying to reason with Republicans on the matter of making deals. Because of this, they will never cut a deal if there is a Republican Senate.
According to most polls, the Republicans will most likely take a slim lead in November’s mid-term elections for the Senate. If this happens, the result will either be political paralysis or finding common ground between the Republicans and the Democrats. The pessimistic view of this scenario is saying that there will be no important laws passed while there is a Republican Senate because the two parties are so antithetical that they never agree on anything. The optimistic view counters this by saying that the Republicans and the president will have to work together to keep both their legacies alive. For example, Republicans are stating that they believe if the Republicans win the Senate, they will see advancement in policies such as free trade, corporate-tax reform, deficit reduction, federal highway funding, and revising the legal basis for the war in Iraq and Syria.
I do not think having a majority of the Senate being Republicans would be a good thing. I believe it would just make it even more difficult to agree on things than it already is. Many Republicans believe Obama is a hazard whom Americans should oppose. On the other hand, many Democrats think there is no point trying to reason with Republicans on the matter of making deals. Because of this, they will never cut a deal if there is a Republican Senate.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
American Oil
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/business/energy-environment/us-oil-boom-shows-no-signs-of-slowing-down.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1
Even after the falling gas and oil prices, oil experts are saying the American energy explosion is not going to slow down. To even moderately slow this process down, the price of a barrel of oil would have to decline $10 to $20 more. Lower oil prices also means lower gas prices. The national gas price has gone down 10 cents in the last week and 22 cents in the last year. The problem is, states like Texas, Alaska, Oklahoma, and North Dakota that produced oil are having their finances being cut into. This is because taxes and royalties are declining. As long as this keeps happening, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will put pressure on these state to cut output to support these prices.
This article relates to our class in a couple of ways. It discusses the role oil plays in the economy. It also talks about the tax decline and how it affects oil-producing states. Lastly, the government requires a certain amount of money producers pay them in taxes and royalties.
Even after the falling gas and oil prices, oil experts are saying the American energy explosion is not going to slow down. To even moderately slow this process down, the price of a barrel of oil would have to decline $10 to $20 more. Lower oil prices also means lower gas prices. The national gas price has gone down 10 cents in the last week and 22 cents in the last year. The problem is, states like Texas, Alaska, Oklahoma, and North Dakota that produced oil are having their finances being cut into. This is because taxes and royalties are declining. As long as this keeps happening, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will put pressure on these state to cut output to support these prices.
This article relates to our class in a couple of ways. It discusses the role oil plays in the economy. It also talks about the tax decline and how it affects oil-producing states. Lastly, the government requires a certain amount of money producers pay them in taxes and royalties.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Same-Sex Marriage Rights
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/politics/gay-marriage-2014/
This article is about the Supreme Court's decision on Monday about same-sex marriage. They would not hear the cases about maintaining same-sex marriage bans in some states. Because of this, the states of Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana have now cleared the way for legalizing gay marriage. North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming also had their bans struck down. This means there are now 30 states that permit civil marriage compared to the 19 states that did so before the Supreme Court meeting.
In my opinion, civil marriage should be legal in all states. It is not fair that same-sex couples can't
have the same marriage rights shared by heterosexual couples. They should be allowed to publicly celebrate their commitment in the same way as couples between a man and a woman do. Also,
legalizing gay marriage will not harm "family values” and not allowing it is unconstitutional discrimination.
This article relates to our class for a couple reasons. It discusses the rule of the Supreme Court in these situations. It also talks about how states can make their own laws, but the Supreme Court can say that law is unconstitutional.
This article is about the Supreme Court's decision on Monday about same-sex marriage. They would not hear the cases about maintaining same-sex marriage bans in some states. Because of this, the states of Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana have now cleared the way for legalizing gay marriage. North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming also had their bans struck down. This means there are now 30 states that permit civil marriage compared to the 19 states that did so before the Supreme Court meeting.
In my opinion, civil marriage should be legal in all states. It is not fair that same-sex couples can't
have the same marriage rights shared by heterosexual couples. They should be allowed to publicly celebrate their commitment in the same way as couples between a man and a woman do. Also,
legalizing gay marriage will not harm "family values” and not allowing it is unconstitutional discrimination.
This article relates to our class for a couple reasons. It discusses the rule of the Supreme Court in these situations. It also talks about how states can make their own laws, but the Supreme Court can say that law is unconstitutional.
Friday, October 3, 2014
The 3% Economy
http://time.com/3429656/the-3-economy/
Our country is now at a 3% GDP growth. A couple years ago, Americans couldn't wait for this to happen, thinking that when the GDP growth finally hit close to 3%, the middle class jobs and wages would be restored. Sadly, this has not been the case. Unemployment is down, but only a fraction of the jobs lost during the Great Recession that pay more than $15 per hour have been found. As if this isn't bad enough, wage growth has stayed near zero for the last 10 years. Our economy is broken, and it's about to get worse. According to a smart investor, student debt is where the next big financial crisis is coming from. It has tripled over the lat decade and it is still growing. However, this is not surprising considering the circumstances. Students are fighting the strong structural change in the economy. Also, many students are trying to become educated so they can get out of the cycle of downward mobility.
This article relates to our class in a couple of ways. It discusses the issues in the economy such as student debt, unemployment, and wage growth. It also talks about GPD growth and how it relates to our economy. In my opinion, the GDP growth number doesn't make a difference. If you don't think the economy is any better than before, then you are probably right.
Our country is now at a 3% GDP growth. A couple years ago, Americans couldn't wait for this to happen, thinking that when the GDP growth finally hit close to 3%, the middle class jobs and wages would be restored. Sadly, this has not been the case. Unemployment is down, but only a fraction of the jobs lost during the Great Recession that pay more than $15 per hour have been found. As if this isn't bad enough, wage growth has stayed near zero for the last 10 years. Our economy is broken, and it's about to get worse. According to a smart investor, student debt is where the next big financial crisis is coming from. It has tripled over the lat decade and it is still growing. However, this is not surprising considering the circumstances. Students are fighting the strong structural change in the economy. Also, many students are trying to become educated so they can get out of the cycle of downward mobility.
This article relates to our class in a couple of ways. It discusses the issues in the economy such as student debt, unemployment, and wage growth. It also talks about GPD growth and how it relates to our economy. In my opinion, the GDP growth number doesn't make a difference. If you don't think the economy is any better than before, then you are probably right.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)