Hot on the heels of the banking crisis, the employment crisis, and the mortgage/foreclosure crisis, the country is on the verge of experiencing a credit card crisis. According to the Federal Reserve, the total outstanding credit card debt carried by Americans reached a record $951 billion in 2008 -- a number that will only climb higher as more people reach for the plastic to make ends meet. Yet the same banks that have been bailed out with billions of taxpayer dollars, have been turning around and gouging their most vulnerable customers, ratcheting up interest rates to as much as 32 percent and charging an ever-widening array of late fees, cash-advance fees, and over-the-limit fees. Priceless.
Last night Barack Obama spoke to Americans as adults. He told America that responsibility for others is not just a stupid value for chumps -- but the definition of begin a grown-up.
The man can give a speech. Confident, relaxed, bold, serious, President Obama made his case to the American people with boffo reviews from all who saw it no matter what their party allegiance.
What was most impressive about the speech was not its cadence and tone, but the framing used to sell its contents.
The FBI identified the epidemic of mortgage control fraud at such an early point that the financial crisis could have been averted had the Bush administration acted with even minimal competence.
A fundamental shift in how Americans understand the word investment since Barack Obama became president was the key factor underlying the political theater of last night.
If it wasn't such a dead-on comparison it would be catty to say out loud...but there's no denying it: Bobby Jindal was totally channeling Kenneth the Page from NBC's 30 Rock last night.
Congressman Obey led the effort in Washington to shape the plan. We now have a Recovery and Reinvestment Act that lets states be partners in moving this country forward.
As President Obama prepares to address a joint session of Congress, what can we expect to hear? The pundits will stress the nuts-and-bolts policy issues. What they miss is the Obama Code.
We would love nothing more than to reassure parents that the nation's current vaccine program is 100% safe for all kids, and that zero credible evidence links vaccines with autism. But that simply isn't true.
With the pro-worker Hilda Solis now at the helm of the Labor Department, our country will have a better chance to fulfill the vision President Obama highlighted Tuesday night.
The so-called anti-abortion movement refuses to admit that its long held political and fundraising habits have worked too well to now be abandoned, and so continues to resist common sense.
What was inescapable was Obama's irrepressible sense of confidence.
So long as the home crowd pays to see Alex Rodriguez, baseball can delude itself into believing that all is good in the world.
We can talk about saving journalism, or we can talk about saving the established order, but we can't talk about both.
As our free market comes under deadly assault by the Socialists and the Trotskyists in the White House, I'm proposing we hold a big fashion show and give all the money to the free market. Who's with me?
A smaller, more prudent capital access program is required for these smaller venture capital funds to continue to source and identify companies at the early stage.
Mr. President, we need you to rise above the daily politics of compromise. America needs to hear you say, "We will no longer tolerate the oppression of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters."
