Peter Dreier and Richard Appelbaum

If journalism's role is to not only report the facts but also to expose wrongdoing, then the Times deserves kudos, and a Pulitzer Prize, for documenting and explaining the emergence of Bangladesh's new sweatshop economy as a major source of the clothing that American and European consumers buy every day.

Jeb Bush

Former governor of Florida

Most Americans agree that coming to the United States legally should be easier and with less cost than coming to the country illegally. Unfortunately, right now, that is not the case.

Derek Bennett

Chief of Staff, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Veterans are superbly trained, diverse, innovative, reliable, hardworking, dedicated citizens, and many possess skills that are highly transferable.

Geoffrey R. Stone

Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago

Striking the right balance between the government's legitimate need for confidentiality, the press's legitimate need to obtain information about government action, and the public's "right to know" what its representatives are up to, is a difficult and delicate task.

Richard (RJ) Eskow

Writer; host, 'The Breakdown'; Senior Fellow, Campaign for America's Future

JPMorgan Chase is a perfect example of modern corporate leadership in its native habitat: at the center of a complicated matrix of human desires which it manipulates to suit its own ends.  And you and I are allowing it to continue.

Grover Norquist

President, Americans for Tax Reform

America is the most immigrant-friendly nation in the world and we are also the richest; that is not a coincidence. Immigrants have been coming to our shores since the Pilgrims landed and they bring with them determination, innovation, and the entrepreneurial spirit that built this great nation.

Mattea Kramer and Jo Comerford

It's 2023 -- and this is America 10 years after the first across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration went into effect.

Nithya Das

Acting general counsel, AppNexus

America is a country built by immigrants. My parents' story is important not because it is unique but rather because it is the story of America. It is a story that should be allowed to repeat itself.

Thomas M. Menino

Mayor of Boston; Co-chair, Mayors Against Illegal Guns

The City of Boston was founded on the dreams, traditions and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants. Today, immigrants help Boston to thrive and to grow. But the system is broken. And it doesn't work for Boston.

Bill Rosendahl

Los Angeles City Council member for the 11th District

I walking more freely and faster without assistance. I can sit longer than five minutes without pain. I'm getting pretty close to feeling like the old Bill Rosendahl.

Jesse Lava

Campaign Director at Brave New Foundation

Policymakers hoping to find meaningful offsets to fund disaster aid will have look at: 1) Where there's a lot of money, 2) where the spending is unjustifiable, and 3) where the politics and public opinion are conducive to allowing cuts, since there are very few areas in which that's true.

Mark R. Kennedy

Professor of political management and director of the Graduate School of Political Management, George Washington University

Lost in the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations' skewering of Apple CEO Tim Cook is the major point: the United States' decision to stand alone in taxing foreign earnings disadvantages American companies and American workers.

Paul Abrams

Last person on Earth not on Facebook

Ending oil industry subsidies to pay for clean-up and restitution from a climate catastrophe feels fitting. It will raise the money to satisfy Coburn, and make a point that cannot be overemphasized.

Jared Bernstein

Fmr. Obama administration economist; CNBC and MSNBC contributor

One common argument is that while Keynesians rightly call for temporary deficit spending to offset private sector contractions, politicians ignore the temporary part.

Rob Brooks

Evolutionary biologist and author

Entitled "The Ancestral Logic of Politics," a paper published last week in Psychological Science explored the link between male upper-body strength and assertion of economic self-interest. The link between what and what? Exactly.

Matt Baume

Writer, online strategist and video producer, American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER)

Marriage equality is on a winning streak, and it may not be over yet: Illinois may soon join Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota in passing marriage legislation before the start of summer. But time is running out: The Illinois legislature has just until the end of this month to pass its bill.

Donald Carr

Senior Advisor, Environmental Working Group

The second most heavily subsidized farmer in Congress said Washington should not "steal" from taxpayers to support food assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- better known as food stamps.