Roy Ulrich
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Roy Ulrich is a lecturer at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley where he teaches courses in tax policy and communication policy.
Mr. Ulrich is also a policy analyst at Demos, a public advocacy organization based in New York City. In that capacity, he has written for the editorial pages of the Los Angeles Times, the Nation, and the Huffington Post, among others, on such subjects as education, health care, and tax reform.
As a lawyer and consumer advocate, Mr. Ulrich’s field of interest is political reform law. He specializes in drafting legislation and initiatives on behalf of public interest groups. In that capacity, he serves as president of the California Tax Reform Association, vice chair of the board of directors of California Common Cause, and consultant to the Center for Voting and Democracy (FairVote).

Blog Entries by Roy Ulrich

Book Review: Power, Inc. by David Rothkopf

0 Comments | Posted March 30, 2012 | 3:45 PM

In his new book, Power, Inc., David Rothkopf -- an editor at large at Foreign Policy and a former Clinton under-secretary of Commerce -- sounds an alarm. He argues that thousands of private actors who he calls "super citizens" now hold greater power than most of the countries in the...

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California Needs The FCC To Restore The Fairness Doctrine

0 Comments | Posted May 11, 2010 | 3:09 PM

Co-authored by Richard Holober

One of the lesser-known tragedies of the Reagan era was the Federal Communication Commission's decision to abolish the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. That doctrine used to require radio and television stations to air opposing and contrasting views on controversial issues of public importance. In 1992, the...

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The Office of Thrift Supervision: A Case Study in Republican Regulatory Neglect

0 Comments | Posted April 21, 2010 | 8:15 PM

There probably couldn't be a worse time than now for Americans to have lost faith in their government. And yet, that is the case. The most recent survey issued by the Pew Research Center a few days ago tells us that a scant 22% of Americans trust the federal government...

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Let the Public Own the Teams

0 Comments | Posted November 4, 2009 | 4:10 PM

The saga of the battling McCourts, Frank and Jamie, will be played out in court. Whether or not one of them is able to hold onto the Los Angeles Dodgers will be determined by a judge. Whatever the result, the future success of the team on the field could be...

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What It Will Take to Win the Healthcare Debate

0 Comments | Posted September 12, 2009 | 7:29 PM

In a speech to a joint session of Congress on health care Wednesday night, President Obama briefly alluded to the age-old argument between the individual's desire for freedom and the need for security. He noted there has been a healthy skepticism of the federal government since the nation's founding. On...

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A Critique of the Senate Filibuster

0 Comments | Posted May 5, 2009 | 1:01 PM

If you like the Electoral College, then You're Probably a fan of the Filibuster Too

The Electoral College is provided for in the United States Constitution. The filibuster is not. In fact, the word doesn't appear in any of our founding documents. Its derivation is from the Spanish filibustero, meaning...

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A Critique of the Senate Filibuster

0 Comments | Posted May 2, 2009 | 2:44 PM

The Electoral College is provided for in the United States Constitution. The filibuster is not. In fact, the word doesn't appear in any of our founding documents. Its derivation is from the Spanish filibustero, meaning "pirate" or "freebooter." In the legislative context, a filibuster is the use of delaying tactics...

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Health Care Reform in Critical Condition

0 Comments | Posted March 19, 2009 | 6:44 PM

Long ago, I heard Joseph Califano, President Carter's secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (later to become Health and Human Services), tell an audience that real health care reform in this country could not become a reality until we accomplished the goal of enacting campaign finance reform at the national...

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Loving, Revisited

0 Comments | Posted May 9, 2008 | 5:00 PM

Mildred Loving died of pneumonia last Friday at her home in Central Point, Virginia. As reporter Jocelyn Stewart wrote in an obituary in the Los Angeles Times, "For marrying the only man she loved, Mildred Loving paid a price: she was arrested, convicted and banished from her home state." She...

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You Get What You Pay For

0 Comments | Posted April 13, 2008 | 1:43 PM

The centerpiece of the bipartisan Foreclosure Prevention Act, passed by a bipartisan 84-12 in the Senate on Thursday, is a corporate tax giveaway for homebuilders, one of the groups most responsible for the housing bubble. You might remember that it was the homebuilders who rushed ahead with new housing developments...

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