Blog
As a state dominated by the oil and gas industry and other large corporations, Texas has generated little excitement about government reforms. That’s changing, and much of the credit goes to the bright light that a public interest group, Texans for Public Justice (TPJ), has focused on the state’s judiciary, legislature and the governor’s office.…
There can be no vibrant American democracy without a vibrant labor union movement. Unions enable working people to band together to enliven our modest political democracy and they are by far the most important institution working to infuse at least a modicum of the nation’s democratic values into the economic sphere. Whatever their limitations and…
President Bush may not realize it, but moderate and liberal members of Congress could save him a lot of grief if they voted down or sharply modified the Administration’s proposal for a massive tax cut. Fueled by the excess of campaign promises, the President’s $1.6 trillion tax cut threatens to return the nation to the…
Richard A. Grasso, chairman and chief executive officer of the New York Stock Exchange and his merry band of traders must believe that Robin Hood had it all wrong. Grasso and company want to take from the working families, small business people and the other taxpayers of New York and give to the wealthy investors…
Governor George PatakiState CapitolAlbany, NY 12224 Mayor Rudolph GiulianiCity HallNew York, NY 10007 Dear Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani: The New York State and City decision to grant a series of subsidies, now expected to total more than $1 billion, to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ranks as one of the most foolish and…
When Bill Clinton headed out of town last month, political pundits were anointing the former President as Washington’s master politician. Perhaps not the most ethical, but the most skilled was a near unanimousverdict. Did these pundits overlook Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Chairman who has had everyone from right wing conservatives to staunch liberals sitting…
Honorable Alan Greenspan Chairman Federal Reserve Board Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. Chairman, Your testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on January 25 once again raises serious questions about the immense political and economic power that the Federal Reserve Board has assumed for itself over the entire nation, from the poorest to the wealthiest citizen.…
Richard A. Grasso, chairman and chief executive officer of the New York Stock Exchange and his merry band of traders must believe that Robin Hood had it all wrong. Grasso and company want to take from the working families, small business people and the other taxpayers of New York and give to the wealthy investors…
Revolving doors through which corporate executives glide effortlessly between private sector employment and government jobs and back again seem to be a fixture of every national Administration. Neither the Democratic nor Republican Administrations are immune from the practice which blurs the distinctions between the interests of corporate America and the broader concerns of the public…
Next time some major industry starts talking about the glories of deregulation, consumers should hold tightly to their billfolds. The rush to deregulate has intensified over the past 25 years as lobbyists for airlines, cable television, financial institutions and telephone, natural gas and electrical utilities have succeeded in convincing compliant local, state and national legislative…