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Don't Trust Washington on Wall Street Financial Reform
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2010 Comment (7)By Brandon Greife, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Trust is earned, not given away. By every indication, Americans trust the government less today than they have in the recent past. As the public’s belief in big government approaches all-time lows, Democrats continue to extend Washington’s hand into new areas.
A recent Pew Research poll found that just 22 percent of Americans say they trust Washington either all or most of the time. Standing alone this figure would suggest that the federal government should be working to make itself scarce. Nevertheless, a slim exception exists. While the public is generally distrustful of the government, a majority (61 percent) seem to be willing to make an exception for stricter regulations for Wall Street. No surprise then that Democrats, scrounging for anything to boost their November chances, have taken up financial regulatory reform. The public, who seems all too ready to set aside their skepticism in order to fight against Wall Street, should be wary that the Democrats bill takes their trusting attitude too far.
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New Jersey Gov. Christie Gives Republicans Budget Policy Road Map
Tweet Share on Facebook April 22, 2010 Comment (7)By Brandon Greife, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Ask a random 20-something what they first think of when you say New Jersey and you’re likely to get an unflattering picture of the state. MTV’s Jersey Shore would likely be first on the word-association list, followed by The Sopranos and possibly The Real Housewives. Taking these caricatures as reality, the Garden State appears to be filled with spiky-haired, spray tanned, mafia bosses with over-pampered, drama-queen wives. Unsurprisingly, New Jersey has become the butt of the joke. But recently elected governor Chris Christie is putting the state back on the road to respectability. OK, well maybe he can’t solve their image problem, but he’s certainly getting their fiscal house in order. He’s also providing a key roadmap for 2010 Republican candidates at a time when budget deficits and public debt is on the forefront of voters’ minds.
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Polls Suggest Israel Support Is Becoming Dangerously Politicized
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2010 Comment (48)By Brandon Greife, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Republicans and Democrats have plenty to argue about. From the impact of the healthcare bill to the parameters of financial regulatory reform, there is no shortage of outlets for spirited debate. But I fear that we have stoked the partisan fire beyond our ability to extinguish it. The bipartisan pro-Israel stance might be the first casualty. What has been one of the parties’ greatest areas of agreement is fast becoming another wedge issue in a heated election season.
Not all hope is lost. Unfortunately, watching the news recently you might have felt otherwise. Media coverage was slavishly devoted to covering every angle of the public disagreement between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Obama over a new Jewish housing development in East Jerusalem. Headlines spanned everything from “Obama Criticizes Israel Over Settlement Building” to “Democrats Begin to Criticize Obama on Israel.” What fell by the news-cycle wayside was the bipartisan letter, signed by 333 Congressmen, reaffirming “the unbreakable bond that exists between our country and the State of Israel.”Being pro-Israel remains a strongly bipartisan position in government. The letter was cosigned by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Republican Whip Eric Cantor, Congressmen who are all too often vocal critics of one another. The recent pro-Israel policy conference sponsored by AIPAC featured Sens. Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham as speakers, two names that are rarely on the same side of any issue. Nevertheless, there are cracks in the nation’s unified stance toward Israel.
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New Poll Numbers Bring Bad News for Obama, Democrats
Tweet Share on Facebook April 10, 2010 Comment (31)By Brandon Greife, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The Democrats spent the past year and a half building an impressive house of cards. Words like "hope" and "change" formed the foundation. Precariously stacked on top were legislative achievements like the economic stimulus package and healthcare reform. Looming over the unstable base sat two divisive party leaders in Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Atop the swaying tower sat President Obama. For a while he seemed capable of distracting everyone from the shoddy underpinnings of the Democrats' political house of cards. But over the summer the wobbling began. The ground-shaking passage of healthcare proved to be too much. The house appears to have collapsed.
Gallup, who released a poll on the party's favorability ratings, is the latest to survey the damage. According to the poll only 41 percent have a favorable impression of the Democratic Party. The results reflect a serious image problem for Democrats after a bruising and unpopular healthcare debate that could have serious consequences in the upcoming midterm elections. The Democrats favorable rating has fallen 9 percent in just seven months and represents "the lowest point in the 18 year history of the measure."
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Obama Student Loans Plan Will Make College Costs Soar Too
Tweet Share on Facebook April 7, 2010 Comment (19)By Brandon Greife, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Quick. How much does an MRI cost? Or an appendectomy? Or a cesarean section? Now, how much was your college tuition? If you're like me, you couldn't even give a ballpark figure for any of the medical procedures, but are intimately aware of how much you paid for college. President Obama's recently passed student loan reform may begin to hide the true costs of college tuition. However, as soaring healthcare expenditures attest, hiding the cost is not always best for the bottom line.
Student loan reform was desperately needed. The current system was an adulterated mess of government subsidies ensuring both private lender profits and an affordable education. Students can also find reason to cheer. The new legislation allows for lower monthly caps on student loan payments—down to 10 percent of discretionary income. It also shortens the forgiveness period to 20 years, after which the federal government may forgive the balance.
The applause from young adults may be short-lived. With one swipe of the pen President Obama sought to slam the brakes on runaway healthcare costs while unwittingly stepping on the college tuition accelerator.
