Pro: Congress should scrap consumer protection agency and start over
By THOMAS J. DONOHUE - Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009
WASHINGTON --
There are four major problems with the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency: It would hand unprecedented power to a massive new government bureaucracy; it would restrict access to credit and consumer choice; it would add layer upon layer of new regulations to an already confusing regulatory regime; and it would undermine privacy.
Pro: Cost of cap-and-trade would devastate economy
By DAVID A. RIDENOUR - Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009
WASHINGTON --
Nearly 15 million Americans are looking for work, bringing the official unemployment rate to 9.7—the highest in 26 years. If the Senate passes the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, that rate will go much higher. Employment and access to health insurance are inextricably linked.
Con: Obama must pass health and energy acts to restore prosperity and retain his efficacy
By WAYNE MADSEN - Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009
WASHINGTON -- There is no indication that if industries such as Big Coal or Big Oil received a pass to continue business as usual it would save any jobs, but numerous studies suggest it would exacerbate catastrophic global warming by the end of the century—and perhaps before.
Pro: Obama’s policies have U.S. on road to recovery after economic free-fall triggered by Bush
By MICHAEL J. WILSON - Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009
WASHINGTON --
American workers are of two minds about whether they are better off or not. There is hope for the future and confidence that President Obama is doing all he can, but there is also a consensus that things are not better—yet.
Con: A return to prosperity is light-years away if we follow Obama’s road map
By ELAINE CHAO - Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009
WASHINGTON -- On Labor Day, millions of Americans will consult their Rand McNally Road Atlas before hitting the highway. But those seeking the quickest route to Lost Jobs and Delayed Recovery need only to follow the Obama-Pelosi Policy Atlas
Con: Obama supports legally deposed thug
By DAVID A. RIDENOUR - Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009
WASHINGTON -- After removal of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from office, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was quick to condemn the move, saying it could create a “terrible precedent.” What terrible precedent did she think might be established? A Latin American country actually following its constitution? Despite what you may have heard, there was no coup d’etat in Honduras.
Pro: Obama tacitly backs military’s takeover of Honduran democracy
By MARK WEISBROT - Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009
WASHINGTON --
It looks terrible to the world that President Obama's government so easily abandons its professed commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
Con: Prescription drug ads provide useful info; banning them is censorship
By JAMES GATTUSO - Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009
WASHINGTON --
Despite the occasional cringe-inducing moment, TV commercials for prescription drugs have helped millions of people get better medical treatment. This flow of information to patients and consumers should not be stopped.
Pro: Patients’ drugs should be driven by doctors’ advice, not sleazy TV pitches
By WAYNE MADSEN - Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009
WASHINGTON --
The TV blitzkrieg by drug manufacturers is bad enough, but now it’s rolling across the endless Internet, as well—using popular social media Web sites such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace to tout cures for obesity, depression or leaky bladders.
Con: Cap-and-trade’s costly mandates may put family farms in final jeopardy
By REP. PETER HOEKSTRA - Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Many Americans rightly fear the devastating effect cap-and-trade will have on our already foundering auto industry. They also understand the increased cost of generating electricity—a cost will be directly passed on to consumers. Few, however, realize the destructive effect it will have on family farms.
Pro: Senate must eliminate farm lobby’s free ride as it labors to fix flawed House bill
By DAVID A. RIDENOUR - Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Led by Congressman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., farm-state congressmen persuaded sponsors to include a provision blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from measuring the true carbon footprint of ethanol.
Big business must pay its fair share to help America survive recession
By MICHAEL J. WILSON - Saturday, July 25, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Businesses complain that our corporate income tax rate is higher than other nations’ rates, but that assumes corporations actually pay the taxes.
Ending tax deferral of overseas income slaps U.S. firms with huge tax hike during recession
By THOMAS J. DONOHUE - Saturday, July 25, 2009
WASHINGTON -- President Obama’s recent proposal to increase taxes on foreign earnings of U.S. corporations ironically would jeopardize his own plans to revitalize our slumping economy and put struggling Americans back to work.
Pro: Merit pay for all public school teachers could lift student achievement to new heights
By KERRI TOLOCZKO - Saturday, July 18, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Unfortunately, common-sense performance standards are not fully used in education, where an arcane approach to salary distribution and teachers unions concerned more with status quo than quality education has created a system that is failing both the students in it and the country around it.
Con: Minuscule bonuses won’t enhance teaching
By PAUL HOUSTON - Saturday, July 18, 2009
TUCSON, ARIZ. -- Would adding a few thousand dollars to the checks of some teachers really inspire the others to do better? The argument that somehow this will help the good teachers rise to the top and the bad ones go away is not sound.
