JayEtta Hecker, Director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office, says that the sale of US highways and bridges for periods of time to private enterprises brings necessary money to cash-strapped governments. However, when embarking upon these public-private partnerships, she warns that we must be wary of the resulting changes in toll prices for consumers (:35).
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain discussed education, government spending, and the economy at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his remarks, McCain said his opponent democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama “an impressive fellow,” saying Obama has been able to inspire many Americans and that Obama has made historical strides for the United States.
McCain defended school voucher programs, asking where failing schools leave families and children in need of a good education. He said no bureaucracy should deny a child’s right to an education and that Americans are of dangerous schools with unqualified teachers. McCain also proposed aiding study outside of school by putting $500 million towards virtual schools and the expansion of online courses. He noted educational reform has been a goal of the NAACP, saying that despite the best efforts of teachers, blacks are among the most likely to drop out of high school. He criticized Obama’s opposition to educational programs in lower class neighborhoods and Obama’s decision to ignore public support for private school vouchers.
McCain said government spending has increased 60 percent in the last eight years, advocating reduced taxation as a method to ease Americans’ struggles with a hard economy. If elected, McCain told the conference he would double tax breaks for dependents and build 45 new nuclear plants as a method to develop alternative energy sources and to provide Americans 700,000 additional jobs. McCain closed by saying he needs counsel and goodwill from the NAACP to effectively help the United States.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spoke today at the League of United Latin American Citizens about the founding of LULAC. He said that American’s have a fundamental belief that American’s rise and fall together, so they need to work together in orders to succeed. (0:36)
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spoke today at the League of United Latin American Citizens about the changes he would make in his first year as president, calling comprehensive immigration and health care reform his top priorities.
Obama said that the United States cannot afford the Bush economic policies that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will be following, but need to give tax breaks to ordinary working Americans, not outsource American jobs, solve the housing crisis and invest in infrastructure that will create jobs and make the U.S. competitive for the future in a global market.
America doesn’t need a government that will solve all their problems. Obama said that Latinos embody the spirit of the American dream and that America has nothing to fear from new comers because America was always a land of immigrants. Obama stressed the need to treat immigrants and new citizens equally so as not to create “two classes of citizens.”
Obama praised Latin Americans for their hard work and desire to live the American dream. He urged Latinos to register to vote and to become active in government at a grassroots level, so that the people will create a comprehensive government that works for all Americans, “a government that represents all not some.” Sen. Obama also spoke on how McCain changed views on immigration reform, creating a comprehensive plan but then failed to vote for it. America needs a president who is not going to walk away from comprehensive reforms if it becomes unpopular, Obama said, and that is his top priority in the first year of his presidency.
At a press conference on making the American dream more affordable, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), says that the Republican minority won’t allow them “to make progress.” He says that the situation is like the Republicans pushing hard on the brakes of a tandem bicycle while the Democrats are trying to pedal forward. But, he adds that the Democrats will continue to “push.” (1:00)
Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, says that “things have got to start changing in Washington” in order for the U.S. to remain “the world’s economic superpower” at a Senate hearing on the condition of the nation’s infrastructure. (0:43)
Vice President Dick Cheney says that an overnight income tax rate increase would have the worst effect on Americans in the lowest tax bracket and that opponents of President Bush’s tax cuts lack the willingness to address harmful details. (0:57)
Three steps that must be taken to maintain the United States’s economic position in the world were cited by Vice President Dick Cheney at the United States Chamber of Commerce. Cheney thanked the Chamber for understanding economic issues and motivated it to assist policy makers in decision making.
Cheney defended tax cuts made by President Bush, saying that a sudden tax increase is “not the prescription” the United States needs to secure its economic status. Cheney said that if Bush’s tax cuts are allowed to expire, taxes will increase by $280 billion a year. The thousand dollar per child tax break given to families would be halved, causing an average of $1,800 increased taxes for 116 million Americans. Cheney said that this “government greed” would have the most harmful effect on Americans in the lowest tax brackets.
Cheney also promoted free trade initiatives and argued against the protectionism promoted in some of the presidential campaigns. He said that a free trade agreement with Colombia would benefit the United States by allowing American products to enter Colombia without tariffs. According to Cheney, 90 percent of Colombian goods already enter the United States duty free. Cheney said that protectionism brings “false comforts” and that the demise of a trade agreement with Colombia would not only hurt the American economy, but would also cause the United States’s image in Latin America to suffer.
In light of increased gas prices, Cheney advocated that the United States increase domestic oil production, saying that an increase in supply is the only way to lower prices. Cheney supported initiatives that develop new energy technologies but reiterated that the United States’s dependence on oil cannot be erased overnight. Cheney not only pushed for oil production in ANWAR, but also supported oil production off of the East and West Coasts. Cheney said that China and Cuba are producing oil off the coast of Florida, noting that “even the Communists” understand increased oil production is economically vital.
Representative Charles Boustany (Rep-La.) said that there is no single magic bullet to solve health care at a panel held at the 2008 National Small Business Summit at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. He stressed the importance of making all healthcare local and to better define the difference between health coverage and health access for small business owners and their employees. (more…)
Danny Glover discusses the need for governments to reorganize the economic marketplace to allow farmers to more easily create food for families. (0:55)
