Jan 192011
“REGULATIONS DO HAVE COSTS, OFTEN, AS A COUNTRY, WE HAVE TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS ABOUT WHETHER THOSE COSTS ARE NECESSARY.“
(Wall Street Journal)
President Obama strikes a pro-business tone and takes a decidedly conservative stand against “dumb” government regulations in a surprising Wall Street Journal op-ed from Tuesday. The president makes a thinly veiled effort to court the corporate community that pundits and his advisers say is vital to winning support for other areas of his agenda and to strengthen his reelection bid. Many point to new chief of staff Bill Daley as the visionary of the president’s “pro-business” outreach. The article coincides with an executive order directing every federal agency and department to investigate and “root out” rules and regulations that the president says “have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs.” Critics question both the necessity and impact of the hunt for “dumb” regulations, which is likely to “create” very few jobs but could have serious consequences for the safety of Americans and the environment.
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REPUBLICAN SEN. RICHARD LUGAR ASKS THE QUESTION WE ALL WANT ANSWERED ON AFGHANISTAN: “WHERE DOES THIS STOP?”
(Huffington Post)
The Indiana Republican and a veteran presence in the Senate is openly questioning the future of American involvement in Afghanistan and the escalating financial impact the war and occupation is having on the United States. Calling the current period a “critical juncture” in the tactical direction of the war and public support for it, Lugar said he will press the Obama administration for “definition” of the scope of the president’s promised withdrawal. “This is a debate we’re going to have the next five months or so.”
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THE WAR ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES; FROM THE FRONT LINES.
(Boston Globe)
A Boston-area firefighter, facing mandatory retirement at the age of 65, reflects on the recent explosion of anti-public worker and anti-union sentiment across America, fueled by natural reactions to a tough economy and stoked by political partisans seeking to discredit the targets of their “austerity” agenda for local, state and federal budgets.
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BILL TO ABOLISH FLORIDA’S “FCAT” SCHOOL TESTING LIKELY TO FAIL
(Miami Herald)
Another piece of legislation has been filed in the Florida legislature meant to eliminate the controversial Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. “The bottom line is the FCAT is not helping,” says the bill’s sponsor. The test is regularly excoriated by students, parents and teachers, but the latest effort to end it will likely received little traction with pro-FCAT Republicans controlling the legislature and the governor’s mansion and state officials praising the “academic performance” they attribute to the FCAT.
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One question I have on regulation is what the actual effect of any of this is, which makes me think it’s more about symbolism and less about actually changing policy (though some agencies might slack off in this regard, and clearly he is giving some people a kick in particular direction).