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1. “The Energy Mix:
The Outlook for the Next 30 Years”
April 1, 2013, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
World Affairs Council Auditorium,
Speaker(s): Daniel Kammen, Director, Renewable and Appropriate Energy
Laboratory,
2. The Aaron Wildavsky Forum for Public Policy
“The ObamaCare Challenge: Partisan
Conflict and the Implementation of a Nationwide Reform in Fifty States”
Professor Theda Skocpol,
Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology,
April 4, 2013, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. Banatao
Auditorium, Sutardja Dai Hall
3. Wildavsky
Forum Discussion
April 5, 2013, 9-11 a.m.
Room 250
Paul Pierson, John Gross Endowed Chair, Professor of
Political Science, University of
Stephen Shortell, Dean—
John Ellwood, Professor
of Public Policy and Public Health,
4. “Can the
Thursday, April 11. 6:00-7:30 pm, Room 244 Boalt
The Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) hosts
three bioenergy experts in a panel discussion:
- Paul Bryan, Lecturer, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Former Program Manager, DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office
- Hanna Breetz, Postdoctoral Scholar and Lecturer,
- Heather Youngs, Bioenergy Analyst, Energy Biosciences Institute
RSVP!: http://bercshop-biofuel.eventbrite.com
5. “Corruption: Part
of Failing Global Governance—The Role of Civil Society in Fighting it”
Dr. Peter Eigen, the founder of Transparency International
(TI)
April 12. 12:00-2:00 p.m. Room 105 GSPP
This event is co-sponsored by the International Public Policy
Group and the Masters in Development Practice program
6. Film screening of
the documentary Chasing Ice
Tuesday, April 16th from 5:00-7:30 pm, Sutardja
Dai Hall auditorium
Dan Kammen, ERG Professor and member of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will give a brief talk
introducing the film. More info of related event and to Register
Presented by CEGA, BERC, and ERG
7. “Nutrition and
Urban Food and Farming” – a panel discussion featuring:
Maggi Kelly, Barbara Laraia and Steve Sugarman, experts on geospatial technologies, nutrition and
health outcomes, and food law and policy.
April 16, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Goldman School
Presented by UC Berkeley Food Institute; RSVP at: http://doodle.com/za5gsfusmh3h88ez
8. Third Annual Race
& Policy Symposium
April 17, 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.,
Keynote speakers: Angela Glover Blackwell, Maria Echaveste
12:00 - 1:30pm Welcoming Remarks by Dean Henry Brady, Goldman
1:30 – 3:00 pm Panel 1A: “Confronting Race in Law Enforcement”
features Jack Glaser, Associate
Professor of Public Policy, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC
Berkeley
Presented by the Students of Color in
Public Policy. More info & to register
9. “Improbable
Scholars: The Rebirth of a
GSPP Professor David Kirp discusses his new book
Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m., Books Inc,
Monday, April 22, 7:00 p.m., Books Inc.,
10. Cal Day Event: “Makers
v. Takers: A Sensible Way to Debate the Role of Government?”
April 20, 2013, 1:00 pm–2:30 pm, Alumni House
Panelists Dean Henry E. Brady, Professor
Hilary Hoynes and Professor Cybelle
Fox. Moderated by Richard “Dick” Beahrs (BA ‘68), Center on Civility & Democratic
Engagement Advisory Board.
Sponsored by the
11. “Aging, income
security, public policy, and career opportunities for public policy students”
- Robert Pepper, Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security
Administration
- Erin Godtland, Senior Economist,
Government Accountability Office
April 22, 2013, 12:30 pm,
Presented by GSPP (with support from the Gerontological Society of America) and c0-sponsored by the
campus-wide Center on Aging; open to other graduate departments on campus.
RSVP by Friday, April 12.
12. “Evidence to
Action: Promoting Global Development in a Changing Climate”
Thursday, April 25th, 2013, 1:00-5:30 pm,
Presenters: ...
- Lucas Davis (Professor of Economic Analysis and Policy) and
Paul Gertler (Li Ka Shing
Professor of Economics) with Veronica Irastorza (MPP 1999) (UC Berkeley, formerly SENER in
- Elisabeth Sadoulet and Alain de Janvry
(Professors of Agriculture and Resource Economics) on Impact of Stress-Tolerant Rice on Farmer Welfare in India ...
Presented by The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at
UC Berkeley, co-hosted by the Energy Institute at Haas and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
(J-PAL). More info
13. Environmental
Policy Group Annual Alumni Dinner
Opening Remarks: Prof. Lee Friedman
Featured Speaker: Cisco
DeVries (MPP 2000), President & CEO, Renewable
Funding
April 25, Reception 6:00 p.m., Dinner 7:00 p.m. Please RVSP by April 12.
Co-sponsored by EPG & the Center for Environmental Public
Policy
ALUMNI AND STUDENT NEWSMAKERS
1. “Washington Journal: Prospects for 2014 Budget Agreement”
(C-SPAN TV, March 31, 2013); program featuring STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976); http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311843-3
2. “The Woodrow Wilson Center (WWC) holds a discussion on ‘Petro-Aggression:
When Oil Causes War’” (The Washington Daybook, March 27, 2013); event featuring
JEFF COLGAN (MPP 2002).
3. “Health Care Payment Reform” (C-SPAN TV, March 26, 2013);
program featuring SUZANNE DELBANCO
(MPP/MPH 1994, PhD 1999); http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311758-1
4. “Bay Area health and fitness events” (San Francisco
Chronicle, March 26, 2013); event featuring LAUREL (TAN) LUCIA (MPP 2005); http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Bay-Area-health-and-fitness-events-4386357.php
5. “Parents’ Lack of Work Affects 1 in 6 U.S. Children, Study
Finds” (The National Journal, March 26, 2013); story citing JULIA BIXLER ISAACS (MPP 1985).
6. “Students’ Obesity Policy Strategies Win National
Competition” (States News Service, March 26, 2013); newswire citing DAVID WEIMER (MPP 1975/PhD 1978).
7. “Study:
8. “PG&E, Solar Industry Maintain Stance CEC Backing
Inequitable RPS Rules” (California Energy & Climate Report, March 24,
2013); story citing LAURA WISLAND
(MPP 2008).
9. “Legislators urged to deal now with $73 billion CalSTRS shortfall” (The Sacramento Bee, March 21, 2013);
story citing ED DERMAN (MPP 1978); http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/20/5279360/legislators-urged-to-deal-now.html
10. “March 20 letters to the editor” (San Jose Mercury News,
March 20, 2013); Letter to Editor citing DANIEL
BORENSTEIN (MPP 1980/MJ 1985) and Letter to Editor by GREG LINDEN (MPP 1995).
11. “CA green jobs grew at slower pace in 2010” (San
Francisco Chronicle, March 19, 2013); story citing DOUG HENTON (MPP 1975); http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/CA-green-jobs-grew-at-slower-pace-in-2010-4365200.php#ixzz2O0QRF5QZ
12. “
13. “Obama and Netanyahu: It’s Complicated” (The National
Journal, March 19, 2013); analysis citing MITCHELL
BARD (MPP 1983/PhD 1987).
14. “
15. “The Arms Trade Treaty - in Search of a Silver Bullet”
(Africa News, March 18, 2013); story citing JEFF ABRAMSON (MPP 2003).
16. “Part I: An Interview with Michael Kobori,
Levi’s: ‘Sea Changes in Sustainability’—CSR Minute for March 15, 2013” (3BL
Media, March 15, 2013); interview with MICHAEL
KOBORI (MPP 1995).
17. “A Later Last-Call for California Bars?” (Forum, KQED
public radio, March 15, 2013); program features BRUCE LIVINGSTON (MPP 1989); Listen to this program
18. “
19. “Daylight Borrowing. Paul Staley wakes up to Daylight
Savings Time, which saves no daylight” (Perspectives, KQED public radio, March
11, 2013); commentary by PAUL STALEY
(MPP 1980); Listen to this Perspective
20. “Partners, contestants aid pageant finances” (The Press
of Atlantic City, March 10, 2013); story citing HANS DEKKER (MPP 1991).
21. “NRA’s silence on UN arms treaty surprises gun control
campaigners” (Guardian [
22. “This Week in
23. “
24. “Why spending cuts may be here to stay” (CNN Wire, March
6, 2013); analysis citing SEAN WEST
(MPP 2006).
25. “Four Things to Know about the Next Big Budget Battle”
(Morning Edition, NPR, March 5, 2013); program featuring STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976); Listen to this story
26. “The George Washington University (GWU) School of Media
and Public Affairs, and the Center for the Study of the Presidency &
Congress holds a discussion on ‘Scandal and Silence: When the Watchdog Doesn’t
Bark’” (The Washington Daybook, March 5, 2013); event featuring ROBERT ENTMAN (MPP 1980/PhD).
27. “Myriad languages, cultures challenge health reform”
(Associated Press, March 4, 2013); story by GARANCE BURKE (MPP 2005/MJ 2004) and citing CAROLINE SANDERS (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Myriad-languages-cultures-challenge-health-reform-4325605.php#ixzz2MbBccWHH
28. “Katy Tang targets Muni mid-trip switches” (San Francisco
Chronicle, March 4, 2013); story citing CARMEN
CHU (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Katy-Tang-targets-Muni-mid-trip-switches-4325202.php#ixzz2Mb93hNVU
29. “Does Head Start live up to name?” (The Record (
30. “Pro sports leagues aim to put workers’ comp out of play”
(Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2013); column citing FRANK NEUHAUSER (MPP 1993); http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20130303,0,1032269.column
31. “Health exchange incentive for insurers added to
Minnesota House bill” (St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 2, 2013); story citing LIZ DOYLE (MPP 2002).
32. “
33. “
34. “More College Grads Mean Faster Economic Growth” (Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette, March 1, 2013); editorial citing DAVID DEMING (MPP 2005).
35. “Clean Energy Market Poised for Rapid Growth in
36. “That new $2, $3 fee on cable bill? Sports
the culprit” (
37. “Millions more could join Medicaid as Republican
governors cave in” (CNN Wire, February 22, 2013); story citing JANUARY ANGELES (MPP 2002).
38. “San Jose Unified to Sue County Board - District Objects
to Decision on Charter School” (San Jose Mercury News, February 20, 2013);
story citing JESSICA GARCIA-KOHL
(MPP/MPH 2005).
39. “Sick Ohioans facing deadline - Pre-existing condition
enrollment will be cut off March 1.Changes to high-risk plan may control costs”
(Dayton Daily News, February 19, 2013); story citing DAVID FOGARTY (MPP 1992).
40. “Tax preparers see opportunity in health care law” (The
Tennessean, February 13, 2013); story citing BRIAN HAILE (MPP 2000); http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302130001
41. “FLSA class action strategy seeks to moot cases; Circuit
Split” (Inside Counsel, February 2013 issue); story citing NICOLE BERNER (MPP/JD 1996).
42. “NEGOTIATIONS: New alliance attempts to bridge
North-South gap in U.N. climate talks” (ClimateWire,
Vol. 10 No. 9, January 22, 2013); story citing NED HELME (MPP 1971).
43. “Reflecting on Aaron Swartz’s Death” (Blue Mass. Group,
January 22, 2013); commentary by ALEX
MARTHEWS (MPP 2001).
44. “TransCore and the New York
City Department of Transportation Win International Road Federation’s Global
Achievement Award for ITS and Traffic Management”
(Business Wire, January 15, 2013); newswire citing BRUCE SCHALLER (MPP 1982).
45. “API: Smog controls cost 25 cents a gallon” (UPI Energy,
January 31, 2013); story citing LUKE
TONACHEL (MPP 2004).
46. “Clean water tab: $1.5B - State tabulates myriad of costs
to fix pollution” (St. Albans Messenger, January 21, 2013); story citing KARI DOLAN (MPP 1990).
47. “Bring back pork barrel spending” (The Monkey Cage,
January 14, 2013); commentary by ERIC
PATASHNIK (MPP 1989) and citing JOHN
ELLWOOD; http://themonkeycage.org/2013/01/14/bring-back-pork-barrel-spending/
48. “
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
1. “Sequester Slashes Help for Long-Term
Unemployed” (The National Journal, March 31, 2013); story citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN.
2. “
3. “The morality brigade” (The Baltimore Sun,
March 27, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH;
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-the-morality-brigade-20130326,0,1464874.story
4. “Obama finally changing tone on deficit” (SF
Chronicle, March 24, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT
REICH; http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/reich/article/Obama-finally-changing-tone-on-deficit-4377426.php#ixzz2OmKWt1Yr
5. “Bipartisan group urges new housing policy for
6. “Better to work with the schools we have” (San
Francisco Chronicle, March 16, 2013); op-ed by DAVID KIRP; http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Better-to-work-with-the-schools-we-have-4358415.php
7. “It’s still a bear market for US workers” (San
Francisco Chronicle, March 16, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/It-s-still-a-bear-market-for-US-workers-4358406.php#ixzz2NuoTFRjf
8. “In
9. “Paul Ryan’s budget and austerity economics”
(Christian Science Monitor, March 13, 2013); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2013/0311/Paul-Ryan-s-budget-and-austerity-economics
10. “International News Roundup” (Forum, KQED,
March 11, 2013); program featuring MICHAEL
NACHT; Listen to this program
11. “Tea Party violates tenets of social justice”
(San Francisco Chronicle, March 9, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/Tea-Party-violates-tenets-of-social-justice-4340358.php
12. “Why there’s a Bull Market for Stocks and a
Bear Market for Workers” (Huffington Post, March 5, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/stock-market-record-high_b_2812590.html
13. “Daniel Mulhern
receives Golden Apple Award for outstanding teaching” (Daily Californian, March
4, 2013); story citing Visiting Lecturer DANIEL
MULHERN; http://www.dailycal.org/2013/03/04/daniel-mulhern-receives-outstanding-teaching-award/
14. “Will the Sequester Start Another
Recession? - Answers from actual economists from across the political spectrum”
(The New Republic, , February 28, 2013); commentary by
JESSE ROTHSTEIN.
1. “Washington Journal: Prospects for 2014 Budget Agreement” (C-SPAN
TV, March 31, 2013); program featuring STAN
COLLENDER (MPP 1976); http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311843-3
Stan Collender (Roll Call – “Fiscal
Fitness” Columnist), and Peter Morici talked about the
House and Senate fiscal year 2014 budgets, and how the differences between the
two might be resolved. They
focused much of their discussion on the sustainability of Social Security and
Medicare, and they criticized both House and Senate FY14 budgets as being
unrealistic. Other
topics included the costs of the
2. “The Woodrow Wilson
Center (WWC) holds a discussion on ‘Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War’”
(The Washington Daybook, March 27, 2013); event featuring JEFF COLGAN (MPP 2002).
TIME: 10:30 a.m.
LOCATION: WWC, One Woodrow Wilson
Plaza, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Fifth Floor,
Washington, D.C.
PARTICIPANTS: Jeff Colgan, assistant
professor in the School of International Service at American University;
and David Edelstein, associate professor in the School of Foreign Service at
Georgetown University
3. “Health Care Payment Reform”
(C-SPAN TV, March 26, 2013); program featuring SUZANNE DELBANCO (MPP/MPH 1994, PhD 1999); http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311758-1
The employer coalition Catalyst
for Payment Reform (with Suzanne Delbanco, executive
director) released their “National Scorecard on Payment Reform” which
offers a method to measure the nation’s progress toward reform of the health
care payment system. Panelists
discussed efforts to create a more value-oriented and efficient health care
system. Speakers
included executives from insurance companies that are experimenting with new
systems that pay doctors based on the health of the patient rather than the
number of services provided.
4. “Bay Area health and fitness
events” (San Francisco Chronicle, March 26, 2013); event featuring LAUREL (TAN) LUCIA (MPP 2005); http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Bay-Area-health-and-fitness-events-4386357.php
The Affordable Care Act in
Laurel Lucia, a policy analyst at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor
Research and Education, will describe the eligibility criteria for new
coverage options. Her discussion will include an expanded Medi-Cal
program under the Affordable Care Act and federally subsidized private health
insurance in a new health care marketplace, called an exchange. She will also
discuss the impact the law will have on job-based health insurance. 7:30 p.m.
Monday. Free.
5. “Parents’ Lack of Work
Affects 1 in 6 U.S. Children, Study Finds” (The National Journal, March 26,
2013); story citing JULIA BIXLER ISAACS
(MPP 1985).
By Jody Brannon
More than 1 in 6
In her examination of the
impact of the recession on children, Julia
Isaacs of the Urban Institute found that throughout 2012, 6.2 million kids
lived in a family hurt by unemployment, and the figure jumps to almost twice
that if underemployment is considered. Her report was released in tandem with
First Focus, another bipartisan Washington-based group that advocate for
children.
Isaacs studied children whose family’s circumstance might include
one of three kinds of federal support: unemployment insurance for at least one
parent; food stamps (formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program); or temporary assistance for needy families. Among her findings, for
instance, is that only about 1 in 3 children with at least one jobless parent
received unemployment insurance, and 29 percent of children are in a low-income
family whose overall income might make it eligible for SNAP and/or TANF
benefits but are not receiving such support....
Children of parents who are
short on money can suffer from hunger, perform poorly in school, and face the
possibility of increased family violence.
Having an unemployed or
underemployed family member can have long-term affects on children; Isaacs referred to a 2010 report that
showed a lower likelihood of going to college for low-income youth whose
parents had lost a job....
6. “Students’ Obesity Policy
Strategies Win National Competition” (States News Service, March 26, 2013);
newswire citing DAVID WEIMER (MPP 1975/PhD
1978).
Miriam Palmer, Selina Eadie, Andrew Walsh,
Norma-Jean Simon and Jiaqi Lu won the Policy
Solutions Challenge
The five presented their
strategies using policy and cost-benefit analysis to support their
recommendations that states adopt three anti-obesity policies to reach children
at all stages in their lives.
“The first policy
recommendation is to establish minimum standards of infant feeding and physical
activity for child-care providers,” Palmer says. “Providers would receive
additional state reimbursements for implementing more of the standards.
Child-care settings are already regulated, and this policy would take advantage
of that system to reach children between birth and 5 years.”
...
“We recommend states adopt all
three policies, but we recognize that each is effective on its own,” Palmer
adds. “All policies produce positive net benefits for society and would reduce
childhood obesity over the next 20 years.”
“I am very proud of the hard
work and preparation the students put into this exercise,” says their faculty
adviser, David Weimer, an expert on
cost-benefit analysis and Edwin E. Witte Professor of Political Economy at
UW-Madison. “Their success says much about their ability as well as the
talent the La Follette School attracts.”
“We are very lucky to have such
a wonderful advisor in Dr. Weimer
and are incredibly grateful to have the school support throughout the
competition process,” Eadie says. “I think I speak
for the team when I say that it was a great experience!”
7. “Study:
By Matt Weiser
A waterfall in
A study released Monday by the Little Hoover
Commission says
The 120-page report is
the result of a yearlong investigation that started before financial scandals
emerged in July 2012 at the California Department of Parks and Recreation.
Among other things,
department leaders were found to be hiding $20 million even as they moved to
close 70 of the 278 state parks because of state budget cuts....
The 13-member Little Hoover
Commission, appointed by the governor and Legislature, chose to focus on
long-term survival of the state parks system, the largest in the nation.
“We really wanted to
focus on what they need to do to move forward,” said Stuart Drown, the commission’s executive director. “A lot of the
scandals—the misbehavior and bad bookkeeping and all that—that’s the result of
some of the fundamental problems they have.”
The primary reason is
that the department added 168,000 acres to the park system over the last two
decades. It did so at the behest of voters, who approved millions of dollars in
bond measures for land acquisition.
But state leaders did
little to increase the operating revenues available for park maintenance,
ranger staffing and interpretive programs. Bond money cannot be used for those
purposes....
In a related
recommendation, the commission urges the governor and Legislature to commit to
a consistent level of general fund support for parks, and to allow parks to
keep more of the money they generate locally....
[Stuart Drown was also cited on this story in The San Francisco Chronicle and interviewed on KQED public radio,
March 26, 2013.]
8. “PG&E, Solar
Industry Maintain Stance CEC Backing Inequitable RPS Rules” (California Energy
& Climate Report, March 24, 2013); story citing LAURA WISLAND (MPP 2008).
Pacific Gas &
Electric Co. (PG&E), one of
CEC is responsible for
developing RPS rules affecting POUs, while the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has adopted rules applying to the
state’s major IOUs.
Laura Wisland, representing the Union of
Concerned Scientists (UCS), said
during the March 15 CEC workshop that ensuring equitable treatment of POUs and IOUs under the regulations is critical in part
because the POUs deliver about half of the total
amount of electricity in California that comes from imported coal-fired power. “Getting
the rules right is an important step to making a transition to cleaner energy
sources,” Wisland
said.
UCS believes CEC’s “interpretation of the
overall procurement” required under the RPS is “significantly different and
smaller” than the requirements established by CPUC for IOUs and other retail
sellers, Wisland
said. The CEC rules fail to ensure POUs are making “reasonable
progress” in the intervening years of the compliance periods, from 2014 to 2016
and from 2017 to 2020, she added.
Wisland also objected to “optional
compliance measures” in the draft rules that POUs can
seek under certain circumstances to avoid meeting their RPS targets. She argued
that the measures are conditioned on a less stringent criterion that the POUs must show “reasonable cause” to delay compliance,
rather than a more stringent standard required by the RPS law that utilities
have suffered conditions “beyond their control,” which was adopted by CPUC for
the IOUs....
9. “Legislators urged to
deal now with $73 billion CalSTRS shortfall” (The
Sacramento Bee, March 21, 2013); story citing ED DERMAN (MPP 1978); http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/20/5279360/legislators-urged-to-deal-now.html
By Dale Kasler - The
Lawmakers began
confronting a multibillion-dollar budget headache Wednesday that’s been looming
for years: the funding gap at the state teachers’ pension fund.
The Legislative Analyst’s
Office called on lawmakers to erase a $73 billion shortfall at the California
State Teachers’ Retirement System over the next 30 years, saying any delay in
dealing with the pension fund’s finances will translate into higher costs down
the road....
Because the law limits
the ability of the Legislature to impose higher contribution rates on teachers,
the LAO said the bulk of the increased funding would have to come from the
state and schools.
CalSTRS
has been warning about its money problems for years, most recently in a report
to the Legislature a month ago. Unlike its sister fund, CalPERS, the teachers’ retirement system has to rely on the
Legislature to set employers’ contribution rates.
The pension fund’s
unfunded liability—an estimate of its long-term cash shortage—was pegged at $73
billion. That sum grows by $17 million a day, CalSTRS Deputy Chief Executive Ed Derman told
the legislative panel....
10. “March 20 letters to
the editor” (San Jose Mercury News, March 20, 2013); Letter to Editor citing DANIEL BORENSTEIN (MPP 1980/MJ 1985)
and Letter to Editor by GREG LINDEN
(MPP 1995).
Excessive taxes and school bonds
I wish to thank Daniel Borenstein
for his March 3 column regarding the West Contra Costa school district
construction problem.
I appreciate Borenstein
pointing out that the school district has issued more bonds for school
construction than all but two larger districts in
I hope Borenstein’s
column wakes up our voting public to the mismanaged property taxes and bond
commitments. Please read his column if you missed it.
Jean Fisk – San Pablo [Fisk
is a retired teacher with the West Contra Costa school district.]
Freedom and responsibility
In a recent letter in
the Times, Gene Berry wrote, “Cars
and medical malpractice kill far more people than guns. Do we outlaw cars and
doctors?” A good question.
The answer is that we
don’t outlaw them, but in order to reduce the risks to society to an acceptable
level, we license drivers and doctors to ensure they meet minimum levels of
competence.
Do
However, the National
Rifle Association, according to its website, still “opposes ... registration
schemes.” They seem to love freedom and hate responsibility, yet no decent
society can exist without both.
Greg Linden –
11. “CA green jobs grew
at slower pace in 2010” (San Francisco Chronicle, March 19, 2013); story citing
DOUG HENTON (MPP 1975); http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/CA-green-jobs-grew-at-slower-pace-in-2010-4365200.php#ixzz2O0QRF5QZ
--David R. Baker
Green jobs in
The Green Innovation
Index, from public policy group Next 10 and the Collaborative Economics consulting firm, counted 176,000 jobs in
the state’s green economy as of January 2011, up 1.2 percent from the start of
2010. About 30 percent of those jobs were in the Bay Area.
The annual survey’s
methodology, which counts jobs at specific companies rather than using broad
estimates, is among the most rigorous used in green-job surveys....
Despite a lackluster
year, the report’s authors [led by Doug Henton] encouraged taking a long-term view of what they
call California’s “core green economy,” defined as a collection of businesses that
help the world transition away from fossil fuels and use natural resources more
efficiently. Between 2001 and 2011, jobs in the state’s green economy grew 17
percent, while the state’s overall employment rose just 4 percent....
Venture capital financing
for green
Corporations such as
Google now account for 35 percent of investments in the field, compared with 27
percent five years ago. They are helping fund technology deployment, not just
early stage research. For example, Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings
Co. in January agreed to spend $2.5 billion to buy two large solar power plants
being developed by
“We started with a small
industry,” said Doug Henton,
chief executive officer of Collaborative Economics. “Venture capitalists
came in and tried a bunch of different technologies. Some worked and some didn’t.
But what’s exciting to us is that now major corporations are stepping in. It’s
entering a new phase.”...
12. “
By Gene Johnson,
Associated Press
Throw in impeccable
academic credentials and decades of experience with government agencies, and
you have Washington’s marijuana consultant a team advising officials on all
things pot as they develop rules for the state’s new industry in legal, heavily
taxed marijuana.
The Washington Liquor
Control Board introduced Massachusetts-based BOTEC Analysis Corp. as the
presumptive winner of the consultant contract during a news conference Tuesday.
The team is led by a
Beau Kilmer, co-director of RAND’s Drug
Policy Research Center, said
“That’s going to be a
challenge, but I’m excited to work on it,” Kilmer
said....
13. “Obama and
Netanyahu: It’s Complicated” (The National Journal, March 19, 2013); analysis
citing MITCHELL BARD (MPP 1983/PhD
1987).
By Matt Vasilogambros
While President Obama
and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have publicly said their bond is
strong and their policy differences are not significant, several events over
the president’s first term have come to define a complicated relationship.
“It’s no secret that it’s
been tense, to say the least,” said Mitchell
Bard, the executive director of the American-Israeli Cooperative
As the two leaders meet
this week to discuss the critical issues of the region including the Iranian
nuclear program, the Syrian conflict, and prospects for a peace agreement with
the Palestinians, experts say they will have to set aside their personal
problems and put the last four years behind them....
Obama and Netanyahu got
off to a bad start. In June 2009, early in Obama’s first term, he traveled to
the Middle East and delivered a major speech in
In the speech, Obama
also reaffirmed the bond between
“It’s not clear if he
saw the polls or saw the light,” said Bard,
but toward the end of 2011 Obama changed his tone on
14. “
By Doug Oakley
Berkeley School Board candidate Leah Wilson in
“Not only would I know
about any litigation coming before the courts, it would give litigants a
feeling of potential bias,”
Wilson, a lawyer, was elected in November of 2010 to a four-year
term on the school board. She currently works as an analyst in the
15. “The Arms Trade
Treaty - in Search of a Silver Bullet” (Africa News, March 18, 2013); story
citing JEFF ABRAMSON (MPP 2003).
By ThinkAfricaPress
(
Delegates are at the UN
negotiating a treaty regarding the world’s most corrupt and corrosive trade.
What could a global arms treaty mean for
A cluster of thatched makuti huts looks out over a vast grassy landscape in
But the raid may not
have ended in 32 deaths had it not been for the arsenal of AK-47s the men
carried with them, most of which would have come from illegal gun-runners
working a route that winds its way across Somalia and Ethiopia before crossing
into Kenya....
Incredibly, international
law currently has firmer rules regarding the trade of commodities like bananas
and electronics than it does conventional arms....
Indeed, the 2001
UN-backed Programme of Action on Illicit Trade of
Small Arms and Light Weapons was severely limited by the fact some of the world’s
major arms exporters did not agree to it. Similarly, efforts in 2006 fell apart
in part due to the
According to Jeff Abramson from Control Arms, a
coalition of NGOs in support of a treaty, “The US domestically always has fears
of being involved in treaties, which is a problem diplomatically when you’re
trying to set up an international regime”....
And advocacy groups all
agree that a treaty will only be worth passing if it contains all the necessary
components to make it a strong tool in combating the proliferation of SALW; “if
the treaty itself is not strong, it’s not worth having”, says Abramson....
16. “Part I: An
Interview with Michael Kobori, Levi’s: ‘Sea Changes
in Sustainability’—CSR Minute for March 15, 2013” (3BL Media, March 15, 2013);
interview with MICHAEL KOBORI (MPP
1995).
(NewsLook Videos,
3BL Media)
I’ve been working in
this field for almost 20 years and I would say ... there’s
two changes that have happened that I’ve observed. One,
is that there’s been ... really a sea change in thinking about what we now
called sustainability. I mean, it really
started off as sort of philanthropy, do the right thing somewhat undefined, and
over the years it’s really evolved to companies realizing they have to manage
risk, to then companies thinking about we have to be good corporate citizens,
to today when we talk about sustainability. It really means a couple of things; it means
that companies are thinking not just about labor standards and environmental
programs but how both of those are connected to their business. So it’s really become much more holistic in
terms of labor and environment and also much more connected into companies’
business practices. So that’s been one
of the sea changes that’s occurred over time.
The second thing that I
note is that there’s been a real change in leadership. And by that I mean, the kinds of leaders that
we’ve seen now in companies where executive positions in companies are of a
different generation. They’re of a
generation that really grew up in the 60s as part of ... the free speech
movement, as part of the environmental movement. They have that awareness and
they’re bringing that to their leadership roles as CEO, as CFO, as head of the
brand and so that sensibility, that sense, those values are coming much more
tangibly into the business.
17. “A Later Last-Call
for California Bars?” (Forum, KQED public radio, March 15, 2013); program
features BRUCE LIVINGSTON (MPP
1989); Listen
to this program
Guests:
- Bruce Lee Livingston, executive
director and CEO of Alcohol Justice, an alcohol industry watchdog group
-
18. “
--Cindy Chang
The California Endowment
is launching a campaign to extend medical coverage to all uninsured state
residents, including undocumented immigrants.
An estimated 3 million
to 4 million Californians, or about 10% of the state’s population, could remain
uninsured even after the national healthcare overhaul takes full effect in
January.
According to a recent UC Berkeley report [coauthored by Laurel Lucia and Miranda
Dietz, et al.], about a quarter of those left uninsured will be
undocumented immigrants, who are excluded from benefits under the Affordable
Health Care Act. Nearly three-quarters
will be
The California
Endowment, a private foundation that advocates for affordable healthcare,
suggests that county-run Medicaid expansion programs called Low-Income Health
Programs be retooled to provide insurance for this population.
If not everyone is
covered, the result will be higher overall healthcare costs, the foundation
said.
19. “Daylight Borrowing.
Paul Staley wakes up to Daylight Savings Time, which saves no daylight”
(Perspectives, KQED public radio, March 11, 2013); commentary by PAUL STALEY (MPP 1980); Listen to this
Perspective
By Paul Staley
... There is something
nonsensical about the term “daylight savings.” Were it really possible, we’d be
on our way to unlocking the key to immortality.
We aren’t keeping any
more of it for ourselves. It still ticks away at the same rate. We haven’t
worked out any sort of deal with the sun: its journey today across the sky
lasts just a fraction longer than yesterday. It’s not savings as much as shifting.
Our government has decided that we can make better use of our daylight at the
end of the day than at the beginning.
So, like so much else in
our society, this hour wasn’t saved, it was borrowed. Our resting selves lent
it to our active selves. It’s on loan right now, being used for a run after
work or a chance to walk the dog at dusk instead of in the dark. It finances
the real savings here, which is the energy we don’t have to consume making
artificial daylight. And in the fall we repay our resting selves and savor that
25-hour Sunday that is our small reward before beginning the cycle back into
the darkness of winter....
Paul Staley works for a housing
non-profit. He lives in
20. “Partners,
contestants aid pageant finances” (The Press of Atlantic City, March 10, 2013);
story citing HANS DEKKER (MPP 1991).
By Derek Harper - Staff
Writer
The Miss America
Organization has increased its scholarship totals following a more than 50
percent drop after it left
The Miss America
Organization has weathered financial downturns in recent years, but the
institution has survived, in part by partnering with other charities and
requiring its contestants help cover scholarship costs with new fundraising....
Miss
In 2006, Miss
The Community Foundation manages the Miss America Scholarship Fund
and more than 100 other scholarships, Dekker
said, charging a 1 percent fee for assets up to $1 million, and reduced
percentages for greater sums. The foundation took in $48 million in revenue and
oversaw more than $193 million in assets in 2010, according to the most recent
tax returns.
Money raised through the
relationship with the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is now the largest
component of Miss
The foundation has
received more than $4 million in gifts for the Miss America scholarship fund
since 2006, Dekker said, paid out
almost $2.8 million in scholarships, and had $1.2 million on hand at the end of
2012....
Figures show that the
national Miss America Organization is awarding more scholarships since
partnering with the Children’s
21. “NRA’s silence on UN
arms treaty surprises gun control campaigners” (Guardian [
By Ed Pilkington - guardian.co.uk
The National Rifle
Association is so tied up fighting new gun restrictions in the wake of the
... Until the
Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president, personally
addressed the previous ATT conference last July, telling the meeting that “no
foreign influence has jurisdiction over the freedoms our Founding Fathers
guaranteed to us”. When the negotiations broke down—in no small measure because
of US resistance to the global regulations on weapons sales—the NRA gloated
that this was “a big victory for American gun owners, and the NRA is being
widely credited for killing the UN ATT”....
Jeff Abramson, policy adviser to a global coalition pushing for a
weapons treaty called Control Arms, also noted that the NRA “has not been
as noisy as they have been in the past”. But he was not complacent, saying he
would not be surprised if the lobbying group kicked back into action before the
UN conference opened....
22. “This Week in
Urban Planning: Stuart Cohen
As we look to the
future, Bay Area urban planners are scrambling for ideas on how to handle the
projected increase in population. Over the last 40 years,
23. “
--Alexei Painter
As an Alaskan, I’m no
stranger to guns—there was actually a shooting range in the basement of my
elementary school (to be fair, it was closed during school hours). I’ve never
had very strong feelings about the gun issue because I can see merit in both
sides of the debate.
That said, I think some
gun rights advocates have completely lost their minds.
Last week, the Alaska
House of Representatives, with bipartisan support, passed what’s called a
nullification law. Essentially, the bill says that federal gun laws are
unconstitutional and therefore do not apply to Alaskans (something like how
Californians believe that federal drug laws don’t apply to them). It would
authorize Alaskan law enforcement officers to arrest any federal agents who
attempt to enforce those laws.....
I can understand why gun
rights advocates would not want federal gun control laws enforced, but we live
in a democracy. A recent Pew survey showed that 83 percent of Americans support
background checks on gun buyers, and majorities back bans on assault weapons
and high-capacity magazines. It’s not as if federal gun laws would be some
Obama conspiracy to pacify and control the people—these proposed measures are
broadly popular....
What’s especially
galling about these nullification bills is that they put law enforcement officers
in the middle of a political game. Their job is tough enough without
politicians using them as pawns in the battle over who controls government—the
states or the feds. The democratic process should not create victims among the
people tasked with carrying out our decisions....
Alexei Painter is a master’s
candidate at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and a student in the
24. “Why spending cuts
may be here to stay” (CNN Wire, March 6, 2013); analysis citing SEAN WEST (MPP 2006).
By Jeanne Sahadi
Now that the cuts are in
effect, they may end up being a crutch to let Congress avoid making tough
choices about where money should be spent and where it should be cut.
Sure, both parties
continue to decry the across-the-board cuts, which primarily hit discretionary
spending and do nothing to address the key causes of the country’s long-term
debt problem.
So while there may be
attempts to replace the cuts over the coming weeks, don’t be shocked if they
fail and the cuts stay in place for the rest of the year.
Why? Agreeing on how to
replace them may continue to prove too contentious and less of a priority than
other fiscal issues.
Congress must pass a
bill to keep the government funded past March 27, or the government will shut
down all but essential services. Since a shutdown is anathema to both parties,
priority No. 1 right now is to avoid one....
So while the risk of a
shutdown may be declining, “the chance the sequester
is here to stay is increasing,” said Sean
West,
25. “Four Things to Know
about the Next Big Budget Battle” (Morning Edition, NPR, March 5, 2013);
program featuring STAN COLLENDER
(MPP 1976); Listen
to this story
By Ailsa Chang
Now that the sequester has taken effect, there’s a new phrase that
keeps popping up in
4. So how does the
continuing resolution interact with the sequester?
... Because a sequester
is in effect, figuring out what a budget will look like under a continuing
resolution is going to be messier. As budget
expert Stan Collender of Qorvis
Communications put it, “What’s going to happen in March is a new definition
of the phrase ‘March Madness.’ It will have less to do with college basketball
and a lot to do with craziness in
Collender says because the
continuing resolution is legislation that’s coming after the
sequester, it could theoretically cancel or modify the sequester — if
Congress and the White House can agree on something. Because a CR is “must-pass”
legislation, it offers Congress and the White House another opportunity to take
a look at funding for fiscal year 2013, which ends Sept. 30, and possibly
figure out a way to replace the sequester....
26. “The George
Washington University (GWU) School of Media and Public Affairs, and the Center
for the Study of the Presidency & Congress holds a discussion on ‘Scandal
and Silence: When the Watchdog Doesn’t Bark’” (The Washington Daybook, March 5,
2013); event featuring ROBERT ENTMAN
(MPP 1980/PhD).
... PARTICIPANTS: Michael
Isikoff, national investigative correspondent, NBC
News; Egil “Bud” Krogh, former Nixon staffer and
senior fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress;
Mara Liasson, national political correspondent, NPR;
and Robert Entman,
GWU professor of media and public affairs....
27. “Myriad languages,
cultures challenge health reform” (Associated Press, March 4, 2013); story by GARANCE BURKE (MPP 2005/MJ 2004) and
citing CAROLINE SANDERS (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Myriad-languages-cultures-challenge-health-reform-4325605.php#ixzz2MbBccWHH
By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press, and JUDY LIN, Associated Press
Laura Lopez, left, checks the blood pressure of Santos Aguilar
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, at the Street Level Health Project in
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) —
Set on a gritty corner of Oakland’s International Boulevard, the nonprofit
Street Level Health Project offers free checkups to patients who speak a total
of 22 languages, from recent Mongolian immigrants seeking a doctor to Burmese
refugees in need of a basic dental exam.
It also provides a
window into one of the challenges for state officials who are trying to
implement the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s sweeping health
care overhaul.
Understanding the law is
a challenge even for governors, state lawmakers and agency officials, but
delivering its message to non-English speakers who can benefit from it is
shaping up as a special complication. That is especially true in states with
large and diverse immigrant populations....
The U.S. Census
estimates that more than 55 million people speak a language other than English
at home. Nearly 63 percent of those are Spanish-speakers, with the highest
concentrations in
In California,
two-thirds of the estimated 2.6 million adults who will be eligible for federal
subsidies in the health care exchange will be people of color, while roughly 1
million will speak English less than very well, according to a joint study by
the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the University of
California, Berkeley Labor Center.
With such diversity in
cultures and language, the authors said the success of health care reform “hinges
in large part on how well the state conducts culturally and linguistically
competent outreach and enrollment efforts.”
“If the exchange did no
targeted outreach, there could be 110,000 fewer limited-English proficient
individuals enrolled,” said
28. “Katy Tang targets
Muni mid-trip switches” (San Francisco Chronicle, March 4, 2013); story citing CARMEN CHU (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Katy-Tang-targets-Muni-mid-trip-switches-4325202.php#ixzz2Mb93hNVU
--Neal J. Riley
Remarks are made after the swearing in ceremony by new city
officials, Carmen Chu, (left)) as the new San Francisco
Assessor-Recorder and Katy Tang, (center) as the new Supervisor for
District 4 at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday Feb. 27, 2013. (Michael Macor / The Chronicle)
New Supervisor Katy Tang
hit the ground running—er, walking—last week,
strolling down
29. “Does Head Start
live up to name?” (The Record (
By Dana M. Nichols, The
Record,
The idea is that
offering free, high-quality preschool to millions of children living in poverty
would give those children a chance to sprint ahead before the race starts, or
at least arrive on time at the starting line already occupied by more fortunate
middle- and upper-class peers.
The name also implies
that once children get a “head start” they’ll stay ahead, or at least keep up
with children with access to books, summer camps, trips to museums and the
other basics of middle-class child rearing.
But a recently published
federal government study finds that isn’t true at all, and that academically at
least, Head Start students fade back into the middle of the pack in the first few
years of elementary school....
While the recent federal
study found that academic benefits of Head Start faded after children entered
elementary school, other long-term studies have found lasting benefits.
A 2009 study by
Deming found that while test score differences may have faded in
elementary grades, there were large benefits to Head Start. Those benefits
included that Head Start participants were healthier as adults, were more
likely to have attended college, and had better jobs.
By that measure, Head
Start did help children sprint ahead in the race through life, although the
finish line was many decades down the road....
30. “Pro sports leagues
aim to put workers’ comp out of play” (Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2013);
column citing FRANK NEUHAUSER (MPP
1993); http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20130303,0,1032269.column
By Michael Hiltzik
One would think that we’ve
learned from bitter experience not to trust a word uttered by our major
professional sports leagues.
Yet here they are trying
to put another howler over on us. This is their assertion that retired pro
athletes — many of them from outside the state — are ripping off
The state Legislature is
setting itself up to swallow this one whole: A bill to close this supposed
loophole has been introduced by Assembly Insurance Committee Chairman Henry Perea (D-Fresno).
Let’s start with the
bottom line: This bill would be a total sellout to the major pro sports leagues
and their billionaire team owners, who pay the workers’ compensation claims won
by their workers. Its victims would be athletes whose limbs, joints, backs and
craniums were pounded relentlessly on the field of play and who were left with
inadequate treatment or support after they retired....
“The NFL is not terribly
worried about cumulative knee trauma,” says Frank Neuhauser, a social insurance expert at
UC Berkeley. “They understand what they’re going to pay for that. But they’re
terrified of brain injuries, which can cost millions and result in complete
disability.” The NFL didn’t reply to my request for comment on the workers’
comp issue....
Therefore, if California
workers’-comp judges take a more liberal view of long-term brain injuries for
football players (and as yet there’s no evidence that they do), that may drive
up premiums paid by sports teams, but it won’t affect the premium paid by
grocery stores.
The leagues “are trying
to make it look like these are costs that will fall on all employers,” Neuhauser says. “But
it has nothing to do with current rates. Sports teams’ premiums will go up, but
not those for construction companies or anyone else.”...
31. “Health exchange
incentive for insurers added to Minnesota House bill” (St. Paul Pioneer Press, March
2, 2013); story citing LIZ DOYLE
(MPP 2002).
By Christopher Snowbeck
After a more than $100
million investment to create a
The success of health
exchanges relies on having good choices for consumers, but state Rep. Joe
Atkins,
Atkins, who is carrying
the House bill, added an amendment last week designed to entice health insurers
by guaranteeing them the chance to sell a limited number of products in the new
marketplace. The change upset liberal activists and stands as perhaps the most
significant contrast between bills in the House and Senate.
The House bill’s change “creates
a potential black hole of poor-quality products on our health exchange,” said Liz Doyle of TakeAction
Minnesota, a liberal advocacy group based in
Subsidies in the federal
health law already provide an incentive for insurance companies to compete in
the health exchange, argued Doyle of TakeAction Minnesota. Only health exchange shoppers
will have access to subsidies, so that’s where the new business will be, she
said.
“There’s almost 300,000
people in
32. “
Pictured to the right is the SEIU legal team who worked on the
briefs. (L to R) Juan Lopez, Christine Flack, LaRell Purdie, Elena Medina, Nicole Berner,
and Jeremy Greenberg.
“SEIU members, just like
working people everywhere, believe federal laws should not financially penalize
some workers simply because of whom they love and with whom they choose to
build their life,” said Valarie Long, International Executive Vice President of
SEIU. “These laws deny working people with same-sex spouses the same access to
health coverage, Social Security benefits and a host of other protections that
working people rely on for economic security. It’s not right.”
...
33. “
The titles include:
Middle Readers
“The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible
Adventures of Spirit and
Follows the creation and
launch of the first two Mars rovers in 2004, their explorations of the Red
Planet for the following six years, and the challenges that faced the
scientists who built and guided them....
34. “More College Grads
Mean Faster Economic Growth” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 1, 2013);
editorial citing DAVID DEMING (MPP
2005).
By Peter Orszag
As the
For much of the 20th
century, the
So it is important to
ask what we can do to raise college graduation rates....
The second stage
involves college enrollment. Among many considerations that influence a person’s
decision to attend college, financial aid is a significant one. Aid to
undergraduates totals about $200 billion a year in the
35. “Clean Energy Market
Poised for Rapid Growth in
By Brad Copithorne, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
Yesterday, EDF, Citi and Wilson Sonsini held Innovations in Energy Efficiency Finance II,
a sequel to the successful conference we hosted in 2011. That year, we
discussed several interesting ideas about how we might finance projects.
Yesterday we heard from sector leaders on how those ideas are being implemented
in
Cisco DeVries, CEO of Renewable Funding
described another program that the utilities are developing to provide low cost
loans for residential retrofits. Citi is expected to
provide funding for this effort and Cisco
is working with networks of contractors to develop go to market strategies....
36. “That new $2, $3 fee
on cable bill? Sports the culprit” (
By Michael Hiestand,
There’s a new wrinkle in
the long-running blame game between pay-TV providers and programmers over the
rising costs of TV sports. Some consumers now see separate $2-$3 charges,
specifically tied to sports, on their monthly TV bills.
At least three pay-TV
service providers—DirecTV, Cablevision and Verizon—have done that so far.
DirecTV, the first to do so, says in a statement that its $3 monthly fee in
select areas is meant to help offset the “skyrocketing costs of sports.” ...
Then there’s what to do
about the broadcast networks’ local stations, whose programming delivers most
of the biggest events in sports. Those stations, says Derek Turner, research director
at the Massachusetts-based Free Press consumer advocacy group, are arguably
a bigger headache for pay TV distributors than rising sports costs.
“Their biggest problem
is local broadcasters demanding increased payments from distributors to carry
their signals,” says Turner. “Operators
can go without carrying most sports networks, but they can’t get out of
carrying local news.” ...
Operators can try to
tack on costs like the new TV sports fees, Turner
says, given so-called below-the-line fees “have been a
tried-and-true tactic” in pay TV for years. “Your final bill is always
higher than the basic price advertised,” he says.
Or, at least for
consumers who bundle their TV, phone and digital services from one provider,
operators might try to pass along the rising costs they pay for sports and
other programming without calling attention to it. Turner says operators might try to cover those costs “by increasing
fees on their broadband services.” ...
37. “Millions more could
join Medicaid as Republican governors cave in” (CNN Wire, February 22, 2013);
story citing JANUARY ANGELES (MPP
2002).
By Tami Luhby
Florida Governor Rick
Scott on Wednesday became the latest to warm up to the expansion, which
broadens coverage to adults with incomes below 138% of the poverty line.
Medicaid rules vary from state to state, but many states (including
Though many Republican
governors say their state can’t afford the cost of expansion, the political
resolve of some has crumbled over the past two months in the face of heavy
pressure from hospital associations, medical groups, local governments and
others. Providers—particularly hospitals, where many uninsured folks go for
care—say their costs of treating those without coverage would fall under the
expansion.
“Medicaid expansion is a
very good deal that’s hard to pass up,” said January Angeles, a senior policy analyst at the center. “In a lot
of these states, a lot of stakeholders have done a good job making the business
case.” ...
38. “San Jose Unified to
Sue County Board - District Objects to Decision on Charter School” (San Jose
Mercury News, February 20, 2013); story citing JESSICA GARCIA-KOHL (MPP/MPH 2005).
By Sharon Noguchi,
snoguchi@mercurynews.com
Last summer,
superintendents of 19 school districts in
Jessica Garcia-Kohl, Rocketship’s director of
community development, called the decision to sue “unfortunate.”
Rocketship
cited its high-scoring schools, overwhelming demand from parents and urgency to
improve education as reasons to support its position. Last month, the county
school board granted an exemption to the industrial zoning on a 1.4-acre parcel
in Tamien, south of downtown
39. “Sick Ohioans facing
deadline - Pre-existing condition enrollment will be cut off March 1.Changes to
high-risk plan may control costs” (Dayton Daily News, February 19, 2013); story
citing DAVID FOGARTY (MPP 1992).
By Randy Tucker, Staff Writer
Ohioans with
pre-existing medical conditions seeking health insurance through high-risk
plans established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act must
apply for coverage by March 1 or risk going uninsured, according to the insurer
who administers the program in
“March 1 is going to be
a hard deadline; no applications will be accepted after that date,” said David Fogarty, a spokesman for Medical
Mutual of
Citing funding concerns,
the health department late Friday notified Medical Mutual that it would immediately
suspend enrollment in the federally run Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan “until
further notice” and gave state-run programs until March 2 to continue accepting
applications.
“The suspension will
help ensure that funds are available through 2013 to continuously cover people
currently enrolled in PCIP,” the health department stated.
The government will
continue to pay for coverage through the high-risk plans for about 100,000
people nationwide, including about 3,600 in
“There will be no
immediate impact on current members, (but) HHS has asked all the state programs
to look at the feasibility of making benefit adjustments,” said Fogarty, who acknowledged the
adjustments are likely to be cost-saving measures....
40. “Tax preparers see
opportunity in health care law” (The Tennessean, February 13, 2013); story
citing BRIAN HAILE (MPP 2000); http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302130001
By Getahn
Ward – The Tennessean
It was a big worry for Brian Haile, who led
The concern: how do you
get people to enroll before they become sick and need to enter the health care
system?
To Haile, tax filing season seemed
a natural time to get people to sign up for health plans since that’s when they
have needed financial materials and documents on hand. With a refund on the
way, they might find paying a penalty or buying coverage easier.
So Haile reached out to major tax
preparers such as H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt to see whether they would be
interested in doing that kind of work here, depending on the outcome of the
exchange planning process.
Ultimately, Gov. Bill Haslam decided against running a state exchange and instead
will let the federal government run the one here. And Haile found himself heavily
courted by the two big tax preparers.
That culminated with Haile joining Jackson Hewitt in a newly created post of
senior vice president of health policy.
While Jackson Hewitt’s
strategy is still taking shape, with a roll-out expected later this year, Haile sees a
role for the firm in answering consumers’ questions related to tax credits and
helping boost enrollment in health programs.
Haile sees Jackson Hewitt
helping to make a complicated process easier. Later this month, the federal
government is expected to release a procurement for application assistance,
something that will help the firm to better size up the revenue opportunity.
“We know that our
customers will need help with this and that they’ll have a lot of questions,”
he said. “So everyone in the tax industry wants to be prepared for that.”...
Before being tapped by
former Gov. Phil Bredesen to lead state exchange
planning efforts, Haile was deputy director of benefits administration
in the state’s department of finance and administration, which also
oversees the TennCare Medicaid program. Haile said he’s found flattering national recognition on
the expertise of TennCare....
41. “FLSA class action
strategy seeks to moot cases; Circuit Split” (Inside Counsel, February 2013
issue); story citing NICOLE BERNER
(MPP/JD 1996).
By Adele Nicholas
Laura Symczyk worked as a registered nurse at a retirement home
in
Before Symczyk formally petitioned for class certification, the
defendant made an offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68,
offering to pay Symczyk $7,500 plus attorneys’ fees
and costs as determined by the court. Symczyk’s
counsel allowed the offer to expire and proceeded
forward to discovery in anticipation of class certification.
But before discovery
commenced, Genesis moved to dismiss the case, alleging that the court lacked
subject-matter jurisdiction. Genesis’ theory was that because it had offered to
give Symczyk everything to which she’d be legally entitled
if she won the case, she no longer had a live “case and controversy” as
required for federal jurisdiction under Article III of the Constitution. The
district court agreed and dismissed the case. On appeal, the 3rd Circuit
reversed, finding that the offer did not “fully satisfy” the claims asserted in
the case because the interests of the potential class members were not
addressed, notwithstanding the fact that a class had not been certified and no
other employees had opted into the case....
“If the Supreme Court
finds that a mere offer of settlement can moot a case, it will become nearly
impossible for workers to vindicate their rights in a collective manner,” says Nicole Berner,
associate general counsel for the Service Employees International Union,
who filed an amicus brief in Genesis
HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk....
According to plaintiffs
lawyers, a decision authorizing the tactic of mooting a case by offering
settlements to named plaintiffs would frustrate the purpose of the FLSA. Plaintiffs lawyers are reluctant to file cases in which the
maximum recovery is small and there’s no potential for aggregating small claims
into a large lawsuit....
Likewise, plaintiffs
attorneys fear that individual workers who may have been underpaid by a few
hundred dollars each are unlikely to assert their rights in court on their own.
“Nursing home workers
and other low-wage workers are often afraid to bring FLSA lawsuits as
individuals,” Berner
says. “They legitimately fear retaliation by their employers or the possibility
of being blacklisted in the local market by other nursing home employers.” ...
42. “NEGOTIATIONS: New
alliance attempts to bridge North-South gap in U.N. climate talks” (ClimateWire, Vol. 10 No. 9, January 22, 2013); story citing
NED HELME (MPP 1971).
--Lisa Friedman, E&E
reporter
A small group of Latin
American countries has quietly been shaking up the U.N. climate process.
They’re not the
wealthiest group of nations, nor the poorest. None are
among the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters, and there’s not an existentially
threatened country in the bunch. But
Over the past few years,
each has embarked on ambitious clean energy or climate adaptation plans. Their
U.N. negotiators have avoided the toxic “North-South” disputes that have long
hindered the global talks. And they have consistently pushed for countries—all
countries—to step up their commitments to decarbonization.
Now they have got a name—the
Association of Independent Latin American and Caribbean states (AILAC)—and
members say that as a formal negotiating bloc, they expect to have a major hand
in building a new global climate change agreement by 2015....
Meanwhile, officials
said, as their economies grew -- and in some cases, as their democracies
strengthened -- their governments also developed an appetite for spending
domestic dollars on projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Rhetoric
backed up with money
“When you do this work
on the ground, you begin to see the benefits and I think that’s what’s
happening,” said Ned Helme,
president of the Center for Clean Air Policy who has been working
extensively with
“It means you can feel
safer stepping up on climate when you know the kinds of things you’ll need to
do mean not just more costs. They’ll bring benefits, economic benefits to your country,”
he said.
But while diplomats
throw the term “ambition” around U.N. halls aplenty, few in the maddening
geopolitical game of high-emissions poker are actually willing to commit to
major action until they see each other’s cards.
“It’s another sign of
the G-77 splitting up,” said Ned Helme, president of the Center for Clean Air Policy
which has been working with
43. “Reflecting on Aaron
Swartz’s Death” (Blue Mass. Group, January 22, 2013); commentary by ALEX MARTHEWS (MPP 2001).
The president of new
Cambridge-based group the Campaign for Digital Fourth Amendment Rights[1]
shares some thoughts....
Aaron’s death teaches us
an important lesson about how the law operates here in 21st-century
The result is that
dissidents who hamper powerful interests can far too easily be investigated and
silenced. The result is that brilliant, original and public-spirited souls like
Swartz exhaust their energies on meaningless legal battles, rather than
developing new and wondrous technologies to solve problems we all face. We’ll
never know now what Aaron Swartz would have come up with next, thanks to the
casual brutality of a criminal justice system that cares more for creating
criminals than for achieving justice. Journalist Radley
Balko[6]
has an excellent piece on ‘The Power of the Prosecutor[7]’—he’s a conservative,
but he gets what’s going on.
Know what side you’re
on. Overcriminalization hurts us all. We need to
stand together, and rein in this crazy system, before it chews us all up.
Alex Marthews
is the President of a new group based in Cambridge, the Campaign for Digital
Fourth Amendment Rights[8]....
44. “TransCore
and the New York City Department of Transportation Win International Road
Federation’s Global Achievement Award for ITS and
Traffic Management” (Business Wire, January 15, 2013); newswire citing BRUCE SCHALLER (MPP 1982).
The GRAA is a leading
international competition to identify and honor excellence, innovation, and
exceptional achievement. This year’s awards honored ten projects from countries
around the world, with NYCDOT and TransCore receiving
the award for excellence in intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and
traffic management. Also in June of 2012, they received the Most Outstanding
ITS Project of the Year by ITS
The City’s
state-of-the-art ITS Infrastructure Deployment Program includes modernization
of the citywide computerized traffic control system which monitors and controls
12,400 traffic signals throughout the five boroughs—creating the largest such system
in North America. It also includes
The IRF Chairman and
Mayor of Riyadh Abdullah A. Al-Mogbel presented the
winners with the brilliant cut crystal globe trophy. Attending the ceremony for
the New York City Department of Transportation was Bruce Schaller, deputy commissioner of traffic and planning....
45. “API: Smog controls
cost 25 cents a gallon” (UPI Energy, January 31, 2013); story citing LUKE TONACHEL (MPP 2004).
[American Petroleum
Institute] Downstream Director Bob Greco said the proposals would make gasoline
as much as 25 cents more expensive per gallon....
He argued the new
proposal would result in a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions because of
the use of equipment needed to comply with the requirements.
Luke Tonachel, a vehicles analyst at the
Natural Resources Defense Council, writes that he’s not surprised by the
API’s reaction. He said rival studies show the EPA’s recommendations would cost
less than a penny per gallon to implement.
“On the other hand, the
pollution reductions achieved by the standard result in huge health benefits,
estimated at over $5 billion per year by 2020 and over $10 billion per year by
2030,” he states....
46. “Clean water tab:
$1.5B - State tabulates myriad of costs to fix pollution” (St. Albans
Messenger, January 21, 2013); story citing KARI
DOLAN (MPP 1990).
By Michelle Monroe;
Messenger Staff Writer
ST. ALBANS - It will
cost $1.5 billion over 10 years to clean up
In reviewing the
findings, Kari Dolan, head of the
Ecosystem Restoration Program and one of the report’s principal authors,
said, “I know that this price tag is daunting. But the magnitude of the problem
means that we cannot simply carry on as usual and pretend that the problem will
go away without a significant investment.”
The report identifies
the major sources of pollution in
Management of stormwater and infrastructure from developed lands carries
the highest price tag. Managing currently unregulated stormwater
from impervious surface runoff will cost $708 million over a decade, the
authors estimate. That estimate is based on treating the stormwater
from five percent of the state’s 140,000 acres of impervious surface.
However, the amount of
impervious surfaces in the state requiring treatment or management of stormwater runoff is unknown.
An additional $105
million will be needed to treat runoff from the roads around the state.
“This report is a
conversation starter,” said Dolan. “Assuming
that we cannot do everything everywhere by tomorrow, the report leads us to ask
how we should prioritize our efforts so that the public can see that the
investment is making a difference.” ...
47. “Bring back pork
barrel spending” (The Monkey Cage, January 14, 2013); commentary by ERIC PATASHNIK (MPP 1989) and citing JOHN ELLWOOD; http://themonkeycage.org/2013/01/14/bring-back-pork-barrel-spending/
by
Eric Patashnik
in Legislative Politics,Policy
Many people complain
about pork barrel spending, but pork adapts national programs to local
conditions, and provides the grease that lubricates deal-making. Efforts to
eliminate pork can actually make Congress less effective as a policy-making
institution....
If Congress is ever going
to pass a grand bargain that trims entitlements and raises taxes (pain for
everyone), shouldn’t we give lawmakers something positive to vote for? Of
course we don’t want to return to the days of outright bribery and graft. As
Matthew Yglasias writes in Slate, however, the current dysfunctional Congress makes it “hard
not to miss a little old-fashioned earmarking and pork.” Sure it would be nice
if lawmakers didn’t need to be given side payments to vote for general-interest
legislation, but that’s not the American way. As John W. Ellwood and I wrote in our 1993 essay In Praise of Pork, “Favoring legislators with small gifts for their
districts in order to achieve great things for the nation is an act not of sin
but of statesmanship.” ...
48. “
By Sarah Horner
shorner@pioneerpress.com
On the same day the
Legislature got under way at the Capitol,
Saying the organization’s
$77,000 annual dues were too high and the payback too low, the Anoka County
Board voted 5-2 Tuesday, Jan. 8, against renewing membership in the Metro
Inter-County Association....
[Commissioner Matt] Look also said he was
worried MICA might oppose fiscal disparities should it come up for review this
legislative session, which would be bad for
Anoka County is one of
the biggest winners of the tax-base sharing program, which mandates
jurisdictions in the seven-county metro-area contribute 40 percent of their
commercial/industrial tax base growth to a pool that is then inversely divided
among the group based on property wealth, according to Steve Hinze, legislative analyst for the
Minnesota House of Representatives....
Hinze said all the counties
affected by the program except
1. “Sequester Slashes Help for Long-Term
Unemployed” (The National Journal, March 31, 2013); story citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN.
By Nancy Cook
Out-of-work people are about to get another kick
in the teeth this month, as the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester begin to slash federal emergency unemployment
checks by as much as 10.7 percent.
These checks which average $300 a week, without
the cuts go to roughly 2 million people who have already exhausted their
regular unemployment benefits, meaning they’ve been out of work for a while.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines the long-term unemployed as people who
have not held a job for 27 weeks.
Moreover, they are people whom the political
establishment has largely forgotten. There are no new stimulus programs on the
horizon for the long-term unemployed, nor is there anything new to help train
them or connect them to jobs. Those still receiving benefit checks will see
them whacked by as much as $450 in total between now and the end of the fiscal
year in September, according to Labor Department estimates all due to spending
cuts that both parties consider ill-advised and indiscriminate.
“Cutting benefits will have real effects on
people’s consumption,” said Jesse Rothstein,
an associate professor of public policy and economics at the
2. “
One urban city—Union City, New Jersey—has seen
the benefits of a long-term strategy reaching from preschool to high school,
which includes strong early elementary schooling and pre-kindergarten for
almost all 3- and 4-year-olds as essential pieces of their turnaround approach.
The district’s subsequent educational achievement is striking and speaks for
itself.
On Tuesday, April 2, the Center for American
Progress will host a discussion about the seven guiding principles that helped
transform
Featured speakers:
David Kirp, Professor
of Public Policy, Goldman School of
Public Policy, University of California
Ralph Smith, Senior Vice President, The Annie E. Casey Foundation; Managing Director, Campaign
for Grade-Level
Robert Slavin,
Director, Center for Research and Reform in Education, Johns Hopkins University
School of Education; co-founder and chairman, Success for All Foundation
3. “The morality brigade” (The Baltimore Sun,
March 27, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH;
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-the-morality-brigade-20130326,0,1464874.story
By Robert
B. Reich
... In recent weeks, Republican state
legislators have decided to thwart the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v.
Wade, which gave women the right to have an abortion until the fetus is viable
outside the womb, usually around 24 weeks into pregnancy.
Legislators in
These legislators worry about fetuses, but they’ve
shown little concern for what happens to children after they’re born. They and
other conservatives have been cutting funding for child nutrition, health care
for infants and their mothers, and schools....
Conservative moralists don’t want women to have
control over their bodies or same-sex couples to marry, but they don’t give a
hoot about billionaires taking over our democracy for personal gain or big
bankers taking over our economy. Yet these violations of public morality are
far more dangerous to our society because they undermine the public trust that’s
essential to both our democracy and economy.
4. “Obama finally changing tone on deficit” (SF
Chronicle, March 24, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT
REICH; http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/reich/article/Obama-finally-changing-tone-on-deficit-4377426.php#ixzz2OmKWt1Yr
--Robert Reich
“Our biggest problems over the next 10 years are
not deficits,” President Obama told House Republicans last week, according to
those who attended the meeting.
The president needs to deliver the same message
to the public, loudly and clearly. The biggest problems we face are
unemployment, stagnant wages, slow growth and widening inequality—not deficits.
The major goal must be to get jobs and wages back, not balance the budget
Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan is designed to lure
the White House and Democrats, and the American public, into a debate over how
to balance the federal budget in 10 years, not over whether it’s worth doing....
Not that we should disregard the debt
altogether, but the best way to deal with it is to do so gradually, through
economic growth. That’s how we reduced the giant debt Franklin D. Roosevelt
bequeathed
© 2013 Robert Reich Robert Reich, former
5. “Bipartisan group urges new housing policy
for
A new
housing subdivision outside of Orlando, Fla.
When the
housing bubble burst in 2007, it did lasting damage to the
A new report calls for a major overhaul of the
housing finance system, and it recommends changes that would affect renters as
well as homeowners. Renters in the Twin Cities might say it’s about time,
because rents in our region remain out of reach for many. But how much can
government do to address that problem?
We’ll discuss what a new housing finance policy
might look like, and how it could affect you.
Guests: ...
Larry A.
Rosenthal: Executive director of the
6. “Better to work with the schools we have” (San
Francisco Chronicle, March 16, 2013); op-ed by DAVID KIRP; http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Better-to-work-with-the-schools-we-have-4358415.php
--David L.
Kirp
School board elections are usually placid
affairs, but that wasn’t the case in the recent
Zimmer’s sin was to question the untrammeled
growth of charter schools and the over-reliance on test scores in evaluating
teachers. Faced with a tsunami of junk ads, he exhorted the voters not to “believe
the lies of March.” Despite being outspent 4-to-1, he won.
This tale represents a significant setback for
the corporate-inspired school reformers, who treat education as if it were a
commodity like smartphones or sports drinks. In their
view, “failing” schools, like failing businesses, should be shuttered,
and “failing” teachers and principals, like malingering employees, should be
fired. And because they see public education as irretrievably broken, they
believe charter schools provide the only viable option.
Despite a lack of evidence to back their claims,
the market-minded have built a powerful movement. Among its stars is Michelle
Rhee, former chancellor of schools in
Instead of going down this path, we can build a
stronger public school system by reinvigorating the schools we have. That’s
what’s happening in
David L. Kirp is a
professor of public policy at UC Berkeley and the author of “Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a
7. “It’s still a bear market for US workers” (San
Francisco Chronicle, March 16, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/It-s-still-a-bear-market-for-US-workers-4358406.php#ixzz2NuoTFRjf
--Robert
Reich
... American workers remain in a bear market.
More than 12 million Americans are still without work. Another 8 million are
working part time but would rather be working full time. Many have given up
looking. The percentage of working-age Americans holding jobs is the lowest it
has been in decades.
Wages, meanwhile, continue to fall behind
inflation. The real median wage is about 8 percent below where it was in 2000.
Yet investors are experiencing one of the most
bullish markets in recent memory. The Dow Jones industrial average has hit a
record high. Corporate earnings have doubled since 2000.
All of this spells widening inequality in
Corporate profits are claiming a larger share of
national income than at any other time in 60 years, while the portion of total
income going to employees is near its lowest since 1966....
The health of an economy is not measured by the
profits of corporations headquartered within it or the value of its stock
market. It depends on how many of the people have jobs, whether those jobs pay
decent wages, and what happens to those who don’t have jobs or whose wages don’t
lift them out of poverty.
By this measure,
The role of government, meanwhile, should be to
level the playing field so hardworking people have a fair chance.
Yet not for a century have public policies so
blatantly helped the most fortunate among us, so cruelly harmed the least
fortunate and exposed so many average working Americans to such widespread
insecurity.
© 2013 Robert Reich Robert Reich, former
8. “In
By Steve Hockensmith, NewsCenter
Jennifer Granholm
(Steve Hockensmith photo)
In her speech, Granholm drew lessons from
“If we believed that we should be hands-off, that
the invisible hand will take care of itself, that laissez-faire is a great idea
for the
The choice of venue – a
According to
In her speech, Granholm said that partnerships
between academia, government and industry need to be expanded quickly in the
“They see our passivity as their opportunity, and
they are eating us for lunch,” she said. “We can either be at the table or we
can be on the table. And I, for one, prefer to dine.”
9. “Paul Ryan’s budget and austerity economics” (Christian
Science Monitor, March 13, 2013); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2013/0311/Paul-Ryan-s-budget-and-austerity-economics
By Robert
Reich
Republicans lost the election but they still
shape what’s debated in
Austerity economics — of which Paul Ryan’s
upcoming budget is the most extreme version — is a cruel hoax. Cruel because it hurts most those who are already hurting; a hoax
because it doesn’t work.
The entire framework is based on the false
analogy that the federal budget is akin to a family’s budget.
Families do have to balance their budgets. But
that’s precisely why the federal government has to be the spender of last
resort when consumer spending falls short of boosting the economy toward full
employment.
And as long as income and wealth continue to
concentrate at the very top, the broad middle class and those aspiring to join
it won’t have the purchasing power to boost the economy.
So why even try for a “grand bargain” that won’t
deal with these fundamentals but only further legitimize the GOP mythology and
further mislead the public about what’s really at stake?
Robert Reich is chancellor’s professor of
public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national
administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Clinton.
...
10. “International News Roundup” (Forum, KQED,
March 11, 2013); program featuring MICHAEL
NACHT; Listen to this program
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves to soldiers as he
inspects a detachment near
Tensions in
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
- Michael Nacht, Thomas
and Alison Schneider professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, former
Aaron Wildavsky dean of the Goldman School of Public
Policy and former assistant secretary of defense for global strategic
affairs....
11. “Tea Party violates tenets of social justice”
(San Francisco Chronicle, March 9, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/Tea-Party-violates-tenets-of-social-justice-4340358.php
--Robert
Reich
With sequestration now beginning, I find myself
thinking about Robert F. Kennedy—and 46 years ago, when I was an intern in his
Senate office.
The nation was going through a difficult time in
1967.
But RFK was upbeat. He was also busy and intense—drafting
legislation, lining up votes, speaking to the poor, inspiring the young.
I was awed by his energy and optimism and by his
overriding passion for social justice and the public good. (Within a few
months, he’d declare his intention to run for president. Within a year he’d be
dead.)
The nation is once again polarized, but I don’t
hear our politicians talking about social justice or the public good. They’re
talking instead about the budget deficit and sequestration. At bottom, though,
the issue is still social justice....
12. “Why there’s a Bull Market for Stocks and a
Bear Market for Workers” (Huffington Post, March 5, 2013); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/stock-market-record-high_b_2812590.html
By Robert
Reich
Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above
14,270—completely erasing its 54 percent loss between 2007 and 2009.
The stock market is basically back to where it
was in 2000, while corporate earnings have doubled since then.
Yet the real median wage is now 8 percent below
what it was in 2000, and unemployment remains sky-high....
All of this spells widening inequality in
The sequestration is likely to make all this
worse, since it will slow the
It will also hurt the most vulnerable. Some $1.9
billion in low-income rental subsidies are being eliminated, affecting 125,000
people. Cuts to the Department of Agriculture will eliminate rental assistance
for another 10,000 low-income rural people. Meanwhile, 100,000 formerly
homeless people are likely to be removed from their current emergency
shelters....
Rarely before in American history have public
policies so radically helped the most fortunate among us, so cruelly harmed the
least fortunate, and exposed so many average working Americans to such
widespread insecurity.
ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of
Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the
13. “Daniel Mulhern
receives Golden Apple Award for outstanding teaching” (Daily Californian, March
4, 2013); story citing Visiting Lecturer DANIEL
MULHERN; http://www.dailycal.org/2013/03/04/daniel-mulhern-receives-outstanding-teaching-award/
By Mia Shaw
After joining the UC Berkeley faculty only two
years ago, lecturer Daniel Mulhern learned Saturday that he has been awarded the
seventh annual ASUC Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching.
The Golden Apple Award allows students to
nominate and vote for their favorite professors on campus. Mulhern, who teaches courses on
leadership in the Haas School of Business and the UC Berkeley School of Law,
said he was grateful to receive the honor.
“I really love my students, and I love ideas.
When students want to learn and grow, I’m in heaven every day,” Mulhern said. “I’m
learning as much as I’m teaching, every day I walk into the classroom.”
In the fall of 2012, Mulhern taught Leadership: Purpose,
Authority and Empowerment, an undergraduate business administration course
examining topics in organizational behavior and industrial relations, as well
as Holistic Leadership, a public policy course that examines current problems
and issues in the field of public policy.
“I don’t think there’s any other professor that
deserves it more,” said UC Berkeley senior Kunal Agarwal, one of Mulhern’s
students. “He spends time just trying to make a personal connection with every
single student in the class. He takes the aspirations students have and makes
them a priority for himself.” ...
Prior to his time at UC Berkeley, Mulhern authored two books on leadership. He is currently
the president of Dan Mulhern Inc. and Granholm Mulhern Associates, a
successful leadership firm....
14. “Will the Sequester Start Another
Recession? - Answers from actual economists from across the political spectrum”
(The New Republic, , February 28, 2013); commentary by
JESSE ROTHSTEIN.
--Perry Stein
With $85 billion in budget cuts set to take
effect Friday, when the sequester kicks in, there’s been plenty of debate about
whether the economy will spiral back into a recession. In search of some
clarity, The New Republic asked economists from across the political spectrum a
simple question, “Will the sequester start another
recession?” The answers were a bit more complicated....
Your question misses the point.
“I think it will reduce the growth rate. My
belief is that government spending has a relatively large multiplier right now,
so if we are going to cut back on spending that is going to reduce economic
output and raise unemployment. As to whether that will tip us over to a
recession, I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m not sure whether the growth
rate is positive or negative matters. Right now we need very fast growth and
anything that acts as a head wind is not very helpful.” — Jesse Rothstein, associate
professor of economics and public policy at the
March 12 Henry Brady spoke on “Let’s Not Railroad American Higher Education!” at Bechtel Hall, in an event sponsored by the Center for the Study of Higher Education; http://cshe.berkeley.edu/events/index.php?id=370 .
February/March “Robert Reich Inspires the Crowd” – The
World Affairs Council thanks all of the Education Program participants that
came out to see Robert Reich on February 13. With nearly 70 students and
teachers in attendance, this is the largest turn out they have had at a public
program. (This talk was broadcast on KQED public radio on February 25.) If you were unable to attend, you may watch
the full program online.
To view a complete list
of GSPP videos, visit our Events Archive at: http://gspp.berkeley.edu/events/webcasts
Recent events viewable on UC Webcast: http://webcast.berkeley.edu/events.php?group=The+Richard+%26+Rhoda+Goldman+School+of+Public+Policy
If you would like further information
about any of the above, or hard copies of cited articles, we’d be happy to
provide them.
We are always delighted to receive your material for inclusion in the Digest. Please email the editor at wong23@berkeley.edu .
Sincerely,
Annette Doornbos
Director of External Relations and Development