New America in the News: 2008

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Yet from an American military perspective, then surely the government of America must be confused or in denial or the Bush administration simply does not care? After all, the American military body count in Afghanistan and Iraq is collectively very high and the main culprits again are the so-called friends of America. This applies to the biggest source of foreign fighters in Iraq being Saudi nationals. While in Afghanistan many specialists state that rogue elements within the security services of Pakistan are supporting the Taliban.

The longest budget stalemate in state history is not over yet. Governor Schwarzenegger says he'll veto the plan finally approved this week by both parties. He says it contains "fake budget reform" and makes the fiscal crisis even worse because "it kicks that can down the alley" into next year.

"Models in history are very important, and I think this clearly damages the prestige of the Anglo-American model that we've been pushing," according to Michael Lind, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation (NAF), a Washington-based think-tank. "The Chinese model could now be seen as more the wave of the future."

That policy change has made it less appealing for Congress to postpone paying for the Pell Grant program, says Jason Delisle, a former senior analyst on the Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee who now works for the New America Foundation, a public-policy institute. LINK (subscription required)

A comprehensive national-health program also makes good business sense for three reasons. First, the lost productivity associated with the poor health and shortened life spans of the uninsured cost the U.S. economy $102 billion to $204 billion in 2006, according to a March report published by the Health Policy Program of the New America Foundation.

Earlier, Obama said that he will "make sure that we have a healthcare system that allows for everyone to have basic coverage. I think those are pretty important priorities. And I pay for every dime of them."

Take a look at these numbers from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget on the spending plans for BOTH candidates.

Ellen Seidman, former director of the Treasury’s Office of Thrift Supervision, testified in that capacity before the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services on February 8, 2000 that her office had warned repeatedly of the risks of subprime lending: “Subprime lending, which involves lending to borrowers who have a significantly higher risk of default based on their credit repayment history, has been the subject of intensive OTS scrutiny by our policy and supervisory staff for several years.

There has been speculation that the bailout might be conducted off-budget. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, strongly opposed that idea.

"It is important for the bailout to go on the government's books because what is happening is real and the impact on the government's finances is real," Ms. MacGuineas said. LINK