Assignment 8 J.Williams

In his article, Its not about socialism, it about rescuing Capitalism, Harold Meyerson is calling for a more regulated form of capitalism. He is not calling President Obama a socialists but does compare him to Teddy Roosevelt. Mr. Meyerson does refer to our health-care policy and points out that there are 50 million Americans without health-care coverage and we have the highest infant mortality rate than 41 other countries. This is inconceivable to me- such a high mortality rate in such a technologically advanced country as ours.

Mr. Meyerson says the blame for our economic collapse doesn't belong to one person. The collapse he says is due to a flawed system. A system in need of restructuring if it is to work again.

A. Oliver Assignment #8

The article called, "It's not about socialism, it's about bringing back capitalism" written by the author Harold Meyerson, is about exactly what it sounds like. It is an explanation of precisely why you can not call Obama a socialists. Mainstream Conservatives are not mad at Obama for being a socialist, they are mad at him for making America's system more European. Socialists liberals, also, do not call his system Socialism, as a matter of fact, socialist Americans disagree with many things that Obama is doing.

The author believes in Obama's plan and goes on to say that if he succeeds in his plans, America will come out to be a more sustainable, competitive and social capitalist nation. However, he seems angry at people accusing them, when in all regards, it's everyone's fault and the flawed American system is to blame.

Assignment 8 B Brakefield

In the article "It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism" in The Washington Post, this article is talking about now that Obama is President we are all being claimed as all socialist now. This article is written by Harold Meyerson and he is saying that really there is more absence of advocates of socialism now then there was in 1930 during the capitalist crisis. Meyerson is standing his ground on being a true democratic socialists and he states that Capitalism bred its own overhaul.
I think that this article was written to prove a point in Meyerson point of view on what he thinks of socialism and capitalism. He is arguing that there is to much silence from the people now when its really time to speak up. This article was written for the public but pointed more to people who are not speaking up as being socialist and wanting capitalism.

Assignment #8 J Miller

The article "It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism" by Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post is directing this to the American people and to the capitalist believers that socialism is taking over. With all the commotion in the media like Newsweek and spokespersons like Newt Gingrich and Mike Hucabee with their lashing comments like "We are all socialists now", "socialist republics" and "European socialism is transplanted to Washington" doesn't help the change that President Obama has in mind. This makes it impossible today to find a left-leaning party anywhere. Conservatives never bashed socialism because it was stalking America but fought against progressive reforms of free universal education, minimum wage or other tighter financial regulations and also keeping the U.S. free from universal health care resulting in the world's highest health care costs. Conservatives attacked Roosevelt as a socialist as they also attack Obama even though he is engaged in rebuilding capitalism not socialism. President Obama's stimulus plan is the only way to inject our economy and also by using more tax dollars for education and research.

As we all know the U.S. is in huge deficit and weather we agree with President Obama's decisions he was elected into office. He actually seems like he really cares in turning this country around and making a difference. The fact is that people hate change but sometimes change isn't a bad thing plus it's not like we have many options anyway.

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Assignment #6 scastaldo

We are talking about the worlds economic situation in this article written by Paul Krugman in the New York times. Why/how did we get into this situation and how do we get out? Krugman belives it all started outside the US beging mostly in Asian in the 1990's. The real estate market is another cause of some of the problems we are seeing worldwide. The real estate market effects every other market to me. if the housing market is bad then people don't want to buy cars, go casual shopping, go to the movies, or go out to eat, therefor their is not as much money going out into the market to support the workers and it is just a downward sprial.
Krugman says that part of the problem is the "saving glut." Gluttony I belive is part of the problem, but not from those who save money. From people who wanted more then they could afford, from houses, cars, clothes, handbags, all of that. And like anything else living a life style you can't afford will catch up with you eventually, and the fallback from that is what is happening to our economy.

Assignment #6: A Oliver

In this article, "The Revenge of the Glut" written by Paul Krugman, the author addresses the world's poor circulation of money. Also, he continues on to explain what cheap money is, and why it is ruining the circulation, mainly, by pooling internationally. This article is adressing the entire world. The majority of the article is based on a speech written by Ben Bernanke, the federal reserve chairman.

He states that the begginging of all these problems began in Asia, during the Chinese financial crisis; when China began trying to outsouce itself it began pumping out money into other countries, creating bad money, which drops the value of their currency, most of these funds and resources pooled into America which began to cause problems for our country. Apparently, many people think that Europes countries have magical and untouchable economies, the write of this article contests this and says that if they take the same deregulation steps that we foolishly did, that they will quickly fall into the same detrimental boat that we're in.

Assignment #8 scastaldo

Harold Meyerson is writting in the Washington Post about how ridiculus it is that some people say that we are headed into a socialist government. Meyerson takes a very sarcastic approach to making his point that he belives it is the conservatives system and their fault for the breakdown our economy is having right now. Meyerson doesn't belive that we are headed toward socialism but that we are just correcting a system that didn't work in the first place.
I understand that certian things like our health care system mabey are not the best, but that it is definetly not the worst in the world. However I don't belive that "universal health care" is the answer, i belive that is trading one problem for another. Having times being bad right now is just apart of the ups and downs of a free market. I don't belive that bail outs or hand outs are going to fix the problem, they will only prolong it, and if you let the free market take its corse then you will find that everything will bounce back again.

Assignment #6 T Parrish

The article "Revenge of the Glut," was written by Paul Krugman in The New York Times. This article is written for the people of America, and also parts to people of countries all over the world. It explains that are where many clues to problems that where over looked. Most of our problems occurred from money being to able and readily available. A flip-flop occurred from problems from Asian markets to now European and American markets.

All this money made people feel like they could take more risk and try to increase there profits and economic standing to fast. And as one thing began to go, others soon followed suit cause the house bubble to start the auto gaints problems to much greater problems. People instead of trying to live above there means are now learning to budget and find cheap methods of getting the things they want or need.

Assignment 6 C.Caruso

The title of this article is Revenge of the Glut and the author is Paul Krugman from the New York Times. He is writing the United States citizens of about the decline of value in money. It starts out with the Subprime crisis, now to be honest i didn't know what that meant. So i had to look it up and see what it meant. It talks about how we have spent so much money, investing it in houses, but then the mortgage delinquencies and foreclosers started losing their value.

We then began borrowing money from other countries, but there was a problem with Asia and their finances. And after that happened the countries began to pretty much give out cheap money. Our country has struggled financially lately, and it's because they do not know how to budget their money correctly. Banks have been getting in trouble for giving out loans to people that can't pay them back, so they get in even more trouble. Then they have been printing too much money so the value of a dollar is going down.

Assignment # 6 D.Feaster

In the article Revenge of the Glut written by Paul Krugman talks about some issues like the subprime crisis and some of the leading fraction of the problem. The article is direct towards the American people and the readers of the New York Times. When written the article discuss about the different debt trouble that keep emerging.

One question that could be asked is how this global debt crisis happen? Many believe like Ben Bernanke it has something to do with the Asia. He said "emerging economies of Asia had been major importers of capital, borrowing abroad to finance their development." Bernanke was just to saying the Asia is consider to be the top emerging counties. In the conclusion the main issue and points the author is making is in the decline of money.

Assignment 6 J. Williams

"The Revenge of the Glut" is an article published in the New York Timesand was written by Paul Krugman. The article is directed to U.S. citizens as well as the rest of the world. It discusses our economic struggles of today as well as gives a history of Asia's economic history in the 1990's.

Krugman mentions a speech made by then Federal Reserve chairmen-Ben Bernanke. Krugman notes that while trying to sound positive, Bernanke'sspeech was a forshadow of what we are facing today. Krugman points out that Americans aren't the only ones suffering these tough economic times, this is a global recession. For us to move forward we need to learn from our mistakes. It has been said that those who do not learn from their mistakes are bound to repeat them and i beleive that applies here.

Assignment#6 B.Adams

The article "Revenge of the Glut," was written by Paul Krugman in The New York Times. Paul Krugman writes the article for the people of America to inform them that the situation we are facing now could have been avoided. Not only does he address America but other countries as well.

Krugman want to blame the housing market and banks for not lending money for part of our economic problem.This article shows that our economic problems are somewhat worse than we have ever experienced, everything is falling apart and we need to start at the foundation and begin building up. The mistakes our country encountered should be a learning experience.
Together as one we should all do better to improve the financial crisis.

Assignment 6 JMcCrorey

The “Revenge of the Gult” is an article written by Paul Krugman in which it was published in the New York Times. The article is particular directed to the citizens of this great country and also to the rest of our friends and neighbors across the world. The article is written to show that our economic crisis is so problematic that it is not only affecting America but also the rest of the globe.

The article explains that our economic crisis is worse than the problems we experienced in the 1990’s. He states that we need to learn from our mistakes and use our mistakes as a formula so that we may emerge from this crisis successful. Krugman also mention the "Subprime Crisis" and how it was such a worry. He stated that the subprime was nothing to worry about and how we could learn from that situation. For America to escape from this economic mess we must go back to our roots and make sure we establish check and balance in every function of business and life.

Assignment #6 VMoore

Paul Krugman confronts the lead of to the economic crisis that we are now in, in his article Revenge of the Glut, seen in The New York Times. Krugman agrees with Ben Bernanke who said that the reason for the US falling economy lies in Asia. When the Asian economies started to fall, they gathered foreign assets putting their capital into the world. This capital was cheap and led to the trade deficit that we now have. Other small European countries also are running into this problem.

This fast inflow of money made investors feel like they were secure. This led to the buyers feeling like they would be fine to buy. But this quickly fell as we realized the problems we had created from the imports. Now people are losing their homes and struggling to pay off loans. So no one is investing anymore, causing the economy to rapidly fall. If something doesn't happen soon our economy is going to crash and burn. We can only hope that Obama's stimulus package will inject the money that we need into the economy.

Assignment #6 areid

The article this week looks to be written as a suttle venting post and an opinion about how America got in the economic mess that we are in today. He bases his argument off of a speech that Ben Bernanke gave four years ago. The autor agrees with Bernanke when he says that the slump came from the trade deficit of the U.S. Bernanke said four years ago that the problem lied in Asia and not the U.S. because of all the importing of capital goods. Now the U.S. has over taken the same problem as Asia did but in a much larger scale. The author says that the Asia problems were big for the times but seem minisquell compared to Americas' problem.
The author writes to an audiance that likes to hear lots of opinions and possibly takes what they like and uses it to have conversation or takes the author's opinion as their own. The author sums up the piece by a couple points. Businesses can not invest in the amount of savings that is wanted. The saving of money is the best thing to do but to keep the market flowing and to keep buisnesses on their feet they have to invest. The question now becomes how are they going to be able to invest what others want them to. This paradox "is a global slump that leaves everyone worse off. So that’s how we got into this mess. And we’re still looking for the way out."

Assignment 6 Mward

"Revenge of the Glut" by Paul Krugman in The New York Times sums up the views of Krugman related to the recession of the American economy.suffering from a global paradox of thrift: around the world, desired saving exceeds the amount businesses are willing to invest. And the result is a global slump that leaves everyone worse off. Basically too many investors are putting their money into businesses that are failing, in turn everyone is losing money. Like the reason the housing market crashed was the shady transactions of some banks and lenders, the reason the stock market is crashing is the unwise investments of some accountants and investors. Whether they be purposely invested or not.

Assignment #6 J Miller

New York Times article "Revenge of the Glut" written by Paul Krugman is directed to the American audience. It informs us as American people that subprime lending and bad home loans are only part of the problem of our nations financial downfall, we're in a world of troubled borrowers. The global debt crisis is so widespread and the answer for it begins with our giant trade deficit which was suppose to be our capital inflows but ended up spreading money to other nations according to Ben Bernanke who is a Federal Reserve chairman. This caused many smaller European economies to thrive while most of global savings glut ended up in America. American bankers hid risks and fooled their investors giving American homeowners greater assets in their homes while currencies were strong but while assets disappeared the debt still remained causing manufactures to collapse mainly in the car industry.

Our nation has made many poor economic decisions and it has occurred over several decades it's not like we fell into this huge hole of debt overnight. Yes, Americans get money hungry and will do what ever it takes to make more or do whatever it takes for their company to strive without ever thinking about the downside but sometimes you have to find yourself in a huge hole before anything good ever happens. Although the glut is bigger than ever, we're all in hopes that one day there is a chance in saving it.

Assignment 6 C.Carolina

"Revenge of the Glut" by Paul Krugman of The New York Times sums up the views of Paul Krugman related to the recession of the American economy. Krugman blames the housing market and the lack of lending by our national banks for the current economic state. As it is true that the housing market fall was directly related to the illusive tactics of bankers and lenders. Basically Krugman states the "revenge of the glut" is the cause of our recession. As a result of imports exceeding exports, the fall of the american dollar, and the fall of the domestic automobile industry we now have concrete examples of this "revenge" Paul Krugman titles his article after. This much is true, we and respectively other powerful countries alike are facing hard economic times for a number of reasons. Although it is necessary to find the cause of the problem, it's even more important to formulate a solution. Regardless of the "how" and the "why" the American people need to know the "when" and the "where". The quicker the better.

Assignment # 6, T. Beasley

This article titled "Revenge of the Glut" by Paul Krugman in The New York Times addresses the current issues faced in the economic crisis of our nation. It also speaks of the same issues being faced in other places worldwide. It looks at what happened to get the situation as bad as it is.

The "revenge" is that our nation has ended up in this crisis due mainly to poor choices made in lending and by the fact that there have been more imports made and too few exports of this country's goods. The article even mentions that the American banking system hid risks and fooled investors.

Overall the article attempts to explain the reasons behind our nation's current economic problems. It attempts to explain to the average American citizen what actions and which people are to blame for our current situation. The ending sentence pretty much says what's important..."We're still looking for the way out."

Assignment #6 S.Layman

The article "Revenge of the Gult" was written by Paul Krugman in the New York Times.This article was written to show that our economic problem is one that is not only ours, but one that the rest of the world has faced. It is directed toward the US citizens as well as the rest of the world.

It shows how our economic crisis is a greater form of the one that Asia experienced awhile back. Things keep getting worse and the value of money keeps going down more and more. When countries think that they are safe and "all is well" is when it all starts to crack. All the problems start to emerge to the surface and they are problems that many other countries have seen....or even contributed to.

This argument kind of shows us that other countires have been through this before. While some have rebuilt themselves it takes others awhile longer...hopefully we can get through these tough times just like Asia.

assignment # 6 Mperez

The article "Revenge of the Gult" was written by Paul Krugman in the New York Times. It was directed to the american people in the country showing them that we could have prevented all that happened in the country. Paul Krugman talked about the "Subprime Crisis" and how it was such a worry. He also say that subprime was nothing to worry about. Kurgman answers the question "How did this global debt crisis happen?", with a speech given by Ben Bernanke. Bernanke's speech, titled “The Global Saving Glut and the U.S. Current Account Deficit",foreshadowed what is happening to our economy four years ago. He points out the mid-1990's emerging economies of Asia had been major importers of capital, borrowing abroad to finance their development. Krugman explains how we got into what we are in now. I think this was written to have the american realize that there were so many different ways that we could have avoided aleast some of the situation that were in and no one did anything to try and stop them. So basically were paying the consequence for our actions.

Assignment # 6 S. Suarez

The article "Revenge of the Gult" was written by Paul Krugman in the New York Times and was directed toward the american people in order to show how there were so many ways we could have avoided the situation that the country is facing now. The article was written toward the public showing that all the warning signs were there and we all refused to listen to them. Krugman arguse that there was so many ways to avoid alot of this but the american people refused, and now we are paying the consequences.
The article also talks about the "Subprime Crisis" and how it was such a worry if it could be contained. He also shares how subprime only contributed just a small fraction to our problem today. Kurgman states the question "How did this global debt crisis happen?", and replys with a speech given by Ben Bernanke. Bernanke's speech, titled “The Global Saving Glut and the U.S. Current Account Deficit", foreshadowed what is happening to our economy four years ago. He points out that the emerging economies of Asia in the mid 1990's had been major importers of capital, borrowing abroad to finance their development.
In conclusion, The article brings up key points on how in the past these future events were predicted to happen but we did nothing to try and stop them. Now we have to deal with the consequences of our actions.

Assignment 6 bbrakefield

In the article "Revenge of the Gult" by Paul Krugman, in the New York Times. Krugman starts out talking about the "Subprime Crisis" and how it was such a worry if it could be contained. He shares how now that subprime was just a small fraction of our problem today. Kurgman answers the question "How did this global debt crisis happen?", with a speech given by Ben Bernanke. Bernanke's speech, titled “The Global Saving Glut and the U.S. Current Account Deficit", foreshadowed four years ago what is happening now. He points out the mid-1990's emerging economies of Asia had been major importers of capital, borrowing abroad to finance their development. Krugman simply expalins how we got into this mess.
This article was written I think as a simple slap in the face to Americans as to how there were so many ways we could have avoided aleast some of the situation we are in now. The article was written to the public showing that all the warning signs were there we all refused to listen to them. Krugmans argument is that there was so many ways to avoid alot of this but America refused now we are paying the consequence.

Assignment #6 E. Lear

The article is from the New York Times and the author is Paul Krugman. The article is tiled Revenge of the Glut. Funny title but it says it all. We have moved away from the old days when we use to worry about the Russia are going to attack and the atomic bomb fallout. Now worry about the econcomic more than we do about the wars. We worry about own money and how we are going to get by.
The author states that we has a nation have to worry about the Globely Crisis before we can worry about anything else because if we don't get the Globely Enocomic in check we are going to loss the battle of the Crisis at hand. We need to get own government back in order and get own stock market back to the norm and we need to check the banks captial because if we can get the banks to start doing the loans and get the money out there and stop worrying about the governments stress test. The banks should open there doors and stop worrying about things that are dumb. And they need to be shone that there are the once hurting our enocionmic the most has of now.

Assignment #5: A. Oliver

In the article, "Will: The continuing fall of Federalism" written by George F. Will, the author is angry at the apparent stupidity of our leaders. Feingold is one that he lists on several occasions when referring to people who seemingly don't have a clue.

I believe that Will agrees with him on several arrangements, such as a speculation of the balances of power; however, I am getting the feeling that author sees Feingold as being lazy and sloppy. The author clearly does not want to simply change the problem, at the risk of merely creating another; he wants to be more direct, and get rid of it altogether. He comically picks at Feingold, saying that "Feingold must troubles with the plurals", this is referring to him wanting to go to every single state and tediously change each state code. Feingold has two solutions and the author despises both.

Asignment 5 BBrakefield

In the article "Will: The Continuing fall of Federalism" by George Will in the Washington Post; Feingold is trying to amend the Constitution to make every other state to follow Wisconsins ways of electing senate seats in case of vacancies. I think this article is directed toward any American who is against Federalism and want to keep the framework that is already in place. I think the author wanted to ensure the priciple of seperation of powers was enforced.

Assignment #5 areid

The article this week discusses Senator Rus Feingold's plan to rid the Constitution of the 17th Amendment. The author discusses why Feingold would like to get rid of the amendment and why he would want it gone but he also makes fun of Feingold at the end of the piece. The reader would have to believe that the author does not think to highly of Feingold because of other ideas that he has had. The author might like the idea of getting rid of the 17th Amendment but coming from Feingold's mouth; the author would rather not listen.
Feingold wants to rid the 17th Amendment because he does not the that appointing people on the Senate for their individual state really is not the voice of the people. He thinks that the seats of the Senate should be elected for just like the other two braches of power, House and President. The author points out that this would take forever to elect all of the Senators from each state but I beleive the Feingold is right that we do need to elect the Senate seats because I feel that they would hear the voice of the people more.
Lastly, the author does poke fun at Feingold's thoughts that hurts Feingold's creditability. Feingold wanted to put a stipulation on government's speeches. The author says the with Feingold's thoughts he would also be rewriting the 1st Amendment.
“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech unless it really, really wants to in order to guarantee that there will be only as much speech about the government as the government considers appropriate, and at times the government approves.”
Really?!?

Assignment #5 T. Parrish

the article "The Continuing Fall of Federalism" by George F. Will, talks about how Senator Feingold wishes to change the Constitution to, "No person shall be a Senator from a State unless such person has been elected by the people thereof. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies". Making it so that the people can elect this officials rather then an elector votes or a higher elected official.

I agree with the idea that the people should be able to pick the elected officials even when for some reason those picked can not serve. This article is written towards the American people to make them aware of this issue. The basic argument made is that we should keep the Constitution the way it is, because that's the way the framers would want it. The problem with this times changes and so do our laws, the basics of the argument is based of assumptions of people no longer with us, I find no effect to these "facts" Will gives us.

Assignment # 5 Mperez

The article “The continuing fall of federalism” by George Will appeared in the Washington post, and was directed to the public and addresses the topic of federalism in the United States political system.This article was written to speak about the opinion of George Will and protest Sen. Feingolds plan to change an amendment which would allow senators to be selected by higher officials instead of an electoral vote. I think they should leave everything how it is because if this were to happen then the people of this country would not have a vote on who is being chosen to fill the seats. I dont think changing the amendment will change anything at this time.

Assignment 5 JMcCrorey

This article is about the fall and decline of Federalism in the United States of America. The article is directed to the public and the author of the article is George F. Will of the Washington Post. The article is named The Fall of Federalism. It is written to voice the opinion of Sen. Russ Feingold which to point out for him not apologizing for his action in the Senate on an open seat. Also, the plan to change an amendment which would allow senators to be selected by higher officials instead of an electoral vote.

In doing so the senate would not be elected by the people who it is supposed to govern. Without proper check and balances the country would run into turmoil. We need to continue with our checks and balances by making sure we elect the leaders we want in office.

Assignment #5 Matt Ward

In Will's article "The continuing fall of federalism" it is argued that Sen. Feingold is attempting to change amendment 17 so that state official vacancies be filled via higher authorites rather than a popular vote. Now some may see this is as a advantage for the higher authorities in states to put who they want in office and have things run their way. I dont want to say it would be unamerican. But it would definetly go against what this country was built on and stands for. Democracy and freedom. Sure there have been a few bad eggs come out of the popular and electoral voting processes (i.e.) Blagoevich, Dick Nixon, and of course George W. Bush.

I agree with Will in this. It would be unconstitutional to allow anyone other than the people who are being represented by them choose their state official officers. If we were to allow this to happen this one time. More and more state legislators will follow and we will lose our foundation as a democracy. So yes, in conclusion Sen. Feingold is wrong in wanting to change the basis of our country.

Assignment#5 B.Adams

The article "Will: The Continuing Fall of Federalism," written by George F. Will of the Washington Post appearing in The State.com was written and directed toward the American people. The article addresses federalism in the United Stated political system.

Senator Feingold wants to try and change an amendment which allows senators to be selected by higher officials instead of by electoral votes. If this were to happen then the people of this country would not have a vote on who is being chosen to fill the seats. I feel as though things should be left the way they are now: that is everything for the people by the people.

Assignment #5 S.Grich

In the article "The Continuing Fall of Federalism" by George F. Will, it explains how Senator Russ Feingold is trying to overwrite the 17th amendment. Feingold has already changed the first amendment and is now trying to reshape the constitution yet again.
I feel everything in the constituion should be left exactly how it is now. There is no reason to change this amendment. I feel this change could only make a state weaker because they would not be able to fill an open position as senator. So the real question is why fix something thats not broken?

Assignment #5 A.Scalf

This article, "Will:The Continuing Fall of Federalism", was written by George F. Will and appeared in the Washington Post. I think it is directed towards the American people.

The 17th amendment currently states that if a Senate vacancy should occur, an electoral vote will take place to fill that vacancy. Feingold is trying to change that amendment to where an "executive of authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies."

Will thinks the 17th amendment is appropriate in its current state and disagrees with Feingold. Personally, I agree with Will and also disagree with Feingold.

Assignment #5 D.Feaster

In the article The continuing fall of federalism the author George F. Will talks about how senators are trying to change the Constitution. The article was written on February 22, 2009 for the State and is direct towards American readers. In the 17th Amendment said that Senate when occur have the "the executive authority". And also of that affected state "shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies." Also in that amendment said that the legislature of any State may empower executive thereof to make temporary appointments meanwhile the people fill the vacancies by elected at good representative.

The author also states that a no one shall be a Sentor from any state unless such person has een elected by the people thereof. If the vacancies was to happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of the state shall issue writes of election to fill such vacancies.

Assignment #5 M. Capps

In his article "The continued fall of federalism", appearing in The Washington Post, George Will is arguing against Feingold-McCain, an act designed to force states to have an election to fill vacant Senate seats. His main argument against this falls back on "Framers intentions", which is a really weak argument because it is based on the assumption that he knows exactly what the framers had in mind for every situation when the Constitution was written, or that the framers could even begin to imagine what politics would be like in 2009. However, I do agree with him on the point that federalism should be protected and that states should be able to pass their own laws to protect their own interests. An argument could easily be made that popular vote is a horrible way to pick officials, all we have to do is take a good look at some people elected in the past (McCarthy, Blagojevich....Bush). Having some people sitting in the Senate not elected by the generally ignorant masses isn't such a bad thing.

While the general idea Will is trying to put forward is a good one, his use of negative and sarcastic language greatly degrades his argument. Such negative attacks on those he disagrees with has become a Republican trademark and does a disservice to the people that might actually agree with him. In fact his language is so negative that it might sway some people to disagree with him just because it is so painful to read. In my opinion he is blinded by party loyalty and unable to see some of the logical fallicies that are so apparent in his thinking. He uses sensational language and greatly exaggerates the actions of his opponents. Apparently drowning ones opponent in an overwhelming amount of policitally raised money is an issue of free speech, and stopping said drowning amounts to a "gutting" of the first amendment. I'm sorry that you feel that way Mr Will, but a corporation giving millions of dollars to a policital candidate is not an act of policital speech; it amounts to the buying of loyalty from a candidate and a monetary investment for some type of gain later on.

Assignment #5 VMoore

Seen in TheState.com, George Will's article, titled Will: The Continuing Fall of Federalism, explains that Sen Feingold wants to change amendment 17 so that we can elect State Representatives by higher officials rather than an electoral vote. Will thinks we should leave it so that if there is a Senate vacancy, there is a vote by state constituents. Feingold also supports restricting political financing so that there are restrictions on the time, content, and quantity of political speeches.

I think we should leave the law the way it is now. By restricting political financing the people will be withheld information that they could need. Feingold wants to use this to his advantage in the votes of the people. This could make it much easier to have political scandals in almost any situation.

Assignment #5 J Miller

The article Will: The continuing fall of federalism appeared in TheState.com written by George F. Will of the Washington Post was directed to the American people. He informs us of the unapologetic Senator Russ Feingold would like to follow his McCain-Feingold evisceration of the 1st Admendment continuing to vandalize the Constitution. Senator Feingold would prefer to amend the 17th Admendment when it comes to filling in vacancies of the U.S. Senate. This causing no person to be Senator of state until such person is elected by the people making the Senate as responsive to the people as possible. Although the Farmers gave three political components of the federal government but also different electors to reinforce separation of powers. If you ask me I think Feingold's ideas of electing in vacancies for the U.S. Senate is dumbfounded and a waste of time. Why not put the next person in charge to fill in the position it's their job. That's why we choose people for these positions, plus it eliminates all that time taking up votes.

Assignment #5, T. Beasley

This article "Will: The Continuing Fall of Federalism", written by George F. Will of the Washington Post and appearing on TheState.com is addressing the American public. He is criticizing the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. He is explaining that the current process of filling Senate vacancies allows for a replacement to be appointed by the state executive authority until an election by the people is convenient.

The change proposed by Feingold-McCain would mandate that the state in question hold an immediate popular election to fill the seat. Will goes on to argue that this would be a further corruption of Federalism. He points out the fact that the Framers intended to divide the power to elect among different powers,"the people, the state legislators and the Electoral College". The 17th Amendment allows the people the right to choose the Senator, but the position can be filled by the executive authority of a state until a popular vote can occur. The proposed change would make it necessary to hold an immediate election to fill the vacancy because it would not allow the executive authority to make "temporary" appointments. If this were the case, all the nonsense that just occured with Blagojevich would have been nonexistent.

Feinfold-McCain, in my opinion, are right on target for keeping the government as it should be: by the people, for the people, of the people. The author of this article is clearly confused as to what makes America function as it should: The power of the popular opinion. This force is what grounds Senators to those to which they owe their position. Would we rather they owe their position of power to the state legislature's "special interests", or to the general population of the state?

Assignment # 5 S. Suarez

The article “The continuing fall of federalism” by George Will of the Washington Post is directed toward the american public and addresses the topic of federalism in the United States political system.This article was basically written to voice the opinion of George will and protest Sen. Feingolds plan to change an amendment which would allow senators to be selected by higher officials instead of an electoral vote.
I agree with Gerge will's argument because senators should be elected by the people and not other members of the political system. If this amendment change were to happen then the people wouldn't have a say in who gets chosen into office and the senate will be able to chose whoever they want to fill in the vacant seat. This goes against many political standards because this country is supposed to be run by the people; Senators and political seats of power are only supposed to be representitives of the United States. If the goverment were allowed to chose who they want to be in political offices then this would no longer be a country run by the people, Instead it would be run by the government and us americans wouldn't be allowed to have a say in the political process. In the end federlism is a good thing in order to keep this country from going into turmoil.

Assignment #5 S.Layman

The article “The continuing fall of federalism” by George Will appeared in the Washington post, and was directed to the public. It shows the oppinion of Mr. Will against Sen. Feingold, because he is trying to change an amendment. One that would allow senators to be selected by higher officials instead of an electoral vote.

In doing so the senate would not be elected by the people who it is supposed to govern. While there are a lot of changes going on in the world (most not for the good of the public) , this just shouldnt be messed with to add to it....and Feingold isnt even appologetic about any of it....

Assignment 5 C.Carolina

The article “The continuing fall of federalism” by George Will of the Washington Post addresses the topic of federalism in the United States political system. This article shoots at the philosophy of federalism, which is basically the political relationship between the federal government which is separated into three separate branches and the 50 or so separate state governments. The federal government includes the U.S. Congress-the House and the Senate; the presidency-the president, vice president, and cabinet members; the Supreme Court. When George Will states the “fall” of federalism he is referring to the failure of these systems of government to function with one another and the corresponding state governments. George Will’s article is intended to tell his opinion to the members of the federal goverment and the people of the United States.

George Will’s main argument is that senators shouldn't be elected by a higher state official in the event that there is a senate vacancy. Under the philosophy of federalism a senate vacancy would be filled by an electoral vote by the states constituents. Republicans Russ Feingold (WI) and John McCain (AZ) were chief supporters of a federal law passed in congress known as the Feingold-McCain Act. This act regulates the financing of political campaigns. This aids to the fact of upholding federalism because in the event that a particular official was financially compensated to elect a senator to fill a vacant senate seat, the senator would still have to win the overall election by the people, and not the election by the paid-off higher official. A current example of this corruption, highlighted by George Will is the Blagojevich-Burris “scandal”. I certainly agree with the idea of maintaining federalism to protect the people and prevent political scandals. In some areas of politics we certainly are due for a change, but in other areas it benefits us to stick to the ideas of our past framers. This is one of those areas.

Assignment #5 E. Lear

The article is about the fall of Federlism in the United States. The Article is for the The State and the author is George F. Will of the Washington Post. The Articles name is The Fall of Federlism. The article is based on the the actions of Sen. Russ Feingold. And his not apologing for his action in the Senate on an open seat. And to make an amend on the 17th amendment.
The audience this article for is the people that are worried about the Senate and what they do and how they do things wrong and right. Which in this cases what they are doing wrong. The amendment to which is made was to say that the senate couldn't make a law that goes against the freedom of speech. Many people are in a state of shock because of what Sen. Feingold has done and many other Senators have done. We need to be grounded in Federlism to keep this country going.

Assignment #5 Carly C

The author of this news item is George F. Will, with the Washington Post. The writer comes off as angry and cynical. He points out many times in his writing that we are ignoring the Constitution. His argument I believe is against the Senate and the way they ignore the Constitution in the sense they ignore the fact that it says the people must vote in a senator. Also the fact that the states in themselves are becoming stronger, the principle of separation of powers. I believe the audience this article was aimed towards was the people, it seemed to inform them of what is going on and the way he compares and contrasts.

Assignment #4 T. Parrish

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash", was written by Monica Davey of the New York Times. This article was written to explain how this Stimulus would effect the country as a whole and state by state. With Obama signing the bill into law Tuesday in Denver, it will now be the largest amount of money entering the economy since President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society program. The point of this bill is for it's fast action into the United States economy the real test of the bill will be, the amount of time that it takes for all of these actions to come into effect.

The transportation department says within 180 days of Obama signing the bill there will be 14,000 jobs to work on 34 different projects. This is just about the only set number that I have saw for any job estimates. The jobs happening now is what we need yes in a few months they will be useful of course then to, but people are out of work now, people are going to be in unemployment benefits now, there going to need health care now and they need jobs now. Though the stimulus bill is set to stimulate the economy when people are worried about job security and whether they or their families can eat, they won't be buying new cars or any large purchases.

Assignment #4: A. Oliver

In the article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" written by the author Monica Davey, the main topic discussed is the stimulus propositions; or, more specifically, the repercussions that arise from the ideas and procedures. It is causing problems between state and local government, in that there are not clear borders to define who has the right to enact what, and the sheer amount of money involved (787B) makes it imperative for the correct people to make the correct decisions. These propositions affect every single American.

Inflation is going to hurt; it is scary to think about what is going to happen when the last dime is pumped into the economy that was synthesized out of thin air. The future is not clear, with problems such as these, it is not a guaranteed solution. A pretty frightening thing that is brought up is the idea of education and health care programs failing, that would be a debilitating blow to America's people. Also, some states are starting to become almost jealous of the handouts that other states are getting, because they are complaining that they should not be punished because they did not have a deficit; this is true in many ways, but it is also selfish and perhaps a little childish.

Assignment 4 J. Williams

In her article, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash", NY Times writer Monica Davey is reporting on how the money for President Obama's 787 billion dollar stimulus package will be dispersed and spent from state to state. An influx of federal cash this nation hasn't seen since LBJ's Great Society Programs will be divided up and and sent state to state based in need. As Mr. Patterson- executive of the National Association of Stat Budget Officers- points out, "This is all rather daunting. Its alotof money and its happening so fast."

One problem I is how some state might not recieve money because they do not have a shortfall in their budget. North Carolina, for example, might not recieve money for education because they do not have a deficit in the budget. That being said, there is no deficit now but what about 6 months from now when the state has cut all it can cut? Or how some states might get less funding for alternative energy because they lack the resources to dedicate to such an undertaking. Why not give those state enough money and catch everyone up on alternative energy? One thing is for sure, this stimulus package is no easy fix, in fact it is the governments version of a Band-Aid to stop the bleeding that is our economy.

Assignment #4 areid

The article this week discusses President Obama's stimulus package. His stimulus package is set to create money and jobs through increasing infrastructure by builing roads and bridges. The author writes about this topic for the people of America so that they begin to understand how the stimulus package. The author talks about how the money should be spent by these state officals and the majority of the officals, showing the thoughts of the autor I believe, are in the belief that the stimulus package is not as good as some may think. If the author thought that stimulus package was a good thing then I am sure that he would have mentioned more good comments then the comments that he did write.
The state officals believe that there are more projects than there is money out there. The state officals are affraid that if their states are in not a need for the money towards sthe building of roads or they do not have the ability to make alternate energy they will lose their chance on the money and it will go to another state in "more need." For this being the case there are several states officals thinking of rewriting there budget plans "to secure more federal dollars." "We don't want to be penelized for not haveing a deficit."
Lastly, the author puts in his article how big the deficit is and to give the idea that the budget is big and it does need to be fixed with some type of stimulus package which I believe wraps the authors main point. The stimulus package that Obama plans is so large that "[I]f the stimulus bill were a country, it would be the 15th largest country in the world."

Assignment 4 VMoore

The article States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash by Monica Davey appeared in the NYTimes. Davey explains, now that President Obama is in office, to help save the country's economy, he is putting his stimulus package into play. This is a shocking $787 billions dollars of federal money that is going to be divided between the states the way they see fit. Most of the spending is going to be decided by federal lawmakers but other portions such as education and Medicaid is put in the hands of the state legislature. Many local politicians are upset by this, thinking they aren't getting the funding they need for transportation and in infastructures that they deserve. Projects that aren't ready to go into motion immediately are going to have to wait for the proper funding they need. Some polititians, such as Governor Mark Stanford of South Carolina think the stimulus package is a poor choice on President Obama's part. He believes this because so much money is being put into it. He explains that tax payers are going to be paying of this package for years and years. Hopefully, he is wrong, and this boost to the economy will help the economy get back on track and give jobs to the millions that currently are unemployed.

As outrageous as the stimulus package looks at first glance, I think it is a great idea. We need something radical to help turn this country around and more importantly pull the economy out of the recession. I also think that it is a good decision to put the federal polititians in control of the majority o the money decicions. I feel they will be less biase than local state polititians. At this point, we just have to wait it out and see how things pan out.

Assignment#3 Mperez

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash", was written by Monica Davey of the New York Times. This article is directed to the people of the United States and is explaing to them that their is much concern over what to do with the money from the stimulus package.She also states how the stimulus cash will be effect only if the state and local governments work together. She goes only informing the reader of how this money will save state jobs and even create jobs. Davis was also telling the reader in her article how governors could basically cheat by revising things to receive more money and how some people think that states are going to start competing for the money.

Assignment 4 C.Carolina

The article by Monica Davey in the New York Times, “States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash” tackles the newest focus in congress. After Tuesday, February 17 2009 president Obama signed the “Stimulus Package”. This economical stimulus package as we all know is designed to stimulate our struggling economy that is in recession. The closing figure ended up being $ 787 Billion. This amount is the same as saying the stimulus package would be the net worth of the 15th largest country in the world. Monica Davey touches on the issues that face the governmental leaders at the state and local levels.

Apparently we can see that this is a large sum of money that all 50 states will certainly benefit from if allocated in the correct manner. Davey states that governors and states hungering for money will be competing against other states. Important facilities such as Medicare, education, and job security are among the concerns of these government officials.

I agree with Davey in the fact that this capital will have to be spent in the areas that matter. My only concern is that politics will certainly play a part in all of this, which is something that we can’t avoid. Certain spending discrepancies will impact the more suburban areas as compared to the less rural areas, and will tremendously leave millions of people at a loss. At the end of the day I hope that this money will extend so that we can at least begin to lay the foundation for a secure infrastructure.

Assignment #4 scastaldo

Monica Dawey of the New York Times is writting about Obama's Stimulus package he recently signed. Wanting to know how the money is going to be spent? Who decides where it goes? Saving jobs? working on roads? working on our education system? And if you answer these questions it just brings up new ones! Who jobs will be saved the teachers or the firefighter? Which towns/citys need the most money to fix their roads? and finnaly if its spent on schools do we give more money to the inner-city schools to improve them or to the suburb schools to maintain them? These are just a few of the issues to be discussed within are goverment over the next few weeks.
I belive that before Obama signed this stimulus package that we should have had an outline of how the 800 billion was to be divided up and spent on some of our country's problems. Its simiular to what Madison Powers wrote in her article "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package" that we need to focus on the smaller problems and not everything as a whole. Passing a bill to send 800 billion dollars out with no real plan of who is getting the money or how it is to be spent, is not the best plan. We don't need to look at all the issues as a whole but break them down individually and take a realistic look at what needs to be done in each area, and then move from their. Not send out the money and then dicide on who needs it the most.

Assignment #4 M. Capps

Monica Davey writes in her NYTimes article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" about the problems that local and state governments are going to have dealing with the massive inflow of money from President Obama's stimulus bill. This is an informational piece directed at general readers of the NYTimes to warn them of the political firestorm that will hit at the state level as governers, legislators, and mayors fight over who gets stimulus money for what projects.

While we should be concered about the logistics of the stimulus package, we should examine why strings need to be attached to the stimulus package. The amount of money coming with the stimulus package is a lot of money no doubt, but it is not unlimited. This means the money needs to go to the right places and not everyone is going to get the same amount. The states shouldn't look at stimulus money as an entitlement, but rather should be looking at this as a way to help fix the economy on the macro level. Some states that don't have an educational budget deficit feel they are being shorted because they won't recieve money for their educational programs. Should money go to programs that don't need the money, in the true sense of need? States that change Medicaid policies to save money should also look at the larger picture. Cutting Medicaid benifits and availability doesn't penalize those with money, it penalizes those without money; should states be rewarded for targetting the poor and elderly with their budget cuts? I hardly think so.

Some politicians need to take a step back and look at the big picture. They should be focusing on how the stimulus bill can benefit Americans as a whole and not turn this isn't a party divided fight about who is entitled to more money.

Assignment #4 S.Grich

In the article printed in the New York Times, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," Monica Davey explains the conflicts between governors and legislatures with the stimulus cash and the different view points. She states how the stimulus cash will be effect only if the state and local governments work together. Monica Davey goes only informing the reader of how this money will save state jobs and even create jobs.
I feel there should not be another bail out. We can not keep printing money. There is too much spending and inflation. From my perspective I feel we should be cutting and balancing our budget. For example our troops should be brought home and that would free up our 1 trillion dollars being spent on the maintenance overseas. All in all, Washington should be doing very little right now and there should not be any more bail outs or stimlus cash handed out.

Assignment #4, T Beasley

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash, written by Monica Davey for the New York Times addresses the current stimulus package and its many complicated decisions and rules. This article is speaking to the American public in an effort to inform the public of the stimulus package and its multifaceted chances to cause strife among the different states and cities as each scrambles to get their "fair share" of the money.

It seems that some are disturbed by how the money is allowed to be allocated. Some worthy projects may be left in the dust while more less urgent projects are put on the priority list such as the "Massachusetts Turnpike rather than the backlog of local road and bridge projects".

Here is what crosses my mind when all this money is being tossed around. Is infrastructure high on the priority list of the people most impacted by this current economy? I have to think that it is more important to be sure that the salaries of the teachers that, by keeping their jobs, impact our future leaders are high on the priority list...how about the protection of our citizens...shouldn't we be sure that police, firefighters, first responders and rescue personnel keep their jobs? Doesn't this seem way more important that repaving a road? Sure let's be sure the bridges and overpasses are safe, do the work needed there, but also pay attention to the small details of keeping everyday life safe for the population. The healthcare part of the stimulus package is probably a good idea...if it reaches the people that need it. Hopefully the majority of people who have lost their jobs will qualify.

The stimulus package has certainly caused an awful lot of debate and quite a few disagreements as to how best to help the economy. My prayer continues to be that God gives wisdom to the people in charge of this and that it makes a signicant impact for the good in the current mess of an economy.

Assignment #4 A.Scalf

The article "States in Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Davis and was published in the New York Times. I believe this article was directed towards the American people to let them know what is happening on the inside.

Davis telling us how governors could basically cheat by revising things to receive more money and how some people think that states are going to start competing for the money. I think she's against the stimulus plan and this article is leaning that way. Almost every thing she states is something negative about the plan, but I agree because I am against it as well. There is no possible way for every state to receive every penny they should and that will arise major conflicts.

Assignment #4 B.Adams

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash", was written by Monica Davey of the New York Times. M.Davey wrote the article to show everyone that their is much concern over what to do with the money from the stimulus package.She directed the article towards the people of the United States, including all fifty states.

In the article she lets us know that each state has no idea how much money they will be getting or how it will be used. Each state and city will have to come up with the much needed ways to spend the money. In the end everything will be left up to the government officials to decide who gets what, and what will be best for each state.

Assignment # 4 S.Layman

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Davey of the New York times. In this article she addresses the public of the different problems that can and are arising from the new stimulus project. She sheds some light on the fact that every state will be treated differently depending on their current economic problems, as well as, what projects they already have planned out.

For the states that already have a list of things that need to be taken care of and/or states that have the biggest economic problems already, they will be getting more money. The issue that is arising from this is that now we are seeing governors, state leaders, politicians and so forth fighting and trying to fix more problems then they were originally going to face. States are now worried that one might get more in one area then their own. Some states that managed to keep out of the red are being punished by getting less money.....

While everyone fights for what money to get and what project to start on/take care of, it reminds us that in the end taxpayers are the ones paying for all of this. We will be paying trillions of dollars off for this stimulus package. Sure it will create some jobs right now that are needed to help the economy but what happens when those jobs are done? What happens when we need another stimulus project on top of this one? We have already been down this road once before, hopefully this time, this president, knows what he is doing and can actually help the situation and the American public instead of hurt it.

Assignment #4 D.Feaster

In the article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" talks about how President Barack Obama's stimulus package. The article was written by Monica Davey for the NY Times on February 16th 2009. In it she states the concern among many governors and majors of each state about how the money is going to be spent and who is going to spend it. The article is directed towards American people and all 50 states of America.

It talks about how many states plan to take the money to help make jobs or spend it on Medicaid and education. In Missouri, The Department of Transportation plans to prepare 34 transportation projects that will promise 14,000 jobs. The American Association of State Highway says that they have 5,000 ready to go jobs but do not have any money to help fund the projects. Maybe some of the money could go to help with or to also create more jobs so people can get back to working. This will help to put our economy back on track.

Assignment #4 J Miller

In Monica Davey's article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" posted in the New York Times informs the public that there will be drastic decisions for states to figure out how there money will be dispersed. With our country in a huge money deficit there are many questions, where the money should go, how much are we getting and how will it be spent? For instance in Missouri they intend to spend theirs on transportation that will also open up job opportunities while in Florida a city of 150,000 that are sitting on aging sewer pipes that need repair. This will be the greatest release of federal dollars since Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program which is going to cause many political battles.

There will be much debate between governors, legislatures, state capitols and city halls on where the money should go and yes there will be cities and Associations that get screwed out of some money. There is just too many items that need to be fixed and the problem is with what money? Yes our Nation is in trouble and it can be fixed. Is it going to happen this year? More than likely it probably won't be fixed in ten years.

Assignment # 4 S. Suarez

The article States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash was written by monica davey of the New York times and was directed toward the general public in order to talk about how president obamas stimulus package will not only affect the national economy but state and local economies as well. Now that the stimulus package has been passed many are wondering where the money will go. The article lists many state and federal programs that really need the money in order to keep them running. But the big problem is that will it be distributed evenly among everybody without causing huge riots and total chaos?
In conclusion, only time will tell how the government is going to distribute that money among all of the different kinds of programs that really need it. There are many states that are already coming up with many ideas in order to spend the stimulus money, but the goverment will have the last word on how much money each state will get. In the end we just have to wait and see on how the government is going to go through with this plan without causing big problems.

B. Brakefield Assignment 4

In this article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" by Monica Davey. Davey is explaining about when President Obama signs the stimulus bill on Tuesday "it will be the biggest influx of federal dollars since the days of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society program" in the New York Times. But good has to come with the bad too, Davey states that it will set off a mulitude of politcal battles. I think this article was written to the public to show that its not all peaches and cream when this money is being given out, and its not going to make everything all better. There is more that meets the eye to this situation.
Everyone keeps saying just get a stimulus check to balance everything out and it will all be ok. Davey is arguing that this is not going to be easy. Its going to be difficult to distribute the money properly without causing rioits. Davey list all the different programs and things some of our states need help on. How is the Government going to choose what and how much goes where?

Assignment #4 E. Lear

The article is from the NYTimes by Monica Davey. The article is States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash. The article is about all the big states and little state make wish list and hopes to have some of the money for the Obama Stimulus package. Which is 510 million dollar and the hope of more jobs. The stimulus is also going to bring more money the US roads.
The Stimulus article is for all who want more jobs and to inform the people how much the stimulus package is going to cost and were the money will be going. The basis arguement is why so much money, where will it go, and who is going to get the money. The money is going everywhere. But should it? Should the government spend so much money? She believe not but the Stimulus was passed and is going to effect the US really soon. And are we ready for the effect that it will have in the end has a result of the Stimulus?

Assignment #3 D.Feaster

In the article Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package written by Madison Power talks about the future plans for the stimulus package. The article was written for the CQ politics on February 4, 2009, the author states that their are two different significance in the debate. The first talks about the trade-off and how we want to get the $1 trillion dollars package to help get the economy back on track. Powers states in the article that "On the other hand, we want our policies to be fair or equitable." meaning that doing the time of the trade-off we want to be treated fair when it comes to the economy. Powers mentions the infrastructure of estimated effects as high or higher than many other likely infrastructure investments. Right now the economy is in a rough state and I do believe that it will get better in some time.

Assignment #3 VMoore

In the article Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package by Madison Powers seen in CQ Politics, Powers discusses the factors of the stimulus package. He tells that there are competing sides that we have to choose between. The first of these is fairness and efficiency. With the economy in the downward slope that it is currently in, we want to get the best possible economic outcome from government spending. The problem with this is that many Americans wouldn't be able to handle a dramatic change in the economy. The government has to decide if they want to invest in a fast recovery to the economy that many people could not withstand, or a gradual change that we are unsure how long it will take. The second trade-off that Powers talks about is between infrastructures and economic activities. Many Republicans think that we should continue to build to help stimulate the economy. While Democrats often argue that we need more long term policies that will have a lasting social impact.
Personally I think we need a mixture of all of these things. The government does need to invest in infrastructures and other spending that will immediately start change in our economy. At the same time, some money should be put towards the future. Everyone needs to think in short and long terms.

Assignment #3 areid

The article this week iediscussing the stimulus package and "multiple trade-offs that have to be factored into the decision making" for the US. The author talks of two types packages that are up for debate by the author. The first debatable issue is equality-efficancy tradeoffs while the second to find the balance between infrastructure and other activities that also stimulate growth.
The autor writes on this topc because he is trying to show the reader what the government will need to do and the way of things that the government can deal with the one trillion dollar debt. The author also talks about like the first two blogs about to be patient with the tasks that the government has to tackle. The author tells the governament to think small even though thinkig large might it easier to solve the prablems.

Assignment 3 J. Williams

In the article, Trade Offs in the Stimuls Package, Madison Powers discusses the tradeoffs that were made for this stimuls package to be passed. One trade off-equity efficiency aims to try and increase our spending to maximize our economic activity per dollar. Madison talks about being Keynesians-the idea that the state should stimulate economic growth and improve the stability in the private sector,a policy with which i would agree with.
Powers also speaks of how the package will help rebuild our infrastructure by creating more jobs. My question is where how does South Carolina fit into these stimulus package? As one of the states with the highest unemployment rate, what will this package to do help that. Also how much of these money would go towards education? With teachers salaries already being cut, how are Americas young peopleexpected to get a quality education if there are not enough quality teachers?

Assignment #3- - A. Oliver

In the article, "The Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package" posted on CQpolitics.com by the author Madison Powers, the trade offs between the short term and long term are discussed. They consider short term as an efficiency problem and the long term as an infrastructure problem; the thought process behind this comes from the general question of how to quickly choose the correct things to do in this situation.

We must solve the immediate crisis first, we have no say in if we will do it or not, only how we will accomplish it. Now, what we do have to think about is what to invest in and what is the best way to do it; he called this 'bang for your buck' vs 'infasctruture'. Obviously, if we get tunnel vision on specifically the short term the problem will only repeat itself, because the problem has to do with the system. If you wake up, the water on the counter is boiling, the wax on your nightstand is dripping and you feel hot, what problem should you fix first? You more than likely guessed it, none of them, the house is on fire. This metaphor directly relates with what Madison is saying. If we hand out money to everyone, it will do nothing but fix the boiling water. If we start building buildings arbitrarily, it will merely fix the wax dripping onto the floor. If we dump all the water in Lake Wylie onto the house to put it out, we have wasted far too many resources that we can afford to give; I'm sure you get what I'm saying at this point. We must take a step back, assess the situation and understand how to put out the burning house entirely and efficiently without being distracted by the immediate problems that belly the real problems at hand.

Assignment #3 SGrich

In the online article, Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package, Madison Powers discusses the equity-efficiency trade-off and the capital-consumer goods trade off. To start I feel the balance of equity and efficiency should be balanced. Fairness in this stimulus package should be split right down the middle with efficiency.
Secondly, the columist speaks about the infrastructure and other components. In this trade-off the focus should be mainly on producing capital goods here in the U.S. which is infrastructure. This would create many more jobs and make America that powerful nation we once were. In contrast, the consumer goods would get less attention and would lower our standard of living, but we need our focus to be on capital and I feel in the long term it will turn this situation around.

Assignment #3 M. Capps

In his article "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package" featured on CQPolitics.com, Madison Powers writes about the balance that is trying to be found within the new stimulus package. The first balance is between efficiency and equity, efficiency being defined as "bang per bug" in terms of economic activity, and equity as long-term stability and growth. I believe that while we obviously need to do something *now*, we shouldn't be so hasty as to neglect the long-term while trying to fix things right this instant. We need more speed and less haste when dealing with this problem.

The second issue discussed is the balance between large infrastructure projects and other smaller projects. Some view infrastructure as the only viable way to invest stimulus money because of its efficiency. While infrastructure should be a part of any stimulus package, it is very apparent the view that we should stick to the old way of thinking about economic recovery is narrowminded and out of date. Sticking to the old ways is one of the reasons we got here in the first place, following Reagan's ideas of deregulation and market selfmanagment. Powers suggests that spending smaller amounts of money on smaller more numerous projects could have a greater overall impact on our economy's recovery. Investing in state budgets keeps local jobs intact and helps the people at the bottom of the ladder by saving unemployment and food stamps.

While this may not be the answer we need, as if one answer could solve such a complicated problem, it is a step towards changing the way we think about the economy. New ideas are what will save our economy in the short and long term.

Assignment #3 T Parrish

The article "Trade-off in the Stimulus Package", was written by Madison Powers was in the CQ Today. This article is written to explain the need for balance in the current economic stimulus plan. To ensure we that we make fair trade-offs for our money spent, and that these trade-offs are going to provide long term result. It was written to the American people to help them realize some of the things going on behind closed doors.

I think is article makes some very good points, about how we need to realize what kinds of trade-offs we are making. There is only a certain level we can short term invest into fixing this deal, there is down the road to look forward to. We have to ensure that we balance now and the future in these deals. And also realize that pride and party lines have to be demolished for the good of the American people.

Article # 3, T Beasley

This article, "Trade-offs in the Stimulus Package", by Madison Powers appears on CQ Politics and addresses the American public. The basic idea of the article is the effect and efficiency of the new stimulus package currently in debate. The article makes a good point to me; we do expect and deserve "the most bang for the buck".

I think it makes sense to spread the money out to numerous needs and projects, but there definitely needs to be accountability for where it goes. The author makes another good point that state budgets would be a good choice to start with, as well as education, and "basic local services". This saves jobs and helps the taxpayers in key areas that are important to almost everyone.

Maybe it is a good idea to "think small" to make a huge impact on the economy. The last stimulus went to big business and it doesn't appear to have had the impact the economy needed and certainly didn't have the accountability it needed.

Assignment#3 B.Adams

The article "Trade-off in the Stmulus Package", by Madison Powers, was in the CQ Politics on February 4, 2009. Madison Powers states that there are pros and cons of the stimulus package, but deciding what is best is the question at hand right now. She is basically saying that we need to figure out how and what the money is going to be used for. Basically the government needs to figure out a way to spend the money that benefits in the long run, but at the same time focus on the big picture at hand. Sure we all can say that we need the money, but does it really help us out in the long run. I think the best way to spend the money is to do what is best to focus on what we need as a whole, to get of the slump that we're in. Again saying, how do we spend the money the most efficiently to where it benefits everyone.

Madison Powers makes it cleat that we need to come up with a system that we know where the money is spent the best way.In conclusion, the government should look at the entire economy, and go step-by-step piece-by-piece looking at the best way to go about doing what is best for everyone.

Assignment #3 J Miller

Madison Powers' article "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package" posted in CQ Today was written to inform America's people why there are so many debates over the stimulus package. First off the stimulus package isn't going to save our economic crisis but if organized properly can help redirect our downfall.

The two biggest debates that have been holding the stimulus package up, one being goals of efficiency and ideals of equity and the second is strike and balance between infrastructure and other activities that can stimulate economic growth. We're looking at a package that's going to cost nearly $1 trillion, so why not maximize the efficiency and make sure that it is spent wisely so it will help out the economy but the people as well. While our safety nets are unraveling faster they can't afford to make the same mistake like last year by putting the stimulus money in the American hands. Politicians and economists need to make sure that the money is disbursed and spread equally trying to fill holes in several places instead of just a couple places.

Even though as Americans we have big dreams maybe we need to step back a little and think about fixing smaller problems first that can eventually spark up new growth but if not taken care of could become bigger problems in the future.

Assignment # 3 S.Suarez

The article "Trade-off in the Stimulus Package" by Madison Powers appeared in CQ today and was directed toward the american people. It was created to inform all of the american people about the collapsing economy and how this stimulus might help save it.

For weeks now The governemnt and president Obama have been talking about how this stimulus package will help revive the troubling economy and help us out of the mess that we are in. This article talks about all the pros and cons of the stimulus package and i kind of agree with it. The stimulus package is both a good and bad idea for the economy, on the pro side it will help out the american people by giving them a few extra tax dollars to spend on businesses and in the economy, but on the other hand it also doesn't help that they are not spending some money on some of the things that should be spent on. I feel that they should put the stimulus money to good use such as helping out the education system and puting it toward small busineses in order to help out in this time of need and create some more jobs. If you give the people back a few extra dollars they are probably not going to put it towards very good use. That's why we should also use the money towards something useful such as creating more jobs.

In conclusion, The government should not spend all of the money on one big thing as a whole. if we are going to spend that kind of money, then we should work on spending it towards useful things. They should also not view this problem as one big fix, the government should use the money towards all of the little problems because in the end a quick fix isn't always the right way. If we were to focus our attention towards smaller parts then it would be beter for the country in the long run.

assignment # 3 Mperez

The article is "Trade-off in the Stimulus Package" by Madison Powers, came out in the CQ politics Feb,4 2009. She is telling the readers about the Stimulus package, what its going to do for the country and how the stimulus may help save the country. It also gives to cons and pons about the package. I think that the stimulus will only make things worse because the first stimulus package didn’t go so well. But we just have to believe in our president to make things better or make thing worse, who knows we will see in the end what happens to the country. Madison Powers also says in the article that spending nearly $1 trillion dollars in small sectors will hopefully ensure long-term economic stability instead of a quick fix for the years to come. We need to focus more on the smaller things rather then everything as a whole. I do think that the government needs to designs a system of checks and balances that will keep the population confident that this money doesn’t go to waste and will be used for good use.

Assignment#3 S.Layman

The article is "Trade-off in the Stimulus Package" by Madison Powers. This article appeared in CQ today and was directed at America. It was informing us of the collapsing economy and how this stimulus might help save it.

I dont think that this will in the end "save our society" but it seems to be the main idea that the government can come up with. Sure it will be nice for people to get some money here and there, but we are saving banks/businesses that already messed up severely and just giving them a pat on the back and saying its ok, because the tax payers have money to give you.

By the time that the money trickles down to the common people they will have seen nothing of it but will have faced the most drastic aspects of this failing economy. Giving people a very small percentage of their tax money to spend and spend to help business grow is a very stupid idea.

This stimulus needs to be put to good use. Spend the money on schools, businesses that develop businesses, and places that will create jobs. Use it for health care and to help better society overall, not just for one quick burst. I am guessing they didnt learn from last time that one little burst really didnt help...because it happened again.

Assignment # 3 scastaldo

Powers shares a saying with us in her article "Trade-Offs in the stimulus Package" she says "There is a saying in international development circles that both the World Bank and the international Monetary Fund knoe well how to spend a billion dollars on a single project but they have no idea how-- and when it is economically preferable--to spend a million dollars on 1,000 projects" What powers is saying is that mabey its time to stop thinking big and take everything down a notch. That we need to focus more on the smaller things rather then everything as a whole.
Her suggestion would be that instead of pooring millions of dollars into one large project, that mabey we need to divides these millions into smaller projects/problems. Having a detailed outline of where this money will go, how much is to be spent, when it is to be spent, and on what project it will be spent. Mabey if by focusing on the smaller issues at hand a fixing those, then its possible that the larger problems they create will be disloved along with them.

Assignment 3 C. Carolina

Throughout this past week President Obama has campaigned for an economic stimulus package. Obama and his administration see fit that some type of catalyst will dramatically impact our troubling economy. When speaking in terms of a “stimulus package” most people interpret that millions of dollars will magically fall out of the sky into the tax-payers’ pockets. Unfortunately this is not the case, and considering the amount of money proposed to be spent this issue isn’t something we can take lightly. In the article “Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package” Madison Powers of CQ Politics is trying to convey to America that though we are in need of some sort of economic stimulus passed in the Senate, what is more imperative is how we plan to spend $789 Billion dollars effectively. In other words we need an infrastructure of checks and balances that clearly outline the ways our government plans to rejuvenate our economy with these funds. Step by step.

With all this being said it becomes obvious that every single American’s need won’t be met, and there are many major trade-offs to spending $789 billion dollars of tax-payers’ money. For one, the efficiency factor of the spending certainly raises a huge question mark. With conspiracy clouding the impressions of our members of congress, how can Americans ensure that our interest will stay in the heads of our government official’s minds? How can we be confident that we will end up with a secure economic system in which we get the “most bang for the buck”? Powers states that the proposed $789 Billion does not only need to be spent in the major banks and corporate businesses. The funds should also spread to our small businesses, small banks, lower and higher levels of education, and job security programs-at the state and local levels. The second trade-off to the stimulus package is whether or not spending this much money will balance out with the base structure of the capitalistic American economy. Which means if we can’t set up a solid infrastructure to coincide with the spending then this stimulus won’t guarantee the results.

Madison Powers sums up the article by stating that spending the nearly $1 trillion dollars in small sectors will hopefully ensure long-term economic stability instead of a quick fix for the years to come. I somewhat agree with the article in respect to making sure the government designs a system of checks and balances that will keep the population confident that this money doesn’t go to waste. It is clear that we must come up with some type of plan to allocate the $789 billion in a precise way that will affect the economy as a whole and promote financial security in the U.S.

Assignment #3 E. Lear

The article is "Trade-off in the Stimulus Package" by Madison Powers. He is telling his readers what the Stimulus package is going to do. It gives the pros and cons of the stimulus packages. Some are going to help the U.S. and others are going to make matters worse.
The first is equity-efficiency trade-off to which the stimulus will do is to get the economic back into a easier way. But this comes with it's pros and cons has i stated above. Taxes and other things will have to be made during this. This stimulus will also get economic activity back in order. I my self believe that the stimulus will only make things worse because the first stimulus package didn't do anything it only made things worse. But i will flow my president to the end he can make things worse or make thing better who knows we will see in the end when the dusk has settled.

Assignment #2 A. Oliver

The article, "Scoppe: Government has to make choices families, business do not", was written by the associate editor Cindi Ross Scoppe and posted on South Carolina's "TheState.com." The Audience is anyone who has a stake in the choices that state legislature makes on what to do with the economy as it is. She draws parallels between national and state spending, saying that the national budget has an advantage because it can go into debt.

Her writing is quite interesting; it lays out the many options we have. I believe the main point that is attempted to be conveyed is the fact that there are no good decisions here. We have gotten to the point in debate where we have separated the rational from the irrational and the possible from the impossible. Now that we know what the possible options are for us, we can focus on the matter of choosing precisely what to do in this time of economic crisis. Which, brings me to the main point of the article, there is no good choice. We are at a fork in the road at every legislative piece, one way leading to a pro and a con while the opposing road leads to the exact same. Every choice that the state government makes from here on out will have a sacrifice. Do we gamble or play it safe? Should we stick with options that we can back out of, or get stuck in a bill that was by all means a shot at the moon? Should the working man, as a single entity, take a bullet, or should it sacrifice the weak? But, the latter is not so obvious, because it is the weak that drive the country and this would leave us with not only a bitter taste but the obvious human toll in its wake. Giving money to people who cannot afford to save it is very important, but means nothing if they are spending it all on their mortgage and debt's interest, and still going into further debt. There are no right answers, but there are certainly wrong answers; and, our country hingest on not hitting one of these 'land mines'. We have to tip toe, one unwise decision can make everything fall through. Everything is tied together, one failure will inevitably lead to more. This article is quite scary!

Assignment #2 areid

This is another article that has its own perspective of the "What if's" of the government. The author just puts this article into a comparison of the American family so that the reader can possibly get a better grasp of what the government is trying to do. If it is written so only economic professors can read the article than it serves little purpose to the common reader like you and me. The author is trying to show why the government spends the money that it does and if the government should spend US dollars in what types of directions. The article, as stated before is for the common man, i.e. the middle class who are the ones being laid off at work. The common man is the most worried about the economy and government because of what history has shown in a repression. They have read the books and listened to the stories of The Great Depression and do not want anything to do with that and hope that what ever the government decides to do, hopefully it is the right choice.

The author has a couple main points. Should the government keep spending money? The author says in comparison to the US family, as individuals, "if we have the means, we should keep up our spending." Spending is what keeps the economy in good stands but if the government makes more money and spending it then the debt will never slow and it will keep growing explanatory.

Another point the author makes is about taxes? If there is a tax cut and putting more money into the individuals or businesses hands then that means that there will be more spending, which is a good thing as stated before. Though will this solve the problems? The author throughout the whole piece defiantly leaves it into the readers’ hands to make their own opinions.

Assignment 2 J. Williams

In her article, Government has to make choices families, businesses dont, Cindi Scoppe discusses the difficult decisions our governement is forced to make. Ms. Scoppe- associate editor of South Carolina's The State- talks about how the state government is facing some tough decisions. Ms. Scoppe states that our legislative body lacks common sense. She says the economic issue in America has no real quick fix. As the economy gets worse, people will be afraid to spend money- this only fanning the flameof our economic problem.
I agree with the idea of reducing pay raises and bonuses if it would allow others to keep their jobs. No person in their right mind would ask for a pay raise if they knew it would cost them their job six weeks down the road. This are tough times and as Ms. Scoppehas pointed out, there are many options. We shall wait and see which one is the "right" one.

Assignment 2 VMoore

The article Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t, by Cindi Ross Scope was published on TheState.com. This article is explaining to people how difficult it is to decide what to do about the economic crisis in America. She explains that it isn't cut or dry, it's actually a much more complicated problem than many people think. As the economic crisis gets worse, people feel more obligated to save their money. The problem is, if people aren't putting their money back into the system, the economic spirals down more and more.

Personally, I agree with Scope that instead of laying people off, we should just cut pay raises. It is better for the majority of people to have lower paying jobs than for a few people having good paying jobs. Although there is nothing the government can do to keep people from saving money for the crisis ahead, by letting people keep their jobs they are more likely to go out and spend money. At this point, the government needs to find a way to decrease the unemployment rate and kick start the economy. I am really excited to see what President Obama can do for us.

Assignment #2 D.Feaster

In the article, Government has to make choices families, businesses don't written by Cindi Ross Scoppe talks bout how the economic problems that happen in South Carolina. The article was printed in "The State" newspaper on January 22, 2009, it states that the government does not have the right to ignore the consequences of its actions do to the economy. Scoppe also talks about how layoff are in the higher percentage we should cut out the other workers that are getting pay raises in order to keep people working. I believe that raising taxes should not even be a option, because if families can barley afford their gas and house payment what makes them think they can afford higher taxes. She also talks about if we were to raid trust funds should we stick to the smart fiscal policy of only using the money for the one time needs. Scoppe questions if we should cut back on the size of college scholarships to save money. I do not believe that we should it would only make the problem worse because most students depend on that scholarships money. Like Scoppe states "those college ids are a lot closer to becoming productive, tax-paying citizens." Both families and the government both needs to make some changes before the problems gets worse before it get better.

assignment #2 M. Perez

The article "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" was written by Cindy Scoppe, and published in "The State". Its letting the south carolina citizens know about the economic problems. Scoppe says that citizens are comparing the budget problems between people and the government and they cant its too different. The article is also talking about how we are dealing with the change right now and it gives a bunch of different ways the government can help. Some ways they gave in the article were not recieving bounses in order to hold off on layoffs, and raising taxes to increase in state spending, salaries and local purchases are all good ways to avoid laying off hundreds of people who really need jobs to support themselves and their families. During this time many people need to sacrifice a lot of things just to be able to live and help the economy. We have to think about everyone because everyone is going through the same thing in this world. Everybody has to do their own part to help out during this crisis. So we all have to make a few sacrficies in order to help out the state and the country as well.

Assignment 2 C.Carolina

It's clear that our economy is in a recession. The longer we wait, the bigger the problem will become. Being that South Carolina is not necessarily an economical powerhouse, we have taken the hit just the same as everyone else. The article posted in The State newspaper by Cindi Ross Scoppe “Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t” addresses a few of the issues we face in SC. Scoppe’s intention of this article is to explain the difficult decisions our government is faced with concerning government spending.

The easiest way to relate these issues of government spending to the common person is what is known as the families-businesses analogy. If you wouldn’t spend money a certain way within your family, then you shouldn't spend money that way within the government. Scoppe touches on the topic of raising taxes or cutting taxes. On one hand raising taxes would result in more funds for the government to allocate back into the state, but would in turn lessen the money available to be spent by the tax-payer. Scoppe also touches on layoffs. You can’t reward the valuable employees and then completely layoff everyone else. On the flip-side if you don’t cut workers then you consequently have to lessen the pay of those same valuable and not so valuable employees.

This was a great article that really explains these issues in a way that almost anyone could understand. I certainly agree with Scoppe, there are no easy solutions. However, the government is still responsible to uphold their allegiance to the common tax-payer. Keeping our best interests in mind and cutting costs where they can. The decisions on government spending in South Carolina won’t benefit everyone, but there must at least be a sincere attempt to do so. The government owes the tax-payer that much respect.