Saturday, February 28, 2009
Assignment #5 T Gombar
The argument that he is trying to make is that making these changes pushes us farther away from the original intention of the Constitution, which also pushes us farther away from federalism.
Tara Gombar
Assignment #5 D.Duryee
What Mr. Will is trying to explain is that lawmakers are slowly changing the meaning of the Constitution away from what it was originally suppose to mean. Within the Constitution there is a system built in that checks and balances the powers of the government and addresses the relationship that the federal government and state governments will have. Mr. Will believes that by changing these checks takes away from the original intent of the Constitution and puts too much of the responsibility on popular vote. He says in the article that this is slowly chipping away at a federalist based system that helped keep everything in check. e says in the article that originally the Senate seats were filled by state legislatures, the House seats by popular election, and the executive branch by the electoral college. He believes that by putting more of the power of election of national government in the hands of the people, it takes away from the power and check on power of the federal government.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Assignment#5-M.Metcalf
The basic argument that the author wants to make is that there is a new proposal to correct the way that Senators are appointed after a vacancy in their state. The new proposal calls for the election of Senators when ever there is a vacancy. The author wants to show that by not going back to the old way—the way that the framers laid out—federalism is being further destroyed. And that the ground the states had is being further weakened. The author points out that when the state legislators chose the national Senators, the system of checks and balances was stronger. Stronger because these Senators were more inclined to act out the will of the state, and the state legislator and not the will of special interest groups.
Assignment #5TPage
I think that Will wrote this to inform us about how some people in the government are trying to pull the government away from the vision the framers had.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Assignment #4 wchavis
Monday, February 23, 2009
Assignment #4 LFraser
Attendence
I tried to email you but everytime I do you never respond back, so I figured you would be more likely to do so if it were on the blog. I was just wanting to know how many days I have missed in your class. Thanks you.
Mhutcheson assignment #4
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Assignment #5 S. Blackwelder
When President Obama passed the stimulus, many state and city officials did not know where to send the money first. With so many people unemployed, much of the money is being focused on employing the unemployed. In smaller cities, it is easier to gear the money towards employment since property is less.
This article is aimed towards the American citizen population in order to inform where and how the stimulus money is being used.
Assignment # 4 ECapps
I think the question is, can America's government and politicians get things organized and swiftly figured out so that the Stimulus Package does what it was intended to do and help America's sinking economy before it is too late.
Assignment #4, J. Helms
Assignment#4 JHUNTER
Davey's article is intended to paint the big picture of the stimulus deal. It's designed get the reader to think about the people and aspects of the package that maybe don't get as much light shed on them as the others. The individual states will have a say on how much of a piece of the pie is given to them, but the bulk of the responsibility will be in Washington because a deal of this magnitude must keep the errors to a minimum.
Assignment 4 Ben Nash
Although the stimulus bill has finally been passed into law, numerous obstacles must be overcome before the nation can begin to realize the benefit of the federal money. These range from the incompatibility of states policies and needs with the rules of the bill to good old fashioned political grandstanding (Gov. Sanford..hello?). The article serves to remind the public that the battle of the passage of the bill was just the beginning of the political fight.
Assignment #4 T Gombar
I think the main objective of this article is just to let the people know how the money is going to be split up and that not everyone is on board with this plan but hopefully everyone will appreciate the outcome. In times like this new jobs are a very good thing, regardless of how we get them. Eventually the spending will come full circle, less people will be out of work, and less people will be losing their homes.
Tara Gombar
Assignment #4 M. Thrift
The stimulus package gives money to help build roads and bridges,which will hopefully create jobs.For example,in Missouri,when transportation projects begin they are hoping to create 14,000 jobs. A big controversy in President Obama's plan is over how much money will be given to the education system.Some are wanting more money to go to schools in urban areas,others want more money to go to schools in rural areas.
The plan is not perfect but hopefully,in time,everything will even out and America will get out of the hard times its fallen on.
Assignment#4 M.Metcalf
The basic argument that these authors want to make is that the stimulus bill has many great and ready to work stimulus plans. There are places in the country waiting with open arms to receive stimulus money so they can start on various programs. However the plan has a few negative parts and there are some state leaders that do not want to take any of the money. These leaders say that it will take some of their power and transfer it to the federal government, or cost the average tax payer too much money.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
JDeVoll Assignment #4
So now the question is, How will the money be distributed? Should most be given to road construction or to education or should it go towards health care? All over the country governors are re-writing there budgets to secure more money for future projects. And hopefully with the new stimulus bill and the budgets changes it will not be long before we see a change in the economy.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Assignment #4-D. Duryee
What Ms. Davey is basically trying to get across is the amount of political pressure being put on state and local governments to gain as much from this stimulus bill as possible for their state and local communities. Many of the states are having to modify their budgets to help them qualify for more of the money because if they are forced to pass up any of the money it will be distributed to others states that are deemed to need it more. She is also trying to push the point that alot of this money is still going to be distributed by the Federal government with many conditions applied toward how it is used. The article also points out that some state leaders believe that this bill is wasteful and claim they are going to avoid taking any of the money at all, in the belief that they are saving the taxpayers billions of dollars in money to be paid back. In all, this article is very informative as to the situation that this bill has put the state and local governments in and helps the general public understand the vast scale and things at stake with the distribution of this massive stimulus package.
David Duryee
Assignement #3
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Assignment #3 ECapps
Assignment#3RNeal
Madison Powers authored the article “Trade-Off’s in the Stimulus Package” for The CQ Today,” explaining the positives and negatives of the nearly trillion dollar package to his readers. He attempts to detail in the simplest terms what the stimulus package is and how it is going to affect the economy. There is much speculation on what this package is going to do for financial sector of this country. With so much criticism, many representatives in congress are having trouble finding support in the package. The media, as well, are being unclear as to what this package will do, and the author is trying to make the point that no one really knows what is in store ahead for this country and that we should all hope for the best.
Assignment#3 S.Blackwelder
The first choice, using the money for all possible, or "milking it for what it's worth," is definitely a tempting option for those in power. This would include the raising of taxes and maintaining a healthy percentage of employment. This, however, would not benefit us. It would only improve the way we found ourselves in this rut.
Powers explains option #2: salvaging what's left. The predicament we have will not and cannot be fixed over night. Using the $1 trillion dollars for equity would not be the wisest thing to do, according to some. It's nice to have money saved and plans made, but when the things you are trying to help aren't going to last long enough to see the results of the equity, then drastic measures may be required.
This article is directed towards many, specifically those in power. It is important that they see future results of their decisions.
Assignment #3, J. Helms
Assignment #3 LFraser
MHutcheson Assignment 3
Article 3. B. Nash
Mr. Powers briefly touches on the competing ideologies regarding the most effective means of stimulating the economy (now a moot point in all but the "I didn't vote for it" circles as the stimulus bill has just cleared its last legislative hurdle and will be signed into law on Monday.) The author makes the point that the government should look for the best way to yield the quickest results in stimulating the economy. We should look for plans that give us the most “bang for our buck” regardless of the fact that they may not be the highest in profile.
Assignment #3 M. Thrift
In the article, Powers discusses some major trade-offs involved with the new economic stimulus plan. He goes in to great detail about the plan, and explains things very well. Many people are hoping that expanding infrastructure and by encouraging the American People to spend money, the economy will be stimulated and start on the road to recovery. While the economy is not in as bad of a situation as it was with the Great Depression, America could see another Depression if something is not done to fix the economy. But people must realize that the economic problems in this country will not be solved overnight.
A big concern that many people have is if the plan will really work. Some people say that it's a terrible idea for America to borrow money when it is already in debt. Other people say that if the American People are given money (estiamted at an extra $13 a week) then they might not spend it,and that would cause a lot of problems. While those concerns are legitimate, it is important to be optimistic and not give up on the plan before it has even been put in to action.
Assignment#3 JHUNTER
Powers article is very good. Its geared for to everyone because it will directly affect everyone. His points are clearly stated and towards the end he showed his hand that he thinks we should go with the plan that would patch the economy to keep us going. Even though I like the idea of us taking our time and finding the root problem of our economic valleys, if pressed I would say keep us afloat so we live to fight another day and get it right down the road when the risk are much lower.
Assignment #3 T Gombar
I think this article will also to let people know that this bill is not going to produce an immediate change. These will be small changes that will begin to put America in the right direction, but this will not fix everything. Hopefully, this is the beginning and the worst is behind us. We can only wait and see what the outcome will be, because no one can say for sure what will happen.
Tara Gombar
Assignment#3 M.Metcalf
The basic argument that the author wants to make is that there are different arguments on either side of the debate, but that both sides agree that some governmental intervention is needed. The author then detailed the different sided arguments and the dollar amount that each argument could potentially generate. The author then went on to describe how all people should not be looking for New Deal programs, but different programs— whose ideas are based on New Deal programs.
JDeVoll Assignment #3
The point the writer is trying to make is that however the stimulus package is used, it needs to fix the small problems first in order to fix the big problems. If you leave the several small projects untouched; focusing only on the few big project, the economy will come out in even more trouble than it is now.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Assignment #3, TPage
In the aritlce he states two important trade offs , "One trade-off is between goals of efficiency and ideals of equity. The second is the need to strike a balance between infrastructure and other activities that also stimulate economic growth". It then gives the view that each political party has on the plan. He thinks that we should give more of the money to small projects, it will have a longer, more positive effect on the economy in the long run. I totally agree with him on this. If we do that, we will have a more balanced econmy and maybe our middle class will increase by doing this.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Assignment #3 - D.Duryee
Mr. Powers is addressing two different trade-offs that he considers the most important, the balance between equity and efficiency and the balance between building infrastructure and smaller projects that will stimulate the economy. His basic argument in the equity-efficiency trade-off is that in a time when the economy as a whole is spiraling downward we need to put the equity on the back burner and get the most return on the government money as possible. He says that yes it would be nice to have it fairly doled out, but in this economic climate getting the most out of our money should take top priority. His view on the infrastructure-smaller projects trade-off clearly states that in order to fix all the different problems that we are having we need to fund the smaller projects and more of them as opposed to the large projects that we would only be able to do a few of. What he is trying to get across is that if we take the money and invest it in all the small parts of the economy that are failing, we will see a more balanced and long-lasting effect on the economy as a whole. Mr. Powers is hitting on the fact that just putting a big patch on a few holes isn't going to stop the leak, but putting a small patch on all the small holes will fix the problem and prevent it from bursting back open if the economy gets rough again.
David Duryee
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Assignment#2RNeal
Cindi Ross Scoppe authored the article “Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t” for The State to convey a sense of just how dismal the economic outlook is and that the public should avoid hastily making conclusions on the best plan of action. The author states different possible solutions, with each having negatives and positives. The question for the people then becomes “which plan offers the best possible outcome for the majority of Americans?” Which plan will result in less unemployment and home foreclosures?
Assignment #2 Sara Blackwelder
In this article, Scoppe writes about the budget of South Carolina and how our government is choosing to use the money wisely. Within the budget of South Carolina, education has a certain amount of money that is put away for lottery money, public school funds such as books, desks and teachers. Our government is having to make many choices that will affect them as well. Small businesses are losing money, along with bigger businesses alike. What many people do not realize is the tug of the state revenue and the many possibilities of losing it in many ways that will affect our state population directly.
Scoppe's article expresses the "danger" our state is in as far as budget goes. Our government is having to make major choices that will hinder or help those in need.
Assignment #2, J.Helms
Assignment #2 ECapps
Assignment 2 B Nash
Ms. Scoppe’s argument is that although it is easy to draw analogies between government spending and a business/family budget, the immense scope of a government’s responsibilities will render any analogy moot. Although a sense of community is ideal, a single family ultimately must take care of themselves first. A business needs only to make decisions that benefit shareholders and the bottom line and don’t necessarily have a larger responsibility (again, in an ideal world they should). Government responsibility is to its citizens (all of them) and in this you find competing needs that still merit consideration. This means that although it’s easy to throw out a quick analogy, reality is not quite so tidy.
Assignment #2- J.DeVoll
Assignment#2-M.Metcalf
The argument that the author wants to make is that the governments should be making the decisions on how to fix the economic problem facing the country. This is a problem that is out of the hands of the average citizen and only government can solve the problems we face. The author also wants every reader to understand that if a decision is made, and whatever that decision is; there will be some positive effects and some negative. No decision is superlative or perfect.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Assignment#2 JHUNTER
Scoppe raises the important question on do we borrow tomorrow's money for problems of today which would have a short term benefit but would leave our children fiscally strapped to deal with a mess we created. The answer to questions like theses are tough so the answers to them will be complex. There is no one path that we are going to take to bail us out but rather several. Scoppe writes only that risk that the government has with these decisions can bring down the community as a whole and we as families and/or businesses only pose immediate danger to ourselves.
Assignment # 2-D.Duryee
What Ms. Scoppe is trying to explain to the readers of this article is that it is easy for us to try and compare the huge budget shortfalls to our own economic trials, but in the end the government faces decisions that effect far more people in many different ways. The difficulty for the state legislature is to decide what programs are going to get cut or reduced and which of these programs need the money to keep at least some of the economy running. She says in the article that the state government doesn't have a choice to run a deficit, they have to make everything balance and that requires some tightening of the belt. It is not easy for them to decide which programs will get cut and which will not because either way it will have some kind of negative effect on the state economy which can lead to even more cuts next year. Thus, the government has a hard job in deciding what to do, and where the little bit of money they do have is going to go, and this cannot all be decided by doing what a family or business does in their economically difficult times.
David Duryee
Friday, February 6, 2009
Assignment #2 LFraser
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Assignment #2 T Gombar
I think she is trying to let people know that the government’s decisions are very different from day to day family decisions of just staying in for dinner because it’s cheaper than going out. Those decisions do not affect your neighbors or family members. However, a budget cut can affect several people, and not make everyone happy. I think the basic argument in this column is just that these problems are not just a simple fix, and regardless of the choices the government makes not everyone will benefit.
Tara Gombar
Ass. 2 TPage
The ariticle the goes thorught different examples of why government spending can not be compared to the spending of a business or person. For example, as idividuals, we keep spending if we have the means. Though, govenment can not keep spending because it has to look out for society as a whole. The article then goes on to the choices we have of what to do within our state, since we can not run a deficit. For example, raising taxes in state spending on salaries or local purchases, may not benefit as much as we think, because it will draw back less money for buisnesses. Or will cutting taxes out weight the draw back of reducing government spending?
The article gives us many examples of what needs to be done but on the other hand, she also talks about the negative effects that it will have on the economey while it is trying to help the situation out. In my opinion, I think she wrote the article so that society would have an understanding of what the government may do about spending and how it will effect us, with each different situation. No matter what we though, someone will be left out in the cold and our plan, whatever it may be, will not satisfy all.
Assignment #1 TPage
Monday, February 2, 2009
assignment #1 LFraser
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Assignment #1 - Michael Kirschbaum
Assignment #1 - RNeal
In an article written by New York Times op-ed columnist Thomas L. Friedman entitled “Radical in the White House,” Friedman stresses the importance of the newly elected President to the country and indeed the world. He is writing to reassure the nation’s population, disenfranchised with the eight-year term of George W. Bush, that political leaders can indeed rise to the occasion and make sweeping reforms in, as the author said, a “stalemate” government.
The author is trying to parlay a sense of urgency to the public when he quotes Obama as saying “our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed.” The American economy and our standing abroad cannot be allowed to disintegrate, which is what a government tired of the same leadership has allowed to happen.
Mr. Friedman is arguing that the time for America to make a radical departure from its previous ways is now, and Obama is our greatest hope for the future.
Assignment #1, J. Helms
S. Blackwelder Assignment #1
When I read this article for the first time, I saw it in a very harsh light. The more I read through it, the more I realized it wasn't coming down on just American citizens, but those in control of our government. It truly captures the past flaws of America by mentions of "letting go of our reputation," and the "postponing" of better solutions that were available to ease our national struggles.
Friedman wrote that he hopes Obama will treat this radical moment with radical decisions. I cannot disagree with Friedman. I would love to see the change that has been promised to us for quite a while now. I was very excited to see Obama stepping up to the plate days after his inauguration in order to make drastic changes.
This article was aimed toward American citizens and in a few ways, toward Barack Obama.
Assignment 1 MHutcheson
Assignment #1 ECapps
I feel that Friedman is trying to stress the importance of this historical moment in time and the possibilities that lie ahead for America but it is up to President Obama and all Americans to make sure we take full advantage of it for the betterment of our country and perhaps the world.
Assignment 1 Ben Nash
Friedman's argument is that in times of relative economic and domestic security Americans look to society and there place in it for comfort and relegate Government to background noise. When there is an instance of a domestic or international crisis we tend to look to the government as a means of comfort and protection. He holds up FDR’s “New Deal “and LBJ’s “Great Society” as to examples of when government got it right. This column is a good companion piece to the first video shown in class. We need a radical change in how our government functions and the role it should play in our daily lives if we are to rise to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Assignment #1 T Gombar
I believe the overall argument is that if ever there was a time for America to unite it is now, and let’s get out of this mess. We need to take this opportunity to have a fresh start, and make the most of a bad situation. It’s going to be a long ride turning the economy around but with everyone’s support it could go a little smoother.
Tara Gombar