Cheese Sandwich Regurgitation

I can’t lie -  I was pretty pissed off when I first heard of the Albuquerque Public Schools cheese sandwich debacle a few months ago.
Growing up in Southeastern New Mexico as a child in a low-income family, I know how it feels to have to eat a free lunch and be scorned [...]

What’s the big secret?

So, the Treasury Department, under the threat of subpoena, finally agrees to release the contracts for institutions that are receiving bailout money or TARP funds to a senate subcommittee (link). But, Carl Levinson, the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations, has made it known that he doesn’t plan on exposing them to the public [...]

Transparency, Got to Love It

As I am constantly reading about the proposed $775 billion dollar stimulus package that is being developed by the Obama administration the word that immediately comes to mind is transparency. At this point, most seem to agree that drastic measures need to be taken, but the extent of those measures is up for debate. Obama, [...]

The Economic Czar

The recent naming of Larry Summers as head economic advisor to President-elect Obama was met with different reactions. Some progressives expressed concern about his role in the deregulation drive of the 1990’s, while some conservatives were probably alarmed by his ideas about straightening out inequality.
I must admit, I have mixed feelings about Summers. [...]

Green Jobs: A Fresh Opportunity

As the election craze winds down and we all start to take a breath and look at the new turn our country is taking, it can be pretty difficult to settle with complete optimism. A major issue that we still face is the growing unemployment rate our nation is facing.
As of October, it was reported [...]

Firing up the Forum

Last Thursday, we held our first Clearly New Mexico online forum. The topic for the evening was all things “economy” and our featured guest was Professor Melissa Binder from UNM’s economics department.
I must say, I really didn’t know what to expect. I was uncertain about our technology selection (U Stream). And, I really had no [...]

Countdown to the Economic Forum

This evening, Clearly New Mexico will sponsor a virtual economic forum. The forum will be broadcast live, right here on our website, and will feature University of New Mexico Economics Professor Melissa Binder.
Regardless of your views on the economic crisis, regardless of your position on the federal bailout, we invite you to join us [...]

Time for an Intervention

Bob Herbert sums up well what happens when a society’s (ours) priorities go awry. A crumbling infrastructure, a lack of emphasis on education, an election contest turned into a horse race – it’s all here.
What a perfectly lovely mess.
I think we can pretty much rule out drowning government in a bathtub as a prescription for [...]

Government Is “Bad”… until “They” need it

Today, the United States Government announced “an extraordinary and historic investment in the nation’s banks – the biggest bet ever made with taxpayer dollars on the U.S. financial system.” (link)
With the announcement that $250 billion in US tax dollars is going directly into nine of the nation’s biggest banks, the stock market immediately rallied, as [...]

Dead Cat Bounce?

After the worst week in the annals of Wall Street, the DOW roared back today with its best one-day surge in history.
So have the smart guys who got us into this mess figured out how to avoid global economic meltdown? Or is the DOW’s wild swing just a dead cat bounce?