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Dear Mr. President:
Testimony and Public Comment
Project Vote
A sudden change of fortune for 32,400 Detroit pensioners in the city’s historic bankruptcy — from the threat of draconian pension cuts to a modest reduction in lifetime benefits — could face mathematical scrutiny as the case proceeds, experts say. In just 10 months, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn
In the media
Chad Livengood
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes last week approved an agreement that has the city of Detroit paying $85 million to escape a disastrous interest-rate swap deal with two banks. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, for one, applauded the decision. “Today’s ruling is a victory for Detroiters that
In the media
Curt Guyette
A newly-released study by Demos, a think-tank, shows that there is a correlation between income and voter turnout in presidential elections. Using the 2008 presidential election as a reference for the study, Demos found that the richer an individual is, the more likely they are to vote.
In the media
Ayobami Olugbemiga
NEW YORK— Yesterday, New York joined ten states and the District of Columbia to enact a National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) proposal. NPVIC, if enacted, would award all of a state’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, ensuring the winner of the popular vote wins
Press release/statement
It is indeed remarkable that the Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has agreed that existing pensioners can receive virtually all of their retirement benefits in a startling settlement proposal. Police and fire will receive their entire amounts (minus a portion of cost of living adjustment) while
Blog
Wallace C. Turbeville
It's no secret that when the wealthy speak, the powerful listen. What else would you expect when the average cost of winning a House seat has soared by 344 percent since 1986? But the other side of this coin tends to get less attention: How do the powerful respond to the voices of ordinary people --
Blog
David Callahan
Even if Paul Ryan's latest draconian budget plan gets safely filed away and forgotten, all forms of discretionary government spending face a relentless squeeze over the next decade. President Obama's own most recent proposed budget would bring such spending down to levels not seen since Eisenhower
Blog
David Callahan
The same day President Obama was at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference deriding and lambasting voter ID laws, I was on a plane with the pro-voter ID blogger J. Christian Adams. Between the two of us, you won’t find two people at farther opposing ends of the voting rights spectrum.
Blog
Brentin Mock
Michael Lewis’ new book, “Flash Boys,” relates a real-life techno thriller in which a trader who identifies and ultimately thwarts a scheme deployed by piratical “High Frequency Traders” to squeeze a relatively small amount out of many stock transactions being executed electronically. As our hero’s
Blog
Wallace C. Turbeville