PSC 201 MW 12:30

Steveb Assignment 8

2009-03-27T12:55:00.002-04:00

The article was written by Harold Meyerson of the Washington post. The audience is directed towards is the people concerned with the American economy. The article explains that "News Week" stated that "we are all socialist now", Which I do not think this is true. I think it was the only thing the country could do is to inject money into our system to make some sort of recovery. If the government didn't do that all of our banking would by screwed. People are calling it socialism but there was no choice. The article all states that America is moving towards a more regulated competive capitalistic economy. We are very regulated now exspecially if our government jumps in on a company that is going to fall through and just up and buys the whole thing. We are looking towards a country now that now one knows where it will be in 3 years.

Assignment # 8 rmiskelly

2009-03-23T07:59:00.002-04:00

Critics of the Obama presidency say that new legislation is changing our government from capitalism into socialism. In reality, though, the stimulus package our president signed is making our private sector more competitive. By injecting money into the public school system and healthcare programs, we are making them more humanized, a characteristic of socialist leadership.

Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post concludes that it was "our own damn system" which "blew up." A more social capitalism seems needed to comb over this mess. In speaking to a conservative audience, Harold maintains that this a worldwide crisis.

Assignment #8 R. Jefferson

2009-03-22T22:28:00.002-04:00

"It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism," was written by Harold Meyerson. This article is to all Americans. Meyerson is basically saying lets set our ego's aside and focus on what is going in the United States right now. We don't need to worry about what party is in office. Let's work as a nation and making this thing better. However, I do agree with Meyerson, because clearly capitalism has ruin our nation. Hopefully President Obama can be successful and change, what needs to be changed. Because maybe he would have a more social capitalism. In the end we do want this to happen.

Assignment #8 J. Norman

2009-03-22T21:43:00.002-04:00

"It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism" was written by Harold Meyerson of the Washington post. His purpose in writing the article is to voice his opinion on how people are misjudging what Obama is trying to do. He states that he is trying to restore capitalism rather than create a socialist environment. He targets conservatives in the article various times bringing up their views on the Obama Era along with how they reacted to the "socialist" Roosevelt.

Meyerson says that the spending inObama's stimulus plan is not a socialist takeover. It is merely a way to invest more tax dollars into education, research, and development. If Obama is successful in accomplishing his goals we will have a more social capitalism. The capitalism of the past has not been rightfully regulated causing it to "blow itself up". Regulation is what is needed in Meyerson's opinion.

Assignment #8 J.Mikles

2009-03-22T20:55:00.002-04:00

Harold Meyerson is an outspoken writer for the Washington Post and several other newspapers and magazines. He has appeared on many t.v. shows and talk radio shows supporting Obama and the decisions that Barrack has made during his presidency.
In his article entitled "It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism," he makes a sarcastic attempt to defend himself and fellow politicians who are in support of the stimulus package and against the way things were going in Washington. He goes on to explain that Obama didn't wanted to take such drastic steps toward socialism, it is just what he felt needed to be done to fix the problems in our capitalist system and that he only conspirators behind the movement are ourselves.

Assignment #6 S.Lewis

2009-03-21T23:12:00.002-04:00

This article was called "Revenge of the Glut" by Paul Krugman of the New York Times. This article was written to show how widespread this crisis is. It also shows how some countries like Ireland, got into the predicament they are in now. This argument was directed toward the american people.
It spoke on the warnings given by Bernake and described the loosey regulated systems of other country's as disasters. The large amount of cash inflows gave some countries a feel of wealth until all assets were lost and they were still looked to for their debt.
The argument that this article is making is that there should be more government regulation in countries. There should not be such wide open and loosely regulated economies.

Assignment #8 BTrigg

2009-03-21T01:36:00.002-04:00

"It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism," is an article located in the Washington post. The article was written by a democratic socialist named Harold Meyerson. The purpose in the article is stated in the title. Meyerson is attempting to explain that what is happening now is not a transition to socialism but a try at rescuing capitalism. Capitalism in our nation has "blown its self up," and needs to be rebuilt and put back together in a different way. Not meaning changing everything about it but some changes are obviously necessary. Capitolism is beginning to adjust into a more regulated, viable capitolism, not transform into socialism. Meyerson claims that as much as he attempted to change capitolism himself, capitolism has fallen on its own. This article is directed towards those interested in the extent of control the government is granted over our nation.

Assignment #8 Chris Tooley

2009-03-20T13:56:00.002-04:00

The article was written by Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post. The article seemed as if it was directed to people who fear socialism; it shows the what our country needs to do not what we wish it would do. The article really points out that we need to put political parties aside and accept that it is going to take borderline socialist policies to pull us out of this current crisis.

I completely agree with Meyerson; unregulated capitalism has nearly destroyed our nation. The unemployment rate is growing and it is going to take the nationalization of big business to pull us out. The comparison of Obama and Roosevelt was a very wise choice of words for the article, its going to take a very special, hardworking, and compassionate president to pull us out of this crisis. I saw a lot of ego deflation in the article; Meyerson made it clear that no matter what party we identify with we need to deflate our ego's and accept what is going to work right now, and that is going to be socialist policies.

I feel when our leaders decide to put socialist policies in practice we need to be extra critical of them. It seems; especially in America, that we just sit back and let our leaders make our choices but as soon as socialist policies are in practice we will need to make sure our government is not exploiting/oppressing us with these policies. Its a great time for us to get out there and be actively involved in the policies that Washington is deciding upon.

Assignment #8 M. Cline

2009-03-19T18:12:00.001-04:00

The article, “It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism”, was written by Harold Meyerson. He is an editorial columnist for the Washington Post. This article was published on the internet on March 5, 2009, by The Washington Post, The Charlotte Observer, and others.
I believe the writer was taunted into writing this article because of all the publicity, from our newspapers to our radio commentators, on our new “socialist “ society transforming into socialistic capitalism with our new President. In addition, I feel he is trying to redeem himself against all public opinions referring to him as having assisted in the capitalistic transformation of our country.
In my opinion, the writer is comparing the past and present political landscapes of socialization and capitalization. The course for the model socialistic party was charted in 1936-the Democratic party, supporters of capitalism. He is stating that we have been living in a deregulated capitalist society that has “blown itself up” due to the lack of governmental regulations and control. These issues have caused a global pandemic recession and it is our fault.
The writer is exerting sarcasm against the conservative parties that are against progressive reforms (which means a free ride for any one who wants it-unless you are a true born American). The conservatives are against the stimulus package, that Obama has devised, due to the way it is being injected into our system and the pork belly agendas that are planned for each and every dollar. The writer seems to be defending this issue.
In addition, he is stating that the government is working to have more control as to what goes on in our economy and probably our lives. The wolves are finally revealing themselves!

Assignment #6 J. Hancock

2009-03-17T12:27:00.002-04:00

"Revenge of the Glut" was published in The New York Times and was written by Paul Krugman. This article is directed to the American people that are interested in the Financial crisis that is happening in America. I believe that Mr. Krugman is trying to tell us that were experiencing simiular things that happened during the Great Depression in the 1920's an early 30's.

The reasons why we are going into these financial crisis is because our banks loaning money to other countries and are not selling enough of our American goods. If America cuts down on loaning other countries money and sale a little more of our goods then i believe we can make it through this crisis. I do not believe we are as bad as it was in the Great Depression in the 1920's but i do believe we are geting there. I hope that we can get out of this crisis and that the people in charge fo making all the decissions make the right ones because it will be bad for America if we have another Great Depression.

Assisnment #5 J. Hancock

2009-03-17T11:58:00.002-04:00

The article "The Continuing Fall of Federalism" was writing by George F. Will that was found in the Washingtom Post. The audience this article was directed toward is to all american people that are interested in how the senators of their states are elected.

George F. Will tells us the plan that Sen. Russ Feingold has and that McCain supports. Sen. Feingold wants to amend the 17th Amendment. The 17th Amendment says that the "Excutive Authority" of the affected state can issue writs of election to fill vacancies if a senate vacancie occurs. Fengold believes that the people should be able to vote for the senator to take the other senators place and not the person with the "Excutive Authority".

I agree with Sen. Feingold because the American people are supposed to vote for the senator of their state anyway. If something were to happen to the senator that is in the current position and some how has to leave the senate, the people should be able to vote another one in even though the other senator did not finish his/her term.

Assignment #6 JPernick

2009-03-16T09:46:00.003-04:00

The New York Times article, "Revenge of the Glut", written by Paul Krugman was written to inform Americans about the real cause of the economic crisis. It is directed toward Americans who are interested in the financial state of the country.

Years ago, we thought we had a financial crisis on our hands, but it turns out that today this situation is much more serious. The author says that foreign countries back then saved their money, but in this crisis that is probably not the best idea. Investments are going to need to be made to keep this global depression from getting any worse. Don't repeat mistakes from the past. If it didn't work, then try something that will. With the economy as bad as it already is, there is no room for mistakes and there is certainly not a lot of time to make these decisions. I just hope that the people in charge of making the decisions make the right ones toward a healthy economy. The only thing is we just have to ride it out and wait for better days....but who knows when that will happen.

Assignment # 6 R.White

2009-03-15T17:32:00.002-04:00

The Article written by Paul Krugman. It was published in the NY times. His article talks about how and why he thinks we are in an economic crisis. He refers to a man named Ben Bernake who gave a speech four years ago on why are economy is getting worse. Mr. Bernake says in his speech its Asias fault that we are above are heads in debt. All countries have been in an economic crisis but ours might not be the worst. Everyone has a part in this debt not the President or some other person, we all are to blame. The economic crisis in America doesnt only affect us but pretty much the whole world. The author states that we are still trying to find a way out of this mess. Maybe President Obama's stimulus plan could very well help the crisis but only time will tell. Im thinking that it will only get worse before it gets better.

Assignment # 5 R.White

2009-03-15T17:09:00.002-04:00

This Article was written by George F. Will. He talks about how the 17th amendment allows senators to be elected by a popular vote. It says when vacancies occur the Senate has the executive authority to appoint whomever they deem worthy to take the place. Feingold stated in his amendment that no person can become a senator unless he is chosen by the people. Feingold believes that it would make the senate more responsive than ever.

Feingold and McCain have a good point. If feingold could change the constitution it would help stop some of the corruption in the senate but not all of it. Another thing is would we even allow one man to change The constitution thats been holding this country together? I mean, he does make a point having the people vote who gets put into senate would stop alot of arguement because we put them in.

Assignment #4 R.White

2009-03-15T16:42:00.002-04:00

This article is written by Monica Davey for the NY times. This article basically talks about President Obama's Stimulus Plan, what some state legislatures could do with it and how it should be spent. The big thing that the stimulus plan will do is to get money to each state but the amount will vary depending on the state. Like the author says in her article, this will start a lot of political arguing over what should be done with the money. Another key thing for Obama's stimulus to work is for the money is to be spent quickly so that it can help lift the pressure on the economy.

One big problem for this to happen is for states and officials needing to decide what they will do with the money. There are many arguements between mayors and govenors because they are worried about who would get the most money. If you think about it there are a lot of things that each state needs help with like roads, buildings, bridges, education and medicaid. One state in particular thinks that President Obama's plan is a bad use of goverment policy and spending. I think if we could find a way to spend the money wisely and quickly, maybe we could end up fixing the economy a little.

This article's audeince of course is to the people of the U.S.A. who actually cares about whats going on in society. It was written to inform us how the stimulus plan could benefit us.

CMcCray Assignment #6

2009-03-09T00:32:00.002-04:00

The article "Revenge of the Cult" was written by Krugman. The article was published in the New York Times. The article was intended to give a possible answer to why we are in an economic recession and possibly on the way to another depression.

The author says the answer to why the world is in the position that it is in now was in a speech by Ben Bernanke. In the article, the author says that in the speech by Bernanke that the word relied on borrowing money too much and that is why the entire world is in the economic crisis that we are in. The author also describes why America became so in debt. The author said that bankers took huge risks and hide the risks from investors. He also says that countries cut back on spending as much, which limited money from country to country. He says that we have plunged so fast into the economic situation that the entire world is in now is due to trickle down effect. When one major factor changes, although not connected directly other factors suffer. Countries are not producing as many goods because other countries are not using the goods. The article makes me feel like it will be a while before we are able to get out of this situation.

Assignment #6 -D.HESS

2009-03-08T21:23:00.003-04:00

The New York Times article, "Revenge of the Glut", by Paul Krugman points out how and why the world's ecomony has come to an abrupt halt. Krugman makes his first point by saying that years ago when we thought we were in a crisis, we were terribly mistaken, considering that we are in one of the worst economic crises to date. The authors comment on international countries saving money instead of investing it, made complete sense then, but not now. They all should have learned their lesson the first time, but instead, were are in another crisis, and they are all for doing the same thing. If it failed once, why do the same exact thing over again. Invest the money. We are making the same mistake that got the world's economy into this mess, instead of trying to find the best way out of it. Now that doesnt make sense to me, but I guess im not in charge of the worlds money.

Assignment #6 N.Orr

2009-03-08T20:07:00.002-04:00

Article "Revenge of the Glut", was written by Paul Krugman. It appeared in The New York Times. The article was written to let us know that the economic crisis is not only due to subprime lending. It was directed towards the American people.

The arthur says that Ben Bernanke gave a speech four years ago that foreshadowed the bust to come. He states the cause stemmed from Asia and not America. It appears that this is not the first time we and other countries have been in a crisis, but now maybe the worst. We as a people have all contributed to the crisis, whether it's from wasteful spending, approving bad loans, or making risky business decisions that in the end affects everyone. And as the arthur stated we're still looking for the way out.

Assignment #6 H.Miller

2009-03-08T15:16:00.002-04:00

"Revenge of the Gult" by Paul Gruman, found in The New York Times expresses his opinion of the economic crisis. He refers to a speech made by Ben Bernake on the econmic crisis. This article was ment to inform readers (Americans) of the past "crisis" that in Gruman's opinion "is nothing compared to whats happening today". Also he explains how the crisis came about, with massive borrowing for homes and credit card spending.
As more people are of age to obtain a credit card, debt in America will continue to rise. This seems like a never ending cycle that hopefully our new President can fix. The outragious deficit that America has is very scarry because it feels as if another country owns the US. I hope this will end soon, but i am afraid it has only just begun.

Assignment #6 R. Jefferson

2009-03-08T12:20:00.002-04:00

The revenge of the glut, which was written by Paul Krugman of the New York Times. This article was directed towards the nation. Basically telling us how the economy is in this economic crisis. Krugman states that "After Asia had there crisis, then other countries started taking responsibility of there own." I feel as though we can't blame this on anyone else but the United States government. I mean look at the Bank, loan out thousands of dollars, even the US has borrowed money from other countries to pay the debt that they owe someone else. We must put a stop to giving out money and stop borrowing because it is hurting everyone one financially.

Assignment #6 J. Norman

2009-03-07T15:35:00.002-05:00

Revenge of the Glut was written by Paul Gruman of The New York Times. The purpose of the article is to pin-point the specific reasons America originally went into debt. The answer, he suggests, can be found in a speech made by Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman. In his speech, "The Global Saving Glut and the US Current Account Deficit", Bernanke states that the causes lie in Asia not America. After the Asain financial crisis of 1997-1998, these countries began protecting themselves , in effect exporting capital to us along with the rest of the world. With financial systems being loosely regulated caplital inflows covering trade deficits, our countries debt became horrific the economy going down with it.

Assignment#6WHairr

2009-03-07T12:37:00.000-05:00

"Revenge of the Glut," an artical that appeared in the New York Times, was written by Paul Krugman. The article is about the economic crisis that is happening all over the world. Krugman wanted to voice his opinion to the people. His opinion is somewhat based on the speech given by
Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman. Krugman's beleives that the crisis was caused by countries saving their money, instead of investing it. Because the countries and business within those countries did not invest it lead to other countries not making money on their exports. Krugman also says that we are doing the same thing now, which is saving instead of investing, but we are doing it more.

Krugman's article and point of view makes sense to me. I can totally see why saving instead of spending would cause a world-wide economic crisis. Before I read this article, I really did not understand what caused the world-wide finacial fall. But, now I understand it a little better. I also understand why business and countries want to save now instead of spend. But, then if they do invest or spend money on different things then they would be left pennyless. So what should they do?

Assignment #6 M. Cline

2009-03-06T07:04:00.001-05:00

The article, “Revenge of the Glut,” was written by Paul Krugman. He is as an author, an editor, a columnist for the New York Times, and a professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University. This article was published on the internet on March 1, 2009, by The New York Times and in print on March 2, 2009, on page A23 of the New York edition.
The article was written as a comparison of the past “subprime lending crisis” (subprime borrowers… more likely not to pay the money back, such as those who have a history of not paying loans back, those with a recorded bankruptcy, or those with limited debt experience) to the present day economic downfall. It is directed to all audiences who are confused as to how we got into this situation. Who is responsible and how did this happen?
In my opinion, the writer is stating the reasons our Nation is in this crisis are due to the Asian markets, the U.S. lowering interest rates to increase capital, and citizens living beyond their means. Asia was a huge importer of capital, but after their economic crisis, they started hoarding huge amounts of foreign assets and exporting “cheap money” to any country who would take it. Namely, the U.S. because of the extent of our financial markets (creating an immense trade deficit) and greed. Still, the banking industry is to blame as well. The banking industry has loaned out more money than it has received. By withholding the true facts from the borrowers, especially in the mortgage industry, this empowered the banks even further to create a huge consumer-spending boom that most did not qualify for the financing. Therefore, placing the consumer in a financial crisis, even bankruptcy, for which the taxpayers have to pay back. In addition, greed dominated the consumer. Instead of saving money and paying cash or minimal financing for purchases, consumers financed items that they truly thought were going to increase in equity and put cash in their pockets, regardless of affordability. Credit was so easy to obtain and accessible. Paying it back is completely different story!
This crisis has caused a domino affect throughout the Nation. The world has held a false perception as to the increasing wealth in each and every country. Consumers have started saving more and spending wisely, but it is too late to accept responsibility for our past actions. The bubble has burst and this will affect future generations for many years to come.

Assignment #5 HMiller

2009-03-04T12:15:00.002-05:00

"The Continuing Fall of Federalism" by George F. Will written for the Washington Post descusses changing the 17th Amendment so that the States can not choose a senator from a position that is not filled and is unoccupied. In my opinion, the constitution can be changed for laws that effect the people but is this really an issue to change an amendment that allows time to be cut down on finding a senator. Now days time is money and if we have to waste time voting for a senator that could be time spent on resolving major issues. If the person is qualified for that positon than it should not be a problem.
this artical was written to inform the public, but only those who are strongly in to politics would give any interest to.

Assignment # 5 rmiskelly

2009-03-03T23:08:00.002-05:00

A writer with the Washington Post, George Will discusses in his column Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold’s disapproval of the 17^th Amendment. This amendment says that when Senate vacancies occur the executive authority of the affected state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. Feingold’s repeal reads “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.” He has said, of late, that he thinks some governors have wrongfully appointed people to U.S. Senate vacancies, an “immense” threat to the public well-being. His repeal to the 17^th Amendment would make the Senate as “responsive to the people as possible.” The purpose of The Senate is to be deliberative, not responsive. The 17^th Amendment serves to ground the Senate in the state legislatures giving states the power to resist administrative extensions of the federal government. The Framers (of The Constitution) gave the three political components of the federal government different electors to reinforce the principle of separation of powers. Feingold speaks to slander federalism and nudge the Senate from the functions our Forefathers intended.

George Will intends make evident to the American people the Senators intentions. His audience, I think, is a conservative base.

Assignment #5 JPernick

2009-03-03T22:48:00.002-05:00

"The Continuing Fall of Federalism", an article found in The Washington Post, written by George F. Will is meant to grab the attention of Americans who are concerned with the way the senate gets elected.

The author of this article wants to inform America that Senator Feingold wants to Amend the 17th Amendment that gives the executive authority of a state the right to pick a new senator to fill an unoccupied seat. He goes on to say that if this is done, then it would change the way our forefathers wanted this country to be. This is causing a lot of controversy.

So far I haven't personally seen the 17th Amendment effect me in a bad way. I think that it is fair to let the people choose, but honestly I think another senator would probably do a good job of picking out someone new to fill the seat. I would not know who would be best to put there, so i don't see the sense in changing the Amendment.

Assignment #5 cBurt

2009-03-02T20:54:00.002-05:00

"The continuing fall of federalism" was written by George F. Will of the Washington Post. This article was posted on "The State" website, which is considered South Carolina's home page. This article was written to show that the seventeenth amendment gives total executive authority to the Senate. This means that if a seat in the Senate becomes empty, they have the power to appoint whomever they want to fill this chair.
I believe that the vacant spot should be chosen by the people because it is our right. I do not agree with the fact that Senators should be able to pick their friends to fill a vacant seat, it's just not right.

Assignment #6 T.Sewell

2009-03-02T14:47:00.001-05:00

The article “Revenge of the Glut” was written by Paul Krugman and published in the New York Times on March 1, 2009. Mr. Krugman is explaining the situation of the United States economy to everyone affected by our economy. The basis of his opinion is a speech given by Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman in 2005. Mr. Bernanke explains that in the wake of Asia’s financial crisis in 1997-1998, Asia has been heavily investing in other country’s markets, including Iceland, Ireland, Estonia, and the United States. The large amounts of money they poured into foreign markets caused trade deficits. Mr. Krugman further explains that the economies of these countries have collapsed, their assets have evaporated but their debts are still real. Now, with everything collapsing, people are holding onto every penny they can get and making things worse by saving instead of reinvesting. Now we have a “global slump” and are still looking for a way out.

Assignment #5 BTrigg

2009-03-02T01:27:00.002-05:00

"The Continuing Fall of Federalism," is an article written for placement in the Washington Post. The article can also be found within The State. Written by, "George F. Will", the article was written to state his opinion. Therefor the article was written for those who follow the same opinion as he and to inform others of what he thinks on the current situation regarding the Seventeenth Amendment.
Will informs the reader of Senator Feingold's intentions along with those of Senator John McCain. Feingold seeks to amend a Seventeenth Amendment that empowers the executive authority of a state to provide a senator to fill an unexpected unoccupied seat. Will argues that this is against the intentions of the founders of our great nation. Election by the people is best for the nation and is what the nation stands for.
Will does not title this article with anything pertaining to senators, amendments, or elections, for this article is not written to only argue his view on the current situation but largely to argue what he feels is happening to the nations government as a whole, a "Continuing Fall of federalism."

Assignment #5 D.HESS

2009-03-01T22:10:00.001-05:00

As stated in George Will's article in The State, Senator Russ Feingold is messing with history, and the Constitution. Why on earth would you want to try and rewrite the Constitution, to get his way over the countries voting. In my opinion, the way the Constitution has been guiding us on this matter, hasnt failed us in the past, why should we change it just because? Not to mention it takes entirely too much time. Now, there are instances where we made need to rethink some of the laws written in to our fair countries Constitution, but its got to for a far better reason than this.

Assignment #5

2009-03-01T22:07:00.003-05:00

The article was posted on February 29th, 2009 on The State website. It was written by George F. Will of the Washington Post. I believe the article was written to address the public about this obvious infringement on our rights.

I believe the there should be no limitations on free speech. Government should have no right to step in and control our right to free speech. I believe it is oppresive, and is not what our country was founded on.

Assignment #5 N.Orr

2009-03-01T21:07:00.002-05:00

The article titled "Will The continuing fall of federalism", written by George F. Will. The article appeared on website www.thestate.com. The article was written to show that Sen. Russ Feingold wants to amend the 17th Amendment on how a senator shall be elected.

The article is directed towards the American people. The basic argument is that Feingold is saying "no person shall be a Senator from a state unless such person has been elected by the people, and not give the executive authority the writs until the people fill the vacancies by election. After all, look at the Blagojevich-Burris situation. The question is if this amendment is allowed, what other fiasco may arise and call for an amendment.

Assignment 5 A. Brakefield

2009-03-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

In The State.com, South Carolina’s Home Page, George F. Will explains how the 17th amendment gives “executive authority” to the Senate. It allows a vacant spot in the senate to be filled. These spots are supposed to be chosen by the people. The Electoral College is in place to help keep order in the check and balance system.
I believe if the government could put someone in power that can help the people then I am cool with the 17th amendment. I want to be involved with this decision but it sounds like no one wants a college student to be involved. One day we’ll change their minds.

Assignment#5 J.Mikles

2009-03-01T20:52:00.002-05:00

On February 22, Washington Post published an article by George F. Will entitled "Will: The continuing fall of federalism." In his article he explains the reasons behind Sen. Russ Feingold and Sen. John McCain's proposal to amend the 17th Amendment.
Presently, the amendment says that if a Senate seat should become vacant, then the Senate has the rite to appoint whoever they choose. Feingold and McCain want the amendment to give the rite to choose to the people through an election. They believe that this will make the Senate more responsive than deliberate.
Due to the recent events in Senate surrounding this very Amendment, I see why Will would write such an article.

Assignment #5 (C.Williamson)

2009-03-01T19:55:00.004-05:00

This article was written by George F. Will af the Washington Post. It is focusing on how Sen . Russ Feingold is trying to eviscerate the First Amendment with Feinggold-McCain. The outcome of this is more vandalism of the Constitution. People say thet change is good, but if you cahnge the very thing that keeps out country in order, it will crash.
Feingold thinks that holding elections to replace the senators is necesary in order to make the enate as "responsive to the people" as possible. This article, along with a majority of them written by the Washington Post, is directed towards government active people. By us having the priviledge to vote, it is our responsibility to make these type of decisions. This problem is occuring with the Constitution in the State Senate.
I think that our Government can't always handle the pressure of making these tremendous decisions so they count on our opinion. So the basic argument would be...Should we let Feingold make "adjustments" to the Constitution.

Assignment #5 J. Norman

2009-03-01T19:43:00.003-05:00

Because of the Blagojevich-Burris controversy, where Blagojevich was forced from office after trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat, and Burris is still ceontending with allogations and rumors, Feingold is attempting to change the constitution to require popular election of senators in all circumstances. The constitution originally provided for election of senetors by state's legislatures, which was changed with the passing of the seventeenth amendment to allow for popular election of senators. The seventeenth amendment allows for the state executive branch to appoint senators in the event of unforseen vacancies.

I feel that McCain and Feingold have a valid arguement. Popular vote would allow for less chance of corruption. Allowing the government to decide in the event of a vacancy does not allow the people of that state to determine a replacement of who they did choose. George Will, the author of the article, however, says if the 17th ammendment was repealed there would also be a reduction of risk of corruption since the state legislature would choose senators as the founding father's intended.

Assignment 5 S. Bunn

2009-03-01T19:19:00.002-05:00

The author of the article is GEORGE F. WILL and it was posted by the state and Feb. 22. The article is about Sen. Russ Feingold wanting to change the 17th amendment. The 17th amendment says that when there is a vacant senator the state has "executive authority" which means that they can just up and appoint someone to fill the vacancy. They think that this way the senate can be more responsive towards the peoples needs.

I personally don't like the idea. I think that the people should be able to vote for the person right off the bat when ever it happens. If the senate has that power they could but anyone in there they want and it could lead to a power shift. I also believe that it is a against what the country believes in. I hope they don't change Feingold also wanted to change freedom of speech. He is crazy that will never side in this country.

CMcCray Assignment #5

2009-03-01T15:12:00.002-05:00

The article was written by George F. Will. The article was posted on February 22 on The State's website. The article is intended to inform the American people about how Senator Russ Feingold would like to amend the 17th Amendment and the impact that it will have on our government.

In the article, Will describes how Senator Feingold and Senator McCain would like to amend the 17th Amendment. Feingold wants to change the 17th Amendment to deal with filling in empty seats in the Senate. Feingold believes that by changing the 17th Amendment, that the Senate will become more responsive to people. Feingold wants every other state to follow in the ways that his state has done. Will believes that by doing so, would undermine the foundations of federalism. Will also describes how Feingold would like to limit the freedom of speech.

I personally believe that Feingold is only trying to amend the 17th Amendment now due to the controversy with filling Obama's Senate seat. There would not be as much attention paid to this subject if the controversy over Obama's Senate seat were not all over the media. I believe Feingold is just trying to draw attention to himself and has chosen this debate to draw attention. I also have a hard time believing the statement at the end of the article concerning the freedom of speech. I do not believe that any change to the 1st Amendment will be passed by the Supreme Court or will be favored by American citizens.

Assignment #5 R. Jefferson

2009-03-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

The Continuing fall of federalism was posted on February 22, 2009 by George F. Will of the Washington Post. This article was written to help us understand how politics is going in the United States, which I believe is headed in the wrong direction. George Will is clearly upset with the way the senators are appointed and want us to help have this changed. Will wants the 17th amendment repealed. Doing this it would allow each state to have a say so on who they want elected into the senate office. Which I do agree with Will, we the people who make up the state should be allowed to vote someone into senate.

Assignment#5WHairr

2009-02-27T16:33:00.001-05:00

The article, “ The Continuing fall of Federalism” was written by George F Will. The article was published in The Washington Post, which was then posted on TheState.com. Will wrote the article to discuss how politics are ruining our government. Will wants the American people to be aware of what is happening in their own backyard. Politicians are doing what they want, when they want, and how they want to do it. Politicians are ignoring the rules and doing what they want. They are not obeying their state or national constitution. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Senator, wants to change how a new Senator takes a vacant seat. He is trying to let politicians pick the new Senator instead of allowing the people to vote for him/her, like the constitution states.

When the constitution was written it was meant for the government to hold each branch accountable. It was also written to give states more power than they have now. The people were supposed to elect representatives to represent them on a national and state level. Today, our government is quite the opposite. I am sure that when our Founding Fathers wrote the constitution they did not expect this type of outcome.
Assignment#5

Assignment #5 M. Cline

2009-02-26T18:55:00.001-05:00

The article, “The continuing fall of federalism,” was written by George F. Will of the Washington Post. This article was published on the internet on February 22, 2009, by the State newspaper.
I believe the article was written as response to the continued political corruption in our government & the disembowelment of our American Constitution. The writer is clearly upset and is addressing the American people in hopes of making us more conscious of the continuance of how our power is slowly diminishing into a socialistic society.
The writer seems to be stating that certain political parties are trying to govern the way they want to….without the American voters getting involved. They also want to rewrite Amendment 17 which is: the “legislature of the state may empower the executive to make temporary appointments until the people of the state elect their Senator through election when a vacancy occurs” and the First Amendment: “the right to freedom of religion, speech, or of the press; to protest peaceably, and to petition the government to rectify any wrong doing,” without interference or constraint by the government.
The “Framers” wrote The Constitution of the United States to protect the American citizens by dividing the powers between the government and the American people. They wanted to ensure the “balance of power” through “check and balances.” Apparently, Congress is not doing their share of diverting corrupt politicians and protecting the Constitution. The American people need to continue to contribute to the voting of electors and laws to reduce corrupt politics. I agree that the media can get out of control on their reporting, but sometimes they uncover conspiracies and report the truth. They also, at times, seem to be manipulated and controlled. If the government is to control the information reported from the media to the American people, we may never get the true facts. America is still home of the free and the Constitution should not be changed!

Assignment #5 TSewell

2009-02-26T10:06:00.002-05:00

In the article “Will: The continuing fall of federalism” originally published in the Washington Post and posted on The State website, George F. Will states that rather than amend the 17th Amendment, it should be repealed. Mr. Will’s comments are based on a statement issued by Senator Russ Feingold on Jan. 25, 2009 that said “I plan to introduce a constitutional amendment this week to require special elections when a Senate seat is vacant, as the Constitution mandates for the House, and as my own state of Wisconsin already requires by statute. As the Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee, I will hold a hearing on this important topic soon.” Mr. Will apparently wants to go back to a time when the legislators of each state appointed their state’s senators as originally written in the constitution. Mr. Will argues that the House is meant to be responsive and not the Senate. He also argues that the 17th Amendment has allowed the states to be administrators of the Federal Government and that state legislators could help to monitor and teach the Senators they appoint. This sounds like the Senate could easily be manipulated by legislators and since this didn't work, it was amended. At the end of the article, just in case you weren’t angered by what he sees as “vandalism against the Constitution”, Mr. Will throws in his argument against the McCain-Feingold Act. After reading the McCain-Feingold Act, I don’t believe that it threatens freedom of speech and neither does the U.S. Supreme Court. I am glad that Mr. Will is not a state legislator as he likes to manipulate his readers and would undoubtedly manipulate the Senate to his way of thinking.

Assignment 5 JThomas

2009-02-25T17:59:00.002-05:00

This Article is was written by George F. Will and it was written on the SC State website. This article was written to discuss the downfall of Federalism. The author discusses how McCain and Feingold would like the 17th Amedment to be ratified but he feels like it will mess up our system of checks and balances.

I do not believe the state should be allowed to have anymore power than they already have. It seems like the more power the state has the more they abuse it. The executive authoriy should not be allowed to appoint members of the Senate. They should be voted in and not just allowed to join because one member says. I believe its bad to throw away federalism also. We have trusted in the Constitution for hundreds of years and we should continue down that road.

Assignment 4 J Thomas

2009-02-25T11:11:00.002-05:00

The Article is written by Monica Davey in The New York Times newspaper. This article was written to discuss some of the reasons why people were opposing to the views of President Obama and his decision to make 14,000 new jobs. These jobs would consist of doing work for transportation projects. Another large issue is that there has been alot of arguments over who should get what money.

Senator Mark Sanford is opposing of the idea of creating all these new jobs because he believes that it is going to cost Americans $223,000 in tax money. It is very true that their are millions of Americans that have been laid off and are looking for jobs. The problem with Obama's plan is that in the long run tax payers will be spending large amounts of their money trying to pay for other people to work. The author is trying to argue this point that the plan is faltered because we can not afford to pay all this money. The other problem of who gets what money is simple. The larger the cities the more money they should receive. It will not make everyone happy but this is the fair way to do things.

Assignment#4 J.Mikles

2009-02-23T20:53:00.002-05:00

Monica Davey's article, in the NY Times, entitled "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," is about just that; everyone is scrambling to get a piece of the pie. As expected the tensions are rising and political battles are expected across the map. I don't think that was ever a secret. I believe the public knew that fights were going to arise and I think that Monica gives great examples of them in her article. She takes a neutral stance, lays out just the facts, and explains her thoughts in an easy to read way, which is what I liked about the article.
I think that since her article was easy to read and related very well to our present economic situation, it would benefit the public to read it.

Assignment #4 S. Lewis

2009-02-23T00:19:00.002-05:00

This article entitled "States and Cities in Scramble For Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Dabel of the New York times. This was written to inform individuals that this is not going to be an easy plan to implement. It shows the different ideas and methods that different states want to use the money for.

I beleive this article is directed towards the citizens and taxpayers. I believe Davey is trying to let people know that these dollars WILL be spent, but the taxpayers need to get involved, to make sure this money is spent well.

The Argument I got from this article is that some states may need it more than others, but we as taxpayers need to make sure that certain states do not use their political power to over power a plan that was push through to help the U.S.

Assignment#4 JPernick

2009-02-22T22:49:00.002-05:00

An article entitled "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," appearing in the New York Times by Monica Davey was written to inform Americans about the upcoming stimulus plan. There is a lot of money up for grabs and now all the legislatures are fighting over how much every state gets to claim. This is causing chaos all over the nation.

There are so many things that people are having to discuss with this plan because America needs to spend this money wisely. There are all kinds of projects that are waiting to be built but states are waiting on the money to get started. But which states get more money? Some states don't have room for more businesses or buildings, so they'll get less money. Is that fair? This is a huge debate that is causing a lot of uproar.

Some governors don't want the government's help but that does not seem fair to make that decision for the citizens of those states. Hopefully this will create jobs for the nation. The only thing is that it will be expensive to get all of that set up. Either way we all need to start spending our money wisely.

Assignment #4- D.HESS

2009-02-22T21:55:00.002-05:00

America should have seen this coming. The fighting between legislatures over the multi-billion dollar stimulus package. Any time you have enormous sums of money that will be divided among states, an all out blood bath is bound to come out of it. This is Monica Davey's main point in her article, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," from the New York Times on February 16th. Im sure that every local Government has written in, or gone to the State officials about what parts of the alotted money they will see, or not see for that matter.

Just like a kid who just got his allowance...its burning holes in their pockets. What do we do with it? Where do we spend it first? How can we spend it carefully, and wisely? Who do we allow to pick at it for help? All of these questions and many, many more are running through state officials heads. Some states have had that money earmarked for months, hoping and praying that they would recieve some help from Washington. On the other hand, some states are trying to blow off the Governments handouts.

Whether they want it, or not, fact of the matter is, that each state could sure use the money for infrastructure, which, in turn, could set jobs for those who have lost theirs. It could go to education, which we all know, without it, youre going no where. Healthcare, which if you havent noticed by now, doesnt come cheap like McDonalds dollar menu. A state cannot say that they "Don't Need" the money, because thats just plain stupid. Of course you need it, everyone could use a little here and there. Its just where you spend it that will make or break your economy.

Spend wisely, carefully, and make sure you think of the future when you do. That should be every States, main focus.

Assignment 4 Jamie Hancock

2009-02-22T21:48:00.002-05:00

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Davey in the New York Times. This article was written to the audience of tax payers or the public that is interested in the subject.
Ms. Davey talks about how there will be some chaos between the states because only a certain amount of money will given to each state. I believe that when South Carolina gets this money they should put it towards schools and for better education. This Stimulus package is also going to create jobs for many americans but it is going to cost taxpayers a lot of money to create or help pay the workers at these new jobs. I believe that should create jobs for people but not to much to where it will hurt the tax payers pockets to much. The money is also going to be going to building better roads, intersates, and buildings. I don't mind that the money goes to these things but i do not want it to effect our schools and medicaid. Think about it, if it was not for the education from the schools there would be no one to fill the positions at the new jobs so they need to destribute the money evenly to all needs of the states.

Assignment#4 K. Mikles

2009-02-22T21:18:00.002-05:00

"States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Davey and was posted in the New York Times. This article was directed towards the American people about the stimulus plan. It was about the arguments between government officials about how to properly distribute the money. The problem is that although some state government has control over the money most of the control is in Washington. The state government is concerned that the money will not be distributed fairly.

Assignment #4 R. Jefferson

2009-02-22T20:54:00.002-05:00

This article was written by Monica Davy of the New York time. This was written to the entire United States, even though we believe in change, this article just shows how difficult it is going to be to get to that point in the economy that everyone would like. Even though President Obama signed the stimulus package, which I believe is a good idea to help everyone in the economy by creating new jobs, but as good as it sounds we have to spend a ton of money to allow this to happen. There are different states that are worried about how much this is going to cost because there are roads that need to be fixed, school, and last but not least think about all of the student that need financial aid.

Assignment #4 cBurt

2009-02-22T20:35:00.003-05:00

"States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was posted in the New York Times and was written by Monica Davey. She is speaking to everyone who will be affected by the stimulus package that Obama is producing. The projects that Obama is making will make jobs for people, however they will also cost the American people a lot of money. The money will have to be quickly spent, which means more money has to be coughed up by the American people at a faster rate.

Some states are worried that they will not get money for education because there are no deficits in their money pools. This is not fair because, even though they have done well thus far, there will be no more educational aid in these specific states.

CMcCray Assignment #4

2009-02-22T19:26:00.002-05:00

The article was written by Monica Davey for the New York Times. The article was titled States and Cities Scramble for Stimulus Cash. The article was written to explain to American citizens the difficulties that lay ahead in order to actually spend the stimulus money.

The main argument that the author is trying to make is that although President Obama has signed the stimulus package, there will likely and undoubtably will be more conflicts in state and local governments about how to spend the money. Many people are under the impression that just because the stimulus package has been passed that public projects will begin as soon as states receive the money. The problem is that the money must first go before state legislatures to decide what projects the money is to be used for. Governors and mayors may have conflicts on how much money is to be spent where. Although there are requirements for how the money can be used, there is still much debate on the state and local level. Some states that do nor have projects lined up already, may have to pass up some money to other states that have projects already lined up. There also might be debates between school boards on how much each one will get. The author just wants to get the point across that just as there were debates in Congress, there will be even more debates.

It is sad to see that politicians and other leaders cannot set aside their differences to allow the stimulus package do what it was designed to do. It seems like the ways things are going, that it may be weeks or even months more before the stimulus money will even be used. Although I support the stimulus package, I can see where Governor Sanford believes that the stimulus package will put the country farther and farther in debt. Hopefully we will see an impact soon.

Assignment #4 (H.Miller)

2009-02-22T18:48:00.002-05:00

"States and Cities in Scrambel for Stimulus Cash" by Monica Davey writen for the New York Times, directed at the many American readers of The New York Times. People outside of New York read this newspaper too therefor it is for the American population as a whole. The article was published a few days ago also, so it is current to the issue that is going on now. Davey informs us that the stimulus plan is a on going battle between the state and local government for the distributing the money.
The Stimulus cash will be distributed to projects that already have a plan set out for them, those who do not will not see much if any of this money. i think that the light rail in Charlotte would benifit from this money but a plan is not set in stone for progress on it. States that are in more of a need for money towords projects will recieve this money over the states that are not in need of it.

Kwesley Assignment#4

2009-02-22T16:45:00.003-05:00

States and Cities Scramble for Stimulus Cash is an article authored by Monica Davey. This article appears in the New York Times. Davey seeks to inform the public that there will be a "dog fight" amung states and local governments for the needed funds from the stimulus package.
Davey accounts how state and local government are in desperate need of monies for infrastructure, education,Medicaid, and vital services the public needs.Therefore, creating competition between the states for these necessary funds. The states with more of a budget deficit are probably more likely to receive funds from the federal government to make-up for their budget short fall. Leaving some states who are in somewhat a better condition not to be eligible to receive as much federal aid compared to the states that are suffering more. For example, North Carolina And Arkansas does not have an education budget deficit, so these states probably will not receive little to no funds compared to a states who are lacking funds in education. Undoubtedly,in the allocations of federal aid to the States and local governments some state or local government is going receive from their view the "short end of the stick". In conclusion, the funds in the stimulus package are enormous ,but not unlimited tough decision are going to have to made and it will not address every problem.

Assignment #4 BTrigg

2009-02-22T15:11:00.002-05:00

The article, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," was written for the New York Times. The article was written by Monica Davey. Her intention, when writing the article, was to provide information about the stimulus plan and the ripple effect that will come along with it to the concerned public.
In the article, she explains that along with the stimulus plan there will be much turmoil between state and local government officials. This turmoil will include participants from Governor's to Senators and all the way down to small town mayors. The turmoil will be a direct result from the intention that the money must be spent promptly. Different areas are more readily available to use the money than others. The article explains that if one area is instantly ready to spend money on projects that area is more likely to receive larger amounts of money than an area that may need months to prepare for the projects. Some areas will be changing the way they operate with intentions solely on gaining the most money from the stimulus that they can. Other areas plead the case that it is not fair that they will not receive as much money due to the fact that they are currently financially stable.
The article also touches on the topic of how large the stimulus is. It is claimed that the stimulus, if it were a nation, would be the 15th largest nation in the world. The reader is also informed that this stimulus is the largest since the time of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Assignment #4 J. Norman

2009-02-22T13:30:00.002-05:00

"States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Package" was written by Monica Davey for the New York Times. Her audience consists of those of New York along with every American in this country as we all will be affected by this stimulus package. In the article, Davey is relaying the message that money spent will not be an easy task to accomplish. First, there are over 5,000 projects that say they are ready and could begin within a couple of months. Governers and other state leaders and Washington must agree on how this money should be spent. Mark Sanford, the governer of South Carolina is against the stimulus package and explains his reasons for Monica. Mr. Sanford writes "for every job the bill creates, American taxpayers will pay $223,000". In my opinion, that is a very valid point. Jobs may be created and roads may be fixed but I am losing more of my hard earned money.

Everyone wants to further different programs. Somehow we all have to come to an agreement on which programs are worth our spending. It seems this could be a difficult task according to the article. Also, there are over 1,000 pages in the bill that depict every law which makes it difficult for a program to move on. For example Tim Pawlenty, the governer of Minnessota, wishes to reduce the number of people who are eligible for state health care programs. But the bill penalizes states that change their medical eligibility to save money. Problems like these are involved with many programs trying to move forward in Obama's Stimulus Plan. I agree with Monica that it is sure to set off a vast number of political debates.

Assignment #4 C. Tooley

2009-02-22T12:59:00.002-05:00

The article was written by Monica Davey of the New York Times an published February 16th, 2009. The article is written to the general public and seems as if it is meant to expose how difficult this stimulus package is going to play out. Davey chose neither sides in the politics of how the bill will play out; it was a very unbiased well written article.

I believe the states with less should get more. It would not make sense to give more advanced states a greater sum of money. I believe the urban schools should get more money than the suburban schools as an act of equality. I believe the states with less alternative energy plans should get more money so they can create their own alternative energy programs. Equality should be the number one value in the distribution of the stimulus plan.

This is definately going to be a political war in the struggle for money. We can only hope our political leaders can make rational and helpful use with this money. May the states with less have more and the states with more have less; its only fair.

Assignment #4 N. Orr

2009-02-22T12:52:00.002-05:00

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Davey. The article appeared in the New York Times. I think the article is directed towards the governors, mayor, and citizens of each state.

I think the article was written to give us an idea of what each state plans to do with the stimulus cash they receive. In my opinion the basic point is that what ever plans the officals of each state have for the money they receive; they better make sure they fall under the guide lines of the package. Because if they don't that would jeopardize that state of future help from our government.

Sbunn Assignment 4

2009-02-22T12:26:00.004-05:00

The title of the article is "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash". The author of the article is MONICA DAVEY, and the publisher is the the NY times. The article was written to inform the worried people of America. This particular item is written about the new stimulus package that just recently got signed in by Obama. The main topic that the article talks about is who will get the money and what will they do with it. Most of the states are trying to maximize the utility of this package by deciding in advance what they will spending the money on.

Some states have proposed to spend the money on interstate. Which in turn will create a lot of jobs for the their on state. In some states for example Rhode Island they are scared they might miss out of some of the money for alternate energy since they already had fewer resources to dedicate to that particular cause. South Carolina on the other hand is not going to receive any money because the Governor is a retard. He thinks that is will just cause more money to the tax payers but I think that the government is got to do something. Plus Obama already signed the bill so you might as well take some of the money. Our Governor just makes me mad.

Assignment #4 JRozier

2009-02-21T19:01:00.002-05:00

The article, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Davey, who is a journalist for the New York Times. The article appeared on February 15, 2009 on the NYTimes website in the Politics section (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/us/politics/16stimulus.html?_r=1). This article was written to show the readers how much of a battle this stimulus bill is going through. Also, not everyone thinks it is such a good idea either. Davey describes what states plan to do with the bill and what they expect when they have the money.

The audience of this article would probably be directed to anyone who worry what their states think of the stimulus package and what they might do with it. I think the author is presenting all this information for us to argue about. How should we spend the money? What people are in charge of saying where this bill goes to? Are events moving too fast? The state legislators need to slow down and actually look at their states problems and do the best they can to fix them.

Assignment#4WHairr

2009-02-21T12:15:00.004-05:00

The article, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" was written by Monica Davey, a journalist for the New York Times. Davey writes this article to the American people because the Stimulus plan will effect ever American. I think she wrote this article so that Americans could see how much fighting will go on between legislators. Throughout the article Davey continued to talk about how state governors, mayors and state legislators are having to quickly figure out how to spend the money. If the states are slow about how the money will be spent they could lose out. If they cut a policy here and there well then they might lose money as well. State governments are all across the country are trying to adjust their budgets and policies so they can receive the most money.

I did not realize how much fighting would go on between legislators during this process. I also did not realize how much money states could possible lose if they made a wrong choice. I think the stimulus plan is somewhat ridiculous. I understand why they are giving money to education, health systems, and to build things, like the fast speed train. Despite my understanding, I think there is a better way to Stimulate the economy. I do not believe giving money to the states, and then allowing the states to decide where the money is going is right. Do the states really know where to give the money to? Who caused the problem anyway? Was it not the government? Why should we let them mess up again? It is not fair to us to have to suffer from their mistakes. I guess time will only tell if the Stimulus Package will work or not.

Assignment #4 M. Cline

2009-02-20T21:45:00.002-05:00

The article, “States and Cities angle for Stimulus Cash”, was written by Monica Davey of the New York Times, who is a Journalist and Freelance Photographer. This article was published on the internet on February 15, 2009, and in print on February 16, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition. I believe the article was written, as an opinion, to advise the American public of the consequences and the political “cat and dog fight” of the proposed stimulus package.
I believe the writer is stating that almost every authoritative figure running this country has their hand out, for a piece of the pie, and are concerned about who will have the most control and authority in dispersing the funds. Political power!
There are political contingencies as to who gets what, how much, and what are the consequences. The stimulus package, to be dispersed, will still have some congressional control. The states are required to track and report every dollar spent. The success of the stimulus package will depend upon how fast each state can spend it. In addition, this is also a deciding factor in who gets the most money. The purpose has a short-term range of immediately boosting the economy. Some states are concerned they will be penalized for not having a budget deficit or for not being as advanced in their energy renewable programs.
In addition, there are consequences to the American public in the repayment of these funds. There have been some refusals of the stimulus dollars, by authoritative figures, because of this factor. They want no part of it. There will be serious issues of how and when this large sum of money will be paid back, if ever. As usual…it has come down to spend it before we make it!

Assignment # 4 RMiskelly

2009-02-19T23:50:00.000-05:00

To whom it may concern of the American public which could opportunely reap the benefits of President Obama $787 billion stimulus package or suffer not receiving any of it. Monica Davey of the New York Times intends to educate readers of the politics that go with the stimulus bill. She says that for the plan to have success this influx of funds must be quickly spent. However, state and local government officials must first resolve their grievances about how much of the money goes where. Localities have direct say of where the dollars go, but only within certain parameters. Law makers in Washington must approve usage before the check is written. States that cut spending on their budgets to save money, and close the deficit could be penalized according to the new bill. If states do not have “shovel-ready” projects they may too suffer. States that have not fallen into deficits may not receive certain funds.

Assignment #4 T.Sewell

2009-02-19T09:01:00.001-05:00

The article “States and Cities Scramble for Stimulus Cash” was written by Monica Davey with reporting from Robbie Brown, Michael Cooper, David M. Herszenhorn, and Robert Pear. It was published in the New York Times on February 16, 2009. Ms. Davey is speaking to all citizens of the Unites States in an effort to remind us that the stimulus package, while almost approved, will not readily be available and will not take care of every need on the State or City level. It is most likely that the states that need the money the most will receive more. All states will not receive the same amounts of stimulus money and the states that are not in a deficit are worried about being punished for managing their money well. Let the fighting begin!

Assignment #3 JPernick

2009-02-16T22:18:00.002-05:00

This article was written by Madison Powers, a CQ Guest columnist, and appeared in the "CQ Politics". Madison wrote this article to let the American people know about the trade-offs that need to be done in order to pass the new stimulus plan. His audience is the American people as well as anyone else concerned with the United States' fate.

The author mentions two trade-offs that need to take place in order for this plan to go through. First he mentions the equity-efficiency trade-off. This basically means that it is the goal to spend 1 trillion dollars in order to boost the economy and create new jobs. This seems like a good idea, but many are questioning this because some think that the American people cannot afford to stay afloat. In these hard economic times, America might not be able to afford equity.

The author also mentions that we need to fix our infrastructure. An equal balance of money needs to be spent in order to create jobs, but money also needs to be spent elsewhere in order to keep the economy flowing. Some believe that putting money into new projects will not support the economy efficiently. Why build new projects when we need to fix so many ongoing problems already?

Either way, no matter what we do, we have a real problem on our hands. Would this stimulus really be enough to boost the economy, or would it just be a waste of 1 trillion dollars? this is going to take time and a lot of debating to decide what is best for the country. the best thing is to be aware of the current political events going on, so that we can be aware of what ever decision is made.

Assignment #3 R.White

2009-02-16T13:53:00.002-05:00

This article was written by Madison Powers a CQ columnist. In her article she talks about the reason why its taking a long time for the stimulus package to pass is because it has multiple trade-offs that haved to be considered. Her audience of course is the american people and anybody who wants to know about the stimulus package. There are two big trade-offs the author talks about in this article. One, equity-efficiency and two, the need to strike a balance in the infrastructure.

Equity and efficiency, we want the stimulus package to increase the activity in the economy. We basiclly want our moneys worth. She states that economists think that the ability to ensure a stable recovery is dependent for the economy to last longer. Other people think that this is something we cant afford but we are already in such a huge debt it would make sense to have something to help decrease it right. Also people are worried that it wont be the right balance in the infrastructure to help support the economy.

Assingment #2 by R.White

2009-02-16T13:26:00.003-05:00

This article was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe the associate editor for the website "thestate.com". In this article of hers she basiclly talks about the economic situation that we as americans have gotten ourselves in. She really is talking to the people in South Carolina and our economy. Like I said this article is directed to not just residents of South Carolina but to the American people as a whole. The whole point that she is trying to make is for people to keep on spending their money, even during this economic crisis.

Ms. Scoppe says that we need to continue spending to keep the economy moving. If we suddenly stopped spending we would be headed down the road toward another depression. She clearly gives her suggestion to help stop all of this. We need to "cut out pay raises in order to reduce layoffs" she said in her article. All through her article she gives suggestions by asking questions like "What if....". I know we need to solve this problem and fast. I just hope that our goverment comes up of a better way of doing things so our economy can become than it ever has.

Assignment #3 J. Norman

2009-02-16T13:22:00.002-05:00

"Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package" was written by Madison Powers to inform her readers of the positives and negatives trade-offs can have on our economy. Multiple trade-offs have to be factored into the decision making. One trade-off is between goals of efficiency and ideals of equity. We also need to strike a balance between infrastructure and other things that stimulate economic growth. Many doubt that the current proposals actually get right these trade-offs. We want our tax revenue offsets to yield a greater amount of economic activity per dollar of cost. We also want our policies to be fair and equitable. Economics argue that equity will take a while to become stable. Others argue that equity is too costly and should be dealt with at a much later date. We need more economic growth for each dollar. In other words, we must make the best possible choice to become the most successful in improving our economy. The best opportunity cost.

Assignment # 3 RMiskelly

2009-02-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

The column discusses the trade-offs rendered in the economical stimulus package abridged to the United States. The efficiency-equity trade off which implicates efficiently increasing aggregate economic activity versus dispersing the money fairly to all constituents. A second trade-off is the need to create balance between infrastructure and other activities that stimulate the economy. The debate is argued where to level these devises for maximal reward, but is unknown further dimensions to the problem. Madison Powers, a writer for CQ Politics, suggest what economists prescribe for spurring growth on developing nations to patch smaller leaks and rebuild our economic safety net rather than our accustomed big dreams.

Her audience is educated business minded individuals with interest in the economic future of our great nation. Directly to the troubles we all face, the article addresses the objective our leaders face in formulating an emergency plan.

assignment 3 Steven Bunn

2009-02-15T22:45:00.002-05:00

Madison powers wrote the article In CQ politics. The article is written towards the American People discussing the trade offs of the new proposed stimulus plan. Just like anyone else Madison seems apprehensive about this new economic plan. The plan has two different trade offs the loss of efficiency and equality, and also the other trade off is it needs balance to its infrastructure to encourage economic growth. I hope that this package will bring us out of the bad economical times and also helps the enviroment as well.

Assignment#3WHairr

2009-02-15T22:36:00.000-05:00

The article, Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package” is written by, Madison Powers, who is a CQ Guest Columnist. Powers main point in the article is that there must be tradeoffs in the stimulus package. The stimulus package must balance between two trade offs. According to Powers the first, “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.” To find a balance between these two trade-offs will be very difficult.
Powers wants the people to be aware of what is happening. He wants the people to understand this economic problem will take a while to fix. He also wants the people to understand each political party has different views on how the money in the Stimulus package should be spent. Democrats want the money to spent on useless things. Republicans want the money to be spent on conservatively. In my opinion this specific stimulus package will only make the economic situation worse. Only time will tell though.

Assignment #3 -D.HESS

2009-02-15T22:17:00.002-05:00

In the Article, "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package," by Madison Powers, a CQ Guest Columnist, the author tries to educate us on how trade-offs will help get this Econmic Stimulus Package up and running and running smoothly. Powers points out that there are two likely trade-offs that will make or break our thoughts, and opinions on the Stimulus Package. "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." The author later points out that some economists believe that in order for all of this too work we need to stabalize the economies downfall, from the past decade or so, so that we can ensure a more widespread recovery.
As for the other issue, we find ourselves looking for ways to improve our econmy, by working in more infrastructure. We need to make some decisions, that will benefit us later on as well, not just fix what we have wrong now. We cannot just scrape the surface of our terrible economy, we need to dig deeper to help prevent another downfall in the future.
All in all, there are going to many things that we will have to do from the beginning, that will ensure that we can bring our economy back to par, instead of leaving it sliced out in the rough.

Assighment #3 H.Miller

2009-02-15T22:04:00.002-05:00

Madison Powers, writes "Trade Offs in the Stimulous Package" for CQ Politics as a guest columist. His artical defines the benefits of the stimulous package rather than the negitive effects it can have. A lot of people go oline to read about the news now days, and people can now comment on his artical. This was clearly directed towards an educated society, Powers uses a strong vocabulary and talks on politcal issues.
In summary, Powers artical addresses her opinion of the efficiency-equity issue facing America today. H explains that cutting out the "extras" such as equity will allow efficiency in the ecoomic crisis. It seems that we will have to "take one for the team" and deal with the tax increases and other cuts that go along with this recession for a greater outcome in the future.

assignment 3

2009-02-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

In a CQ magazine, Madison Powers wrote a column called “Trade-offs in Stimulus Package”. He explains the pros and cons of the stimulus package. Everyone wants it to work, but we see that many people will save the money rather then spend it. Hopefully the economy will stabilize by this plan. Mr. Powers is giving us ideas and viewpoints of what could happen with this Stimulus package.

Assignment 3 J. Hancock

2009-02-15T21:19:00.002-05:00

"Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package" was writing by Madison Powers that has appearede in the CQ Politics. This article appeared on Feb.4, 2009. This article is written to all audiences that interested in the subject.
This article talks about two things. One is the trade-offs between goals of efficiency and ideals of equity. The second talks about the needs to strike a balance activities and infrastructures that help stimulate economic growth. I do not agree with the first trade off because it is just given the american people to spend more money on useless things than just on what they really need. I agree with the second part of the debate. I do believe that we need to focus on the enviroment to help it become more humane for generations to come. Even though the governemtn is focusing more on the first part of the debate, i think that they should equal attention on both problems.

Assignment #3 N. Orr

2009-02-15T21:13:00.002-05:00

Article written by Madison Powers, article appeared on the internet website www.cqpolities. com. I think it was written to give readers an idea of what has to be consider of importance with a stimulus package. I think it's directed to anyone concerned with whats involved in the stimulus package and how it will stimulate our economy.

The author states there are two special signifcance in the debate. One trade off is between goals of efficiency and ideals of equity. Second is the need to stike a balance between infrastructure and other activities that also stimulate economic growth. I think the basic argument is that government has to look hard at what the stimulus package involves, and from there what programs and projects would get our economy back in balance.

Assignment#3-J.Mikles

2009-02-15T20:44:00.002-05:00

Dr. Madison Powers, a lawyer and Senior Research Scholar at Kennedy Institute of Ethics, wrote and article in the weekly "CQ Politics" entitled "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package." Dr. Powers knows that most Americans, like himself, are a little anxious about stimulus packages from the past and present. Unlike most Americans, however, Dr. Powers has obvious knowledge of how the government works and wants to inform the public of the possible trade-offs associated with the present stimulus package.
In a nut shell, Dr. Powers explains that their are two major trade-offs. The first is the "equity-efficiency trade-off." Simply stated, this trade-off says that Americans want more bang for their buck, yet on the other hand Americans want policies that are fair and equitable. The second trade-off Powers suggests talks about finding a "happy medium" between big infrastructure and other components of the economic recovery plan, which means cutting back on some of the frivolous government spending. Dr. Powers goes on to say(and what I believe is very true) that the multiple dimensions of the problems we face may require us to think small and act together. We can not going to fix these problems over night.

C McCray Assignment #3

2009-02-15T18:20:00.003-05:00

The article was written by Madison Powers who is a CQ Guest Columnist. The article appeared on CQ Politics website The author's main purpose in writing the article is to inform the American public about the trade-offs that will have to be made in order to pass the stimulus plan that is now being proposed. The audience the author is trying to reach are people who want to know more about the stimulus plan and why it is being debated and criticized so harshly by many in Congress and around the country.

The first trade off the author describes is the equity-efficiency trade-off. The first idea is to spend close to one trillion dollars to create more jobs and relying on the people who receive those new jobs, to then go and spend their money in other paces. The major debate with this trade-off is that many experts question whether some will be able to make it through the tough economic times that we are now experiencing. Many believe that this type of stimulus plan will not work because equity has been tied up and made harder to get in the past sixteen years. However, some believe that we cannot afford equity at the moment and believe that we need to stabilize the economy before we try to create at rise n the economy.

The second trade-off the author talks about is the debate of whether we have the right proportion of big infrastructure projects to other parts of the economic stimulus plan. This debate is whether their is an equal balance of money spent to create jobs, but to spend money in other places to stimulate the economy. Many believe that simply putting money into major infrastructure projects will not be enough to stimulate the economy and there are other things that may help with the economy that are not defined as an infrastructure project. The main debate over this idea is that many politicians are adding projects for self interests and will not create jobs.

I personally believe that the "Wall Street Bailout" should give all of us an example of how to create a new stimulus plan. The "Wall Street Bailout" so far has been a total disaster. Bankers are getting richer and people are getting poorer. The "Wall Street Bailout" was rushed through Congress, not allowing enough time and effort to go into the critical thinking of how to create a solution to the problem. As a result the first $350 billion is gone and nothing has changed, except that bankers are now receiving exorbitant bonuses thanks to tax-payers money. We all need to realize that it took years for the country to get into the economic crisis that we are in now and it will not simply be fixed with just one economic plan and will take possibly several years for the country to escape the economic hole that we are in. There needs to be more thought and effort made to make sure the stimulus package actually stimulates the economy, instead of throwing away a trillion dollars. The country as a whole needs to stop being so greedy to hopefully allow us to get out of this mess. We can not put the blame on a select few, though it makes us all feel better to blame someone, we are all at fault.

Assignment #3

2009-02-15T16:26:00.002-05:00

The article was written by Madison Powers, a CQ Politics guest columnist it was posted February 4th, 2009. The article was written to promote thought about the new stimulus projects to increase economic growth in the US.

The first economic stimulous project I highly disagree with. It pretty much means dumping 1 Trillion dollars into our economy. It seems like giving a child with diabetes an endless amount of candy to miraculously shock the child out of diabetes. It seems like a useless and desperate attempt to fix our economy. We need to fix the problems within the infastructure, our system, rather than dump more money in it while its still failing. It seems like we are treating symptoms rather than the problem; which is never a good thing.

The second economic solution involves fixing our infastructure. I agree with this completely. I believe heavy taxation of major corporations would help us all around. We are now facing enviormental problems as well as economic due to this instant gratification attitude that blinds us from seeing the real cost of our actions. If we dump 1 Trillion dollars into an unstable economy the results will be devastating. I believe we should work with what we have already messed up rather than spending one trillion dollars that we borrowed from God knows who.

If the economy wants to fail due to the greed that resides within human nature and especially/exponentially within a capitalist economy than we should let it. Dumping money into something that is broken is ultimately the most enabling act our government can do. We are destroying everything around us in the name of profit.

Assignment #3 cBurt

2009-02-15T16:05:00.003-05:00

"Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package," written by Madison Powers, was posted on an internet site called CQ Politics. Powers states that multiple trade-offs have to be taken into account before decisions can be made. Powers is trying to tell the people that in order for this stimulus package to come into effect, certain trade-offs need to be made.
The first trade-off is between goals of efficiency and ideals of equity. In one side, we want to get the most "bang for our buck," which means we want our spending habits to have more economic activity per dollar than the others. But, on the other side, we want the policies to be fair and have long term growth.
The second trade-off is finding a way to make a balance between infrastructure and other economic growth stimulus plans.
Powers is telling us to think small, even though that does not sound appealing to the average person. We have to take small steps in order to reach our goal.

Assignment #3 R. Jefferson

2009-02-15T12:52:00.002-05:00

This article was written by Madison Powers a graduated from Oxford University, which was published February 4, 2009 on CQ Today. This article was written toward the nation as an whole. I believe this article was written to alert the nation about our government. He explained that they are trade-offs to the decision that the government makes. The most important debate is "Stimulus Package." Powers basically stated that the government does come up with good idea's but you do not have to put all of your dimes in one bucket and this is how the US is. I believe if we are going to try something at least don't spend most of the hard working people money to just experiment on something. The economy is having a hard time now because of experiment, but since we have a new president maybe thing will get better for everyone. Hopefully the US would learn from their mistakes.

Assignment #3 M.Cline

2009-02-13T18:46:00.000-05:00

The article was written by Madison Powers who is a Senior Research Scholar and a columnist for CQ politics. The article appeared on the internet on February 4, 2009. The title is “Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package.”
In my opinion, Madison Powers wrote the article in response to the existing stimulus package and is directed toward all audiences that are concerned about how the stimulus dollars will be spent.
I believe the writer is referring to balancing the total infrastructure that the stimulus package should be targeted towards-increasing economic activity and fairness in the disbursement of funds. The general public is concerned about the effectiveness and fairness of how the funds will be disbursed. The funds are being paid with the working Americans tax dollars.
Republicans and Democrats are disagreeing on the stimulus package due to the democrats wanting to spend stimulus dollars on irrelevant projects that have nothing to do with restructuring the economy. For ex: a certain party, has included in the stimulus package, 30 million dollars for restoration of the wetlands for the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. This project is for prestige, personal gain, and satisfaction., with no consideration for the American people. How does this project feed our hungry or boost the economy?
The writer is stating that the goals of the stimulus package lack satisfactory judgment and fairness to stimulate the economy. Our banks and government know how to spend money on large, sometimes wasteful projects, but have no clue as how to spend less dollars on smaller, cost efficient projects. The only option that should be taken into consideration is economic growth for every dollar spent to ensure economic recovery. This stimulus package is being pushed so swiftly, that the decisions being made, are irreversible. Is this a quick fix or the solution for the economic strength needed for our nation?

Assignment #3 BTrigg

2009-02-12T18:59:00.004-05:00

Madison Powers, an obviously well educated scholar, wrote the article, "Trade-Offs In The Stimulus Package." Powers graduated from Oxford University and has since instructed at institutes including Vanderbilt and Georgetown University, written many articles, a handful of books, and book reviews. He is a lawyer with a Doctorate in Philosophy.
The article was written in "CQ Politics," an online news site, for readers interested in the future of our nation and the route we use to get there.
Within the article, Powers explains that there are trade-offs to any decision made within government. The importance lies within the debates on these trade-offs and the proper decision is made. The current debate of importance is the design of a Stimulus Package. He makes the point that, "There may be a good case for a shotgun blast of relatively small interventions aimed at multiple vulnerable points within the economy. " Powers explains that it is not always best to use all of a massive amount of money towards one idea. Instead he describes the advantages, and likely better yield, of using the same amount of money but in smaller amounts and in many ways.

Assignment #3 TSewell

2009-02-12T09:39:00.000-05:00

The article “Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package” was written by Madison Powers, a guest columnist for the Congressional Quarterly website. Mr. Powers has a PhD in Philosophy from Oxford and a very impressive resume and seems to have a very impartial outlook. The article was written for Unites States citizens to express that there are two considerations in the stimulus: the efficiency / equity debate and the balance between infrastructure and other activities to stimulate economic growth. His main point is that instead of trying to make a name for ourselves with one grand gesture to stimulate economic growth, we should be making many small gestures that will help us survive. He cites that the figures of return on grand gestures are not much higher than many small ones and that some small projects will have far greater rewards. The implications of using this advice would be that more people will be able to survive this economic downturn.

Assignment #1 J Thomas

2009-02-11T08:45:00.002-05:00

This article was written by Thomas L. Friedman and it was published in the New York Times. This item was written to describe how important and extremely difficult President Obama's job is going to be. This article goes into good detail and talks about how Obama must swing for the fences and we must all hope for the best. President Obama is the complete opposite of President Bush so we must understand that there is going to be a tremendous amount of change in America.

Our country has already overcome a great barrior by electing a black president. As a country we must stand behind Obama and support his decisons and understand just how difficult his job is going to be. He has alot of difficult task ahead of him. He is going to try and repair our banking system here in the United States. The success of the United States in the future depends on someone who was very unlikely to ever be President. Our country has overcome the RACE barrior so now we must stand together as one and overcome our obstacles.

Assignment #2 J Thomas

2009-02-11T08:40:00.000-05:00

This article was written by Cindi Ross Scope on thestate.com website. This is the home page for South Carolina. This item was written to help the basic people of the state of South Carolina understand why it is a very hard choice to determine what we must do as a nation to help us get out of this recession. The basic argument of the author is that she thinks that we should stop all of the pay raises so that we can prevent the number of people whom are being laid off.
Cindi Ross Scope was discussing reasons why some of the options are not a good idea. She explained that the money should not be taken away from college scholarships because these individuals are so close to being finished. The money should not be taken from funds because this would not be good in the long run it will only help the short term. I believe companies should do whatever they can to prevent people from losing there jobs and hopefully by doing this we can figure out a way to get out of the recession.

assignment2 Scoppe

2009-02-10T21:15:00.000-05:00

“Government has to make choices families, business don’t” was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe. It was written for the State website. Scoppe tells us that the government is playing with our money. She also explains that it may send our children to debt as well. Near the end she asks questions about our government and economy and how they run together. The idea of money being shifted to K-12 from college students is brought up. “Is that wise” is a very good question for us. “There are no easy answers here.”

Assignment #1 RWhite

2009-02-10T19:57:00.003-05:00

The whole purpose the author was trying to persuade to his audience which are people of a different pigmentation of color is that we need to strive to do more with ourselves. The author Mr. Thomas L. Friedman says that he a t-shirt which depicted the inaugural event with a statement saying "mission accomplished." He also states that just because we wrote some history we shouldn't stop there, we "need" to write some more history for ourselves. Saying its a time for complete change for the things we used to do as Americans as a whole, like passing things off just because our reputation. What Mr. Friedman is really trying to say is that we need to grow up and strive to become better.

This article was presented in the New York times because its such a powerful article some people are not ready to read or take in. Too many people are used to doing things of the past but like the author says we need to start doing work to make things better. Things are not going to change for us if we don't do anything to help better ourselves. This article is directed to the community who think they cant do anything with there lives. Mr. Friedman's point that he is trying to get across is that our time for siting around waiting for things to happen, we need to stop being lazy and start doing thing and start making choices that will help benefit ourselves.

Assignment 2: J. Hancock

2009-02-10T19:11:00.002-05:00

Associate Editor, Cindi Scoppe, wrote an article in The State named "Governement has to make choices families, businesses don't". In this article she talks about the crisis that is happening in America. Even though this crisis is effecting everyone in the United States she only talks about the effect on South Carolina.

Scoppe says that even though America is in a crisis the American people still spend their money on things that they don't really need. Raising taxes has a result on salaries and local purchases. She believes that spending is very important to this country because if people stopped spending then we would go into a bad depression. Scoppe has some ideas that she believes will help the United States from going into a depression. She believes that states should cut pay raises, so there wont be that many layoffs.

My opinion about this article is that Scoppe has a really good point about how to save America from going into another depression. I think the goernment should cut pay raises so everyone can have money to take care of their families! If i were the government i would cut pay raises.

Assignment#2 JPernick

2009-02-10T00:02:00.002-05:00

Associate Editor, Cindi Ross Scoppe wrote an article that appeared in 'The State', entitled "Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t". In this artical she brings up the apparent economic crisis in America, but she specifically talks about South Carolina's struggling economy. The article was probably aimed at the residents of South Carolina, but I'm sure most states could relate to the situation.

Scoppe clearly wants to get across the point of how important spending is even in these hard times. Spending is what keeps the economy moving, and if people suddenly stop spending, there could be a devastating depression ahead. She brings up a few suggestions on what the state could do to improve the economy, and says that "we ought to cut out pay raises in order to reduce layoffs". I don't think this would be a bad idea if it was to happen. Although everyone would have less money, it seems it would be better than some families having everything, while others can't afford to eat.

It is absolutely necessary that something gets done about this growing problem, however I am not sure of what is best for the country, but I trust that the people we have in office are working towards getting the problem solved. Changes are going to happen. The country just has to hope those changes are for the better, and not another step back.

Assignment#2 BTrigg

2009-02-09T19:26:00.004-05:00

Cindi Ross Scoppe, associate editor of "The State," writes an article discussing the complete mess our nation is in. In her article, "Scoppe: Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t," she begins by making a statment claiming that there is no way to compare this situation we, as a nation, are in to anything else. She proceeds to mention all of the possible solutions to our dilema, such as cutting spending towards college education and redirecting money so that more people have money but less of it. With all of her statements she follows with the downsides and flaws.
Scoppe wrote this article to inform the readers, the general concerned public, of her opinion of many different enactments that may occur in attempt to rejuvinate the economy and how none of them are perfect.

Assignment #2 CMcCray

2009-02-09T14:59:00.003-05:00

The article is written by Cindi Ross Scoppe. The article was published in The State. The article was written to compare the way the government works compared to to the way a business or family works. The article was intended for the general public due to the author comparing the government, which many people find hard to understand, to running your family or running a business, which many people have experienced or know about how to run one or the other.

The argument the the author wants to make is the government must make key decisions, but first examine the effects that those decisions will have. The decision that the government makes will affect us all and it is important that the government weigh all of the options available to chose the right path for its citizens. Is it better for the government to decrease spending on the college level and divert it to the k-12 schooling system?These are some of the questions the author believes the government should look at before making a decision on how to stimulate or rescue the economy. The key idea the author wants to make is that there is no easy fix for what we are facing now as the public and that with every decision made, there will be negative effects, but hopefully the good will out-weigh the bad. Also, there is not one single thing that will bring the country or state out of the financial crisis that we are facing. It will be a long and tough road to get ourselves out.

Let's All Be Have Little's

2009-02-09T12:47:00.003-05:00

The aricle was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe, an associate editor for The State newspaper. The article was published January 22nd, 2009. Scoppe covered a number of issues involving the current economic problems we are faced with. Scoppe's intentions seemed to promote thought, and show there is no easy way out of this recession.

I agree with Scoppe on a few points: I am pro furlough and opposed to cutting jobs. Seeing this is not any Average Joe's fault, it is a systematic fault, we should all settle for less and not cut jobs. Cutting jobs will wither our middle class more rapidly and that is the last thing we need. Its only fair for all of our citizens. I would rather have less than know that my neighbor has nothing.

I agree that college education should not be cut. I could not sum it up any better than Scoppe did, we will be paying taxes a lot sooner than k-12 students which will ultimately help us out of our recession.

Finally, I agree that there is no easy way out of this, and furloughs sound much more appealing than "haves vs. have nots"; Can't we all be "have littles" or "neccesities met's" for the purpose of overall equality amongst citizens during these hard times?

Assignment # 2 Rmiskelly

2009-02-09T08:20:00.003-05:00

A passage in The State newspaper, Cindi Scoppe's article entitled "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" brings to light the financial situation our state is facing. Many of the analogies she uses prescribed to family money burdens seen like cut and dry plans to quick, easy bailouts for our economy. However, the reality is that our government has obligations to not just us, but everyone. Regardless, where we cut spending, cut jobs, increase funds, somebody else is going to suffer. The question remains whats the quickest way out of this situation with the least casualities.

Scoppe is addressing South Carolinians, taxpayers, whom are angry that we should be out of this mess already. Those folks that say "let them eat cake." She is trying to bring awareness to the situation.

Assignment #2 James R.

2009-02-08T22:25:00.002-05:00

The article "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" was written by Cindi Scoppe, she is one of the Associate Editor's of The State newspaper in South Carolina. Her article can be found in the politics section of The State's website. The reason why this article was written because a concerned citizen like Mrs. Scoppe, wanted to give her opinions and answers to questions that some people will ask.

The audience for this article can be people who are concerned about what our government is doing and they might want to her what another person's opinion is on the matter. Scoppe's argument is a list of some possible things that the government can do to help people from continuing to get laid off and children getting into school then college when they are ready. In the end she mention's that her solution should be that "we ought to cut out pay raises in order to reduce layoffs".

I'm not entirely sure of what we really should do to help reduce layoffs or help people get into college, but I do know we need a lot of smart people to work together to figure out the best solution. There is definitely going to be consequences to whatever the government decides to do to help everyone out.

Assignment #2 HMiller

2009-02-08T21:39:00.002-05:00

"Scoppe: Government has to make choices families, business don't" by Cindi Ross Scoppe found in the State newspaper was writen to address the economic "crisis" in America at the moment. People are being very frugal right now because of the consant fear that they may loose their jobs and become in debt. Cindi feels strongly to address the American (or at least the South Carolina) citizens and let them know of the trouble we could all face if spending doesn't keep flowing. I think most people are scared of the "unknown" and are forced to be some what selfish and hord their money.
Cindi is also a citizen and eventhough she currently has a job at the moment people who don't affect the economy she spends her money in. If we don't continue to spend money and curcualte the economy, we could be forced nack into a depression. In all honesty, I feel like the U.S. could be strickly a money spending country because of all our jobs are being moved across seas. It is scary, yet we are monving forward, and America has experianced hardship before; hopefully our President will pull us out of this rut.

Assignment #2 -D.HESS

2009-02-08T20:45:00.002-05:00

The article, "Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t", was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe for "The State" newspaper, in South Carolina. In her article, Ms. Scoppe explains to everyone that there are no easy answers to all of the questions about what to do to save our state's economy. Our State's Government has to make decisions on what to do, to keep us from going into a "death spiral." The answers, and decisions made are not cut and dry. They have to have deep thought and research behind them, so as we try and save our states econmy now, we, in turn, dont make it harder for us in the long run. WE have to look at both sides of the road here. She states that we have several goals to look at here, that arent necessarily compatible. In some instances, we cant have our cake, and eat it too. But that is what we are trying to do, Have our cake(save our economy in the present), and eat it too(keep our econmy string for the future). We as individuals are suffering from this economic meltdown, just like the government, but we have it a little easier, on making the decisions to keep oour money straight and where it needs to be. We cannot just cut out some of the most successful programs we have in this state, to come up with new ones that can save us from Hell, we hope. So we should not compare our individual struggles and actions with that of the Government, because there is a lot more on the line when it comes to the Government shuffling money around.

Assignment #2 N. Orr

2009-02-08T18:32:00.002-05:00

Article written by Cindi Ross Scoppe. Article titled "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" The story appeared on the internet website www.thestate. com.

In my opinion the article was written to show how choices are being made by familes, businesses, and our government due to the economy. The article was written to everyone , and to let you know how making good or bad choices affects your life.

I think her point is that the choices families and businesses make are far different than the government. When families and businesses make choices it directly affects them. With our government the choices they make have a great effect on our economy, and when they have made bad decisions (as they have) they need to be accountable for them.

Assignment #2 T. Sewell

2009-02-08T16:37:00.001-05:00

The Article “Scoppe: Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t”by Cindi Ross Scoppe was posted on thestate.com and in The State Newspaper. This article explains to the citizens of South Carolina, that while we compare the decisions that government makes to the decisions that the head of a family or business would make, there is a big difference. With families and businesses, there are usually clear black-and –white choices. Government, however has to make much tougher decisions because each choice will only benefit part of the population. One choice will not make everyone happy. There are no easy answers to our state’s budget dilemma, but there are a few choices that would help like eliminating raises for teachers this year. The bottom line is that if you are interested in how the money is being spent, you have to speak out and encourage others to speak out as well, so that all of our voices are heard.