Media

There is such hysteria about the problems facing Social Security, that it's easy to forget a simple fact: Much of the program's shortfalls in future years will go away if we just raise payroll taxes. And, as it turns out, that solution is more popular with the public than cutting benefits.

This is the finding of a new AP/GfK poll released yesterday.

Camden, New Jersey, can't seem to catch a break. Fox News, of all outlets, broke the news yesterday that the city of Camden will disband its police department and transfer half the officers to a new non-union division. The move comes at the tail end of a long fight over workers salaries culminating in the city's action.

The ugliest presidential campaign I ever hope to see was the one George H.W. Bush waged against Michael Dukakis in 1988. Poppy Bush governed like a (relative) moderate, but in 1988 he campaigned like a hard-right bigot, relentlessly attacking Dukakis over an assault-rape committed by the convicted murderer Willie Horton, a very scary-looking African American, during a prison furlough (under a program created by Dukakis's Republican predecessor as Massachusetts governor). Say what you will about 41’s son and eventual successor, George W.

It's not often that we get a detailed look inside the tax strategies of a private equity firm, so Gawker's publication of a trove of documents related to Bain Capital is a welcome event.

The documents show -- once again -- how sophisticated business people have myriad ways to avoid taxes -- and, in the case of Bain anyway, will readily skirt or break the law.

Yesterday, California came one step closer to adopting a proven innovation that helps increase voter participation –Same Day (or Election Day) Registration.

Candidate campaigns and outside spending groups have nearly a third more influence over narratives around presidential candidates' characters than they did just 12 years ago. Journalist influence has shrunk by nearly half.

Here’s what happens when partisan politics takes over policy making: a thriving industry comes to a screeching halt. In 2011, the wind industry was responsible for over 30 percent of all electric generation capacity added. The 6,800 megawatts added was a 31 percent increase over 2010 and lifted the total wind power generation in the U.S. to 50 gigawatts, enough to power 13 million homes.

If you believe that self-interest is both the strongest and most virtuous motive for human behavior, you may well calculate that current Medicare recipients wouldn't object to a plan that leaves their benefits alone while gutting the program for future retirees.

These days, there's not a lot of sympathy out there for the big banks. That isn't likely to change through the advocacy of Steve Forbes. Of all the controversial provisions of Dodd-Frank, Forbes, and the banking industry, has seized upon the Durbin Amendment as the most dangerous.

Why? The Durbin Amendment caps the hidden fees that banks can charge you for swiping your debit card.