As expected, Paul Ryan repeated one of the top mistruths of this election season last night -- namely that President Obama robbed Medicare of $716 billion to fund the Affordable Care Act.
For months, various experts and news sources have pointed out what a distortion this is. As Politifact noted in August:
Martha Raddatz was deservedly praised as a moderator at the vice-presidential debate in Kentucky last night. But, reading the transcript again, maybe that praise was a bit overdone. Raddatz may not have been another empty seat, but her question on Social Security perpetuated a frequent myth.
Kimberly Kelley of Tampa has provided Florida elections officials with thousands of names of people she thinks may be ineligible to vote and should be removed from the rolls. On Election Day, she’ll join thousands more — people of all political stripes — to monitor balloting.
“I believe there is fraud both ways. I don’t think it’s a specific group,” said Kelley, a registered Republican whose group is called Tampa Vote Fair. “We’re just there to observe. We’re not going to intimidate anyone.”
Senator Schumer offered a much needed intervention in the tax debate in a speech on Tuesday. What Schumer said is that revenue-neutral tax reform was a fantasy and that any big Congressional deal on tax reform had to include higher rates on the wealthy, as well as more revenue overall.
A new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows how investments in the green economy produce results far beyond sustainability gains. EPI took the BLS green jobs data and matched it with current employment trends. By doing so, they found:
The latest attempt to throw a collar on for-profit colleges is the The College Student Rebate Act of 2012. House Representatives John Tierney (D-Mass.) and George Miller (D-Calif.) put it in front of a congressional committee in mid-September.
Should the Act pass, it would require for-profit schools to devote 80% of their revenue to "educational and related expenses." If they fail to do so, the schools would be required to refund an amount equal to the margin by which they exceeded the cap.
NEW YORK - As the Supreme Court hears oral argument in Fisher v. University of Texas case challenging the constitutionality of the school’s undergraduate admissions program on Wednesday, October 10, Demos stands with the United States Student Association (USSA) along with hundreds of other community, corporate, military and civil rights leaders, students and other allies in support of diversity in higher education.
Just as every fall, we are warned about powerful hurricanes that could devastate coastal areas, every four years we hear warnings about an “October surprise” that could upheave the political landscape on the eve of the election. This year, the “surprise” threatens to hit land on November 2: it is the prospect that a million workers could receive a layoff notice on the Friday before the election.
Among other things he would replace the Affordable Care Act with state plans, and convert Medicaid and federal job training programs into block grants.
It is true that courts have been striking down Republican efforts to restrict voting among certain demographic groups. Yet by no means is the fight over.
Accounting for 12 percent of the federal budget, and costing $509 Billion in total expenditures in 2010, Medicare is a massive expense. In part one of this series, we set out four trends that are key to understanding the rising cost of Medicare.
In politics, there inevitably comes the dreaded time when politics and politicking run into reality. It is the point at which you can no longer appease two opposing parties and a decision must be made that chooses one party's interests over the other. I imagine politicians hate this moment because it shows their true character, for better or worse.
An important component to the student debt crisis involves law and medical school enrollees. Many of the students preparing to enter these professions are looking at six figures worth of loans, according to a study by Finaid.orgs's Mark Kantrowitz.
The Government Integrity Fund is a 501(c)4, a dark money group with a wildly misleading name. The Fund has been making a big splash in Ohio, spending a million dollars in advertisements against Senator Sherrod Brown.
Even if you stayed awake through the policy blizzard that was Wednesday night’s debate, you didn’t hear a word about the dramatically different future the candidates can bring about for women and families.
While the September jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provided plenty of political ammunition it was also an ambiguous signal about the current labor market.
To make sure that no voter is subjected to intimidation when they hit the polls next month, one organization is dispensing military veterans to booths across the country.
Wednesday night’s first presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney was live-blogged or live-tweeted by almost every think tank. The depth of the commentary ranged from appearance to proposal. After a little time to process, think tank experts are weighing in with analysis beyond 140 characters.
Just a year ago, Occupy Wall Street commanded attention from the media and politicians alike. Yet last night the central concern of that social movement -- one shared by a majority of Americans -- wasn't even mentioned as both candidates and the moderator ducked the problem of economic inequality.
