MB Blog - October 2008
Last night, Clearly New Mexico hosted our second virtual forum. The topic for the evening was election protection - the importance of which cannot be overstated.
Go here to check out both parts of the video.
Joining me for the hour-long program were Katy Duhigg and Steve Allen of Common Cause New Mexico. Steve and Katy have been hard at work over the past couple of moths developing Common Cause's new, permanent election protection infrastructure right here in New Mexico.
You can read more about the new program, called Count Every Vote New Mexico here.
Why a permanent infrastructure here in New Mexico?
As we know, New Mexico gets quite a lot of national attention every four years. One aspect of that attention is on the legal front. Attorneys and legal experts, often based in Washington, D.C. or New York, offer over-the-phone help and advice for voters when problems arise.
This has been helpful, to be sure.
Problem is, once the election is over, there may be a report about specific findings, or perhaps some discussions about problems that came up. Read More »
Go here to check out both parts of the video.
Joining me for the hour-long program were Katy Duhigg and Steve Allen of Common Cause New Mexico. Steve and Katy have been hard at work over the past couple of moths developing Common Cause's new, permanent election protection infrastructure right here in New Mexico.
You can read more about the new program, called Count Every Vote New Mexico here.
Why a permanent infrastructure here in New Mexico?
As we know, New Mexico gets quite a lot of national attention every four years. One aspect of that attention is on the legal front. Attorneys and legal experts, often based in Washington, D.C. or New York, offer over-the-phone help and advice for voters when problems arise.
This has been helpful, to be sure.
Problem is, once the election is over, there may be a report about specific findings, or perhaps some discussions about problems that came up. Read More »
On Tuesday evening at 5:00 P.M., Clearly New Mexico will sponsor the second of our virtual economic forums. This topic will be "election protection." The forum will be broadcast live, on the forum page of our website and will feature Steve Allen and Katy Duhigg of Common Cause New Mexico.
Regardless of your political preferences, regardless of what candidates you are supporting, we invite you to join us for Tuesday night's forum.
Steve and Katy will open with a short statement and then we will open the floor to forum participants for questions and comments. If you choose, you can also chat with other forum participants via our U Stream chat function.
The first forum ginned up a lot of interest. So, please join us for the second one!
Regardless of your political preferences, regardless of what candidates you are supporting, we invite you to join us for Tuesday night's forum.
Steve and Katy will open with a short statement and then we will open the floor to forum participants for questions and comments. If you choose, you can also chat with other forum participants via our U Stream chat function.
The first forum ginned up a lot of interest. So, please join us for the second one!
Ezra nails it.
U.S. budget deficits over the next 50 years, assuming no change in current policy, will absolutely explode. Not because of Social Security, not be cause of Medicare - because of health care. If there is not a concerted effort to address the booming cost of health care, then we can pretty much bet the country will go bankrupt.
Really, this isn't an alarmist rant. It's a fact.
U.S. budget deficits over the next 50 years, assuming no change in current policy, will absolutely explode. Not because of Social Security, not be cause of Medicare - because of health care. If there is not a concerted effort to address the booming cost of health care, then we can pretty much bet the country will go bankrupt.
Really, this isn't an alarmist rant. It's a fact.
Last Thursday, we held our first Clearly New Mexico online forum. The topic for the evening was all things "economy" and our featured guest was Professor Melissa Binder from UNM's economics department.
I must say, I really didn't know what to expect. I was uncertain about our technology selection (U Stream). And, I really had no idea about attendance, or if participants would be willing to get actively involved.
Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!
Throughout the hour-long forum, attendance held steady at around 30 people. In addition to the respectable turnout, we had a very engaged audience. The U Stream technology couldn't have been a better fit for our needs (check it out at www.ustream.tv) - allowing participants to chat with one another while also allowing them to submit questions for Professor Binder.
Given the primacy of the ongoing economic crisis, forum participants were only too eager to get answers to their questions. But I believe they were also eager to talk with other New Mexicans about things like retirement plans, mortgages, bank lending, derivatives and what sorts of policies might lead to a reinvigoration of the American middle class.
With one forum under our belt, you can bet we'll be announcing another in the near future. We believe Clearly New Mexico is a space for healthy debate and educating ourselves about various public policy alternatives.
Stay tuned for more information about the next Clearly New Mexico forum. In the mean time, check out this link for a replay of last week's economic forum.
I must say, I really didn't know what to expect. I was uncertain about our technology selection (U Stream). And, I really had no idea about attendance, or if participants would be willing to get actively involved.
Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!
Throughout the hour-long forum, attendance held steady at around 30 people. In addition to the respectable turnout, we had a very engaged audience. The U Stream technology couldn't have been a better fit for our needs (check it out at www.ustream.tv) - allowing participants to chat with one another while also allowing them to submit questions for Professor Binder.
Given the primacy of the ongoing economic crisis, forum participants were only too eager to get answers to their questions. But I believe they were also eager to talk with other New Mexicans about things like retirement plans, mortgages, bank lending, derivatives and what sorts of policies might lead to a reinvigoration of the American middle class.
With one forum under our belt, you can bet we'll be announcing another in the near future. We believe Clearly New Mexico is a space for healthy debate and educating ourselves about various public policy alternatives.
Stay tuned for more information about the next Clearly New Mexico forum. In the mean time, check out this link for a replay of last week's economic forum.
This evening, Clearly New Mexico will sponsor a virtual economic forum. The forum will be broadcast live, right here on our website, and will feature University of New Mexico Economics Professor Melissa Binder.
Regardless of your views on the economic crisis, regardless of your position on the federal bailout, we invite you to join us for the discussion.
Professor Binder will open with a short statement and then we will open the floor to forum participants for questions and comments. If you choose, you can also chat with other forum participants via our U Stream chat function.
This will be a bit of an experiment for Clearly New Mexico, but we certainly look forward to it!
Regardless of your views on the economic crisis, regardless of your position on the federal bailout, we invite you to join us for the discussion.
Professor Binder will open with a short statement and then we will open the floor to forum participants for questions and comments. If you choose, you can also chat with other forum participants via our U Stream chat function.
This will be a bit of an experiment for Clearly New Mexico, but we certainly look forward to it!
Bob Herbert sums up well what happens when a society's (ours) priorities go awry. A crumbling infrastructure, a lack of emphasis on education, an election contest turned into a horse race - it's all here.
What a perfectly lovely mess.
I think we can pretty much rule out drowning government in a bathtub as a prescription for righting this ship.
What a perfectly lovely mess.
I think we can pretty much rule out drowning government in a bathtub as a prescription for righting this ship.
The recent economic upheaval has been both the result and cause of home foreclosures, massive credit contraction, wiped out retirement savings and a plummeting Dow. In addition to the concrete effects, it looks like there is already a serious philosophical debate brewing about the proper form of capitalism.
I'm not saying this matter hasn't come up before, especially with regard to our dreadfully deregulated financial systems. But, with entities like the IMF stepping into the discussion, this is taking it to a whole new level. Recall, the IMF has been one of the primary pushers of the so-called Washington Consensus during the 1990's - a program that sung the praises of privatization and free markets.
This is not the death of capitalism (something I would not call for). Instead, this is perhaps the beginning of what could be a massive restructuring of American-style capitalism.
I'm not saying this matter hasn't come up before, especially with regard to our dreadfully deregulated financial systems. But, with entities like the IMF stepping into the discussion, this is taking it to a whole new level. Recall, the IMF has been one of the primary pushers of the so-called Washington Consensus during the 1990's - a program that sung the praises of privatization and free markets.
This is not the death of capitalism (something I would not call for). Instead, this is perhaps the beginning of what could be a massive restructuring of American-style capitalism.
As the dire situation with credit markets are fully realized, we mustn't forget that costs of goods and services still matter to average Americans.
Gas, health coverage, food, fuel for heating one's home - they've all skyrocketed over the last year. In the case of health coverage, it's been well documented that costs for this "commodity" are far outpacing inflation.
Cue Families USA, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public on matters related to health care. Researchers at Families USA recently released a report, detailing the widening gulf between the cost of health care premiums and median earnings in New Mexico.
This is New Mexico-specific data.
Consider this... Read More »
Gas, health coverage, food, fuel for heating one's home - they've all skyrocketed over the last year. In the case of health coverage, it's been well documented that costs for this "commodity" are far outpacing inflation.
Cue Families USA, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public on matters related to health care. Researchers at Families USA recently released a report, detailing the widening gulf between the cost of health care premiums and median earnings in New Mexico.
This is New Mexico-specific data.
Consider this... Read More »
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