Viddler > All tags- economy for seeprogress

Why We Need Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:31:00 GMT

Angela Kelly explains why the economic crisis makes it more crucial than ever for Congress to move quickly to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

By seeprogress

Tags : Mexico, comprehensive, economy, immigration, reform, security

A National Strategy for Global Development

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:36:00 GMT

Sabina Dewan explains why the United States needs a national strategy for global development and what that would look like.

By seeprogress

Tags : aid, development, economy, foreign, security, sustainable

China & The Economic Crisis

Fri, 01 May 2009 20:29:01 GMT

Winnie Chen from the Center for American Progress discusses the imnplications and impact of the global recession on China in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, cap, chen, china, economy, finance, progress, progressive, recession, trade, yuan

A Close Look at Payday Lending

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:31:00 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/03/recovery_reinvestment101_update.html What are payday loans and why do people use them? Who borrows from payday lenders? An why are policymakers focused on these loans in particular? CAP's Amanda Logan explains.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, cap, credit, debt, economy, loan, logan, money, obama, payday, progress, recession

What Is Cap & Trade?

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:31:06 GMT

What is cap and trade? How does cap and trade figure into President Obama's budget? What effect will a successful cap-and-trade program have on the economy? Kari Manlove of the Center for American Progress explains the basics of cap and trade, including how a program would work, how it figures into Obamas budget, and how it will affect the economy.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, cap, carbon, climate, economy, environment, obama, progress, tax, trade

Imagining a Mortgage Finance System that Works

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:17:00 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/03/pdf/mortgage_finance_principles.pdf The bursting of the housing bubble and the resulting foreclosure epidemic have exposed major flaws in the U.S. housing finance system. All agree that significant reforms are necessary in all areas of mortgage finance—origination, primary lending, and secondary markets for mortgage-backed securities including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—but there is little consensus on what the system should look like when reforms are in place. Featured Remarks: Reform Considerations in the Housing Finance System Michael Barr, Counselor to the Director of the National Economic Council, White House Welcoming Remarks David Min, Associate Director for Financial Markets Policy, Center for American Progress Moderated Discussion: Defining Progressive Principles for Mortgage Finance Reform Michael Calhoun, President, Center for Responsible Lending Jonathan Miller, Democratic Professional Staff, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (subject to Senate schedule) Susan Wachter, Co-Director, Institute for Urban Research, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Kenneth Wade, Chief Executive Officer, Neighborworks Barry Zigas, Director of Housing Policy, Consumer Federation of America Moderated by: Sarah Rosen Wartell, Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Economic Policy, Center for American Progress

By seeprogress

Tags : american, cap, debt, economy, estate, finance, geithner, housing, mortgage, progress, real, treasury

Sustainable Security: A New Afghanistan Approach

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:38:02 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/projects/sustainable_security/index.html Merely reacting to global crises is a costly strategy in terms of both human lives and direct financial costs. In order to get out ahead and prepare itself to face the challenges of the 21st century, the United States should: 1. Fully integrate prevention into the national strategies that guide foreign policy formulation and implementation. 2. Build an integrated, interagency mechanism for long-range strategic planning that is tied directly to the allocation of resources. 3. Organize the government to support prevention and ensure coherence across the executive branch. 4. Invest intelligence, diplomatic, and economic resources in the most vulnerable areas and regions. 5. Re-engage with the international community, and improve and then support international treaties and norms. 6. Develop new tools and capabilities for crisis management. 7. Address the resource and staff shortages of civilian agencies, particularly the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development.

By seeprogress

Tags : afghanistan, american, brigety, cap, clinton, development, economy, iraq, military, obama, pentagon, policy, progress, security, sustainable, war

President Obama's Priorities for the Economy--ASK THE EXPERT

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:03:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/02/ambitious_action.html What does President Obama's budget say about his administration's priorities? How does the budget balance economic recovery and the deficit? And is this a budget that Congress will be able to pass? Michael Ettlinger of the Center for American Progress answers these questions in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, budget, cap, credit, debt, dollar, economy, employment, ettlinger, job, layoff, market, money, mortgage, obama, progress, recession, seeprogress

National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy PT 3 (FINAL)

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:28:04 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/02/wired_for_progress.html National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), a longtime champion of building a clean energy economy and Former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, former U.S. Senator and United Nations Foundation President Timothy Wirth, business leader and clean energy advocate T. Boone Pickens and Center for American Progress Action Fund President John Podesta. The key theme of the forum: overcoming clean energy infrastructure challenges and reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil. The discussion will focus on guiding the transformation of our nation’s energy policies with particular attention on modernizing the electricity grid, integrating energy efficiency and distributed generation into its operation and regulation, rapidly increasing transmission capacity for renewable energy, and reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil through natural gas, plug-in hybrids, and batteries in the transportation and distribution system. The National Clean Energy Project builds on the August 2008 “National Clean Energy Summit” sponsored by Senator Reid, CAPAF, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The participants in the summit concluded that inadequate access to transmission was one of the most significant barriers to widespread development of renewable energy. The goal of this forum will be to discuss the best, most cost-effective options to “green the grid” and lay the groundwork for a broad national consensus between as many key stakeholders as possible on a clean energy agenda that will reduce emissions, increase reliability and affordability, and make us more secure and competitive. This important event will influence the development of a new and better national energy policy and should help speed its adoption. Among the list of confirmed participants in the roundtable are many top

By seeprogress

Tags : afl-cio, american, bingaman, biofuel, carbon, chu, climate, clinton, coal, congress, dorgan, earth, economy, electricity, energy, environment, exxon, global, gore, grid, oil, pelosi, pickens, podesta, power, progress, reid, salazar, security, seiu, smartgrid, solar, transmission, warming

National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy - NEWS CONFERENCE

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:27:03 GMT

The Center for American Progress Action Fund and John Podesta hosted a forum entitled “National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy" on Monday, February 23, 2009 in Washington, DC. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is Honorary Chair. The half-day event brought together a select group of high-level government, business, labor and advocacy group leaders with a focus on developing a plan and key guiding principles to lead the transformation of U.S. energy policy and to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. President William Jefferson Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Representative Ed Markey (D-MA), energy executive T. Boone Pickens, and leaders from government, business, labor, and the non-profit communities. The National Clean Energy Project builds on the August 2008 “National Clean Energy Summit” sponsored by Senator Reid, CAPAF, the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The participants in the summit concluded that inadequate access to transmission was one of the most significant barriers to widespread development of renewable energy. This forum focuses on modernizing and expanding the electricity grid, integrating energy efficiency and distributed generation into operation and regulation, rapidly increasing transmission capacity for renewable energy, and reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil by examining short- and long-term solutions to replace foreign oil with domestic resources to fuel vehicles and trucks, including natural gas.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, economy, energy, environment, green, innovation, oil, pickens, podesta, power, progress, reid, science, solar, technology, wind

CAP Animation: How the Recovery Works

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:06:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/02/recovery_animation.html http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/02/obama_housing_plan.html READ ABOUT THE OBAMA HOUSING PLAN ABOVE Recovery investment isn’t only about the government paying for individual jobs; it is about rebuilding confidence in the economy and creating an environment that will enable economic growth and spur the private economy to create jobs.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, cap, congress, economy, energy, health, jobs, mortgage, obama, president, progress, progressive, recovery, stimulus, tax

Next Steps in Economic Recovery - ASK THE EXPERT

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:01:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/recovery_reinvestment101.html How quickly will we begin seeing the effects of the economic recovery and reinvestment package? How much does the stimulus invest in long-term, rather than short-term, growth? How can we prevent a similar economic downturn in the future? Michael Ettlinger of the Center for American Progress offers the answers in the latest installment of CAPs ASK THE EXPERT series.

By seeprogress

Tags : bank, bush, cap, congress, economy, ettlinger, infrastructure, jobs, obama, progressive, stimulus

All You Can Eat? How Hungry is America in Good Times versus Recession?

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:58:03 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/02/recovery_animation.html “It is insane, and morally bankrupt, for a nation with this much wealth to allow [hunger] to continue,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, at a Center for American Progress event Friday morning. At the event, CAP Policy Analyst Joy Moses led a panel discussion on the importance of a new U.S. commitment to end food insecurity and hunger for all Americans. Panelist Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger and author of All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America?, noted that in 2007, more than 36.2 million Americans either did not have enough food or feared they would not have enough at some point during the year. “Hunger,” he said, “should be on the same level as what people thought about cholera, malaria, and yellow fever. These have all been eradicated with the government’s help.” Berg added that with the aid of the federal government, hunger can be eradicated in a few short years. Federal programs have already made progress. The establishment of food safety net programs, or federal aid and entitlement packages aimed at assisting in the purchase of food for hungry families, has helped to stem the prevalence of starving children that once filled the streets in the early 20th century. Today’s hunger problems require targeted assistance. “Current food insecurity,” Weill noted, “is often a choice between food and rent, or between food and health care.” As a result, policies focused on bolstering support for poor and working-class families will have the largest effect on hunger. Weill noted that hunger experts “almost unanimously agree we need to boost food stamp programs. Dollar for dollar, they have the best value.” Congress has clearly taken note. The version of the recovery package recently passed by the House of R

By seeprogress

Tags : american, cap, children, congress, economy, food, hunger, obama, poverty, progress, progressive, recession, stimulus

The Truth About the Stimulus - Rescuing the Economy

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:42:07 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/recovery_reinvestment101.html Heather Boushey of the Center for American Progress debunks some of the myths and falsehoods making the rounds of talk radio & the cable news programs on the stimulus bill. This recession has the potential to be deeper and more protracted than most other recessions. The Federal Reserve can normally encourage economic activity by lowering the cost of borrowing, but these tools are not as effective as they are in more typical recessions because of the crisis facing the financial sector. The Federal Reserve has already used up its most common ammunition to boost the economy—the Federal Funds Rate. It lowered the Federal Funds Rate to about zero percent in December 2008 from 5.25 percent in August 2007. Even so, economists are forecasting that economic growth will continue to be negative in 2009, and the end of the economic downturn is nowhere in sight. What’s more, U.S. families began this recession with less to fall back on than in prior recessions because of existing economic weaknesses. Income growth had been weak, and Americans had more debt and fewer assets than at the beginning of prior recessions. Since consumers make up over 70 percent of the U.S. economy, the weakness of family finances will likely hamper the economy’s ability to recover quickly. Why does a stimulus and recovery plan help? The recovery and reinvestment package is designed to break the cycle of job loss and economic decline. An economy suffering from lack of demand needs a jump-start. The stimulus allows the government to step in and create demand by making purchases itself; it directly puts people back to work and gets money into people’s pockets so they can spend again. Businesses begin, in turn, to hire and make investments as they regain confidence that there is a market for what they produce. The downward spiral becomes an upward spiral. What

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, cap, congress, conservative, deficit, economy, limbaugh, obama, pork, progress, recession, seeprogress, stimulus, tarp, tax

Rescuing the Economy: How Does the Stimulus Work?

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:50:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/recovery_reinvestment101.html Michael Ettlinger from the Center for American Progress explains why the US economy needs a stimulus bill passed that leads with public investments. THE FACTS 1) WE ARE LOSING 15,000 JOBS A DAY. 2) THIS BILL IS ABOUT JOBS: IT SAVES JOBS, CREATES JOBS, HELPS PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR JOBS, and LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE JOBS. 3) CONSERVATIVES ARE PUSHING THE SAME, OLD FAILED BUSH POLICIES THAT GOT US HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE – tax cuts that benefit big corporations and CEO’S at the expense of the middle class. STIMULUS BACKGROUND: 1) SAVES AND CREATES 3-4 MILLIONS JOBS: The recovery bill will save jobs that are currently on the chopping block and create jobs by making targeted investments and boosting economic activity. Relief for state and local governments will help them avoid making the layoffs of police, firefighters and teachers, more spending cuts, and tax increases that will worsen the downturn. Stemming the downturn will protect private sector jobs that are on the verge of being cut. The recovery bill will make targeted investments that will create millions of jobs. For example, the recovery bill’s… Investments in energy will create 459,000 jobs. Investments in infrastructure will create 377,000 jobs. Investments in education will create 250,000 jobs. Leading economists like Mark Zandi have concluded that targeted spending is the most efficient way to create jobs in a recession 2) HELPS PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR JOBS: The recovery bill will help people who lost their jobs with middle-class tax cuts and investments in programs that will put money in the hands of people who will spend it and protect the most vulnerable. The “make work pay” tax cut will give $1,000 to 95 percent of families. Expanding unempl

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, cap, congress, economy, education, energy, health, jobs, money, obama, progress, recession, recovery, stimulus

Help for Students, Help for the Economy

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:46:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/recovery_reinvestment101.html http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/ctc_house_senate.html What kind of education provisions are included in the recovery and reinvestment package? And why is education important to economic stimulus? The Center for American Progress's Raegen Miller answers these questions in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, cap, children, congress, economy, education, invest, obama, progress, raegen, recession, recovery, school, stimulus, teacher

The US & China: The Human Rights Issue

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:22:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/china_human_rights.html The relationship between the United States and China may well be the most important bilateral relationship in the world. In recognition of that fact, the Center for American Progress is releasing a new report entitled, "Strategic Persistence: How the United States Can Help Improve Human Rights in China." The report provides both fundamental principles that should guide U.S. policymakers in their efforts to effect positive change in China's human rights practices and concrete recommendations to advance those efforts. China remains responsible for profound violations of its people's civil and political rights. In its foreign policy, China has often backed repressive regimes around the world and watered down international sanctions against these regimes. None of this is in the United States' best interests. Given the high degree of economic interdependence between the United States and China, as well as China's growing military reach, American interests are best served by a stable China with a robust commitment to the rule of law—conditions that are undermined by a failure to respect human rights. U.S. approaches to human rights in China have ranged from confrontation to passivity and have rarely reflected a coordinated strategy across government entities. The key to U.S. efforts to promote human rights in China is to take a coherent, pragmatic, non-ideological approach that goes beyond easy rhetoric, takes advantage of strategic openings, and recognizes the value of persistence. Ultimately, China must be persuaded that greater democracy and human rights are in its own best interests and are integral to its becoming the highly respected global leader it aspires to be. Distinguished Speakers: Harry Harding, Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University Louisa Coan Greve, Program Director for East Asia at the Nation

By seeprogress

Tags : american, asia, cap, china, economy, environment, freedom, human, military, progress, progressive, religion, rights, schulz, sino, tibet, trade

Working with China on Human Rights

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:40:06 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/china_human_rights.html Why are China's human rights policies important to the United States? What has the United States done so far to promote human rights in China? And how Can the United States better promote human rights in the country? Bill Schulz of the Center for American Progress addresses these questions in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, asia, cap, china, climate, democracy, economy, freedom, human, military, progress, religion, rights, tibet, trade

Obama Transition: CAP's John Podesta Talks with ThinkProgress.org

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:56:01 GMT

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/29/podesta-responds/#comments ThinkProgress.org provided readers an opportunity to ask John Podesta questions pertaining to his service on the Obama transition team. You responded with great enthusiasm, offering more than 100 comments and questions. John sat down with TP on January 28, 2009 for about 20 minutes. In that period of time, we were able to get to 8 of your questions. The first one I asked him was the top-rated question, as voted on by the ThinkProgress community. It was submitted by user curtisteff, and it read: “Why is President Obama giving up so much to try to appease the conservatives?” Podesta offered this response: I think that if you look at the [economic recovery] bill that’s making its way through the House and then will be taken up by the Senate this week and voted on and put on the President’s desk by President’s Day, what you see in there is the thrust that he laid down early on – really back in December and in January. I think he was willing to have a dialogue with Republicans. So far, that dialogue has been largely one in which it’s good-natured but the Republicans don’t seem to really want to come to the table and talk seriously about what needs to be done for the country. So be it — that’s their choice. But I think he did want to change the tone in Washington. He wanted to talk to people across the political spectrum. He wanted to open up the government to people from all perspectives around the country. That’s what WhiteHouse.gov is about. That’s what the transition — change.gov — was about, to try to solicit ideas from across the political spectrum to meet the big challenges. But I would not confuse that with an idea that he’s compromising on his big goals of trying to deal with the very difficult economic circumstances we face and deal with the big challenges thi

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bush, cap, economy, energy, house, obama, podesta, president, progress, progressive, shakir, thinkprogress, transition, white

Priming the Pump: Policymakers Should Consider with a Stimulus Package

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:07:00 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/lilly_stimulus.html Confronting the growing economic crisis will be the first order of business for the new Congress and the incoming Obama administration. Should the incoming administration work to deliberately increase the size of a federal deficit already projected by the Congressional Budget Office to exceed $1.2 trillion for the current year? How big should a stimulus package be? How should it be structured? These are the questions that a Center for American Progress panel on fiscal stimulus will grapple with at an upcoming event. Part of the discussion will involve what the Labor Department's December employment report will tell us about the future course of the economy and the need for stimulus. Featured Panelists: Jim Horney, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities who has previously served as Deputy Democratic Staff Director at the Senate Budget Committee and Chief of the Projections Unit at the Congressional Budget Office Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Chief Economist for Ford Motor Company who also currently serves as President of the National Association for Business Economics and formerly served as Staff Economist on the President's Council of Economic Advisers Brian M. Riedl, (invited) Lead Budget Analyst at The Heritage Foundation and Grover Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs, Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies Moderated by: Scott Lilly, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, former Clerk and Staff Director of the House Appropriations Committee and the Congressional Joint Economic Committee

By seeprogress

Tags : american, budget, business, cap, congress, deficit, economy, infrastructure, lilly, obama, progress, progressive, recession, stimulus, tax