Writing at Bloomberg News, economic analyst Kevin Hassett unravels the story behind the recent financial meltdown (H/T Rossputin). An opportunity to avert the crisis came in 2005 with the introduction of legislation to provide a "world-class regulator" of government-sponsored mortgage loan institutions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted that failure to address the problem was "placing the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk.'" Here's the key passage from Hassett's article (though you should really read the whole thing - it's not terribly long):If that bill had become law, then the world today would be different. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, a blizzard of terrible mortgage … [Read more...]
Hypocritical Attacks from Opponents of Amendment 49 and Amendment 54
No doubt the political season is upon us, and the hypocrisy of large special interest groups is on display. Nowhere is this more true in our state than with the political group Protect Colorado's Future. Their spokesman said in an interview last week with Channel 7:"When you have these out-of-state, or narrow corporate interests trying to divide Coloradans, it's bad for all Colorado," said Jess Knox, wearing a pin that says, "No on 47, 49 and 54." So Protect Colorado's Future wants to make a big deal out of "out-of-state" campaign funds? Well, as Face The State points out today:It’s no secret that out-of-state money is flooding Colorado from both sides. In the unions’ case, the out-of state money is coming from the pockets of … [Read more...]
Colorado’s Amendment 49 Better Version of Idaho Clean Government Law
The latest edition of Budget & Tax News highlights an important case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court about a clean elections law from Idaho:In 2003, the Idaho Legislature passed the Voluntary Contributions Act, which banned the collection of political contributions through government payroll systems throughout the state. Nothing in the law prohibits union members from contributing to candidates by choice, and nothing in it prohibits unions from engaging in politics. Policy experts view the law favorably. Noted Ben DeGrow, an education analyst with the Independence Institute, "Governments should be focused on performing vital services for taxpayers, not on acting as a bill collector for private groups--especially groups that are … [Read more...]