You are here

Walter's Thoughts

Error message

  • Warning: Illegal string offset 'field' in DatabaseCondition->__clone() (line 1817 of /home/walterhofheinz/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Warning: Illegal string offset 'field' in DatabaseCondition->__clone() (line 1817 of /home/walterhofheinz/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Warning: Illegal string offset 'field' in DatabaseCondition->__clone() (line 1817 of /home/walterhofheinz/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Warning: Illegal string offset 'field' in DatabaseCondition->__clone() (line 1817 of /home/walterhofheinz/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Warning: Illegal string offset 'field' in DatabaseCondition->__clone() (line 1817 of /home/walterhofheinz/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Warning: Illegal string offset 'field' in DatabaseCondition->__clone() (line 1817 of /home/walterhofheinz/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: The each() function is deprecated. This message will be suppressed on further calls in menu_set_active_trail() (line 2292 of /home/walterhofheinz/public_html/includes/menu.inc).

Too big to fail, too big to manage

Excellent post again by Simon Johnson today regarding the losses and situation at JPMorgan Chase: JP Morgan Debacle Reveals Fatal Flaw In Federal Reserve Thinking.

Romney and the Ryan Budget

Good post by Simon Johnson today, explaining why the Ryan budget is a "you're on your own" budget, diametrically opposed to the principle that government is there for us to work together to solve problems we can't solve on our own: http://baselinescenario.com/2012/05/03/mitt-romney-and-paul-ryans-budget...

Invest in our future!

Paul Krugman wrote an excellent piece this morning: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/opinion/krugman-wasting-our-minds.html...

We must invest in the future, instead of consuming now. I have made several proposals along this line related to education: http://www.walterhofheinz.org/issues#education

Challenges and Tasks - Remarks to Senatorial District Conventions

The video may be found at http://youtu.be/wi8RlyK6elw

We live in a time of great challenges:

  • First: A contest between those who believe government should be used to enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of us, as is reflected in the Ryan budget proposal adopted by the House and supported by Pete Sessions, that sacrifices Medicaid, Medicare, higher education, and key elements of the social safety net to provide even more tax breaks for the very wealthy, and those who believe, as I do, that government is the way we work together to enhance opportunity for all who want to work hard, play by the rules, and succeed; to provide a safety net for those cannot provide for themselves; and to ensure the blessings of liberty for us and those who come after us;
  • Second: The challenge of balancing the needs and opportunities of the present and future, young and old. Will we use our resources to create a more prosperous future, or will we consume more now? Will we pay our own bills, or will we burden our children with debts incurred to pay our bills?
  • Third: A decision about the scope of government and how we will pay for it.

A win-win student loan solution

"Extreme" remedy: steeply progressive tax rates

Two good articles in one day!

I believe in the use of government to create opportunity, both now and in the future. To do that, we need to pay our bills, not shift them to future generations. How? As I discuss in my tax policy statement, broaden the base, and increase rates progressively. What I propose is necessary to pay the bills; a second goal is to lessen extremes in inequality so most Americans better off, and we as a society prosper.

Focus, people!

Great piece by Charles Blow this morning: Focus, People!.

"Like kittens chasing a spot of light on the floor, the public and the press are jumping about with excitement and outrage over ancillary issues....

It is about the size and function of government in our lives — whether we value social safety nets or social Darwinism.

Support the Buffet Rule and tax fairness!

Yesterday I appeared at a press conference in front of Pete Sessions' office calling on him to support the Buffett Rules and tax fairness.

This is the text of my prepared statement:

Good Afternoon, Everyone.

As we all know, today is “tax” day.

Realism is "Extreme"

I am pleased to be considered "extreme" by the Dallas Morning News for advocating positions that hold that we have to raise enough taxes to pay our bills, that cuts are not sufficient to balance the budget, that our safety nets must be maintained, and that we must deal realistically with immigration as an asset to our future: McGovern in Dems’ 32nd District U.S. House race.

Apparently honestly setting out the reality of our situation has become "extreme."

What do the financial crisis and Medicare funding have to do with each other?

Excellent piece by Simon Johnson on the connection between the financial crisis, the federal deficit, and the attack on Medicare: How The Banks Stole Medicare.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - blogs