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I’ve always thought state policy is more interesting than federal policy. It takes so much to move big things in Washington. It is so much easier to get a waiver, to test and correct at the state level. And then all those 000000s make me think there is less to what they are doing in DC. And in the zeroes, you can include all the lobbyists. But let me wander a bit into the thicket of the “stimulus package,” which we once knew as the “bailout” before Obama became president. Question: We hear everyone bemoan the lack of savings by Americans. We need to save more, they say, because we are living beyond our ability to sustain the spending rate […]

A great Italian movie of the early sixties directed by Dino Risi, usually translated as “The Easy Life.” The actual meaning is “the passing maneuver” — and that is the moment we are about to witness. Our friends at the Education Intelligence Agency, white hats and trench coats at the ready, note that we are very close to the moment when public sector union membership jets past the number of union employees in the private sector. A dangerous maneuver indeed. Last year was one of the best in ages for organized labor, as 428,000 members were added to union rolls. But before you crack open your choice of champagne or cyanide, it’s worth examining what propelled the boost. The unionization […]