AltWeeklies Wire
Still the Promised Land: Poverty, Policy and Hope in the Rust Beltnew
Out west in gigantic, thriving Chicago, there’s a debate underway between a journalist and an IT consultant over whether regionalism can help the hollowing-out cities of the Rust Belt.
Thinking and Acting Smartly Everywhere but the Rust Beltnew
At a Brookings Institution forum last week, policy wonks and local government officials from places like Sacramento and Salt Lake City discussed how they used regional planning to cope with rapid growth. What can shrinking Rust Belt cities learn from the places that are stealing their populations?
Artvoice |
Bruce Fisher |
10-23-2009 |
Policy Issues
Meet the Rebel Economists Who Predicted the Financial Collapsenew
The economics profession has been dominated by the disciples of the late free-market guru Milton Friedman and others of the Chicago School, so named because of their prominence on the faculty of the University of Chicago. But for decades, there has been an overshadowed (and at times bitterly ridiculed) alternative group of economists who have long been warning that the Neoclassical orthodoxy was missing the boat and leading us astray.
Buffalo or California: Which Is the Better National Bellwether?new
It's now reasonable, and not far-fetched, to expect fiscal chaos in state and local governments in the next two years. Here's what fiscal chaos means: more Californias.
Will Obama Give Us the Right Kind of Stimulus?new
Let's hope that the outgoing Bush administration, the incoming Obama administration, the permanent mandarins of the think tanks, and the Congressional majorities all come together so that we get an adequate stimulus package -- so that we shall still have the choice to purchase a GM, Ford, or Chrysler product in the coming years, preferably the plug-in hybrid that Obama wants them to make.
If Wall Street Gets a Bailout, Will Infrastructure Get a Boost?new
There has never been a more stark contrast between two radically different prescriptions for economic recovery than the one that is playing out here in New York, in the state that is the home of the finance, insurance, and real estate economy -- which just blew up.
How Washington Could Shape the Future Coming Out of the Meltdownnew
Let's talk about reform, and your money, and what government should do now that there is a genuine, world-class financial crisis.
How McCain's Economic Advisor, and Bill Clinton's, Screwed the Economynew
What we're experiencing is not just one of those occasional stock market swoons or interest-rate tangos. What's going on now is a calamity of the sort not seen since the dark days of 1929.
The Oil Crossroads: Gold for Highways, Pennies for Public Transportationnew
Growth will only come to a city near you if the federal government is led by somebody who connects the climate-change dots with the oil dots and the public-transportation dots.
Artvoice |
Bruce Fisher |
05-16-2008 |
Environment
Our Presidential Candidates Won't Talk About the Death of Cities -- Will Our Governors?new
Americans tend to believe that sprawl is a natural consequence of "free market" forces when, in fact, it is a consequence of governmental decision-making. Alas, the people who would lead our national government are not addressing sprawl. That means that the long-avoided discussions America ought to have on race, climate change, energy, highway construction, and agriculture will all continue to lack a certain element of reality.
Artvoice |
Bruce Fisher |
04-25-2008 |
Housing & Development
The Clock is Ticking on Great Lakes Cleanupnew
John Austin of the Brookings Institution says that if the government spends $26 billion cleaning up the Great Lakes, the economic benefit to America will be $80 to $100 billion. Will the next president step up?
Artvoice |
Bruce Fisher |
03-14-2008 |
Environment
