To Get Our Financial House In Order

Out of Washington, we tend to hear the same old stories.  Republicans want to cut spending and not raise taxes.  Democrats want to tax the rich and not let Republicans touch the entitlement programs.  Tea Party Republicans just want to defund the Affordable Care Act.  In a divided government, it has managed to get us into one stalemate after another.  This last time, it finally shut down the government and nearly brought us to the brink of defaulting on our debt.

Oregon Proposal Advocates Nonpartisan Primary System, With a Twist

The American electoral system is highly dysfunctional. One of its most basic problems is that districts and states often have lopsided partisan preferences, meaning that general elections between the nominees of the two major parties are overwhelmingly formalities. Consequently, representatives may be effectively chosen in low-turnout partisan primaries that are paid for by all taxpayers, but are often limited to only a portion of the electorate.

Congress and the Feds Can Learn a Lot from California's Debt Management

Sacramento News & Review, October 17 – A growing body of 21st-century philsophical thought recognizes that the 98 episodes of Gilligan’s Island ask and answer all the Big Questions.

So, amid this recent flurry of mouth-frothing and hand-wringing over debt, it should be no surprise The Skipper and Mary Ann slice straight to the bottom line.

Paul Ryan: We Must Act Now to Boost Economy

Whenever there is a deadline in Congress, short-term considerations generally gain more importance than long term goals. Politicians have a tendency to focus on fixing whatever is broken through a piecemeal and temporary approach rather than taking a look at how the quick fixes will affect generations to come.

10 Congressional Seats in Jeopardy after Government Shutdown

If the media coverage of shutdown politics is to be believed, House Republicans' fear of 'getting primaried' by a more conservative opponent was a major impediment to moderate GOP-ers reaching a bargain with Democrats on healthcare and federal spending.

The Roots of the Government Shutdown

In general, Stratfor deals with U.S. domestic politics only to the extent that it affects international affairs. Certainly, this topic has been argued and analyzed extensively.