Advocates Call For High-Tech Emphasis In Broadband Expansion

Contributing author to Mandate for Change, Ben Scott, is quoted in an Online Media Daily article discussing the need for responsible tech spending following the passage of the economic stimulus bill.

We need to make sure the money is spent wisely on projects that deliver the biggest bang for the buck,” Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, said Monday during a conference call with other broadband advocates and reporters.

Free Press is especially concerned that stimulus funds shouldn’t be used to build networks that are “obsolete” because they’re too slow. In a report issued Monday, the organization urged the National Telecommunications and Information Administration–tasked with distributing $4.7 billion in broadband stimulus–to establish speed guidelines for the new networks.

To read more click here.

Economic Recovery: What’s NOW Got to Do With It?

Kim Gandy, contributing author to Mandate for Change and President of the National Organization for Women (NOW), explains the impact of the economic stimulus package on women in her Below the Belt column.

I offer this glimpse into NOW’s efforts “behind-the-scenes” during the past several months to ensure that women are positively impacted by the economic recovery package and that they play an integral role in the revitalization of our economy and our country. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president on Feb. 17.
But what happened in the lead up to that day, and what’s NOW got to do with it?

To read more, click here.

Too Little. Too Late?

Dean Baker, contributing author to Mandate for Change, discusses the recently passed economic stimulus in an interview with The Daily Beast.

What do you think of the stimulus compromise?

It will have some effect, though not an efficient effect. The original bill wasn’t big enough and they made it smaller. By my estimate, the drop in demand is $1.3 trillion a year they’re trying to replace and the latest version of the stimulus is about $350 billion a year and I’m excluding the alternative minimum tax because I don’t think anyone would count a tax cut no one ever anticipated people paying out as stimulus.

Read the interview in full here.

Staving off another Great Depression

Mandate author, Dean Baker writes about the necessary measures to prevent full on economic depression in The Guardian.

If the unemployment rate is 12% when Obama’s first term ends, he can forget about getting re-elected, even if the budget is balanced. On the other hand, if he has managed to bring the unemployment rate down to a reasonable level, no one other than a few Washington pundits will be bothered by the deficit that might have been necessary to achieve this result.

Read the whole article here.

Making every stimulus dollar work

Angela Glover Blackwell, contributing author to Mandate for Change, highlights the importance for responsible action from the recently established federal oversight board for the economic recovery bill in an op-ed for Salon.com.

President Obama named a tough, hard-nosed former Secret Service agent to lead the federal oversight board for the $787 billion recovery package. I’m sure Earl Devaney will live up to his reputation as a top-notch investigator of fraud and abuse. But oversight of the stimulus must be about more than just catching crooks and waste after the fact. We must also make sure the money is being spent wisely and effectively to help the economy and target those most in need — right now.

To read more click here.

Does Stimulus Package Keep Green Goals In Sight?

Mandate author, Michael Replogle discusses the environmental short-comings of the stimulus package in an interview with NPR.

Replogle says spending stimulus money to widen I-95 and on other new highways around the country will mean more cars, more development and more greenhouse gas pollution.

“It’s not the kind of investment we need to be making in the 21st century, particularly when we have good leadership in the state and federal level that is calling on us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to get serious about the severe climate change challenge that is ahead of us,” Replogle says.

Read the full interview here.

Crafting the broadband provision of the stimulus involved plenty of networking

Mandate author, Ben Scott was quoted in The Los Angeles Times discussing broadband provisions in the economic stimulus package.

“The question is, why are we having two grant-making infrastructures developed for broadband grants, one of which is at the Department of Agriculture?” said Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press, a nonpartisan media reform group that focuses on technology issues.

The answer is an old story in Washington: A large pile of government money attracts a lot of attention.

To read the full article click here.

Stimulus Bill Conferees Urged to Adopt Best Transportation Provisions

Mandate author, Michael Replogle was quoted in a press release by The Wall Street Journal about the transportation provisions in the pending stimulus bill.

“This stimulus spending could yield benefits that will last for generations,” said Michael Replogle, a civil engineer, a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Intelligent Transportation Systems for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Transportation Director for Environmental Defense Fund. “The key to realizing this economic potential is for states and local governments to focus on maintaining existing road and bridges and investing in projects that will increase America’s energy independence. Public officials must make their spending plans totally transparent as soon as possible, so taxpayers can check to ensure that these billions of dollars are being spent wisely.”

Read the entire press release here.

How Obama Must Sell his Recovery Plan

Mandate author, Angela Glover Blackwell examines President Obama’s pending Economic Recovery Plan on Salon.com.

Millions of Americans are suffering thanks to an economic crisis that shows no signs of letting up soon. Congressional stimulus proposals likely hold the key to our economic revival. Yet the debate over the bill is dominated by allegations about alleged pork and wasteful spending. At a time of national crisis and on the heels of a formidable electoral victory, why are President Obama and his congressional allies playing defense on the recovery?

Read the full article here.

Re-thinking Economic Models to Address Global Imbalance

Mandate author, John Cavanagh appeared on the Diane Rehm Show this morning to discuss the current Global Economic Crisis, its causes, and various proposals for economic stimulus and recuperation.

Listen to the segment online here:

http://wamu.org/audio/dr/09/01/r1090129-23955.asx