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Forward Progress

November 15, 2007

Electoral Landscape Still Promising for Democrats

Given the way American voters currently evaluate the two political parties and President Bush, 2008 has the makings of another good Democratic year.

In ’09, Democrats Would Test Appetite for Change

Just like Republicans say, if Democrats take control of both the White House and Congress in 2008, taxes will rise, government regulation will increase and domestic spending will grow.

Anemic Economy May Await New President

When Bill Clinton first ran for president in 1992, the economy was struggling to emerge from a jobless recovery, following a recession a year earlier. When George W. Bush was elected president eight years later, the economy was on the verge of another recession, this one brought on by the collapsing dot-com bubble. Do new presidents and nagging recessions go hand-in-hand? The current crop of White House contenders may find out in 2008, thanks to the slumping U.S. housing market, and the economic outlook for whoever wins the presidency is less than rosy.

Schwab: Exports Equal U.S. Growth

In the coming months, the Bush administration will work with Congress for the approval of free-trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama and Korea. These agreements are important to U.S. consumers and all Americans whose jobs in the agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors depend on export-led growth in the U.S. economy. The votes on these agreements, and other Congressional actions in the trade area, also present important tests of American global leadership and our commitment to freedom, democracy and the rule of law, the effects of which will extend well into the next administration.

Failure of Doha More Costly Than Compromise

The Doha round of world trade talks now is six years old. After a year of incremental advances, they have reached a point where the shape of a final deal is pretty much clear. The gaps to close are political as much as technical or economic. The timetable, as we enter the U.S. presidential election year, is tight. It is time to take a hard look at what is on the table so that we know what failure would mean.

Trans-Atlantic Ties Are in Need of Update

The trans-Atlantic relationship is still largely powered by a successful trade relationship that is often taken for granted because, by and large, it works pretty well. Despite the strong euro for most of this year, European exports to the United States have been robust and U.S. exports to the European Union are likely to increase considerably.

U.S., Chinese Interests May Converge on the Yuan

China-bashing has been a contact sport in the United States for some time now, but with the presidential election less than a year away, verbal attacks on the Asian giant are set to increase sharply. A slowing U.S. economy, weighed down by a housing slump and a credit crunch, will make consumers and businesses even surlier — a mood the presidential candidates, especially Democrats, will be eager to exploit.

‘Greening’ of Business Is More Than Just a Fad

It has become both fashionable and accepted as sound business practice for companies to be perceived as “going green.” However, as more and more companies announce their intentions to adopt “green” strategies, there is increasing speculation over the longevity of these “greening trends” and scrutiny about the actual environmental benefit derived from these actions.

Smaller Firms Are Suffering From Law

In 2002, Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, often referred to as SOX. The purpose of SOX was to restore investor confidence in the U.S. capital markets after several well-publicized corporate scandals rocked the investing world and left shareholders billions of dollars short.

Congress Went Too Far, Should Learn Its Lesson

Looking back at the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-204) reminds me of a typical practice of Congress — to do nothing or to overreact. In a reaction to a serious financial crisis, Sarbanes-Oxley was intended to bring reliable transparency to financial disclosures and instill confidence in the financial marketplace. At the time, it seemed like the proper and logical solution to prevent further corporate disasters, like Enron. However, five years later, we are still trying to untangle some of the unintended consequences of this legislation.

The Time Is Now for Universal Care

Almost every week, a new survey comes out showing once more how fundamentally worried the American people are about health care — and they are right to be worried. The basic indicators are heading in the wrong direction. Costs are going up and coverage is going down.

Information Technology Is Key to Health Policy

When I was a child, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a hero to our family. (I didn’t become a Republican until I was in law school, you see.) At the time of his death, he was the leader of the free world and the most prosperous country on earth. He had serious chronic diseases, including high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. The best that the heart specialist who saw him could recommend — the state of the art of the day — was bed rest and one medicine, digitalis, that was derived from plants and first used more than 100 years before.