Assignment #5 Williams A

The article entitled “Will: The Continuing Fall of Federalism” was posted on www.thestate.com on 2009 February 28. In this article, Senator Russ Feingold and John McCain are in agreement to change the 17th amendment of our Constitution. They want to change our government to run similar to Washington’s by letting the people elect candidates for open spots in the senate of their state. They both agree that only the people of that state should be allowed to put them there. In our present day, executives elect these people for us. George F. Will of the Washington Post was the one who wrote this article and he opposes their ideas completely. He states that we are enabling the father’s of our Constitution the rights to keep the original document. This is all being done by the progressives that are pushing to have this passed.
In my opinion, I do not think that the Constitution should be touched. I think that if it is touch that it should take a while and that there should be a lengthy process to have it changed and ratified. I also do not support this idea. The executives of each state are voted by us to be our representatives and we should trust their judgments. Free and Fair elections are displayed because we vote in our executives and this should be enough to say that we support them.

ASSIGNMENT#5(KMcClure-Vicars)

George F. Will a journalist for the Washington Post, wrote a very mindful article about the 17 Amendment. He writes in his article, "Will: The Continuing Fall of Federalism" about Senator Feingold wants a change in the constitution which I agree with. Also McCain is a sponsor of the change. They both state any seat vacant in the senate should be decided by the people instead of chosen by the executive of the state. Why shouldn’t the people vote for who is going to make critical decisions for their state? The only conflict for this change is Pluralism. But why wouldn’t anyone want a time consuming election to go on? Why would anyone want a quick election? I would think any political seating would want to have a time consuming process to make sure everything goes smoothly and to rule out any error.

F. Will is against this action of course he feels that the original founders are being pushed aside each and every day by these progressives. Of course there will be people who deviate away from the true structure and function of what the constitution means. I feel no threat in this action though. Now, I do disagree on the first Amendment in which Feingold and others that agree with him regulated. I feel that the effect that was changed gives more power to government and allows them to have more power in censoring freedom of speech. This article is directed to people who aren’t contemporary and who do not like change and change for the good I feel a free and fair election is most definitely stated by the framers of the constitution. So why shouldn’t there be fair election in decided who is senate?

Assignment #5- K. Stiling

"The Continuing Fall of Federalism" can be found on thestate.com.  The author, George Will, writes this article to talk about Sen. Russ Feingold and the 17th Amendment.  Feingold wants all of the US to be like Wisconsin, in the way that they elect their senators.  Midway through the article Will states, "Feingold says mandating election of replacement senators is necessary to make the Senate as 'responsive to the people as possible.'"  He then says that the House was made to be responsive and the Senate was made to be more deliberative.

Feingold would like for all 50 states to elect their senators just as Wisconsin and three other states are currently doing, but he wants it all to happen at once, because "state by state would be a long and difficult process."  Will concludes the article by saying that Feingold is and unapologetic progressive with more and more for which to apologize.

Assignment #5 A. Van Lieu

The article entitled, “Will: The continuing fall of federalism” was written by George F. Will of the Washington Post. This article was posted on posted on Sun, Feb. 22, 2009 on South Carolina’s Homepage: TheState.com. This article is directed to the general audience of the American people. This article was written to show that Feingold’s wants to amend the 17th Amendment. John McCain is also co-sponsor of Feingold’s solution. The 17th Amendment says that when Senate vacancies occur, “the executive authority” of the affected state “shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.” Feingold’s amendment says: “No person shall be a Senator from a State unless such person has been elected by the people thereof. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.”

Therefore the author’s main argument is the Feingold is trying to change the constitution. Will argues that the constitution should not be touched and he strongly disagrees with Feingold’s and McCain’s beliefs. The author makes it clear that the more the constitution is bothered with the more federalism will continue to fall. As stated in the title of this article it clearly states how the author is feeling. Personally, I agree with George F. Will and think that the constitution should not be touched in this matter. I think that there are some things in the constitution that could use minor changes or some additional add-ons as the year’s progress but this is not one of them.

Assignment #5 A Lucketta

The Article Will: the Continuing fall of Federalism, is a article wrote by George F. Will in The state.com. This article talks about the 17th Amendment saying, "That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct." As Wisconsin is doing something similar to this propose. Wisconsin will replace the Senate if someone gets appeal, instead of waiting six years for their people to vote during the election.

Why should this happen? We Americans waited in long lines anxious to vote this year. So why should our privileges be changed because of the seat in Senate being vacant? We should be able to put the person in the seat that has knowledge of what he/she is doing. What if the seat gets screwed up with some dummy that has no idea of what is going on? We do not need any more downfalls in the United States.

The Constitution should not be touched to much, it has great history that helped build the United States of America. The Constitution should have some add-ons or a few minor things should be changed not a whole bunch of this and that.

Assignment #5 pgriffin

This article was written by George F. Will , who is a writer for the Washington Post. The article appeared in The State newspaper. The article titled, "The continuing fall of federalism", was written in response to senator Russ Feingold wanting to amend the Constitution. Feingold and McCain have proposed the amending of the 17th Amendment. The article is targeting the American public and the congress in an attempt to say watch what is happening in our government.

The writer of this article, Mr. George F. Will does not agree with Mr. Feingold and Mr. McCain. Mr. Will argues that the Constitution is fine the way it is and that the way in which senators are replaced as their seats becomes vacant is just fine. Mr. Will argues that the more the Constitution is tampered with the more federalism continues to fall. What exactly is federalism you may ask? Well, it is defined as a structure of government whereby several independent states or other forms of geo-political entities come together in an agreement for common defense and other common interests. These entities remain independent but submit to an agreement to protect one another and to allow a federal government to regulate certain areas born out of necessity of a common union. Mr. Will seems to think that this is being eroded and that progressives like Mr. Feingold is using the Blagojevich-Burris fiasco to fuel the issue. I would agree that we need to have a better system of watching who is replacing who and why that particular individual was selected. I do not agree that we need to amend the Constitution to allow elections before the seat can be filled. I would need more information before I would change my mind.

Assignment #5 pgriffin

assignment # 5 by z.wright

The article, "The continuing fall of federalism" by George Will from the State newspaper is talking about the rise and the continuing fall of federalism. Sen. Russ Feingold said that he was reluctant to tamper with the document, basically some governors are acting real strange when appointing people to fill U.S senate vacancies, some governors are even putting U.S senate seats up for auction, charging people to get the seat, like the governor from Illinois charging people for President Barack Obama's former senate seat, but the 17th Amendment says "when Senate vacancies occur, “the executive authority” of the affected state “shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies".

The 17th Amendment also said that the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. So basically the governor has no power to fill the Senate seats without permission from the executive branch, Feingold said the holding a election is very necessary to have to make it easier so they will be any confusing.

And you can think the McCain-Feingold speech for empowering the government to regulate the quantity, timing and content of political speech. And with the 1st Amendment now in full effect which says That "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech unless it really, really wants to in order to guarantee that there will be only as much speech about the government as the government considers appropriate, and at times the government approves.”
This was written in order to prove that crime does not pay if you want to fill a vacant spot for a seat you should follow the rules, the audience was directed toward the governors who break the rules in trying to fill seats on their own, the agrument that the arthor wants to make is about the governors trying to break rules and about the fall of federalism

john thomas assign #5

this article appeared on the state.com, an SC online news outlet and was written by George F. Will. This article was written to bring attention to what the author believes is the potential of debilitation of federalism in our country. The author is passionately against this and is very upset with the actions of McCain-Feingold and wants all readers, particularly patriotic readers, to be informed at Feingold's desire at tampering with the constitution.

According to the writer, Feingold and McCain have a desire to amend the 17th amendment which he believes will rupture our lengthy policy of checks and balances and puts federalism in jeopardy.

I personally find myself lately believing that states have a bit too much power and seem to consistently fail in all types of arenas such as budget shortfall, corrupt appointing, and not really putting the people first. I tend now to lean towards that side that the states should be relinquished of their powers and have the federal government have more control over the entire country. my best comparison to this would be would pro sports like NFL and NBA do with collective bargaining. some teams (states) obviously aren't ran or perform as well as others. with collective bargaining (federal govt) we equally distribute the success and failure so that there is a balanced league (USA).

I also subscribe to the fact of never touching the constitution so I am against Feingold as well here. The more you pick at a thread the more it will unravel. I dont think this country can stand to have much more unraveling. our complex system of checks and balances seperates us from other countries and if we pick away at that, this country will quickly fail and crumble.

Assignment #4 KMcClure-Vicars

Monica Davey a journalist fo the NYTimes writes about the spending of the Stimulus packing. She explains the challenges Obamas stimulus package faces. States already have projects lined up but there are far more in the way of project that are ready to go than we have money to fund them, Kevin A. Elshenhimer a Republican state representative reminds. There are many conflicts dealing with the package and here is just a little taste of what is to be worried. How will the money be spent and distributed for example, conflict arose in Massachussests where mayor Michael D. Bissonnette, a council of mayors and other leaders there were outraged to understand that one state proposal would deliver millions to the Massachusetts Turnpike rather than local road and bridge projects.

Also, to make sure the package works it determins rather local and governments can work through rules and resolve the bickering. There is also fear on rather governors might try to dicate where the money goes. In my opinion of course govnerns are going to try to argue where the money should try to be spent you can not just hand billions of dollars and expect a state to be quiet about recieving the money. Their going to voice their opinions on their ideas about infrasturcture, medicade or education spending. I feel this whole package is sent out way to fast. only 48 hours to conjure up a plan and then sign it is not a very good way to deal with the issue. Mark Sanford, Soucth Carolina chairman of the Republican Governors Association makes a good point by saying , "for every job the bill creates, American taxpayers will spend $223,000." All in all Monica is writing an overview to everyone about what different states did to get ready for the money that was to be handed to them and also she explains the conflict that each state governors and legislatures, state capitols and city hall faces. There is no telling what will happen to our economy i can only hope for the best.

Assingment #4 J. Linton

The article was written by Monica Davey, who writes for the NYTimes. The audience that it is directed toward is the public that is willing to listen on what is happening to the economy. The basic argument that is trying to be implied is that President Obama's stimulus package was made to help out the economy. It will help many people get jobs. The jobs are vanishing and Obama is trying to bring the jobs back. The success of Obamas' plan will depend on the legislature, state, and governors. The way that they resolve their money issues while lifting the economy.

M.Stevenson Assignment # 4

This article the states and cities in scramble for stimulus cash by Monica Davey was published feb.16,09 in the new york times. I think the audience is the society because they were informing us about how the bill would work. She was also directing it to the public who are waiting to receive the stimulus check that is causing so many problems. It’s amazing how each state feels they need to compete with each other. We are all one which help make the United States. Yes, you may receive the money but there is a catch for going about this plan. Gov. Mark Stanford of South Carolina feels that this will only pull us deeper in the hole. Different governments and states need to work together instead of worrying about which states gets what and how much. The United States is becoming a bigger mess each day. We need to stop some of the things we are doing before we no longer have money to get food for groceries or jobs to provide our families.

Assignment #4 pgriffin

This article was written by Monica Davey who writes for the New York Times. The article was written in response to the signing of the stimulus package by President Obama and the passing of it by the US senate. Monica Davey was directing the article to the American public and the state and local governments who are waiting to receive the stimulus checks.

Moncia Davey was not making an argument but was trying to inform the governmental agency and the American public to the fact that the money comes with strings attached to it. South Carolina governor Stanford said he may not accept the money at all because it puts the American people into a deeper deficit than before. The state and local governments are already arguing over who gets what and it has not received the money as of yet. It seems as if the stimulus is causing problems and it has not reached the people it is intended to help. State governments are talking about changing their budgets in order to get a bigger piece of the pie. The county is in a mess and it will take more than a stimulus package to fit the mess. Only God and true faith in Him and His power will change and save a dying America.

Assignment # 4 B.Rohner

Monica Davey wrote an article entitled "States and Cities Angle for Stimulus Cash". This article appeared in The New York Times on February 16, 2009. This article was written to informed people that there is a lot to still due in the local and state governments before the money from president Obama's stimulus package can be spent.

Everyone has plans for the money to be given out but there are many rules and regulations that have to be met first. Political leaders are worried about how much will be received by each state, county, and town. They are looking over the package to see where their constituents stand. They worry that because their state is not advanced or populated as others they will lose some of their funding to other more advanced or populated states.

Some legislators do not agree with this stimulus package and are considering not taking any of the funds. They are worried about the cost to pay it back. They are trying to decide if their states can continue without this assistance. I don't see how we will be able to continue on without it.

Assignment # 4 D DeWitt

States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash by Monica Davey writer of the New York Times
suggests in her writings that the stimulus package is causing chaos amongst governors, legislatures, state capitols, city halls, and municipalities. Her argument reveals the disbursement of funds comes with complex rules from the White House, and she reflects on how much of the spending will rest with officials from the Washington. Monica directs her attention to the locals, the American people keeping us aware of what really is going on behind the scenes of the Stimulus Package.

Although the Package has passed we must be aware of the confusion that may cause delay and no action, which is scary considering America is heading down a downward spiral. Many of the politicians argue they will not receive the proper funds; therefore, they are competing against other states in concern if their city is the smallest or the largest: will they come up short of receiving a greater portion of funds. We must stop this and come together at this most crucial time in America's history an instead of arguing come together collectively with bipartisanship and create a plan that will most of all create jobs in their state, city, and town.

I am most pleased with the Administrations task and I feel that every governor that can help their citizens should. What is most horrible is that Governor Sanford is not willing to take South Carolina to the next level. We are already in a deficit and South Carolina State has lost so many jobs the unemployment rate is high. HE MUST CARE! WE MUST CARE! stop the confusion and work together

assignment #4 C. Robinson

This article was written by Monica Davey, reporter for the New York Times. I believe this article was written for American citizens (taxpayers), to inform them on how the stimulus package will end up effecting our economy and how some of their tax money will be spent. "It is expected to set off a multitude of political battles across the map", stated Davey. The article also mentions the effect it will have on state needs such as roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects.
I believe the stimulus package will help our economy but I disagree with some of the things Obama is giving money toward. I think more money should be given for education and improving schools. I hope our president will use the money to bail out successful companies instead of companies that have never been successful.
I conclude this blog by saying that the basic argument of the article is what the whole country has been arguing about since Obama became president, whether or not he is doing the right thing and using tax money for the right reasons.

Assignment #4 AHarrison

The article entitled States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash was written by a Monica Davey. The item appeared online and in print, as part of The NYTimes. The item was written to showcase the many different pros and cons and opinions regarding Obama's (then) forthcoming stimulus plan. And, the item is directed towards any interested American. But, being that the NYTimes famously maintains a mostly liberal base for its audience, it could be that mostly liberals will read it.

The basic argument of this article seems to be that although the stimulus plan is meant for great things (in theory), it is only as great as the goals that it was created for. In other words, it is not full-proof, especially in-terms of how the politicians agree to use it (if they can agree at all). And, unless some compromises can be made, it may well turn out to be useless. Then, there is the other side of the argument (which is primarily republican-based), which includes those people in power who are mostly concerned with the effect the stimulus plan would have on taxes, as opposed to whatever benefits it may include. Therefore, it is clear that much of the disagreement in regards to the stimulus plan is partisan based. Hopefully though, in the end, there turns out to be something in there fore everyone!

Assignment #4 K.Sanders

This article was written by Monica Davey, with contributing reporting from Robbie Brown, Michael Cooper, David M. Herszenhorn and Robert Pear. It was printed in the New York Times on February 16th, 2009. This article was written with the general public in mind, but also the states specifically mentioned in the piece: Massachusetts, North and South Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Minnesota. I think this article was written to enlighten Americans about the issues within the different states of deciding what to do with the stimulus package and how much money the states will get.

Davey talks a lot about how this stimulus package will pit different organizations against each other, whether they be governors against mayors, urban schools against suburban and rural schools, or even the legislators against the governors. These clashes will result in a delay of spending and a loss of money in some states. This delay in spending works against the purpose of the stimulus package. Also the loss of money in some states is caused by not having a plan for the money because of a difference in opinion about what the money should be used for as well as whether or not the state should use the money at all.

Assignment #4 M.Gardner

The article "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," was written by Monica Davey. The article appeared in the New York Times on Feburary 16th. The article was directed toward all American citizens and acknowledging those who are interested in the uproar of the Stimulus Package. Davey explains how many have already started planning how they will spend the funds that they receive.
Davey argues that not only will this bill cause chaos amongst different states but will put a strain on the states that deseparately need the funds. However, with all of the chaos amongst who's getting what, may in fact backfire for those who have already mapped out their plans for the funds. In all of the dispute of who is getting what, many have decided not to receive any of the funds based on their beliefs, even when they know their will consequences to be fixed in the long run.

Assignment#4 T.Whiteaker

The article “States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash” was written by Monica Davey, a writer for the New York Times. It was published in the New York Times on February 16th. The article targets all of Americans because it deals with our current economic crisis that this entire country faces.
The article focuses on state and local government officials and how they plan to spend the money they will receive because of the new Stimulus deal. There is a great debate on who and how much everyone will get and what they will be spending it on. Some states have already mapped out how they will spend it and others are thinking about not taking the money at all. This package seems to help fix up local issues and create more jobs. However, it seems there may not be a conclusion on where the money is going for some time to come.

Article #4; Christy Rasmussen

"States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" by Monica Davey of the New York Times wrote this article in response to President Obama's stimulus package that was to be signed this past Tuesday in Chicago, Illinois.

In this article, Davey brings up many good points to his stimulus package. The amount of money released with this stimulus package is the biggest amount of money since LBJ's Great Society program. With this amount of money also comes many disputes on the state, local, and federal levels. This money however is not freely given, with it comes many restrictions. It provides battlegrounds for political fights. This money has to be divided between schools, roads and infrastructures, and medicaid. Many states are cutting back on what seems to be the most important things... this worries many people because it is going to hurt schools and those who are on medicaid.

I find it interesting that Davey also included something from Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina. He thinks that the stimulus package is a crock. In the State Newspaper he says, it's a pork-barrel spending and bad policy and vowing that he will not take any of the money from Washington.

Also for every job that the package creates, it cost $223,000 to American taxpayers. This is interesting considering the fact that it is supposed to help people by creating jobs and such but then it turns around costs the ones in America who are stable. I found it interesting to know that if the stimulus bill were a country, it would be the 15th largest country in the world. This information really puts the crisis in a perspective that virtually everybody can come to understand. We have got to unite as a country and do something about this crisis or we are slowly going to migrate into another "great depression."

assignment#4 H. VanDyke

This article was written by a woman named Monica Davey who is a writter for the New York Times. The article is entitled States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash. The article was written towards a general audience and anyone who may be unfamiliar with how the stimulus package works. Also who is going to recieve what dollar amounts and for what purposes the stimulus money will be spent on. This article touched on alot of things regarding the stimulus package but mainly was about how some governers and state legislators either disagree with the stimulus package completely or how they cannot agree on how to spend the money. Also arguments between states that have and states that do not as far as education spending is concerned.
there are many arguments concerning the Stimulus package and how the money should be divided up and what to use the money for. Michael D. Bissonnette, a mayor for the town of Chicopee, Mass. says "There is a tension happening between mayors and governors across the country how about who is going to recieve what dollar amounts and for what purposes." thisn is the main argument in the article. Also the author points out another argument by saying that states want the money so bad that they are going to find themselfs competing against other states for the right to have the money. One example of this the author points out is the situation in North carolina where the state does does not have a deficit. A spokesperson for Governor Bev Purdue of North Carolina said "We dont want to be penalized for not having a deficit." Meaning that she does not want to see the money promised to NC go to another state that may need the money more. There are also critics of the stimulus package all together, such as governor Mark Sanford of SC he says "For every job the bill creates, american taxpayers will spend 223,000" and that that could lead to a deficit of 9.7 trillion dollars. This is a big political decision for him and i think that it will backfire on him because the state of SC needs the stimulus money desperately.
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Assignment #4 C. Vigeant

The article “States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash” was written by Monica Davey, a journalist and reporter for the New York Times. Four other reporters contributed information to this article. It appeared on the front page of the New York Times on February 16th 2009. The New York Times is a nationally distributed daily newspaper, based in New York City. It is the largest metropolitan newspaper in the country. On political and social issues the NY Times is liberal leaning. The article is targeted at the American public, especially at anyone who is interested in politics and the current economical crisis.

“States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash” was written to show the reader that no consensus has been reached amongst and within the states as to how the stimulus money should be used. The author’s main point is that some states have already made plans for spending the money, whereas others are still arguing about whether to take it at all. Also, within the states, there is considerable debate between state and local governments centered on more specific issues, such as which infrastructure improvements to use the funds for and which parts of the state to give them to. Some states without looming deficits are worried about not receiving funds for certain areas at all, and others are revising their budgets to ensure eligibility for certain funds. It is evident that the debate will not come to an end any time soon.

Assignment #4 Williams A

The article entitled “States and cities scramble for stimulus Cash” written by Monica Davey in the New York Times, explains how this stimulus is going to help our economy slightly. I can see where she is coming from. Even though there will be conflict between local politicians, governors, and small-town mayors, the decision on spending the $787 billion federal plan will still be set by officials in Washington.
As stated in the article, the money will be spent on bridge projects, road and infrastructure projects. Some states have more than “5,000 ready to go projects,” they just need the money. My question is, is what does ready to go mean? Does that mean that they are going to demand more tax dollars from taxpayers because once they have started it, they must complete it? The idea that I do not understand at all is Mr. Sanford stated that “It will come down to whether extra money will be spent to save the jobs of a teacher or firefighter.” This is the scary part because how can our economy get better if the students in school are not given fair chances. Some things in life just do not make since, and to me this is one of them.

Assignment #4- K. Stiling

Monica Davey writes "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash" for the New York Times on February 16, 2009.  The article is mainly about the money the states will receive from the stimulus package and how they will spend it. There is a lot of strife and tension between government officials who are trying to decide how to spend the money and how much will be used for certain projects.  According the article, the state authorities will have great discretion on state needs like roads, bridges, infrastructure projects, Medicaid, and education.

This article also mentions some down-sides to the stimulus package for specific states.  Mentioned is North Carolina and Arkansas, who might receive less money for education, just because they don't have a shortfall in their education budgets right now.  Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bev Perdue of North Carolina says, "We don't want to be penalized for not having a deficit."  It could be the same for Rhode Island in the area of alternative energy, simply because they do not have many sources dedicated to wind power, and therefore may not receive as much money to try and expand that area.

Assignment #4 DSinatra

Monica Davey wrote this article that appeared in the New York Times on February 16. This was the day before President Obama was to sign the newly passed stimulus bill. It was written, I believe, to show all of us that if we thought the struggle to get the bill passed in the first place was tough, we haven't seen anything yet.

How to dispurse the funds from the stimulus bill is proving to be a seemingly larger obstacle than actually passing the bill. There are struggles between states, between counties, between cities, and even between local municipalities over who gets what out of the stimulus funds. And as if that's not enough, we even see politicians that are right out refusing to accept the so desperately needed funds because of their supposed strong conservative beliefs. I guess those politicians really don't care that even though we don't accept the funds (and therefore don't reap any of the benefits from them) we're still responsible to help pay it back. How fair is that???

Assignment #4 A Lucketta

In the article, "States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash," by Monica Davey (a writer for NY Times), has gone in great detail with how the states want to spend the funds the states receive.

This article is wrote to the United States citizens to let us know how most states want to spend their stimulus money. In Missouri, it is prepared to begin 34 transportation projects, costing $510 million and promising 14,000 jobs. In Florida, Mayor Frank C. Ortis says, "We have a wish list, making the repairs aging sewer pipes in his city of 150,000 number one." In South Carolina, Governor Mark Sanford thinks this is the worst idea to do. He says, "If we add the cost of this bill to the previous efforts of the Federal government to deal with the financial crisis the American taxpayer is on the hook for $9.7 trillion. Sanford also said, "If the stimulus bill were a country, it would be the 15th-largest country in the world.” It should not matter how big of a deal this stimulus package is, this package is suppose to help the Economy come up and out. It will be great-great grand children paying off the debt.

American society is already falling off the cliff, Obama just wants to make things better and efficient so America can have the jobs and better technology to improve in the future and climb great distance.

assignment #4 by z.wright

The article States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash by Monica Davey from New York Times is basically talking about states and major cities trying to recover from these 8 years from a horrible economy, Missouri for example; the Department of Transportation says that within 180 days of Obama’s signing the legislation it is prepared to begin 34 transportation projects, costing $510 million and with the promise of 14,000 jobs. and when President Obama sign this big stimulus bill in Denver this will be the biggest flux of the feds money since the times of former president Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program and this bill will help out millions of jobless citzens in america.

But some are guessing was this a good idea, Gov. Mark Sanford of S.C. is against the bill, saying that it as pork-barrel spending and bad policy and vowing to the anger and chagrin of the Democratic members of the state’s Congressional delegation not to take any of the money from Washington. Alot of senators, and governors do not think signing this bill is putting us in bigger debt than ever, but i feel that this going to be the begining of the end of this economy suffering, but wanting to put money towards the war that should of been over, doesn't make any sense to me at all, instead of trying to put Obama down and making him into a bad president, we should try to help him.

The reason why this article was written, is because these senators and governors want to make a statement saying why they do approve of this bill being passed and what it should really be put towards to. This is pointed towards the President, because they are giving him a hard time with this bill. The basic argument that the arthor is trying to make is about this bill being passed, talking bout state budgets and why some say that this bill could destory are nation.

Assignment #4 A.Van Lieu

The article titled “States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash” was written by Monica Davey of the NYTimes. This article is directed to the American people interested in knowing the details about the stimulus package. Monica Davey wrote this article to inform people about the stimulus package that President Obama will be signing. Davey stated that “This event will release the biggest influx of federal dollars since the days of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program.” Therefore this stimulus package has a lot of people’s attention and is causing a scuffle between governors and legislatures, state capitols and city halls, and even between neighboring municipalities.

The reason tension exists between mayors and governors across the country is because they want to known who is going to receive what dollar amounts and for what purposes. The main argument that Davey is trying to make in this article is that states are going to jockeying for money over other states. For example, “states without enough eligible “shovel-ready” construction projects might have to pass up some money, which could then be granted to other states” as stated by Michael Bird, a policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures. So who is to say where the money will go? What will the money be spent on? And who determines the necessity of the money for one thing over another? The main argument Davey has made in this article is that hopefully Obama can divvy up this money enough to make a difference in not some states but in most states.

john thomas assign #4

this article was written by Monica Davey for the NY Times. the audience this article is trying to reach is everyone in America who wants to know just how and where the stimulus money will be spent. The article is coming from a left wing perspective and written in a left wing media outlet as well. The point of the argument is that states are going to be jockeying for money over other states and this process will most likely trickle down to the local level as well.

The fact of the matter is that for the stimulus money, the line forms to the left with every governer and mayor with their hand out, or both hands out. The end result is likely going to be that everyone is going feel shortchanged on this money. 787, even if equally distributed by 50 states is only 15.4 billion per state, then you need to see how the state would likely distribute that down per city/town.etc... Now, equality of distribution is wishful thinking and wont happen so let that go, that means some states (yes the bigger more revenue providing states, FL, CA, TX, NY etc...) will probably see the strongest percentage of this money. Is that right, wrong? who is to say I guess.

This mystery of distribution should and hopefully will be spelled out from jump street. If you tell people what to expect from the get go you are more likely to have a positive and more orderly result. The money should be first slated toward the states with the highest unemployment first. Most of these states with 10% plus unemployment have seen job loss in the areas of manufacturing, a working infrastructure in this country that is quickly going out like a light and will never return. It would be a good thing to invest in education for alot of these workers, maybe a free 2 yr college plan like so many politicians advertised in their electoral ploys last fall. This will help educate the uneducated, a sector of our population that has relied on manufacturing jobs to put food on the table for decades now. With menial jobs no longer being a scapegoat, maybe then we will stop letting other countries catch up to us and eventually surpass us in an educated workforce and innovation. Lets hope that the president does a good job on divying up the pie so that the right and most key elements of our injured workforce gets to eat.

Assignment #3 T. Whiteaker

Madison Powers who works for the CQ Today Online News recently wrote an article titled "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package". Mr. Powers is a scholar at Georgetown University. This article was written for the citizens of the United States interested about the new economic package. Powers writes about the new stimulus package proposed by our government in Washington, and the trade-offs that have to be made.The stimulus package is a plan to help the economy problems this country currently faces. The people need to be assured this plan will work so that we can start to spend money again and in return create more jobs. The author also believes that we should help the small local businesses instead of the large ones. Hopefully, this plan helps us get back on our feet and we can get back to where we once were.

Assignment #3 D DeWitt

Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package by Madison Powers, of CQ Guest Columnist
Is written to show the difference of what the republicans are willing to offer the Democratics. In our new America we are having to do a trade off . A trade-off is exactly what it says, it giving something for something else. In other words, it is the Big compromise that the Senate and House recently Passed. She is bringing forth the offsets of the compromise. How it will effect our America.

According to her language in the article she is capturing the audience of those in the Marketing field as well as the audience who is looking to invest and receive more knowledge about the Stimulus Package. Therefore, in her writing she illustrates the fact that the stimulus plan may be in a form of falsehood for the American people to believe. this package will be carried out really as a watered down package. The new job creation, which is the new infrastucture has went from 4.6 jobs to 3.2.

However, I must say that the President Obama can only do what he can because the house and senate chose to watered the package down. Therefore, He did what he said.

Assignment #3 M.Gardner

"Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package," is an article written by Madison Powers, a CQ Guest Columnist. The article appeared onthe CQ Politics website on Feburary 4th 2009. The article was written for the American people to know what economic crisis we are facing and his thoughts on what needs to be done for the Stimulus package to be passed. The basic arguement Powers is making, is how two trade off of special significance should be in debate. He explains that goals of efficiency and a balance of infrastructure should be taken into effect for the stimulus package to be passed.

Assignment #3 AHarrison

The article entitled Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package was written by CQ guest columnist, Madison Powers. And, the article first appeared on the gqpolitics.com website (in the CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS section), on Febuary 4TH, 2009. The aim of the article is to discuss the various trade-offs involved in legeslative decisions, particularly regarding economics. This article, as-well as all other articles published by CQ, is directed towards a politicaly-minded audiance, including those actually in political fields (i.e. members of Congress, etc.). Political scholars and teachers also constitute the typical audiance-members for whom this article is directed torwards.

Throughout the article, Powers tries to make a point of how the patterns to create change may actually be changing (or need to be). Hence, the basic argument Powers wants to make is that whereas in the past, political leaders had ascribed to the idea that change happens in a big way, in big doses, maybe now the opposite is true. For example, at one point in the article, Powers states, "Oddly enough, the multiple dimensions of the problems we face may require us to think small and act in hundreds or even thousands of undramatic ways." In other words, the author is urging the readers to be more detail-oriented and conscientious, when figuring solutions. At another point in the article, the author states, "Thinking small is a hard sell, especially after we were exhorted to dream of big things of lasting significance. But a diffuse approach to patching up many smaller leaks, unsexy and uninspiring as it is, is precisely what some economists think of as a new paradigm for spurring growth in developing nations." Therefore, it is clear from this article that even change, in essence, is not free from flaw. Thus, the methods to create change are in need of changing. And, that is the entire point.

Assignment #3 J. Linton

The "Trade-Offs in the Stimilus Package" was written by Madison Powers. The article appeared in the CQ Today online news. The article was written to explain the trade-off stimilus to balance the economic situation. Also to help with the equity-efficiency of the trade-off. The audience that it is addressing is the general public to inform them in the stimilus package on the trade-offs. The basic argument that is made is that their is no perfect trade-off to balance the economy and the government are trying to find ways to make better the system.

ASSIGNMENT#3 (KMcClure-Vicars)

Madison Powers, a columnist for the CQ Guest, wrote an article, “Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package.” Powers is writing Trade-Offs to inform the general public about how there must be a balance, or equity of interests in the drafting of the new stimulus package which President Obama intends to sign into law this coming week. According to Powers, during the writing of the legislation there has been partisan conflict over where the estimated nearly $1 trillion should go. Most Republicans who oppose the bill claim that it is mainly a goody bag of Democrat programs such as increasing welfare, to please their constituents. There has been much debate over where this recovery money should go; most agree that we want the biggest bang for each buck of government expenditure, which leads to the second debate in the writing of the stimulus package.
Many politicians cannot be certain whether we should only spend the money on large infrastructure projects or a combination of other programs that will stimulate the economy. It seems that no one is certain because some economists say that by increasing food stamps, unemployment benefits, and even giving money to local and state governments could be just as economically stimulative as undergoing large infrastructure projects which may yield as much as $1.75 in profit for every government dollar invested in the stimulus. Lastly, I believe that our Congress must unite on a common goal or purpose to accomplish what is in the best interests of our nation, whether it be by investing in large infrastructure projects or small pet projects to boost the American economy.

assignment#3 H.VanDyke

This article was titled Trade-offs in the Stimulus Package and was written by Madison Powers who is a CQ guest columnist and is a senior research scholar at the Kennedy Institute of ethics at Georgetown and writes for CQ politics. This article was about the economic stimulus package that president Obama has put forth and talks about the competing legislation involving trade-offs and whether to balance the two ideas that the author Madison Powers sugest in the article. This article was written to a general audience to make certain the american people know both sides of the debate invoving trade offs in the stimulus package and what they are about.
The author Madison powers says in the article "One trade-off is between goals of efficiency and the ideals of equity. the second is the need to strike a balance between infrastructure and other activities that also stimulate economic growth." I think that he means first whether it is fair to be fair to all people or to be more efficient with regards to spending money. Another point that was made in the article was that some people want a more widespread recovery and others want " Our spending priorities to yeild a greater amount of economic activity". One other thing that was said in the article was that the author posed a question saying " do we make sure that all boatbes dont sink than to create a rising tide that will lift all boats" i think that he is saying do we save what we can now or do we fix the problem so that it will not happen again. the downside would be that future generations would be in a lot of debt.

Assignment #3 B.Rohner

Madison Powers wrote an article for the CQ Today Online News entitled "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package", on February 4, 2009. Mr. Powers is the Senior Research Scholar for the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. This article was written for every citizen of this country wondering what is going on with the economy. In this article the author talks about the stimulus package set forth by president Barrack Obama, and the trade-offs that have to be figured in to the decisions made.The stimulus package needs at least two trade-offs for this package to work.

First the stimulus package needs to help people be secure in the economy enough to start spending money. If the people of this country don't spend money then most of our other citizens will lose their jobs. Second the package has to make the economy of this country able to stand on its own after the package runs its course. The author goes on to talk about how it may be better to start the reform by helping more smaller businesses then a few large ones. Thinking small as he calls it may be the only way to do this. I believe he has a point. I believe building an economy is like building anything, if you make the base of something strong it will be able to support more.

Assignment #3 A. Van Lieu

The article entitled "Trade-offs in the stimulus package" was written by Madison Powers. Madison Powers is a CQ guest columnist who wrote this article for the Congressional Quartrerly Politics website on feburary 4, 2009. This article was directed towards the general audience of the American citizens and the United States congress. Powers wrote this article in order to express his thoughts on the economic crisis we are facing and the debate for the stimulus package to be passed.

The basic argument the author is trying to make is that congress has been delaying passing the stimulus package. As stated in Powers article he mentions "One trade-off is between goals of efficiency and ideals of equity. The second is the need to strike a balance between infrastructure and other activities that also stimulate economic growth." Powers mentioned that the stimulus package cost 1 trillion dollars but it is hard for the majority of people to learn how to spend our money wisely. Therefore there is the question circulating on whether or not congress will agree to pass the stimulus package even though it will really help the people of america.

Assignment #3 K.Sanders

This article was written by Madison Powers, a guest columnist for the CQ Politics online news website. It was posted on February 4th, 2009, on the CQ Politics website. It was written to explain some of the trade-off issues dealing with the new stimulus package. I think this article was written to a general audience, that being the American people, to try to help them understand what is going on with the debates on the stimulus package. It was also written, I think, with the legislators in mind, to try to get them to see the trade-offs in a new light.

Powers talks about two important trade-offs in particular: the need to balance between equity and efficiency and the need to “balance between infrastructure and other activities that also stimulate economic growth.” Powers seems to be fairly neutral when explaining the equity–efficiency trade-off, saying that “we want our spending priorities to yield a greater amount of economic activity per dollar of cost than the alternatives,” while on the other side we want the policies to be fair. When he moves on to the issue of balancing infrastructure and secondary programs, Powers seems to take the side of helping more of the extra programs with the stimulus package than infrastructure. He explains that many of the programs, if aided, would have returns similar to the big infrastructure programs. Helping the smaller programs might be the smartest thing right now, “to prop up the solvency of state budgets and with it, their bond creditor confidence, shore up vulnerable pension funds, keep basic local services and jobs intact, rebuild the economic safety net, and invest in any number of other diffuse things.” Doing this might help prevent these items from failing and causing further damage to the economy.

Assignment #3 Williams A

The article entitled "Trade-offs stimulus package was posted on www.cqpolitics.com on 2009 February 4. It was written by Madison Powers, the weekly columnist of Congressional Quartrerly Politics website.

Powers wrote this article to the audience of America. He is trying to encourage us while informing us with what is going on in our world today. It is true that our economy is in an economic crisis, and we are looking for all the hope we can, but America wants a big bang for our money. The purpose of proposing this package is to offer America some type of hope. Personally, i know that it is not going to work but i have my reasons why i believe the way i do. As we look at our economy if the government could get out of being comfortable and feel the pain of the world, things would turn around and the world would change dramatically.

Assignment #3 C. Vigeant

The article “Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package” was posted on the Congressional Quarterly Politics website on February 4th, 2009. CQ Politics is a free website published by Congressional Quarterly, an independent media organization covering Congress. The author of the article is Madison Powers, a CQ guest columnist, whose column appears weekly on CQ Politics. He is Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. He has co-authored two books, as well as written a host of articles on ethical issues in journals and books.

The article is directed at people who are interested in finding ways to solve the economic crisis. This includes politicians on either side of the political spectrum, as well as business leaders, academic professionals and interested citizens. It was written to convince the readers that a diversified approach to solving the current crisis is most appropriate. The author’s main point is that a paradigm shift is needed to solve problems. He argues that efficiency in maximizing economic activity and fair and equitable policies are not mutually exclusive. Both can be achieved if our focus shifts from a narrow set of solutions of primarily big-scale infrastructure investments and tax cuts to a multifaceted approach focusing on many smaller, equity oriented programs. Powers believes that the multiplier effect for these smaller projects can be bigger than the effect the sole reliance on tax cuts and infrastructure programs would have.

k. Stiling Assignment 3

Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package was written by Madison Powers, on cqpolitics.com.  The article is mainly about two trade-offs that are main factors of the stimulus package.  The first trade-off is between equity and efficiency, the ideals of equity and the goals of efficiency, as stated in the article's fourth paragraph.  

Powers talks about the multiplier effect, the amount of money spent by the government leads to greater national income, but also talks about our policies being equitable.  Which is the second part of the trade-off, but "Equity is thus seen as bound up with long-term stability and growth."  Powers then adds that others are arguing that "equity is not something we can afford at this critical moment."

In the second part of his article, Powers writes about how the new deal may not be exactly what we think of when we think of the term 'new deal'.  He states that things such as unemployment benefits, increased availability of food stamps, and aid to local and state government budgets could have as much multiplier effect as infrastructure investments.  

Assingment #3 A Lucketta

Trade-offs in the Stimulus Package, wrote by Madison Powers, a CQ Guest Columnist. This article was wrote to let the American people know what is going on, and to the Congress, saying hey Congress why can't we pass this Stimulus package, when y'all can spend thousands, to millions of dollars on big corporations with great bonuses and such. This package is suppose to balance and be able to keep America thriving for great expectations. Taxes should be at different tax levels or keep balance between the rich and poor. America wants to get a big bang out of our money

Stimulus package would have never gotten this way if jobs were not outsourcing, laying off people and such. If Americans still had their great paying jobs America would be climbing higher than expected. It's hard for people to think cheap and smart, trying to spend the dollar wisely.

The Stimulus package has been a great pass in House and Senate is still (trying to push it away) ignoring it. If they can pass the first Stimulus package with Bush, then why not go ahead and pass this one for Obama? We can't dig the hole any deeper.

Assignment #3 DSinatra

Madison Powers, a guest columnist for CQ Politics, wrote this article. It was posted on cqpolitics.com on February 4. I believe this article is directed at our legislators that have been hammering out the details of the stimulus package.

In the battle for balancing efficiency with equity in this stimulus, Madison is trying to provide some focus on what seems to have been a free-for-all on both sides of the aisle. Yes, there is no doubt this package needs to be huge. Nobody's happy about that, but its the reality of what is needed to get us out of this recession. However, according to Madison, perhaps the focus shouldn't just be on infrastructure and other big projects. There is a need to look at smaller projects, and to help the "little man"-for possibly a much bigger return in the long run.

assignment # 3 by z.wright

Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package by Madison Powers, from cq politics got my attention on the trade-offs in the Stimulus Package, the way congress has been acting lately about this stimlus package is crazy and doesn't make any sense at all, if they can bail out Wall Street, and these big corparate banks then they should have no problem trying to pass this bill, even though im sure these pass couple months has been crazy, but just think how this package will help the economy if this bill passes, it will not only help out citzens with personal things, it will also help out our jobless economy.

The Republican critics charge that the House plan has become a grab-bag of items that meet a pent-up Democratic demand for pet programs for core political constituencies, even though the democratics want a $ 1 trillion package to pass, but this could be a great start for Obama's first term, doing Bush's first term all he was worried about was catching a terrorist that had nothing to do with who we was actually going after and giving billions and billions of dollars to the war, they wasn't complaining then, now all of sudden we are crying over a package that can help out our country.

The reason it was written because the arthor wants to make a point about this stimulus bill that is trying to be passed that is having a hard time, the audience it is directed towards to is congress because they are being big babies about the bill, the basic argument the arthor is making is of course the bill is $ 1 trillion, but this is a time in this world you got to get it how you live, because times is hard and we need this package passed, not for congress but for people trying to get jobs and get there life back on track.

Assignment #2 C. Vigeant

The article “Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t” appeared in The State which is South Carolina’s daily state newspaper out of Columbia. It has a daily circulation of over 100,000 and is the largest newspaper in SC. The article was posted on the newspapers’ website in the opinion section on January 22nd, 2009. It was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe, who is the associate editor of The State. Cindi Ross Scoppe was born in Burlington, NC and studied Journalism and Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining The State she worked for several North Carolina newspapers. She has received the Gonzales Award for her editorials on video poker in SC and was named Journalist of the Year in 1999 by the SC Press Association.

The article is targeted at citizens of South Carolina who are concerned about the state of the economy and the budget crisis facing SC. The articles’ purpose is to convince the readers that the choices the government has to make are not clear cut and that solutions to the current crisis aren’t easy to find. The author makes this point by comparing and contrasting the government with families and businesses. Scoppe explains that while families can make decisions based on what is good for them individually, the government doesn’t have that same luxury. Government has to make decisions based on what is best for all of society. She argues that therefore the solutions which work for families will not necessarily serve the common good. She stresses that there aren’t any easy answers.

Assignment #3 pgriffin

This article titled "Trade-Offs in the Stimulus Package" was written by Madison Powers, who is Senior Research Scholar at Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. Powers column appears weekly in CQ Politics. Powers wrote this article in response to the Stimulus Package President Obama has proposed. It has passed the House of Representative and is now in the hands of the Senate. Powers seems to be targeting three audiences, the American public, the legislative body and the President Obama. Powers seems to be trying to inform the American public and challenge the legislative and executive body.

Powers basic argument was like most editors who wrote about the American economy that it is bad shape. Powers believes like some of the editor who wrote about the mess the economy is in is that there is no easy way out of the economic downturn slash depression America finds itself in. Powers believes there are two special significances in the debate over the stimulus package. One is the goal of efficiency and the other is ideals of equity. Powers said efficiency has to do with increasing aggregated economic activity, which means they want our spending priority to yield a greater amount of economic activity per dollar. Powers also believes the stimulus package must be equitable or fair. Powers believes because the economic system has been unfair to some, namely the poor and middle class, some have an unequal ability to weather the economic storm than others.

The argument among economist is that now is not the time to think about fairness or equity but about keeping all from sinking, instead of making sure all will be lifted up. Powers also questions whether or not there are enough big infractured projects and suggest that maybe America needs to stop thinking big and start thinking small. Powers continues that thinking small will be a hard sell because Americans are taught to dream big. Powers said that is precisely what some economist think of as the new paradigm for spurring growth especially in developing nations. Powers, like President Obama and New York Times editor Friedman, believe this time calls for radical ideas, radical change and radical individuals to carry out this radical new way. May God help us all, because it will get worse before it gets better.

john thomas assign #3

this article was written by Madison Powers, a columnist for CQ politics, an online news outlet. this heavily educated article was written to people (probably those of only higher education could really understand) whom are in the dark the current stimulus plan and what exactly the trade offs of the stimulus are.

The writer's basic argument is about the 2 most important and debated trade offs of the stimulus deal and their need to eliminate them both as best as possible before the deal passes through. The writer is informing people whom are unsure what the package really consists of just what to expect from it in the short term and in the long run. She is also explaining how both sides are struggling on how to get the most bang for the buck on the return and getting as close to a dollar return near that of a 2:1 ratio.

The stimulus deal is extremely complex and long, its almost twice the size of "War and Peace." Most Americans are in the dark as to what this package does and most importantly, how will it affect us individually and exactly how surefire is this deal? We can only hope that this is the savior it is advertised to be unfortunately.

Assignement #2 *M.Stevenson

The article "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't", was written by the associate editior on janurary 22,2009. This was found on the south carolina state website. The audience that the writer was trying to catch was directed to the south caroilna people. The article basically talks about how

Assignment#2 M.Gardner

The article titled, "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't," was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe. The article appeared on the website, www.thestate.com on Janurary 22, 2009. The article was written to discuss the decison making of the government, as well as, families and businesses. The article also points out the difference in the government spending and the family and businesses as well. Scoppe directed the article to the general population of South Carolina and any one else who is interested in today's finanical problems.

The article was written to make the public aware of the pro and cons of every decision made by the government within the state. She also states that the decisions that are made are not distinguished as simple. The basic argument of this articles is that Scoppe however believes that the government should have all respect in doing what is right for the citizens first. Scoope however has the knowledge of knowing that all questions that are ask, can not be easily answered especially dealing with government spending as well as the families and businesses.

Assignment #2;; Christy Rasmusen

In "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't", Cindi Ross Scoppe brings up a good point. She is writing this article in response to the many letters she has recieved from families and businesses. They all want to know why the government does things one way when there seems to be a better and more fair way to do it, Scoppe says that these people have to understand that the government has to implement the actions not the people so there is really nothing they can but bring the issues to the table and make them known. This article appeared in The State Newspaper and was aslo written as a response to the recent tax cuts, job layoffs, salary cuts, and cuts in funds for colleges.

In her article, Scoppe said something that really stood out to me. She said,"It’s mighty tempting to say we should cut back on the size of college scholarships and divert the money to K-12. But is that wise? Those college kids are a lot closer to becoming productive, tax-paying citizens." This has lots of meaning to us considering the fact that we are at as well as the teachers for cuts, or days without pay, or less school days, or little to no tuition assistance. This may be a huge problem being that the government is torn between whether we should worry about the kids in the future or the ones that are going to be out on their own in anywhere from two to four years. This article is directed towards everyone but can be specifically directed towards the families and businesses that have been bugging her with responses and the employess suffering the salary cuts or layoffs and to the government as well. In conclusion some decisions are wiser than others and there are always other options but the government will do what they will do no matter what.

Assignement # 1 *M.Stevenson*

This particular news item was written by a Thomas L. Friedman and it appeared in The New York Times. I think it is directed to us the American population. I agree it is time for change but also you have to understand the population has to be willing to help try to make a change.Yes, i agree that we are in a crisis and it is going to get worst before it gets better. I agree totally with the author on this. We need to get back to work on our country and our planet in wholly new ways. The hour is late, the project could not be harder, the stakes couldn'tbe higher, the payoff could not be greater. That is so true because if not we are going to be in bigger mess then we already are.

ASSIGNMENT#2 (KMcClure-Vicars)

Cindi Ross Scoppe makes a very good point and she writtes for people who have a hard time understanding political lanugage because Cindi Ross' Article, "Goverment has to make choices families, buisnesses don't" has a to the point article of how the goverment sees spending very differently than individuals and businesses. Also Cindi gives examples of arguments in which could help the goverment but in the end no success.

For example, Scoppe points out about if we should cut taxes or raise taxes. If the economy cuts taxes that would mean more money for the individual or businesses but bad news for the state departments. The state would perhaps have to lay off people. because there will be no money to give to their employees. If the economy would raise taxes that means less money for individuals and less money for business which could mean even more forclosures on houses and shut downs in businesss.

Therefore, this article is a cry to the goverment from a middle class individual who is feeling the economic delima. She also shows to readers the confusion congres has in decision making. All in all though our nation has no solution so strap on for the ride because the new rollercoster will be bumpy, scary and last a long while. Enjoy.

Assignment#2 (A.Harrison)

On Thursday, January 22, 2009, an article by a CINDI ROSS SCOPPE---entitled Scoppe: Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t ---was published. Cindi Ross Scoppe is the Associate Editor for The State (a SC newspaper publication, available both online and in print). This particular article appeared on the website http://www.thestate.com/ (and may have also appeared in the actual paper, as-well). Of course, as is evident by the title, this is an article concerning the real or perceived distinctions between the choices (especially in a financial sense) of government, family, and businesses. More specifically, this article tackles the question of who should be making decisions on behalf of who. That is to say, who should be blamed (if anyone) when a wrong choice is made, and who should be burdened with the worry? Therefore, it can be said that this article was written to make the public aware of the pros and cons, and the ins and outs of every important decision of the sort, so as to form educated opinions on the subject.

It goes without saying, this article was directed towards the citizens of South Carolina. Ms. Scoppe asks the readers numerous questions regarding their economy such as, "Is it better for fewer people to have more money (give out pay raises, while laying off employees) or for more people to have less money (no layoffs, but wholesale furloughs)?" She also offers her own opinions too, as follows, "I feel pretty certain that we ought to cut out pay raises in order to reduce layoffs — as Education Superintendent Jim Rex proposed for teachers, and as the Legislature should have done in writing the current year’s budget." The basic argument of this article is that while it is true that each individual citizen plays a role in his/her state (particularly SC) and thus bares a sort of responsibility for the prosperity of it, it is the state's government which actually needs to take the lead, by doing right by us (its citizens) first. However, the author of this article seems to be aware that the ideals of great decision-making sometimes are not all that simple. Hence, so many of these questions are left unanswered. Thus, all that we can do is ponder. And, ponder it, we shall.

Assignment # 2 B.Rohner

Cindi Ross Scoppe is an associate editor at The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina. She wrote an article in the Opinion section of this paper on January 22, 2009 entitled Scoppe: Government has to make choices families and businesses don't. The article was written to to make the average citizen aware even though comparisons have been made between the government and families or businesses in this day and age it is no longer a correct comparison.

Families only have to worry about and provide for a few. The government has to provide for a nation or the state in which it represents. The government has to raise funds to run the country or state and in this time of need it is extremely important to figure out where these funds should come from without hurting families and businesses.

In my opinion the government needs to stop wasting money! There needs to be accountability for all these companies who have been bailed out by the government. Jobs, education, and health care should be the number one priority. The government needs to stop business as usual and put it's citizens first. I'm not sure how it will happen but it has to.

Assignment #2 Jarred L

The "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe. It was published by the The State paper. The paper was written to compare the government spending to families and businesses. The paper also states who makes the choices in the government financial decisions. The paper was directed to anybody that is willing to listen to the financial crisis of today's economy.

The author's basic argument is that the government spending is going to waste and the cutting of jobs. The government is finding ways to cut back on spending but right now now they cutting back on the jobs to do so. Their are solutions to all these problems but their are consequences. Everything will not be okay because the solutions will either affect the rising students or the working class. There is really no good solution for the economic problems that we are facing.

Assignment #2 Williams A

In the article entitled Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t written by Cindi Ross Scoppe wants to make a point about the government spending is to compare to families or businesses. On January 22nd 2009 Scoppe wrote that the government has obigations that businesses and individuals do not have. My question would be what are they? There is one thing that I do not understand. There have been millions and millions of people that have lost their jobs all over America and all the government wants to do is worry about their own salaries. If their pay drops we are forced to cut back on budjets and employees so their paycheck is not touched. I do not understand how a group of people can be so self-centered and only care about themselves! Does that make any since at all?
Businesses and retail places are suffering because of the lack of spending and becauses of the shape of the economy. There are many people that do not eat out and buy clothes as much as they used to. Due to all of the changes the economy, they are hurting even more. I think a simple solution could be for the government to take a look and cut back on some of their spending. That would help out greatly. For example, there is a place in rock hill where they are building theses big, beautiful walls that are going to say "Rock Hill," and yet we have people on our streets starving, and students that want to go to college but the scholarships have been or are in the process of being reduced and they want to spend our tax money on a wall of rocks. This makes me mad and is really confusing. A good idea would be to stop the crazy spending and give a 4 year old a chance to go to kindergarden. All teachers are not paid enough, what about an extra few hundred dollars on their paychecks instead of a beautiful wall that says, "Rock Hill." I'm sure that would be a blessing and a great help to them because they are already underpaid. This is a problem that i do not think is going to be fixed easly. The government is so used to being so "finically comfortable" that it would take some major adjusting for them to get off of themselves. The present issue is going to take a while to be resoloved. In my personal opinion, God is our only hope.

Assignment #2 T. Whiteaker

The article written by Cindi Ross Scoppe titled, “Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t” was published in the State paper. Its was recently published in the paper last month due to the recent economic struggles that most of this country faces. The article is directed towards those critics of our government's decisions and Americans in general.

The article's main point is the comparison of our government versus families and businesses. She thinks those that our comparing one to the other isn't very smart. The government has to make decisions that impact millions and millions of people while families are looking out for three or four people. The decisions made by the government are a lot more difficult and also have a greater impact. The critics of the government who think its just easy to fix this major economic problem should probably read this article. As stated it's not going to be easy to fix this and in no way can we compare this to our own personal financial problems. I thought it was a very good argument and very well written.

Assignment #2 K.Sanders

The article, “Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t” was written by the associate editor of The State, Cindi Ross Scoppe. Cindi Ross Scoppe has long been an advocate of bigger government and higher taxes. the article was posted on January 22nd, 2009, on the website for the Columbia, SC based newspaper, The State. This article is directed towards residents of South Carolina, but it can also be applied to a general audience.

Scoppe wrote the article to enlighten her audience to the fact that the government and families or small businesses are very different in the way they have to handle their finances. Many people try to use analogies comparing government economic issues to family or business problems in order to try and understand the issues that the government has. However, Scoppe points out that it is important not to try to compare them because they forget that the government is trying to make decisions for the good of the entire society and not just one family or business. This difference causes the decision making process to be infinitely more complex for the government and many people try to ignore that fact. Scoppe also gives many examples of questions that the government faces when thinking of its economic issues that families and small businesses never have to think about. Scoppe also writes this article, I think, to defend the government from people questioning it about why they don’t “just do this” to fix the economy because it worked for their father, mother, uncle, etc.

Assignment #2 H. VanDyke

This article is entitled Government has to make choisces families, businesses dont. the article was written by a woman named Cindi Ross Scoope who is the Associate Editor who writes for a website called " The State.com" The article is being written for a general audience but is targeted towards residence of the state of South Carolina. The basic premise of the article is about how the government is responsibe for our economic downfall and not the people of the United states and the residents of South Carolina and that the government should have to make the descisions with how to handle the economy and not place the burden on the American people.
in the article Scoppe raises two very important questions that really made me think. Scoppe says " Does the benifit to the economy of raising taxes outweigh the drawback of less money for businesses which could be forced to shut down" i think with the economy in the state that it is in now that no matter what we are going to have to raise taxes no matter what. it is something that was of great debate in the presidential election whether or not to raise taxes and put small business out of work. on the other side of the argument scope says " does the benifit of cutting taxes or putting more money into the hands of individuals outweigh the drawback of reducing government spending therefore putting more people out of work or cutting their pay" this is also a valid argument because most of the american people who are employed work for smaller businesses and not big businesses and most of the smaller businesses help the economy thrive more so than the bigger businesses. Both arguments are valid arguments but i think ultimately in this economy that taxes will have to be raised.

Assignment # 2 D DeWitt

In "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" by Cindi Ross Scoppe indicates that most of the economic problems we are faced with does not reflect so much on individuals and Businesses. However, the burden of the downward spiral of the economy is placed upon the shoulders of the government. This article is address to the South Carolina residents, and it is located on the State News website. Scoppe being a contributor is an Associate Editor. In regards to Scoppe writing this article, she brings to the readers the seriousness of Americas problem and the dilemma our government has found themselves in.

Scoppe enlighten us on the mere fact that the analogies used to determine what a business would need to get a jump start, and what a families would need to get a jump start can not be used by the government. The government has only this one time to get it right. Although she uses the term choices for the government I believe is a contradiction because their choices are becoming limited daily on where best to place money or spend. I also understand where the writer is coming from in regards to businesses and families. She believe that they don't have choices, and the results they are faced with is moneyless and homeless at the end of the day.

However, I believe this article establishes critical thinking on our part, and on the average American to begin to think and get involve to make sure the government choices are our choices.

Assignment #2 A.Van Lieu

The article titled, "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe. This article appeared on the website titled, “TheState.com” by associate editor, Scoppe. This article was written towards the general audience, however it focuses primarily on South Carolina residents.

This article was written because Scoppe was trying to compare the government, businesses, and families and how each one is responding to the financial crisis we are experiencing at this very moment. Scoppe states, "When the government finds itself short on money, its duty is to consider not only which services it most needs to provide but also which expenditures are most likely to improve the economy — not always compatible goals." Therefore, the basic argument that she is trying to make is that the government is not looking out for the citizens. While the businesses and families are getting laid off and trying to get by with what little they have; other people working for the government are getting pay raises. It just doesn’t seem fair that a few people are getting lucky and the majority of people are loosing more of what was theirs each day. I believe that what she is trying to prove is that not everyone is going to be happy with what the government does but their needs to be a compromise so that things are fair.

Assignment #2 A.Van Lieu

The article titled, "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't" was written by Cindi Ross Scoppe. This article appeared on the website titled, “TheState.com” by associate editor, Scoppe. This article was written towards the general audience, however it focuses primarily on South Carolina residents.

This article was written because Scoppe was trying to compare the government, businesses, and families and how each one is responding to the financial crisis we are experiencing at this very moment. Scoppe states, "When the government finds itself short on money, its duty is to consider not only which services it most needs to provide but also which expenditures are most likely to improve the economy — not always compatible goals." Therefore, the basic argument that she is trying to make is that the government is not looking out for the citizens. While the businesses and families are getting laid off and trying to get by with what little they have; other people working for the government are getting pay raises. It just doesn’t seem fair that a few people are getting lucky and the majority of people are loosing more of what was theirs each day. I believe that what she is trying to prove is that not everyone is going to be happy with what the government does but their needs to be a compromise so that things are fair.

Assignment #2 A Lucketta

The State.com has an article, "Government has to make Choices Families, businesses don't," by Cindi Ross Scoppe, is a well wrote article it lets Americans know how far we have this world wind going.

First all, government should have been explicited about how the money was to be used on the Corporation bail out because it was used foolishly by the CEO's giving bonuses and having meetings they had planned in exotic places. Bush administration should have opened their eyes and looked more into this bail out, as Obama administration is looking more closely at the situation as Obama thinks they should not get bonuses and put a limit on to spending as well as them getting two hundred thousand a year. As most say they can not live off of that because CEO's go out and by big homes, cars, yachts, and other such expensive items.

Raising taxes may or may not help this economy because we are already in an unpredictable future because we are in a world wind, it might take a week, months, or even years before this gets cleaned up, as Americans know this will not happen over night, it will be progress made.

Assignment #2 pgriffin

This article was written by Associate Editor Cindi Ross Scoppe, who wrote this article titled "Govemment how to make Choices families businesses don't" for the newspaper called the State. This article was a hard to read piece of work and judging by the word government being misspelled (govemment) it was going to go down hill form there. I could not find any information on Cindi Ross Scoppe except for the recent articles written by her for the State newspaper. Scoppe style of writing was hard to follow. The article was written in response to the financial crisis the state of South Carolina in currently having. The state of South Carolina unemployment rates are the highest they have been in years and the government have other issues they are looking for solutions to.

Scoppe seems to be targeting two audiences in particular, the government officials and the South Carolina residents. Scoppe basic argument is that it is unrealistic to compare government spending and budgeting to that of a family or business. The government is suppose to look out for the common good of all of society. A family or business , besides for doing what is moral, will tend to look out for the good of that family or that business. Scoppe seems to be saying that the government did not look out for the good of its citizens. Scoppe also seems to believe that the government did not use common sense and that a bureaucracy or legislative body is lacking in common sense. Scoppe also believes that if the government would stop giving pay raise while laying off workers it could stop the bleeding form the unemployment rates. Scoppe also believes that if the state of South Carolina could operate at a loss like the federal government by spending without regards to the consequences , South Carolina could be debating on how to spend some money. Scoppe argument is like that of Mr. Friedman of the New York Times, there are no easy or painless solutions to the mess the government has gotten the American people into and the American people need to be prepared to ride out this storm and be prepared to suffer some losses.

Assignment #2- K. Stiling

Cindi Ross Scoppe writes, "Government has to make choices families, businesses don't". This article can be found on thestate.com and states mainly that while most people will compare the choices that the government has to make with the choices families and businesses are making, they cannot compare right now, because the government has different obligations.  Families are making choices that will keep them alive, while the government is having to make choices for the whole nation's sake.  Scoppe states, "When the government finds itself short on money, its duty is to consider not only which services it most needs to provide but also which expenditures are most likely to improve the economy — not always compatible goals."

Scoppe also asks "Is it better for fewer people to have more money... or for more people to have less money?" As in raising taxes, which could force some businesses to shut down, or cause individuals to go bankrupt by not being able to pay their basic needs; or cut taxes which could still put people out of work, but would give some individuals more money. In the end, Scoppe believes that pay raises should be cut out in order to reduce layoffs.

Kiersten Stiling

Assignment #2 DSinatra

This article was posted on January 22, 2009 on The State's website (thestate.com). Cindi Ross, Associate Editor, is the author. While Cindi admits that she herself has used analogies comparing families to government in the past, she is telling us that doing so at this moment in time really isn't appropriate. It doesn't capture the enormity of the problems at hand.

Yes, analogies help people to understand things by putting terms and situations into a form that is simpler, less complicated. This method is usually very helpful to people that wouldn't otherwise truly understand what is going on. However, Americans must understand that the issues our government is facing are not easily simplified. An analogy comparing decisions that affect a handful of people to decisions that affect hundreds of millions doesn't quite cut it. Government officials have the task of making decisions that benefit as many Americans as possible. Their job is to look after the common good of American citizens. And because there is no way they are going to be able to make everyone happy, compromises are going to have to be made in order to progress.

DeDe Sinatra

assignment # 2 by z.wright

The article, Scoppe: Government has to make choices families, businesses don’t by Cindi Ross Scoppe from The State is families and businesses compared to government making choices, they are basically talking about families making finacinal choices that have to do with they kids and other close family members, and the Government for making choices on cutting taxes and raising taxes but as citzens we should have a voice on how the government should be ran but the federal has the say so in that so whether we like that the government is trying to debate should they cut taxes, families are making choices everyday.

Even though we have a new president, he is already trying to make a change by trying to pass a stimus bills that the government does not want, instead they want to still give money to the war that has been over but, when bush was in the white house, he said "No child left behind", but instead he was putting money in the war why we should have been putting money in schools and more scholarships.

This article was written because the arthor wants to make a point and compare families, businesses and government together on how they make choices for the better of their companies, or families, it was directed toward the people and the government, the arthor wants to compare the government to families and businesses on making choices and why they make choices like government on trying to make choices on raising or cutting taxes while they should be working on trying to give money to schools that needs new books and other things, like scholarships.