Robert Oak's blog

Gas Prices - DO SOMETHING!

Submitted by on

People, how hard is it? While candidates spew and describe the problem, people are going broke and the economy can potentially grind to a halt over gas prices! Here we are in an election and when almost every American knows what to do, our government cannot even get it together to pass initiatives and emergency legislation!

Here are some ideas to do something and do something right now!

  1. Telecommuting

Confessions of a Trade Negotiator's Mind

Submitted by on

Robert Cassidy is a former Clinton administration assistant trade representative responsible for the entry of China into the WTO and the China PNTR trade agreement.

Today he Confessed.

As the principal negotiator for the landmark market access agreement that led to China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), I have reflected on whether the agreements we negotiated really lived up to our expectations. A sober reflection has led me to conclude that those trade agreements did not

And of a Dangerous Mind?

New Trade Bill Introduced in the Senate

Submitted by on

A new trade bill has been introduced in the Senate. Hopefully this will not be yet another good piece of legislation that goes to committee to die.

According to Senator Sherrod Brown's Press Release:
The TRADE ACT would:

  • Require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive review of existing trade agreements with an emphasis on economic results, enforcement and compliance, and an analysis of non-tariff provisions in trade agreements
  • Spell out standards for labor and environmental protections, food and product safety, national security exceptions, and remedies that must be included in new trade pacts
  • Set requirements with respect to public services, farm policy, investment, government procurement, and affordable medicines that have been incorporated in trade agreements

The Enron Loophole

Submitted by on

You hear a lot of buzz words these days about shady deals and speculation on oil futures. So, what exactly is this Enron Loophole so many refer to which allows all of this trading on energy to go on with no accountability or regulation?

From Professor Greenburger:

it has been widely understood that, unless properly regulated, futures markets are easily subject to distorting the economic fundamentals of price discovery (i.e., cause the paying of unnecessarily higher or lower prices) through excessive speculation, fraud, or manipulation.

Corporate Citizen - An Oxymoron

Submitted by on

There is a fundamental problem these days with economic policy - US corporations have run amok. No longer do they act in the national interest or even give a pretense of being good national corporate citizens. It's all about profits, maximizing profits. In fact, we are told that is a corporation's only responsibility. But is that really the case or have we been spun a lie so long and often we believe it to be true without question? How does the United States align it's Corporations to the interests of the nation?

In a recent House Science Subcommittee hearing, American Decline or Renewal? – Globalizing Jobs and Technology, some these fundamental questions of corporate governance were addressed.

It's the Policy Stupid

Submitted by on

I have been watching the Democratic as well as the Republican primary and I must say at this point, the entire country seems to be stuck on stupid. From the media blackout on Clinton to the DNC rules and disproportionate distribution of pledged delegates, not counting two entire states, and then the superdelegates, well, I think it's fair to say the process is one rigged game where the actual voters don't seem to count for much.

To make matters worse, it appears policy has gone by the wayside. An intelligent, well researched and analyzed policy positions and debate on the effectiveness of those positions is long gone from the political blogs.

Batteries and Transmission Lines - Bill Clinton Comes to My Small Town

Submitted by on

Imagine my surprise, by happenstance, to find Former President Bill Clinton making a campaign stop in my small town. I live on the Oregon coast. Rugged, rural and even to get out here is no trivial travel matter. So, the prospect of seeing a former President speak in person, in an area I knew didn't have the population to draw thousands of people, I flew out the door and stood in the damp foggy weather. Oops, I forgot my coat.

So, I won't bother you with the speech on the Presidential campaign but Bill went into some detail on a couple of issues with alternative energy that really caught my ear.

That is batteries and transmission lines. Right now there are experimental plug-in cars which can get 105 mpg and the roadblock in getting them into mass production is batteries. Lithium Ion Batteries to be exact.

Presidential Campaign Policy Positions - Buried and Probably Gone

Submitted by on

The blogs are full of it. Thousands of bits in cyberspace declaring the Democratic primary is over before it is over, misogynistic rhetoric abounds, talk of somehow this is a great political realignment and if you aren't paying attention you would swear the second coming of Christ is upon us.

There are those of us who actually pay attention to policy positions, who want the new political realignment to be about policy change. Are we really going to get that? Well, frankly I don't think so and this is why.

Firstly, there are 49% of Democratic voters who are having their candidate of choice ripped a new one daily in the main stream press and in the blogs. That's half of all those who voted in the Democratic primary.

Pages