NCCo Councilman Bob Weiner (R) wants to televise all council meetings on the county’s television channel. Not only do I wholeheartedly endorse this proposal, I think it should extend to all public meetings of county and state legislatures and public task force meetings.
Want to dial 911 in New Castle County? There is now an app for that.
The U.S. trade gap falls to $34.3 billion in November, a 4-year low, as exports rise to a record high. Another sign of a taking-off economy.
I cannot wait for this:
Francine Kiefer quotes congressional historian Julian Zelizer of Princeton University in her column “Democrats to push income inequality as top issue of 2014. Winning tactic?”:
“A lot of Democrats feel the last two years have been consumed with health care … and the deficit,” he explains. “Until you shift the debate, you’re not going to be able to get in a position where you can push for legislation like the [higher] minimum wage. And this is the right time because the Republicans are in a moment of division” over whether to obstruct or to compromise.
Well, it looks like the Democrats have already been successful in shifting the debate. How do we know that? Because now Republicans are talking about income inequality:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will give a speech Wednesday that aides said will lay out changes to federal programs to help people climb out of poverty permanently. In the weeks to come, Rubio also plans to introduce ideas to make it easier for mid-career adults to go back to college or learn new job skills at vocational schools.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the 2012 vice-presidential nominee, has been traveling to impoverished areas and meeting with community organizers. He plans to address poverty in an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams on Thursday.
A third potential GOP presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), is also putting a renewed emphasis on the poor, traveling to Detroit to pitch a plan to revitalize urban centers through “economic freedom zones.” Paul has given his message on income inequality an ideological edge — mixing lofty, empathetic language with anti-government broadsides.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who has been visiting urban schools, will give a speech Wednesday promoting school choice as a way to address poverty. And Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has proposed increasing the child tax credit as a means of blending social conservatism with anti-poverty policies.