Poor performing schools, relics of 20th-century neglect, ought to close. Charter schools, beacons of hope in many poor neighborhoods, should be encouraged. This may seem like common sense. But for the teachers union and, regrettably, for the New York chapter of the NAACP, these ideas are heresy. That’s why they joined forces to sue the Read More
"You could really make an argument that financial regulation amounts to merely a little dust splashed on some of them," a private-equity executive said about his Wall Street colleagues this July, when the idea that nothing had really changed on Wall Street was still a semi-secret. It isn't any longer.
Apparently fed up with all those stories about how its employees watched pornography instead of catching Bernie Madoff, the S.EC. will no longer respond to Freedom of Information Act requests. In fact, thanks to a portion of the recently passed Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, the S.E.C. may now be subject to very little Read More
Igor Oberman, who failed to submit signatures in his race against powerful state Senator Carl Kruger, said today that the political world has not heard the last of him.
Oberman said that he thought that the decennial reapportionment could mean new opportunities for Russian-American pols.
"There is redistricting coming up, hopefully in a couple of years there Read More
ALBANY—After Joe Bruno proclaimed his innocence of a federal indictment handed up this afternoon, federal prosecutors and investigators laid out their case against him, and presented another conclusion from their three-year investigation of the former majority leader of the State Senate: the legislative process is "Byzantine."
"The ability to understand the legislative process is Read More
ALBANY—Will 2009 be the year of reform?
A coalition of good-government advocates are making the case for "yes," and today released an update to a 2004 report by N.Y.U.'s Brennan Center which details New York's legislative dysfunction. The new report lists concrete recommendations like evening out funding given to legislators--regardless of party--and empowering Read More
The economy lost 533,000 jobs in November, raising the official US unemployment rate to 6.7%. When you add to that the number of people who have given up their job searches or are working part time when they would rather work full time, our real unemployment rate is probably closer to 12.5%. Over the last Read More
