USPS is posting one thing very well; losses. The USPS is hemorrhaging money. It ended its last quarter with a $2 billion net loss, as compared to a $740 million net loss for the same period last year. The revenue that was generated came as a result of a very anemic increase of 0.9 […]
Murkowski’s Folly
The first rule of communications is getting the message right. A March 11, 2014 op-ed by former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt appearing in the Los Angeles Times provided a unique glimpse into how messaging used by politicians can shift over time. The editorial detailed the push in the 1990s by former Alaska Senators […]
Eighteen Years and Counting
On February 8, 2014, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 will turn eighteen years old. For most eighteen year-olds this is a major milestone in life. Gaining a sense of maturity; showing that one is ready to face the world. You even get to vote. However, for a law that regulates an innovative and stunningly evolving […]
Freeing Up Government Held Spectrum
On December 11, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to approve a bi-partisan measure that would provide incentives to federal agencies to free up more spectrum. The federal government is the largest holder of spectrum below the 3 GHz range. According to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency, the U.S. government currently has […]
CBO Releases “Options for Reducing the Deficit 2014-2023”
The Congressional Budget Office released “Options for Reducing the Deficit 2014-2023” last week. The CBO periodically writes a report that provides a list of policy options of where Congress can take action to reduce annual budget deficits that add to the debt and provides the budgetary effects of those actions. This year’s list of policy […]
And Here’s To You, Mrs. Lautenberg!
The recent action by Congress to provide a death gratuity to the widow of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has raised a few eyebrows. Specifically, the continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in the late evening hours of Wednesday, October 16, included $174,000 – the equivalent of […]
“As the Government Shuts Down to Save Money, Veterans Pay the Ultimate Price”
William Gladstone, Prime Minister of Great Britain in the 19th Century, once said: Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure exactly the sympathies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals. As hundreds of World War II […]
A Clean CR is a Dirty Rotten Shame
On the October 2nd edition of Fox News Channel’s Special Report, columnist Charles Krauthammer decried the Democrats’ disingenuous insistence on a “clean CR,” implying that such an approach is actually a ratification of failure. On the one hand, it would underscore the fact that both chambers of Congress had failed in one of their most […]
Debate and Compromise Is Not a One-Way Street
A few months back my 20-something niece was complaining about how Congress, in particular the Republican House, was just not cooperating with President Obama over spending, taxes, and government-investments like bridges and green energy. She said the current system was broken and that we needed something new so things could be done quickly. I said, […]
Death, Taxes, and Postal Rate Hikes
It seems that, in addition to death and taxes, one more thing is certain: the price rise of postage stamps. My earliest recollection of the price of a stamp? It was in 1972: an 8-cent stamp, providing my first appreciation for Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose visage was pasted to the upper right-hand corner of any […]