The New York Times: on Government Reform
Tim Kaine:
Public companies should publish their political spending
Existing SEC rules have enabled public companies to keep their political spending below their shareholders' radar screen. For one, public companies can engage in political spending that does not register in any public record by
channeling such expenditures through intermediaries like the US Chamber of Commerce. [There was a] political ad sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce against Tim Kaine, who won a Senate race in Virginia.
Source: N.Y. Times, "Let Shareholders Know", on 2016 Veepstakes
Jul 23, 2016
Kate Brown:
Automatic voter registration for all drivers
Seventeen years after Oregon decided to become the first state to hold all elections with mail-in ballots, it took another pioneering step on Monday to broaden participation by automatically registering people to vote. Gov. Kate Brown, a
Democrat, signed a bill that puts the burden of registration on the state instead of voters. Under the legislation, every adult citizen in Oregon who has had business with the Department of Motor Vehicles since 2013 but has not registered to vote will
receive a ballot in the mail at least 20 days before the next statewide election. The measure is expected to add about 300,000 voters to the rolls. Some other states have considered such legislation, but none have gone as far as Oregon.
Minnesota nearly instituted automatic voter registration in 2009 before it was vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who said that "registering to vote should be a voluntary, intentional act." Similar concerns were raised by Oregon's minority Republicans.
Source: Associated Press in N.Y. Times, "Voter Reg made Automatic"
Mar 17, 2015
Tim Pawlenty:
Registering to vote should be a voluntary, intentional act
Seventeen years after Oregon decided to become the first state to hold all elections with mail-in ballots, it took another pioneering step on Monday to broaden participation by automatically registering people to vote. Gov. Kate Brown, a
Democrat, signed a bill that puts the burden of registration on the state instead of voters. Under the legislation, every adult citizen in Oregon who has had business with the Department of Motor Vehicles since 2013 but has not registered to vote will
receive a ballot in the mail at least 20 days before the next statewide election. The measure is expected to add about 300,000 voters to the rolls. Some other states have considered such legislation, but none have gone as far as Oregon.
Minnesota nearly instituted automatic voter registration in 2009 before it was vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who said that "registering to vote should be a voluntary, intentional act." Similar concerns were raised by Oregon's minority Republicans.
Source: Associated Press in N.Y. Times, "Voter Reg made Automatic"
Mar 17, 2015
Dave Brat:
2011: how to reconcile Christianity with federal programs?
Brat's academic work has drawn particular interest. Religious ethics rarely enter into mainstream economic theory, but they are topics that Brat, who describes himself in his writing as a Calvinist, has turned to repeatedly.
In a 2011 article, "God and Advanced Mammon--Can Theological Types Handle Usury and Capitalism?" published in a journal of religion, Brat questioned whether Christianity could be reconciled with government programs.
"Are you willing to force someone you know to pay for the benefits for one of your neighbors?" he asked. "Very few Christians I know are willing to say 'yes' to this question."
In the same essay, he argued: "If we make all of the people good,
markets will be good. If markets are bad, which they are, that means people are bad, which they are. Want good markets? Change the people."
Source: N.Y. Times, "David Brat Shows Unease in Spotlight"
Jun 13, 2014
Page last updated: May 20, 2019