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If you’re going to argue that the size of government is the defining
debate in modern politics, you should probably explain why the
government is so big. It’s not because of new laws. It’s because of old laws.

David Brooks latest column argued that “as government
grew,” moderates and independents recoiled and conservatives revolted.
Brooks is right that people are angry. Four out of five Americans don’t
trust the government according to a new Pew poll, the highest level of
public dissatisfaction in history. But that anger has much more to
do with the recession — plus a dash of complex conservative angst — than with Obama’s new spending initiatives.

Let’s look at the numbers: the feds spent $3.5 trillion in 2009, $600 billion more than in fiscal year 2008. What made the US government so big? Jim Horney at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explained that some of it was natural growth in government. Discretionary spending tends to increase every year, and defense spending in particular perked up to catch up with war costs.

But much of the changes came from mandatory increases as a result of the recession. Existing laws to provide aid to the unemployment added $80 billion because more Americans lost their jobs. Another $20 billion went to SNAP assistance because more Americans became eligible for food stamps. Then there are the bailouts: about $250 billion went through TARP and stabilizing payments to Fannie and Freddie initiated in bills passed under President Bush and administered by the Obama administration.

What about the $800 billion Recovery Act? It didn’t increase the size of government by $800 billion. The CBO estimated that through December 2009, the stimulus raised
federal spending by $158 billion and cut taxes by $114
billion. The largest stimulus programs aren’t new services, but support to help states pay for old services: the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF).*

In short, our government is growing because of what past presidents have promised and voters have consistently supported at the polls: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Clive Crook put it nicely: “Big
Government is no longer a prospect to ward off. That choice has been
made.”

That statement is powerful, and it has at least two implications. First, we need to stop pretending that Democrats suddenly “have become the government party.” Every party is the government  party when it controls the government.

Second, now that we’ve made the Big Government choice, we have to pay for it. The David Brookses of the world need to explain to Americans that this isn’t about Obama. It’s about all of us, collectively, making decades of promises that we haven’t promised to pay for. We will need new taxes, or dramatic and potentially painful reforms to our entitlement programs. That is where this debate should be.

________

*Brooks doesn’t mention health care reform, but if that’s leading the Big Government revolt, then some context is required. The reform bill will indeed increase government’s role in health care by about $100-$200 billion by the middle of the decade and into the 2020s. At that point, Medicare and the employer tax exclusion will cost well over $1 trillion. But the plan would also cut Medicare by $450 billion in the next 10 years and enact an excise tax to eat into the employer subsidy. So while it would be wrong to argue that the health care reform act somehow decreases the role of the government, I would argue that it does not change government’s role in health care as dramatically as its detractors suggest.

If a biofuel refined from a scruffy little weedlike plant called camelina can hit supersonic speeds in a Navy fighter jet, imagine what it can do in your car. That’s the idea driving Sustainable Oils, which has been working on high performance aviation biofuel from camelina for about five years. Last fall the company started delivering the first of an initial 40,000 gallon consignment for the Navy to test camelina biofuel on a bench mounted Super Hornet F414 engine.

This year on April 22nd, the U.S. Navy put an F/A-18 Super Hornet in flight using a 50-50 blend of conventional jet and camelina biofuel. Dubbed the Green Hornet in honor of Earth Day, the aircraft is (according to the Navy) the first to reach supersonic speeds using a 50-50 biofuel blend. The Navy might not claim sole ownership of that mark for long: the U.S. Air Force is also testing camelina biofuel.

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Battered, drained of fuel, and travel-weary, Japan’s asteroid-sampler is almost home. The Hayabusa, which the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched in 2003, is scheduled to drop its sample canister in the Australian outback in June. But, the project leaders warn, there’s still a chance than the beleaguered sojourner won’t make it. And even if it does successfully return to Earth, it’s possible that the sample capsule may not contain extraterrestrial rock.

Hayabusa spent three months exploring the Itokawa asteroid in late 2005, even making an unplanned landing on the asteroid’s surface. The probe spent up to a half-hour on Itokawa, making it the first spacecraft to lift off from an asteroid [Space.com]. The craft also took 1,600 pictures and more than 100,000 infrared images.

But things soon turned sour. Hayabusa’s instruments for collecting asteroid samples didn’t deploy as expected, leaving the Japanese research team uncertain how much, if any, material the probe will have on board when it comes back home. While telemetry showed that Hayabusa likely did not fire its projectile as planned while on Itokawa’s surface, scientists are hoping that bits of dust or pebbles traveled through the probe’s funnel and into its sample return capsule [Space.com].

There have been plenty of other difficulties, too. Since its launch in 2003, Hayabusa has lost three of its four ion engines, leaked out all of its chemical propellant and is down to a single reaction wheel. The trouble delayed Hayabusa’s departure from Itokawa, which forced JAXA to postpone the craft’s return to Earth from 2007 until 2010 [Spaceflight Now]. In November JAXA nearly conceded that Hayabusa would never come home. Then, in a stroke of innovation combined with good fortune, the engineers managed to combine the parts that still worked from two of the thrusters to propel the craft. Now it just might make it back.

The saga of the Hayabusa outlines the ambitious nature of President Obama’s newly revised space plan for the United States; on Thursday DISCOVER covered the difficulty of a daring manned mission to an asteroid that he proposed. But for a journey of far more than a thousand miles, the successful return of the Hayabusa would be a terrific first step.

Related Content:
DISCOVER: Japan Stakes Its Claim in Space, on Hayabusa mission
DISCOVER: One Giant Step for a Small, Crowded Country, on Japan’s moon aspirations
80beats: Danger, President Obama! Visiting an Asteroid Is Exciting, But Difficult
80beats: Will NASA’s Next Step Be an Astronaut Rendezvous with an Asteroid?

Image: JAXA

Solamente la propia Porsche sabe cuántos clientes se necesitan para que la construcción del Porsche 918 Hybrid sea rentable. Pero si es por el lado del interés que ha generado este espectacular concepto híbrido mostrado por primera vez en Ginebra, las cosas no podrían estar mejor ya que unos 900 compradores han demostrado cierto interés en comprar su Porsche híbrido.

Aparentemente, si la cifra de prospectos alcanza el número de 1.000, es muy probable que Porsche lo produzca. La mágica cifra y las intenciones de fabricarlo aunque más no sea limitadamente, fueron dadas a conocer por Wolfgang Duerheimer, jefe de desarrollo de Porsche, en ocasión del salón de Pekín. Viendo que ya llegamos a los 900, no sería nada improbable que en Stuttgart ya se esté pensando seriamente en comenzar a preparar la línea de producción para atender a los pedidos. ¿Será posible que lo veamos antes del 2015, la fecha original de salida que se anunció en su momento?

Todavía es muy pronto para saber qué clientes (y de qué tipo) se han apuntado a la lista por el 918 Spyder Hybrid pero no es muy difícil adivinar que para llegar al precio de este híbrido, hay que tener un cierto poderío económico. El dinero que pagarían por este deportivo plug-in con motor V8 no ha sido difundido aún por Porsche, pero esperemos que la lista no se haga más corta a la hora de difundir el precio.

Vía | Bloomberg

Technology: GSM
Announced Carrier: n/a
Announced Release Date: May, 2010

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 is their first Pearl to support 3G technology and is also their smallest device to date.  The 9100 model offers a 20-key condensed QWERTY keyboard, measures less than 2 inches wide, and only weights 3.3 ounces.  Other key features include WiFi, BlackBerry Media Sync, 624 Mhz processor, and 256 MB of flash memory. 

Ernest Brothers

KNOXVILLE — The Office of Graduate Training and Mentorship has been created to help departments campuswide recruit and retain graduate students, as well as provide them with the very best academic experience and professional development possible.

Part of the Graduate School, the office opened in February 2010 under the leadership of Ernest Brothers, assistant dean.

The office was developed in conjunction with the Program for Excellence and Equity in Research (PEER), a graduate training program that supports fellowships at UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in an effort to increase the number of accomplished, competitive and determined underrepresented minority students who pursue doctorates in the sciences and attain careers in biomedical research.

Brothers has degrees in chemistry, public policy and administration, and urban higher education, and he previously worked at the University of Georgia as the executive director of an office that worked to recruit, retain and graduate minority undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas.

Among the efforts to be led by the Office of Graduate Training and Mentorship:

• Assist with coordination of recruitment and retention efforts.
• Identify and create diversity resources and initiatives that strengthen faculty mentoring and support retention of underrepresented populations in a variety of fields of study across campus.
• Collaborate with other members of the Graduate School executive staff and related offices to collect and maintain data (e.g., enrollment, graduation, surveys) for tracking and required reporting and for faculty writing grants.
• Collaborate with the Office of Research and faculty from various units across campus to coordinate training in grant development.
• Collaborate with the Office of Research and faculty from various units across campus to coordinate responsible conduct of research.
• Assist with building faculty-student collaborative research teams and interdisciplinary projects.

For more information about the Office of Graduate Training and Mentorship, visit http://gradschool.utk.edu/ernest.shtml.

C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected])

Fiat acaba de publicar las primeras imágenes oficiales de su próximo utilitario, el Fiat Uno. Este compacto está basado en gran medida en el Fiat Grande Punto y el Fiat Panda. Su producción dará comienzo en el año 2012.

Tiene 3,8 metros de largo y al contrario de lo que puedas pensar, tendrá un interior muy amplio y comodo para sus ocupantes. Por otra parte, también se ha confirmado que no se venderá en Europa.

Estará disponible en diferntes variantes, desde la básica hasta una deportiva. En lo referente a las motorizaciones, se pondrá a la venta con dos motores en la gama (aun no confirmados).

Related posts:

1. Fiat Dobló, imágenes oficiales
2. Fiat Grande Punto Evo, imágenes oficiales
3. Fiat Dobló 2010 ya disponible

With Internet access being ubiquitous in some parts of the world, it’s easy to forget just how fragile the entire system is. A major undersea communications cable, SEA-ME-WE 4, linking Europe, the Middle East and South Asia was severed a couple of weeks ago and, as repairs drag on, more regions are feeling the hit. Several countr… (read more)

Another great example of selling your byproduct: Danny Meyer has grown Union Square Hospitality Group from a neighborhood bistro into 11 successful New York restaurants and a catering company. For years, the restaurants educated visiting chefs and managers. Then Meyer wrote his memoir and began speaking to employees at airlines, insurance companies, and hedge funds. Now, those lessons are formalized in an education program called Hospitality Quotient, which charges $425 for a four-hour session and $1,500 for a two-day immersion.

The Motorola Cliq XT (see our hands-on) has only been available for a month or so, and a maintenance update apparently already is on the way. Scheduled for improvement are:

• Improves Overall Phone Performance: Generally improves data connectivity while reducing the occurrence of freeze-ups, resets, and random forced quits.
• Visual Voice Mail Enhancements: Enhanced design and interaction for Visual Voice Mail.
• Bluetooth Audio Improvements to Bluetooth audio while streaming.
• Camera Correction: Addresses instances of camera randomly freezing after taking a picture, and helps correct intermittent resets while camera and video applications are in use.
• Screen/Display Performance: Improves backlight performance for the display.
• Text Messaging Improvements: General improvements to text messaging – especially for longer text message threads.
• Touch Screen Enhancement Improves overall sensitivity of the touch screen.

The update’s available for just 1,000 people right now, and we should see wider release shortly. [Motorola via TmoNews]

After Sony successfully and drastically cut down production costs of the PS3 with the Slim revision, they’re finally heading straight into the profits zone with a smaller version of the RSX processor.

If all goes well, the current second season of Glee will witness an episode dedicated to the pop diva Britney Spears and grunge goddess Courtney Love.

Following the success of last week’s Madonna Glee tribute episode, series creator Ryan Murphy is now setting his sights on the music of Britney and Courtney as the next catalogues to be covered on the hit TV musical.

“I’m interested in the Britney Spears idea. I’ve always loved her. I’m entertaining it. I think young kids would like that,” Murphy blabbed in a scoop to Entertainment Weekly.

Murphy also added that he would like to cover songs from Love’s band Hole claiming: “I actually ran into Courtney Love the other day and talked to her. She’s interested. I would love to have the kids do a Courtney Love episode one day… The key is the songs in the catalogue have to have a certain degree of theatricality”.

Glee’s Madonna tribute show, which featured a parody of Madonna’s 1990 “Vogue video, was viewed by 13.5 million people when it aired on FOX last Tuesday night.

Another insightful and wonderful interview from Qtv “Canadian rapper K’naan sat down for a rare feature length interview in Studio Q with host Jian Ghomeshi.”

Filed under: CBC, Music, people, Video, YouTube

While Walmart has managed to install outlets in just about every major city in the country, the retail behemoth has never been able to crack the shell of New York City’s five boroughs, though it has tried on two recent occasions. A new report claims that Walmart is hoping the third time is the charm, as they look into a spot for a new store in Brooklyn.

Explains some guy from Walmart:

We know that New Yorkers want to shop and work at Walmart, and as a result, we continue to evaluate potential opportunities here… New Yorkers want quality jobs and affordable groceries, and it remains our goal to be part of the solution.

The rumored location is the Gateway II shopping center near Jamaica Bay — far from the chic shops of Manhattan, but still within the city limits.

Unlike past failed efforts in Queens and Staten Island that required City Council approval because of new construction, the decision to move into the already-approved Gateway II could allow them to get around that hurdle.

However, that doesn’t mean people won’t put up a fight. “They’ll have the battle of their lives,” said City Councilman Charles Barron. “Walmart exploits workers… and we want no part of that.”

Opponents also say that the approval of the Gateway II plans should be revisited because they did not account for the full environmental impact a store like Walmart could make in the area.

Walmart eying Brooklyn shopping center for first New York City location [NY Daily News]

If any of you out there were ever concerned about how strongly the people at UBS believed in their analysis, they've now got at least one list you won't need to worry about: the research group released Monday a new lineup of its six "highest conviction" ideas.

"Key Calls represent the highest conviction ideas of UBS analysts, strategists, and product managers," George Vasic, strategist, said in a note introducing the list. "The list includes our best ideas from each of the major TSX sectors."

However, Mr. Vasic warned that because the picks are not weighted to the TSX they should not be considered a portfolio.

The list includes four non-resource picks, based on mid-cycle potential earnings in 2011 to move beyond short term issues.

Here they are, in no particular order:

• Bank of Nova Scotia, Buy, price target $58
• Barrick Gold Corp., Buy, price target $50
• Canadian Tire Corp., Buy, price target $63
• Onex Corp., Buy, price target $36
• Quebecor Inc., Buy, price target $39
• Suncor Energy Inc., Buy, price target $47

Eric Lam

It’s a Pearl! It’s 3G! And it has a trackpad! Aaron gets some hands-on time with the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, coming in May. Is it a substantial upgrade, or a slight revision of the original?

Federal regulators have issued new draft guidance aimed at increasing the quality and safety of drug infusion pumps, which have been plagued by defects and recalls in recent years that have resulted in more than 500 deaths. 

The new infusion pump safety initiative, announced by the FDA on April 23, will require manufacturers to undergo more risk assessments before gaining approval for new or modified devices, and they will be expected to submit additional design and engineering information for premarket approval.

Infusion pumps are small medical devices that deliver drugs into the body. They are increasingly worn by Type 1 diabetics as an alternative to daily injections of insulin by syringe or an insulin pen. However, hospitals also use infusion pumps to deliver a wide variety of drugs, such as antibiotics, chemotherapy and anesthesia drugs.

The new guidance comes following an FDA advisory panel meeting in March which was called by regulatory agency due to a disturbing trend in the quality of infusion pumps. According to FDA, there have been 56,000 adverse event reports from people reporting problems with infusion sets in the last five years. In addition, there were 87 infusion pump recalls announced between 2005 and 2009.

Last summer, a recall was issued for Medtronic Paradigm insulin pump Quick Sets after the company determined that about 60,000 infusion sets used with the pumps were defective and could give too much insulin to users due to an air pressure problem.

A number of Medtronic insulin pump lawsuits have been filed over diabetic-related injuries resulting from the defective infusion sets. The FDA issued a warning letter to the company over its manufacturing processes, noting that it had quality assurance problems and that the on-site medical professional hired to determine if there was a medical problem with the devices had only a high school diploma.

FDA reviewers found that the most common cause of death and injury from the use of either defective insulin pumps or from using them incorrectly was hypoglycemia; lower than normal blood glucose. However, the FDA also has identified a growing number of insulin pump-related automobile accidents.

Between 2006 and 2009, there were at least 29 adverse event reports of motor vehicle accidents associated with insulin pumps. In some cases, drivers wearing insulin pumps and suffering from low glucose levels lost consciousness or died while driving and crashed into other vehicles, drove off the road, into lakes, and even slammed into buildings at high speed.