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News Releases

  • Think Tank Wins Acclaim for “Sheer Wackiness”

    Cato Institute Hailed for “Private Regulation” Oxymoron WASHINGTON — Hours after it released a call for “private regulation” to replace key federal regulatory functions, the Cato Institute won sardonic accolades Monday for “sheer wackiness in the service of deregulation mania.” The influential think tank urged the federal government to consider discarding regulatory roles “such as certification, inspection, monitoring and product testing.” Cato touted advantages of “shifting regulatory roles now assigned to government to independent agencies.” But some specialists in regulatory issues quickly dismissed the idea. Michael R. Lemov, who was general counsel of the federal National Commission on Product Safety…

  • Critics Charge Propanganda Rush for Tax Day

    Think Tank’s Assertions Tax Credulity, Economists Say WASHINGTON — The Cato Institute, one of the nation’s most influential think tanks, is under fire for its claims about the tax code. In a news release targeted to coincide with the April 15 tax deadline, Cato asserts that “one of the primary reasons for the stagnation” of workers’ real wages has been that “taxes and government mandates on employers have been expanding steadily, crowding out the amount workers can put in their pockets.” In fact, says economist John Miller, “corporate profits have increased appreciably as real wages have stagnated.” Miller, a professor…

  • Leading Think Tank Faulted for Distorting Tax Issues

    WASHINGTON — One of the nation’s most prominent think tanks has been putting out deceptive information about tax issues this spring, some independent economists say. While the Heritage Foundation has marked this tax season with a flood of dire statements about taxes, many of those claims don’t stand up, the economists charge. John Miller, a professor of economics at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., said that “the Heritage Foundation has engaged in a politically motivated misreading of the data on the tax burden of most working Americans.” Economists ripped into claims made repeatedly by the Heritage Foundation this tax season.…

  • Just Back From Afghanistan and Pakistan

    KATHY KELLY JOSHUA BROLLIER Kelly and Brollier are with the group Voices for Creative Nonviolence. They are just back from over a month in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Several articles they have written are on the group’s web page. Kelly said today: “As violence escalates and the war prolongs, the question isn’t what does the U.S. want. It’s what do people in Afghanistan want. There’s real fear of the Taliban, but people ask why the U.S. invaders and their warlord clients should run the country. There are an estimated 850 children dying every day (see Save the Children). Meanwhile, we’re spending…

  • Just Back From Afghanistan and Pakistan

    KATHY KELLY JOSHUA BROLLIER Kelly and Brollier are with the group Voices for Creative Nonviolence. They are just back from over a month in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Several articles they have written are on the group’s web page. Kelly said today: “As violence escalates and the war prolongs, the question isn’t what does the U.S. want. It’s what do people in Afghanistan want. There’s real fear of the Taliban, but people ask why the U.S. invaders and their warlord clients should run the country. There are an estimated 850 children dying every day (see Save the Children). Meanwhile, we’re spending…

  • Just Back From Afghanistan and Pakistan

    KATHY KELLY JOSHUA BROLLIER Kelly and Brollier are with the group Voices for Creative Nonviolence. They are just back from over a month in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Several articles they have written are on the group’s web page. Kelly said today: “As violence escalates and the war prolongs, the question isn’t what does the U.S. want. It’s what do people in Afghanistan want. There’s real fear of the Taliban, but people ask why the U.S. invaders and their warlord clients should run the country. There are an estimated 850 children dying every day (see Save the Children). Meanwhile, we’re spending…

  • Impeachment and “Real Issues”

    KIT GAGE National coordinator of the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, Gage said: “The President’s lawyers said it was fundamentally unfair that they were asked to defend him having seen only a small portion of the thousands of pages of testimony. This was secret evidence. They are right, but it is also secret evidence…

  • After Gore Announces New Anti-Drug Plan, Critics Question Some Basic Assumptions

    WASHINGTON — Hours after Vice President Al Gore announced a new White House anti-drug plan Monday, critics renewed their calls for fundamental changes in federal efforts to curb drug use. Those critics included a former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, a prisoner who publishes a newspaper, and a sociologist. They are available for interviews:…

  • Environmentalists Critique Clinton Budget Waste

    WASHINGTON — Although the Clinton administration is hailing its new budget for record levels of spending on environmental protection and new clean air initiatives, critics said Thursday that many budget priorities actually encourage pollution and undermine a clean environment — while fleecing taxpayers. Environmentalists are sometimes accused of being “big government” boosters, but these experts…

  • Clinton’s New Budget: Behind the Rhetoric

    GREG SPEETER The executive director of the National Priorities Project, Speeter said: “The fact that we’re looking at increasing the Pentagon budget by $110 billion over the next five years, at a time when it ought to be going down, is ridiculous. Our domestic needs are increasing. We have a child poverty rate of 20.8…

  • Wider Perspectives on Senate Trial

    As the Senate trial of President Clinton continues, here are the perspectives of some analysts — available for interviews — outside the crossfire of Republicans and White House allies. TED GLICK The national coordinator of the Independent Progressive Politics Network, Glick said: “We hear a lot about polls and what people think of Clinton and…

  • Outside the Partisian Boxes: Other Views of Senate Trial

    By now, the public is very familiar with the partisan arguments over whether the Senate trial of President Clinton should continue. This week, loyal Democrats and Republicans are spinning as fervently as ever. But some other positions don’t fit into the partisan trenches. The Institute for Public Accuracy offers different perspectives on impeachment and the…

  • The Day After “State of the Union” Speech, Critics Charge Double Standard for Parents

    Some researchers said Wednesday that President Clinton’s proposal to provide a tax credit for parents who stay home to care for their children is based on a double standard. The specialists contended that Clinton’s new plan is at odds with his welfare reform policy. Among those available for interviews: MIMI ABRAMOVITZ A professor of social…

  • Assessing the “State of the Union”: Social Security, Education, Health Care

    With President Clinton’s State of the Union address focusing attention on such issues as Social Security, education and health care, the following policy analysts are available for interviews: SOCIAL SECURITY MARK WEISBROT Economist and research director at the Preamble Center, Weisbrot said: “Social Security never did need saving; proposals to `reform’ the system are driven…

  • With National Spotlight on the Senate, Campaign Finance Is a Simmering Issue

    With all eyes now on the Senate, advocates of campaign finance reform are pointing to the vast amounts of money that were required for the 100 senators to win their seats. Among those analysts available for interviews are: GWEN PATTON Archivist of the Montgomery Pioneer Voting Rights Activists at Trenholm State Technical College in Alabama,…

  • A Renewed Debate: Guns vs. Butter

    The Joint Chiefs of Staff told a congressional panel Tuesday afternoon that the nation needs a substantial boost in military spending. But some policy analysts dispute those assertions. The following researchers are available for interviews: WILLIAM HARTUNG A senior fellow of the World Policy Institute at the New School for Social Research and author of…

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