Fishing Regulations

The fishermen of Martha’s Vineyard made certain that President Obama’s vacation was anything but relaxing.  When he arrived, he was greeted with air horns and protest signs protesting federal regulations on fishing.  The US government feels that many parts of New England are being over fished.  The biggest problem with professional fishing is that fishermen try to catch as many fish as possible to make the most amount of money, regardless of the effects on the ecosystem.  In the hopes to end overfishing the NOAA instituted a “catch share” program with the goal of creating a market-based incentive system that promotes sustainable fishing.  This is a good example of a regulation policy tool. 

-Robbie Nichols

http://politics.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/10/14/new-england-fishing-industry-bridles-under-federal-regulations.html 

How to End the Great Recession

This "New York Times" article discusses today’s recession and compares it to the great depression of the 1930s.  It explains that although policies and other "booster rockets" can help with economic inequality, we cannot escape the recession unless consumers figure out a way to keep the economy moving on their own.  It explains how technological advancement is contributing to the unemployment rate because employers can now use labor-replacing software to save money.  The article lists some stifling statistics about people earnings today as compared to 30 years ago.  It explains why we were keeping pace in throughout the 90s and why, "Even if nearly everyone was employed, the vast middle class still wouldn’t have enough money to buy what the economy is capable of producing".  The article compares and contrasts the policies enacted during the "great depression" with the tools we’re trying to use today, and the author gives his opinion on some ideas that could with the recession.  One of the authors ideas was “Public universities should be free; in return, graduates would then be required to pay back 10 percent of their first 10 years of full-time income.”  I thought this was a very interesting idea that, if executed correctly, could definitely aid us in breaking out of this recession. 

- Robbie Nichols

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/opinion/03reich.html?_r=1