US Politics Mega-thread - Page 959

On March 28 2014 22:47 Dapper_Cad wrote:


It's not just that Norway has oil it's that Norway does relatively sensible things with the money received.

Britain also had oil. We pissed the money up the wall and now we work more hours than [edit:almost] anyone in Europe.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration talks a lot about the need to develop renewable energy around the world to curb climate change. But right now, it's trying to kill India's effort to boost its domestic solar industry.

The U.S. wants India to back off a policy that would require local sourcing for solar energy technology, and has sought World Trade Organization enforcement action. Representatives from the two nations reportedly met last week to try to settle the trade battle over India's rapidly developing solar industry, but reached no resolution.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in February that India's rules for locally made products for its solar power program "discriminate against U.S. exports" and break WTO rules. "We are determined to stand up for U.S. workers and businesses," he said.

The U.S. and India have 60 days from last month's announcement of the enforcement action -- until April 11 -- to resolve the conflict before it goes to the WTO, which can impose sanctions. Last month, India indicated it would block WTO investigations into its trade policies, according to Reuters.

The dispute centers on the second phase of India's solar power policy, known as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. PV Magazine described the rules in an article in October, noting that they require that half the solar components come from domestic sources.

The U.S. objected to domestic sourcing requirements for the first phase of India's program, leading to WTO consultations in February 2013. Phase II, however, expands domestic sourcing requirements to include thin film solar technologies, which the U.S. exports to India.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) now acknowledges talking with former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive David Wildstein at an event in September. But he doesn't recall what they talked about.

In an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Christie addressed an assertion made by Wildstein, the official who orchestrated the George Washington Bridge lane closures, that he spoke to the governor about about the traffic situation on the bridge while the closures were in effect. The revelation was included in a report released Thursday by a legal team representing Christie's office. Christie has long maintained that he knew nothing of the plan to close the lanes, and the report found that Christie "did not know of the lane realignment beforehand and had no involvement in the decision to realign the lanes."

During the ABC News interview, anchor Diane Sawyer asked Christie if Wildstein had in fact talked to him about traffic on Sept. 11.

"I don't have any recollection of that, Diane," Christie said. "David was one of hundreds of people that I spoke to that day. We stood around and spoke briefly that day."

Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday extended federal recognition to the marriages of about 300 same-sex couples that took place in Michigan before an appeals court put such unions on hold.

His action extends eligibility for federal benefits to the Michigan couples who married Saturday, which means they may file federal taxes jointly, get Social Security benefits for spouses and request legal immigration status for partners, among other benefits.

Holder's decision came a week after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman in Detroit struck down the gay marriage ban.

The attorney general said the families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their benefits while courts decide the issue of same-sex marriage in Michigan.

"The governor of Michigan has made clear that the marriages that took place on Saturday were lawful and valid when entered into, although Michigan will not extend state rights and benefits tied to these marriages, pending further legal proceedings," Holder said in a statement Friday.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, acknowledged Wednesday that same-sex couples "had a legal marriage." But because of the court's stay, he added, the gay marriage ban has been restored. That closed the door, at least for now, to certain state benefits reserved for married couples.

Holder did the same thing in Utah, where more than 1,000 same-sex couples got married before the U.S. Supreme Court put those unions on hold in January.

On March 28 2014 16:53 IgnE wrote:


If the current number of people and jobs could provide for an expanded population without increasing jobs, why wouldn't we just distribute the work more evenly so that everybody works less?

On March 29 2014 03:12 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

You'd have to have a widespread consensus that working less is the priority. It would also be much more difficult to put in practice than just theorizing it, of course.

On March 29 2014 03:12 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

You'd have to have a widespread consensus that working less is the priority. It would also be much more difficult to put in practice than just theorizing it, of course.

On March 29 2014 03:17 Nyxisto wrote:

If I'm not mistaken France has set 35 hours of work per week as a legal maximum with the goal to distribute labour more evenly. Doesn't seem very complicated to me.

On March 29 2014 03:36 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

A one off lowering is a bit different and there are also exceptions to the 35 hour workweek to make it more workable. I don't think you'll find that France has had zero issues with implementation either.

On March 29 2014 03:31 Wolfstan wrote:
My buddy working 60-80 hours a week is definitely working out for him. If you can get away with it, working 20 hours a week is fine too. Government shouldn't dictate minimums or maximums, leave that to the business and employees.

Gov. Scott Walker has quietly signed into law a bill that limits in-person absentee voting to no later than 7 p.m. during the week and no weekend hours. Walker vetoed a portion of the bill Thursday that limited the hours of early voting to no more than 45 in each of the two weeks prior to an election. He kept the prohibition on weekend voting.

On March 29 2014 03:49 Nyxisto wrote:

Well that's a pretty meaningless sentence. There's never zero issues with any policy. The point being is that distributing work more evenly isn't exactly rocket science.

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced Friday that David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority and a close ally, was resigning in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal.

"David tendered his resignation to me this afternoon, effective immediately," said Christie during an afternoon press conference in Trenton, N.J. "I want to thank him for his service and his friendship."

Christie's press conference -- his first in more than two months -- comes a day after the publication of a report that concluded the governor was not involved in the Bridgegate scandal, which shut down two of Fort Lee, N.J.'s access lanes to the George Washington Bridge from Sept. 9 to the morning of Sept. 12.

The investigation that produced the report, however, was conducted by Gibson Dunn, a law firm hired by Christie. The report also provided an incomplete picture of the events that took place, since the three individuals at the center of the controversy -- former Port Authority employee David Wildstein, former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly and former top adviser Bill Stepien -- all refused to cooperate and give their versions of what happened.

Questions about the extent of Samson's involvement continue to swirl, with emails showing that he was more concerned about leaks to the media than the effects the lane closures were having on commuters. Federal prosecutors have also sought records on how Samson's law firm has profited from construction projects paid for by New Jersey taxpayers.

Christie, however, did not seem concerned about impropriety on Samson's part. He said he hadn't seen any "facts" showing a conflict of interest between Samson's Port Authority work and his private lobbying. Christie noted that he asked Samson last year to stay on at the Port Authority through his reelection campaign.

On March 29 2014 03:20 Yurie wrote:


I think working less but more years is going to be a theme in the next decades. A lot of countries face problems with finding jobs for its people. A quick fix is shortening work hours, requiring more people to fill the same total hours. That is (from what I know) cheaper for the state than having them on social benefit programs. The risk with a portion working and another portion being supported by that is that it easily creates conflict, something that most societies don't want.

Another option is of course to have one stay at home person in each relationship. Which would run the risk of moving equal rights for genders towards its previous state.

On March 29 2014 05:40 Sub40APM wrote:

Like the German fellow above you pointed out, France has had a mandated 35 hour work week. All it seems to do in France is discourage French businesses from hiring any full time workers and instead creates a parallel employment market where on one hand you have people in secure jobs forever and on the other hand the vast hordes of part time workers.