National Economy

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The powerless rise

The danger of the unfocused anger of the Tea Party
I’m an even-tempered guy. I don’t lose my cool more than, maybe, once or twice a day.
By AL DIAMON | May 19, 2010

Things are looking up?

Idiot Box
When the economy collapsed, we nuked pensions.
By MATT BORS | November 04, 2009

Co-dependent? The US and China

Action Speaks!
Action Speaks!, the panel discussion series at Providence art space AS220, continues its fall run with a conversation about the increasingly dependent relationship between the United States and China.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 14, 2009

The sunny side of the street

Politics and other mistakes
It's good to be known as an optimist. It keeps people from realizing you're actually a boob.
By AL DIAMON | July 22, 2009

A bad development

Citywatch
The most telling thing about this week's report on the R.I. Economic Development Corporation may be how many people didn't want to talk about it
By MARION DAVIS | April 22, 2009

Blue Balls

The word on the street is that sports are recession-proof — think again
It's one of the great myths of modern American life that, no matter what travesties befall us, sports will carry on unfazed.
By STEVEN STARK | April 15, 2009

Striving to build a 'sustainable' arts sector

Dire numbers from the Rhode Island State Council On the Arts
While some sectors, such as broadband technology and "green" energy, expect a big boost from the federal stimulus package, the arts got just $50 million — 1/100th as much as weatherization programs.
By MARION DAVIS | March 18, 2009

As bad as Wall Streeters

The greed of Boston's unions is staggering
Even in our 24/7, blog-and-Twitter media world, commentators can barely seem to keep up with the worsening economic conditions.
By EDITORIAL | March 11, 2009

It's getting easier to go green

THE ENVIRONMENT
In Rhode Island and across the US, economic troubles seem to be getting worse by the day. But green energy and conservation, several local advocates and entrepreneurs say, has a chance to flourish in the coming years.
By MARION DAVIS | February 25, 2009

Public colleges get the shaft

Fewer teachers. Bigger classes. More applicants. Huge tuition hikes. the outlook for Rhode island higher ed is bleak .
When it came time to pick a college, Thomas Ahrens just couldn't pass up the relative affordability of a University of Rhode Island education.
By MEAGHAN WIMS | February 25, 2009

Dance, Monkey!: Ardal O'Hanlon

Deep thoughts by Ardal O'Hanlon
Every week we put a comic in the hot seat. This week's victim: Ardal O'Hanlon.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | August 04, 2011

Obama explained

He defined, he led, he inspired
If Obama's inaugural address set a new tone, his speech to Congress drew a new map.
By EDITORIAL | February 25, 2009

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Plausibility is not its strongest suit
"Your mom and I think that if the American economy can be billions in debt and still be fine, then so can you," reason the absurdly accepting parents of Rebecca Bloomwood.
By BRETT MICHEL | February 18, 2009

Hope for young homebuyers

The lousy economy — and Obama's stimulus package — has a silver lining
Good news if you're in a sufficiently stable financial situation to think of bailing from greater Portland's rental-housing morass.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | February 23, 2009

Wish upon a czar

Paul Krugman could be Obama’s economic dream come true
Paul Krugman could be Obama’s economic dream come true
By STEVEN STARK | February 18, 2009

With friends like these

Obama should worry less about befriending the GOP and more about keeping his own party in line
Warren Harding was obviously not one of our greatest presidents. But during his little more than two years in the White House, he did offer some shrewd insights into life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
By STEVEN STARK | February 06, 2009

Serfdom: The economic quick-fix

Idiot box
Quick fix for your economic woes
By MATT BORS | February 04, 2009

The wrong man for hard times

State House Democrats need to stand up to the governor
Most Democrats see Barack Obama’s inauguration as a clear-cut, welcome turn to the left.
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 04, 2009

Nice package

Poetry not prose
As the largest stimulus package in world history winds its way through Congress, the critics are already out in force.
By STEVEN STARK | January 29, 2009

What's wrong with Augusta?

Whatever it is, it isn't new. Things were just as screwed up a decade ago — in the opposite direction
Charlie Colgan couldn't predict a recession if its arrival was signaled by warning lights and sirens.
By AL DIAMON | January 29, 2009

The pain hits home

Boston faces a sobering year
With unsuccessful wars running in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the worst economic crisis in almost 80 years likely to get worse long before it gets better, Barack Obama will face challenges of historic proportions when he becomes the nation's 44th president next week.
By EDITORIAL | January 14, 2009

Hey Guv: Pay it forward

Paying upfront
In no case can there be more borrowing. Not from Nature, not from our children, not from the future. It's time to pay it forward. To put back.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | January 07, 2009

Hey guv: stop slashing!

State budget cuts just make the recession worse
It seems as if there’s no light at the end of the state’s gloomy fiscal tunnel.
By LANCE TAPLEY | December 31, 2008

Money matters

Obama's victory was bought and paid for — with change
Conventional wisdom dictates that Barack Obama was swept into office on the winds of change.
By STEVEN STARK | December 24, 2008

Buy Nothing Day: A good cause for tough times

Consumerism
During the 11 previous years in which Buy Nothing Day has been staged in Rhode Island, there have been economic downturns and times when the national economy was humming.
By IAN DONNIS | November 25, 2008

UMaine feels the economic pinch

Tuition pressure
The University of Maine system is being asked by the state to describe how it would cut $10.6 million from its budget — the equivalent of 5.3 percent of the state money it gets — on top of the $19.1 million in cuts imposed earlier this year.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 19, 2008

Playing to our strength

Nothing like a mass bust for a sense of old-time mobbed-up Rhode Island
Well, despite the fact that Little Rhody has become the poster child for the national recession, leading all states in statistical categories like unemployment and debt per capita, it is nice to know that we are able to deflect public attention from our economic crisis by playing to our traditional strength: organized crime.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | November 19, 2008

Obama redraws the map

But the electoral shifts may not last
Barack Obama has made history. The next question is whether his victory has sparked a lasting electoral realignment.
By STEVEN STARK | November 07, 2008

The Doyle-Grebien mayoral fight energizes Pawtucket politics

Outside Providence: Two democrats square off in the Pawtucket mayoral election.
The race between incumbent Pawtucket Mayor James Doyle and Councilman Donald Grebien has largely turned into a clash over style rather than substance.
By MATT JERZYK | October 22, 2008

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