Word: reliefs
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Hurricanes have a neat way of reminding Americans of their privilege. Louisiana State Representative John LaBruzzo experienced a reality check when he visited New Orleans residents seeking relief from Hurricane Gustav late last month. It is unfortunate that it takes a natural disaster for politicians, the media, and the rest of America’s elite to remember the existence of our nation’s poorest districts. It is even more unfortunate that when confronted with this reality, these eminently privileged and powerful individuals can do little more than blame and further punish the victims of a system...
...country. "Some of them are from states that are affected by the state sales tax deduction [a measure that makes sure the seven states without income taxes do not lose money under the federal code], others come from Midwestern states affected by floods and need the disaster relief in the package. Still others live in areas affected by Hurricane Ike," says Bruce Josten, a senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents three million U.S. businesses. "I think they're going to carefully going have to noodle out how they're going to vote on this...
...change enough minds. Ever mindful of what makes Congress run, the Senate, taking the lead, passed the second bill 74 to 25, with a few crucial add-ons to sweeten the pot for Republicans: extensions of popular tax benefits for business R&D and alternative energy, relief for the growing pool of people subject to the alternative minimum tax, disaster assistance for states affected by Midwestern floods and Hurricane Ike, and a provision raising the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's ceiling of guaranteed deposits to $250,000. And the initial no vote gave many members facing unhappy constituents so close...
Coming after two weeks that have only further dimmed Americans' view of Congress, the successful vote was a cause more for relief than for celebration. Legislators can only hope that voters will soon forget the unprecedented financial and political crisis, in which a lame-duck Administration desperate to get an emergency package passed had barely any sway with a Congress seemingly paralyzed by fear of the impending elections. There was that White House meeting a week ago, which some thought would be a photo op with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain to announce a bipartisan deal, but which...
...Procedure goodbye. Last week, Harvard Law School (HLS) announced that it would eliminate letter grades by the fall of 2009, adopting an “honors pass/pass/low pass/fail” grading system like those already in place at Stanford and Yale. The change no doubt comes as a relief for incoming 1Ls daunted by the prospect of competition with some of the brightest—and most cutthroat—students in the nation. But beyond merely assuaging freshman fears, the switch to pass/fail promotes the pedagogy and overall mission of the Law School as well. In any academic...