The response to the epidemic has been hampered by the recession, which has left state and local health departments on the front lines of defense weakened by years of sustained budget cuts. Here in Skagit County, about an hour’s drive north of Seattle — the hardest-hit corner of the state, based on pertussis cases per…
Category: Austerity
Montclair, New Jersey: small town battle over the budget
Montclair, NJ is a small (37,000+), fairly affluent and diverse town in New Jersey, with views of the Manhattan skyline. The town has a three-way mayoral race underway that seems to hinge on debates over whether the town needs to trim spending on social programs, such as preschool and libraries. A “liberal” town, having the same…
The French Electorate rejects austerity?
While the language of austerity isn’t widely used to talk about the U.S., the New York Times has framed the political developments in Europe around the debate between stimulus and austerity: PARIS — Hours after voters in France and Greece delivered sharp rebuttals to advocates of austerity as the antidote to Europe’s financial crisis, Chancellor…
Death of a Fairy Tale – NYTimes.com
Paul Krugman’s take on the news from Europe over the past weeks: However, something has changed in the past few weeks. Several events — the collapse of the Dutch government over proposed austerity measures, the strong showing of the vaguely anti-austerity François Hollande in the first round of France’s presidential election, and an economic report…
Saving a bankrupt city in Japan
Interesting piece on “Japan’s youngest mayor,” trying to “save” the bankrupt city of Yubari, Japan. Most young people have already fled this city of empty streets and shuttered schools, whose bankrupt local government collapsed under the twin burdens of debt and demographics that are slowly afflicting the rest of Japan. Now, Yubari, a former coal-mining…