Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, has been arrested on Federal corruption charges. The charges, which range from improper appropriations and “pay to play” to seeking financial gain from filling Barrack Obama’s now vacant US Senate seat, are numerous. Blagojevich, a Democrat, was first elected in 2002, and is currently serving his second term as governor. [Read more]

As President-Elect Obama prepares for his inauguration and the first actions of his presidency, one issue continues to dominate the headlines and the lives of many Americans. The Economy – As was announced last week (not to anyone’s surprise), the US economy has entered into a recession. “Recession” has a very simple definition: a decline in gross domestic product or negative real economic growth for 2 or more consecutive quarters. So many different “indicators” can lead to and result from the “downturn” – one major concern for President-Elect Obama’s administration will be the continuing rise in unemployment. Due to the credit crisis, many businesses are unable to secure the funds... [Read more]

Following days/weeks of speculation – and a “sure thing” endorsement from the national media – Barack Obama announced today that he will nominate Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. Clinton has been touted as a choice who can “hit the ground running” as she has a substantial knowledge of foreign affairs and is a respected envoy. Assuming that she will be approved by the Senate (each cabinet member will be questioned by and voted upon by the Senate, following the inauguration), Clinton will relinquish her New York Senate seat. She has served in the Senate since 2001. By nominating Clinton, Obama is staying true to his pledge to staff his cabinet with diverse and possibly antagonistic parties. The... [Read more]

…the economists have announced that the US is, indeed, in a recession. And this isn’t a new development either – the US economy has, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, been in a recession since December, 2007. The categorization is based on economic factors such as personal income, employment, production and sales – all of which have been “down” in the past 12 months. One year – while our elected and appointed officials have been loathe to use the “R word” – it’s been clear, to most observers, that the US economy has been on a down turn. Historical data suggests that the current recession has lasted “longer” than past down turns. But if we’re... [Read more]

Today, President Elect Barack Obama announced further measures that he plans to take to help the US’ ailing economy (which seems to be becoming a daily occurrence). He announced the creation of an Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Obama intends to fill the board with the nation’s top economic strategists and policy people. Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, will lead the board and Austan Goolsbee, one of Obama’s advisors, will serve as chief economist. The board will, presumably, assist Obama as he reviews the current budget and workings of the government as he prepares his budget and outlook for his administration. [Read more]