The Lost, The Dead, and The Unregistered

 Posted by Mike  2012 Election, Book Related, U.S. Politics  No Responses »
Feb 142012
 

The Pew Center released a report today which outlined the huge problems with voter registration in the United States. The report mentions really two separate issues:

1) Roughly 1/4 of all eligible voters, about 51 million people, are not properly registered to vote. In 2008 this caused more than 2 million voters who either showed up to the poll or filled out ballots to not have had their vote counted. And that’s not counting the people who realized at the last minute that they wanted to vote, but didn’t because they hadn’t properly registered.

2) Roughly 1/8 of all active registrations are invalid, including 1.8 million dead people, 2.8 million people with active registrations in more than one state, and up to 12 million with incorrect contact information.
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Democracy Despite Itself on US News & World Report

 Posted by Mike  Book Related  No Responses »
Feb 132012
 

The Washington Whispers column on US News and World Report just posted a piece on Democracy Despite Itself. Check it out!

Check out Fox and Friends Sunday

 Posted by Mike  Book Related  1 Response »
Feb 092012
 

This Sunday at 6:30 AM Danny Oppenheimer, my coauthor, will be appearing on the Fox and Friends morning show to promote our new book on democracy. In case you don’t know, Fox and Friends is the Fox News Channel’s answer to the Today Show or Good Morning America; it runs from 6am to 10am Eastern time (check your local listings), and Danny is scheduled to appear about a half hour into the show. Check him out!

Symbolic Fairness

 Posted by Mike  Book Related, Business And Regulation, U.S. Politics  No Responses »
Jan 312012
 

Congress is rapidly moving forward on legislation that would end the insider-trading exemption enjoyed by members of Congress. This is exactly the kind of law that Congress needs to pass–although for reasons that have more to do with the long-term consequences than the short-term effects of the law in question.

Now, current law actually isn’t too unreasonable. Yes, the exemption gives members of Congress a huge advantage when constructing their stock portfolios. But having 535 people trading on insider knowledge does not substantially alter stock values, in most cases, and does virtually no damage to the health of the economy. Insider trading laws exist so that stock prices are determined by public information, and therefore uninformed people can participate and make money in the market. Having exemptions for a very small number of people doesn’t really change that.
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Democracy Despite Itself Available on Kindle Now!

 Posted by Mike  Book Related  No Responses »
Jan 192012
 

Download your copy today. Also, Danny will be giving the first of many author events on this Saturday, Jan 21, at Book Soup in Los Angeles. Check him out if you’re in the area. For a full list of events, please keep an eye on the book’s website.

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