The Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform ended its work not with a bang or a whimper, but, as Co-Chair Alan Simpson put it, by taking a "big banana and throwing it into the gorilla cage." Let's hope the gorilla doesn't slip on the peel and knock himself out before he can eat it. Seriously, the Commission and many other groups and individuals have brought much needed attention to the nation's budget deficit and debt. They have paid little or no attention, however, to a more important … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
Frank’s most recent blogs are highlighted on this page. To read other blogs or articles by Frank, click on the categories or publications links on the left.
The Island States of America: A Threat to Our Representative Democracy
The secessionists have garnered a lot of attention lately with their petitions to leave the union after Barack Obama won the national election. While their appeals may be headline-grabbing and fabulous fodder for talk radio and cable TV, they are substantively and politically unimportant and impotent. The issues of true significance for the future of our representative democracy are (1) the structure of our federal congressional districts and the Senate and House districts within the states; … [Read more...]
Fiscal Cliff or Bunny Slope?
Superstorm Sandy was a disaster brought to us by Mother Nature. The fiscal cliff is being brought to us by human nature. Which will be worse? Time will tell. What we can tell right now is that Sandy was unavoidable. The cliff, on the other hand, was and is completely avoidable. We should not go over it, fall off of it, or even slip at all while working our way down it. If we do, the only reason will be the perversity and illogic of human nature. The only way the worst case scenario can occur … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving Thoughts on Freedom and America
Most of us are probably familiar with Norman Rockwell's famous Thanksgiving painting of a family at home around the dining room table with "mom" putting the platter of turkey on the table with a beaming "dad" standing behind her. Many of us probably don't know that this painting is titled "Freedom from Want." Few, we believe, realize that this "Freedom" painting --which was one of Rockwell's Four Freedom paintings created during WW II -- traces its inspiration to an address that President … [Read more...]
The Real Winner: American Exceptionalism Defeats Extremism
ne of the things that makes America exceptional is the genius, common sense and level-headedness of its people. They proved their mettle once again on this Election Day. Immediately after the election, much of the media characterized the results as an indication that the country was divided and as a vote for the status quo. For example, The Washington Post observed in a November 7 editorial, “The nation was starkly divided before, and it remains starkly divided today.” George Will, in his … [Read more...]
Getting to Maybe: The Critical Need for Compromise in Congress
Saying no has been the modus operandi of the 112th Congress. For too many of our elected representatives, it has been either my way or no highway. Progress for the American economy and Americans has been compromised because there have been few attempts at compromise. Now that the country has a newly elected Congress, we hope those congresspersons and senators who will take part in the lame duck session and who will take office after the first of the year will realize that they are in … [Read more...]
US Presidential Election: Up to 35% of overall votes are expected to be cast before the polling day
The election to choose America's next president is still days away, but as of Tuesday, October 30 as many as 18 million Americans had already made their choices. In fact, up to 35 percent of the overall votes will likely be cast before November 6, the polling day. Because of the extremely close nature of the race, both the campaigns of President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney have made aggressive efforts to drive up early voting, especially in the swing states where the polls are very … [Read more...]
High Anxiety, Low Information, Moderate Expectations: The Importance of Voter Psychographics in Elections
Frequently, citizens' votes have more to do with who they are as opposed to who the candidates are or what their ads say. That's why when it comes to winning elections in close races understanding psychographics trumps demographics. Voters can be classified into three broad psychographic categories: High Anxiety, Low Information and Moderate Expectations. Political campaigns typically do a good job of connecting with the first two categories and a relatively poor job with the "moderates". … [Read more...]
8 states, 39 hours, 5300 miles: Obama, Romney working round-the-clock to canvass undecided voters
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in an around-the-clock dash to canvass as many undecided voters as possible in battleground states. With just a week left for the US presidential election, the inevitable conclusion one draws, looking at the schedule of the two presidential candidates, is this: All roads and airways lead to Ohio, Colorado, Florida and Virginia, and a handful of other battleground states. Both President Barack Obama and his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, are in an … [Read more...]
Election Day and Veterans Day: Time to Make the Connection
Nov. 6 will be our national Election Day -- a day on which we select the elected officials to represent us in Washington, D.C. Nov. 11 will be Veterans Day -- a day to honor and show respect for those who have served in our military forces. In this election, and in every election going forward, it is essential that we send a message to all candidates running for office that our veterans are respected and honored best when their interests and needs are placed above political wrangling in the … [Read more...]