Stimulate Me. Taxpaying individuals will receive at least $600 in the form of a rebate check this May thanks to the U.S. government’s Economic Stimulus Package of 2008. This is going to cost the government $145 Billion (msnbc.com, Jan 08) . The rebate check will be delivered to about 160 million American families (cnn.com, Apr 08).
Policy & Development
Iran-Pakistan-India: Laying the ‘Peace Pipeline’
International Affairs, Public Policy
Update: October 2, 2008
Iran and Pakistan have decided to go through with the Pipeline without India (Link 1, Link 2)
Iran and Pakistan have decided to go through with the Pipeline without India (Link 1, Link 2)
A Natural Gas Pipeline that will connect these three critical nations.
Iran, Pakistan, and India, collectively known as the IPI, are very close to finalizing the ‘Peace Pipeline’ plan that would drop a critical natural gas supply line that would run through the three neighboring countries. As always, there is a catch (or several) – and India is weary of signing on because of the Price Revision Clause being imposed by Iran that would base the price of the natural gas on a formula that utilizes Japan’s gas market as a benchmark. Nevertheless, India’s participation in the ‘Peace Pipeline’ doesn’t seem to matter as much to Iran and Pakistan as they continue bilateral talks that suggest India’s role as merely an added bonus that would sweeten the deal. Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Shafkat Saeed, insists that if India rejects the terms of the deal, the oil will be routed through China instead.
�We have informed Iran that we are prepared to transfer Iran�s gas to China through this pipeline should India decide not to join the gas project.� [ Associated Press of Pakistan, Oct 2007 ]
Though India has assured that it will take part in the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline – it is clear that the TAPI pipeline is not a replacement for the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, and their lack of an absolute decision in light of U.S. pressure is proof that the IPI pipeline stands to bring benefit to the Indian economy. Continue reading …
Desperate Times – Desperate Measures? Loudoun County Passes Initiatives to Curb Illegal Immigration
Current Events, Public Policy
As expected, Loudoun County’s board of supervisors has passed measures aimed at clamping down on illegal immigration. Following suit with neighbor Prince William County, each jurisdiction’s new laws bear much similarity, and it’s only a matter of time before additional neighboring counties follow suit. Read today’s Washington Post article on the topic.
The county’s decision to pursue appear impulsive and have created a sort of sugar-coated state of emergency in the entire Northern Virginia area that surrounds the D.C. Metro area. Whether the desperate measures are as superfluous as they seem is subjective, at least at this early stage. Continue reading …
Prince William County Passes Tough Immigration Law
Current Events, Public Policy
As an eight year resident of Prince William county in Virginia I have witnessed the huge influx of Hispanic residents, estimated to have increased from 9.7% of the population in 2000 to 18% in 2005 – it has to be higher this year (WTOP News, July 2007).
This influx of Latino people, mainly from Central American countries, has created a sort of hysteria amongst Prince William’s largely conservative voting base. The ‘migrant workers’ gathered at 7-11 convenience stores (waiting for work), the boom of Hispanic shopping centers (food & ‘back-home’ goods), and not to mention the neighbors next door – since Hispanic homeownership has risen 2.2% from 2000 to 2005 in the United States.
The polemic here is that a large amount of Hispanic immigrants to Prince William are illegal – this is putting a large socio-economic strain on the county’s infrastructure. The new county law, passed yesterday, is aimed towards getting those illegal immigrants deported. The method: demand proof of lawful presence from any individual that can be detained on probable cause of violation of federal immigration laws. (Washington Times, July 2007) Continue reading …
Exporting Democracy to Iraq
International Affairs, Public Policy
Lately there has been much talk about exporting the essence of the U.S. democratic system into other countries across the globe, in particular, the most recent commotion has had to do with Iraq.
After the removal of Saddam Hussein in December 2003, the United States’ most immediate goals in Iraq became the elimination of the pro-Hussein insurgency and the installation of a functioning democratic government.
In March 2003 the majority of Americans (72%) supported armed involvement in Iraq to achieve these goals; nevertheless, conditions have become more realistic and the Gallup poll conducted on July 8th reported that the majority of Americans (62%) believe this whole Iraq situation was a ‘mistake’ (Iraq War Gallup Poll, July 2007). Continue reading …