Tax Policy

Five Steps America Must Take Now to Combat Climate Change

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/15/13 By Michael Shank and Matt Lichtash The government shutdown, even after it ends, will slow much of the president’s second-term agenda items. Obamacare isn’t the only policy on the political chopping block.  Despite reports by U.N. scientists and Nature researchers this month that the […]

Busting the Biofuels Boom

NATIONAL JOURNAL 07/29/13 By Michael Shank While I am all for a renewable fuel standard that boosts our production and consumption of renewable energy – as opposed to non-renewable fossil fuel energy – I think it is worth identifying several myths about biofuels first. In a bipartisan column I wrote […]

The Bipartisan Way to Cut Costs in Congress: Energy Efficiency

NATIONAL JOURNAL 07/15/13 By Michael Shank Rarely does one turn to Congress for innovation. That is certainly the case with energy efficiency. Congress may be a go-to on oversight and accountability but not innovation. The Pentagon, in contrast, while not a leader in oversight and accountability (with no audit planned […]

Cost Cutting in Congress Faces Fossil Fuel Obstructionism

HUFFINGTON POST 07/13/13 By Michael Shank Rarely does one turn to Congress for innovation. That is certainly the case with energy efficiency. Congress may be a go-to on oversight and accountability but not innovation. The Pentagon, in contrast, while not a leader in oversight and accountability (with no audit planned […]

Congress Should Scrutinize Pending Trade Pacts

POLITIX 07/05/13 By Michael Shank President Barack Obama’s decision to suspend trade relations with Bangladesh due to worker safety concerns sets new a precedent for two major trade deals on the administration’s docket – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). These proposed pacts […]

We Must Revive the American Dream by Alleviating Poverty

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/26/12 By Michael Shank David Francis is right to question “Is the American Dream Dead?” (09/25/12). By all accounts, it is. The question, then, is how to revive it. According to this month’s Census Bureau report, America witnessed a 1.5 percent decline in the real […]

What Paul Ryan’s Economic Roadmap Means for America

POLITICO 08/24/12 By Michael Shank Working with one of House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s Democratic colleagues on the budget committee, as senior policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Michael Honda (D-Calif.) for several years, I know the economic picture Ryan is trying to paint all too well. It is a grim […]

Germany’s Lesson for U.S. – Keep Faith With Workers

CNN 02/24/12 By Michael Shank and Thorben Albrecht (CNN) — As Germany continues to rise as lead survivor — and decision-maker — in the European Union’s economic mire, the U.S. would do well to take a lesson from the country’s economic model, particularly in manufacturing. Losing 4 million jobs over […]

Climate Change Fight Includes Private Sector

ROLL CALL 01/25/12 By Michael Shank and Melissa Powell With last month’s climate talks in South Africa postponing specific carbon cuts until 2020, it is clear that something more than mere nation-state commitments will be needed to counter climate change and reduce global warming. With nations reluctant to recommit to […]