We are a nation of borrowers, not savers, and therefore we will have no tolerance for a multi-decade deflationary recession that favors savers. We will pressure our politicians to "do something." Caught between the rock of debt and a hard place of slower growth--and unable to imagine transcendence in tax and budget cuts--our Washington geniuses will give us inflation.

Late last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved plans for Colorado's hospital tax almost one year after state legislators passed the law, reports the Denver Post. Gov. Bill Ritter signed House Bill 1293 on April 21, 2009, authorizing collection of the hospital provider fee.

The Consumer Protection Agency might be a nice way to provide some education about finance to the average American, and help to reduce fraud, and increase transparency in consumer contracts,. However it had less to do with the cause fo the crisis than many other factors. Reducing leverage, re-regulating derivatives, maintaining adequate capital, separating insured deposits from more speculative activities are much more important.

States whose attorneys general have a differing opinion and are filing challenges include Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington State, Idaho and South Dakota. The suing attorneys general are all Republicans except James "Buddy" Caldwell of Louisiana, who is a Democrat. In contrast, pro-health care reform attorneys general are going on the offensive in places like Oregon and Ohio, while the AGs in Georgia and Kentucky have refused requests from their governors to fight the legislation.

Bruce Mehlman, former assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy, however, said the decision may help speed the development of faster and more robust networks. "It may drive greater investment in broadband networks by removing regulatory uncertainty and perceived disincentives to invest in infrastructure," Mehlman said.

[T]he mindset of the author follows a more frequently espoused theory these days; that this whole democracy thing is way too cumbersome, and if we don't force the people to adopt our enlightened positions, they will wander in the darkness. Essentially, the author was suggesting that local governments were too slow to adopt advanced positions.