Columnists

THE PUBLIC EYE: Obama’s Economy: 6 Truths

By Bob Burnett
Friday September 20, 2013 - 08:59:00 AM

President Obama’s September 16th speech on the economy was overshadowed by breaking news: the tragic shootings at the Washington Navy Yard. Nonetheless, it was an important address that contained six important truths.

The President reaffirmed the economy continues to be his “number one priority …making sure we recover from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, and rebuilding our economy so it works for everybody who's willing to work hard.”

The first truth is the economy has recovered since Obama took office. In 2009, the economy was shrinking and “businesses were shedding 800,000 jobs each month.” Now the economy is growing. Since 2010, “our businesses have added 7.5 million new jobs [and] the unemployment rate has come down.” During the same period, each quarter but one has seen a positive GDP and the unemployment rate has lowered from 10.0 to 7.3 percent.

But that’s not the whole story. The second truth is the recovery has been unbalanced. The President acknowledged, -more-


SENIOR POWER: Land Lords

By Helen Rippier Wheeler, pen136@dslextreme.com
Thursday September 19, 2013 - 09:38:00 PM

Health, housing and transportation are the three biggies for often-powerless senior citizens as well as for many boomers and disabled persons too. Many of the questions I receive involve housing. The problem isn't always getting a rental place or getting a voucher. Sometimes it’s getting peace and quiet and security while in that housing. Fear that activist response may lead to retaliation, losing one’s voucher and or to the landlord’s opting out of Section 8 inhibits some tenants’ attempts to cope with landlord, police, and BHA indifference to, or rejection of, dangerous conditions of harassment, theft, intrusion, contamination and noise.

Here are a few suggestions for coping with those dangerous conditions of harassment, theft, intrusion, contamination and noise, which are often “landlord problems.” -more-


ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Reasonable Accommodation

By Jack Bragen
Thursday September 19, 2013 - 10:06:00 PM

What can be done to accommodate high-functioning mentally ill people in a work or other situation? What does "reasonable accommodation," under the Americans with Disabilities Act, look like? -more-