Category Archives: politics

Bronx Borough President Carrión Joins Obama Administration

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I am extremely proud to see a fellow Nuyorican appointed to a senior position in the Obama administration. After months of rumors that Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. may be offered a seat within President Barack Obama’s administration, last night I was excited to learn the buzz became reality. President Barack Obama tapped Carrión to be Director of the White House Office of Urban Policy.

Since Carrión became Bronx Borough President in 2001 over 2.2 billion dollars has been invested in residential real estate – resulting in 25,000 new units being built. He has directed 40% of his 2007 capital funding to housing development.

Carrión was born in Lower Manhattan and is of Puerto Rican heritage. He is the highest-ranking Latino elected official in the State of New York and also serves as the President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials. In 1997 Carrión ran and won a seat on the New York City Council. Prior to his role as City Council Member he served as District Manager for Community Board 5 in the Bronx.

Carrión graduated from Kings College, a Christian liberal arts college in Westchester County and earned his Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College of the City University of New York. He lives with his wife and four children on City Island in the Bronx.

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Will the Stimulus Package Save Us?

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On Tuesday, President Barack Obama will sign the $787 billion dollar stimulus package approved last week. Republicans are not happy, calling the package unlimited wasteful spending. However they did not offer a timely realistic alternative that would save homeowners, schools, and health care.

Pundits are pondering whether or not the package is enough or the right approach to fixing our broken and bleeding economy. The package is not going to get the country back on our financial feet right away, but it is something. Republicans may see it as a very expensive band-aid, however something needed to be done.

The approved stimulus package will help all of us. The financial government package will help the unemployed and the uninsured. Most working people will see a small tax cut that will show up as a few extra bucks in their paychecks. A large amount of money will go towards continuing and extending some unemployment benefits. And for the first time ever, the government will contribute to COBRA health insurance benefits for non-working people.

So will the plan save us from collective financial ruin? Maybe not right away, but it is a good start. Economists predict we will be in this miserable monetary situation for about two years. For now, we all need to continue watching every dollar, but keep buying what we need wisely to keep the economy moving.

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We Need This Stimulus Package Now!

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How much longer must we wait before our elected leaders approve the desperately needed stimulus package? The present economy is extremely weak, however how bleak does it need to be before our fearless leaders decide to get their collective act together? More and more companies are laying off thousands of people, interest rates are going up, and mail for the first time ever may now only be delivered five days a week. Imagine, no mail on Saturdays? If that’s not a sign things are getting bad, I don’t know what is. I do now that if something is not done soon we may begin seeing public hospitals, schools, and libraries close. Democrats and Republicans must come to an agreement real soon before a national financial panic grips our land from sea to shiny sea.

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An Amazing New America

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I woke up this morning and turned on CNN like every other day before heading off to work. But it was a new day. It still seemed unreal to watch the coverage of the inauguration ceremony and celebration of the first Black President of the United States. I know it is our new reality, however I felt a wonderful weirdness throughout the day. Did this really happen? I know it did, but it’s still just so amazing. Maybe I need another few days to really soak it all in.

(Photo courtesy of AFP – Agence France Presse.)

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MLK and Inauguration Day 2009

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Tomorrow is the actual birth date of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s national holiday honoring the civil rights leader happens to precede, by 24 hours, the inauguration of the first African-American President of the United States. Since Monday I have found the level of excitement within me rising exponentially each day. I look forward to commemorating the three-day holiday weekend thinking about how far our country has progressed since Dr. King led the 1955 Montgomery Alabama Bus Boycott. I will also be thinking of next Tuesday’s inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. Inducting the first African-American US President a day after the national MLK Holiday is just incredible and will mark the beginning of a new world.

As I think of the MLK national holiday and Obama’s inauguration, I can’t help but recognized a few additional connections between the two occasions. It’s interesting to note that Inauguration Day has been held on January 20th since 1937 and the first federally recognized MLK holiday occurred on January 20, 1986. Another interesting fact is that Illinois, the state that elected Barack Obama its US Senator, is the first state in 1973 to adopt MLK Day as a state holiday.

Underneath my extreme enthusiasm I am realistic enough to know that the world is not truly going to change overnight. However, the election of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States is a sign that our country is moving in the right direction. Any thing is possible if we dare to continue to dream, just like Dr. King dreamed of a better day.

(Image courtesy of ObamaBling.com.)

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