By Nancy Spannaus Nov. 19, 2019—Are some Democrats actually ready to put the vital issue of infrastructure on Congress’s agenda again? Such a welcome change might be in the offing, thanks to the initiative of Oregon Democrat and Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio. Rep. DeFazio […]
By Angela Vullo October 3, 2019–On September 23, 2019, Illinois State Representative Mary Flowers called for an emergency hearing in Chicago to determine the causes of lead contamination in the city’s drinking water. Chicago has now joined Flint, Newark, and many other American cities in exposing the deadly threat of […]
By Nancy Spannaus Aug. 7, 2019—On August 7, 1789 Congress approved legislation for the first public infrastructure project in the just-born United States—our lighthouses! The legislation created the U.S. Light House Establishment, and it mandated that state lighthouses be turned over to the Federal government, which was charged with managing […]
July 6, 2019—As of July 1, 12 states raised their gasoline taxes, in a concerted effort to get the revenue to deal with their collapsing bridges and highways. The actions follow a pattern from recent years, over which time the Federal share of contributions to building and maintaining the nation’s […]
On the occasion of the anniversary of the TVA By Nancy Spannaus May 18, 2019—As we celebrate the 86th birthday of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), while in the midst of devastating floods in the Midwest, it is time to turn our minds to building a TVA on the Missouri. […]
Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10. By Nancy Spannaus May 11, 2019—When President Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, spoke of the need to “bind up the nation’s wounds,” he was not specifically referring to his signature construction project, the Transcontinental Railroad. But in all […]
By Nancy Spannaus March 9, 2019—The March 6 House Ways and Means Committee hearing on transportation infrastructure put the crucial problem which is blocking vitally-needed action on this topic, squarely on the table: the lack of understanding of the Hamiltonian principle of credit. From Representative Peter DeFazio, Chairman of the […]
Feb. 18, 2019—The need for a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), built along Hamiltonian principles, has come sharply to the fore in the current debate/uproar over the fate of California’s plans for a high-speed rail connection between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Establish a national bank with long-term, low-interest credit, capitalized […]
Feb. 5, 2019—On Feb. 4, a group of Arizona legislators, led by State Senator Juan Mendez, joined the national movement to get Congress to reimpose Glass-Steagall and establish a Hamiltonian National Infrastructure Bank. SM1001, a “Memorial urging Congress to reinstate portions of the Glass-Steagall Act and to support national banking […]
By Nancy Spannaus Aug. 27, 2021—Come September, I will be teaching two classes at local colleges on “Why American Slavery Persisted.” They will be offered, for a fee, at both the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Frederick Community College in Maryland, and the Lifelong Learning Program at Shepherd University […]
By Nancy Spannaus Aug. 6, 2021—The most appropriate way to respond to the tragically early death of Rand Scholet, founder of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society (AHA Society), is to press on with his mission of educating people about Alexander Hamilton. In this short remembrance, I want to review how […]
FDR’s Environmentalism: Improve Nature for Mankind
By Nancy Spannaus (Sept. 24, 2019–Yes, we need to improve nature! I am reprinting this article because I believe it is crucial to resurrect the thinking of the author of the original New Deal, in order to address the array of crises being faced by this nation, and the world. […]