CORRESPONDENTS

Tony Pugh

Demonstrators protest wars, Wall Street in nation's capital

A sun-soaked noon rally within blocks of the White House brought out hundreds of protesters Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of the Afghanistan War. On Freedom Square, sign-carrying demonstrators banged drums, sang and cheered a series of fiery speeches by anti-war activists, who decried the federal government's continued funding of the Afghan and Iraqi wars while calling for cuts to social programs for the elderly, poor and people with disabilities. | 10/06/11 18:35:00 By - Tony Pugh

From 'Occupy Wall Street' to electioneering, frustrated liberals rising

Demoralized liberals are trying to get their mojo back. Frustrated with Congress, outmaneuvered by the tea party and all but silent as the GOP swept the 2010 elections, liberals say they've had enough. | 10/03/11 18:55:00 By - Tony Pugh

Job-based health insurance premiums rise sharply

After modest increases last year, the cost of job-based health insurance for families and individuals has jumped sharply this year, even though insurers are paying less in benefits as cash-strapped American workers opt for less medical care. | 09/27/11 17:03:00 By - Tony Pugh

Medical device makers push Congress to repeal excise tax

In 2013, the Affordable Care Act will begin to levy a 2.3 percent excise tax on U.S. sales of certain medical devices, ranging from stents and defibrillators to artificial hips and bedpans. The tax is supposed to raise $20 billion over 10 years to help fund universal health care. It will cost Cook, the world's largest privately owned medical-device company, about $17 million of its $1 billion in annual U.S. sales | 09/22/11 12:39:00 By - Tony Pugh

Census: U.S. poverty rate hit 52-year high in 2010

Continued high unemployment drove the number of Americans living in poverty to a record high in 2010 and dragged down median household income for the third straight year since the Great Recession first darkened the nation's economy in 2007. | 09/13/11 18:21:14 By - Tony Pugh

U.S. food hardship rates still high, but hold steady

More than 17.2 million households had difficulty feeding family members at some point last year, as the rate of "food insecurity" in the U.S. continued to hover at near-record levels, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. | 09/07/11 16:01:00 By - Tony Pugh

This Labor Day, America's losing patience with jobless

As the nation celebrates U.S. workers this Labor Day weekend, many jobless Americans say they sense a growing indifference to their plight, and even a certain level of demonization. | 09/01/11 13:09:00 By - Tony Pugh

Poll: Americans are feeling worse about their economy

Continued high unemployment, the recent debt-ceiling circus and the stock-market swoon have left Americans more pessimistic about the economy than at any other time this year, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. | 08/11/11 17:39:00 By - Tony Pugh

Does debt deal put mortgage-interest deduction in play?

Just as Social Security and Medicare benefits were dangled above the shredder in the debt ceiling debate, another of Washington's sacred cows could end up on the chopping block soon as well. | 08/02/11 17:16:00 By - Tony Pugh

Hypocrisy reigns on all sides in debt ceiling showdown

In the battle to raise the debt ceiling, politics usually trumps principle. How else to explain the 180-degree turns that lawmakers of both parties have made in congressional debt-ceiling votes since 2002? | 07/25/11 16:33:00 By - Tony Pugh

Consumer watchdog agency to officially open for business

The most tangible government reform to grow out of the Great Recession officially goes live this week when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau assumes its regulatory authority on Thursday. The bureau will serve as America's "beat cop" against deceptive, abusive and predatory loan products in the financial marketplace. | 07/19/11 15:18:00 By - Tony Pugh

Debt limit stalemate forces new look at tax hike debate

While the walkouts, finger-pointing and ideological lines in the sand are nothing new to Washington politics, the current debt-ceiling stalemate has opened a dangerous new chapter in economic and political brinkmanship. | 07/14/11 16:21:00 By - Tony Pugh

Bad jobs report sparks more debate over government's role

With June unemployment rising to 9.2 percent and employers creating only 18,000 new jobs, liberals used the dismal report to make their case for more government spending to stimulate the economy. Conservatives, eager to tame runaway deficits, argued that the nation’s overwhelming debt was curbing job creation. | 07/08/11 19:42:31 By - Tony Pugh

Proposals to cut Social Security under scrutiny

Suddenly changes to Social Security may be on the table as President Barack Obama and congressional leaders negotiate a deal to raise the national debt ceiling and trim future budget deficits. | 07/07/11 17:16:00 By - Tony Pugh

Here's a debt reduction plan: Get billions in uncollected taxes

At a time when higher taxes or deeper government spending cuts seem to be the only options available to close the gaping federal deficit, going after more $400 billion a year in uncollected taxes should be a no-brainer. | 06/30/11 15:32:00 By - Tony Pugh

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