Ben Ritz

Author's details

Name: Ben Ritz
Date registered: May 14, 2012

Biography

Ben is the Policy Director and Fiscal Policy Chair for the AU College Democrats. He is currently employed at the Concord Coalition where he is an aggressive advocate for sustainable budget policies. Previously, he has worked at the Economic Policy Institute and offices in all three branches of government.

Latest posts

  1. It Only Gets Worse From Here — January 2, 2013
  2. Shut Up and Have a Conversation — December 14, 2012
  3. No Time to Celebrate Just Yet — November 8, 2012
  4. To Beat Romney-Ryan, Obama Must Embrace Bowles-Simpson — August 11, 2012
  5. Answering Erskine Bowles’ Call to Action — May 14, 2012

Author's posts listings

It Only Gets Worse From Here

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Uncategorized

January 2, 2013

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Speaker Boehner speaking with President Obama (Source: CNN)

The deal to avert the fiscal cliff was a major development in the budget battles that have been going on for the last two years. It raised taxes for the first time in 20 years. It split the House and Senate GOP unlike anything in recent memory. And perhaps most noteworthy, it passed the Republican-controlled …

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Shut Up and Have a Conversation

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Uncategorized

December 14, 2012

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Right before President Obama gave his statement on today’s shooting, Jessica Yellin of CNN prefaced it by saying, “At this point, we know how President Obama usually handles these kinds of situations.” I could rant at how outrageous it is for political prognosticators to be dissecting the speeches of politicians right after a tragedy of …

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No Time to Celebrate Just Yet

Categories:

Activism, Election Politics, Fiscal Policy, Policy, Uncategorized

November 8, 2012

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Chart by The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

  We won. Thanks to our efforts, Barack Obama clinched re-election on Tuesday, and Democrats are on track to gain a net two seats in the Senate, and seven in the House. But despite two years of partisan gridlock and political posturing, control of government remains divided just as it was before Election Day. We …

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To Beat Romney-Ryan, Obama Must Embrace Bowles-Simpson

Categories:

Election Politics, Fiscal Policy, Healthcare Policy, Uncategorized

August 11, 2012

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Paul Ryan

The wait is over. Mitt Romney has made his move and selected House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) as his vice-presidential nominee. This is a bold decision that turns the race from a referendum on the unemployment rate to a choice between two very different fiscal paths for America. After months of empty rhetoric …

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Answering Erskine Bowles’ Call to Action

Categories:

Fiscal Policy

May 14, 2012

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Yesterday, attendees at the 2012 School of Public Affairs Commencement ceremony were treated to an alarming speech with an inspiring call to action from one of our nation’s best and brightest. Erskine Bowles, formerly President Clinton’s chief of staff and the Democratic co-chair of President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, used the …

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Why Obama is Right on Gay Marriage (and, in my opinion, always has been)

Categories:

Marriage Equality, Social Issues, Uncategorized

May 10, 2012

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I’m a member of the AU College Democrats’ leadership, so it’s probably no surprise that I support the marriage equality for same-sex couples. But what might not be so obvious is that this is a very, very recent change for me. While I know some of my more liberal colleagues may chastise him for taking …

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The Truth About Social Security “Surpluses”

Categories:

Fiscal Policy

April 24, 2012

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When Senator Sanders came to speak last night, he and I had a relatively heated exchange. Towards the end of his speech, Sanders apologized for his generation’s shortcomings: for leaving us with a lower standard of living than our parents, climate change, and a $15 trillion national debt. Some interesting news came out yesterday relating …

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