News & Public Affairs

Political Scientist Benjamin Barber discusses the importance of each citizen in solving global issues listen

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Tags: ethics, economics, Media, Benjamin Barber, terrorism

Some of the most important issues affecting people today—disease, terrorism, climate change—are not defined by region, but instead are global problems. That’s the take of political scientist Benjamin Barber, who spoke Wednesday night on The Ethics of Global Citizenship at St. Petersburg College in Seminole.

Barber began by illustrating just how connected the United States is to the rest of the world. He said that many Americans focus on the borders that outline...

Hillsborough budget process analyzed listen

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Tags: Budget, economics, Hillsborough County, Tampa

Officials with Hillsborough County announced earlier this month that decreasing property taxes would leave a huge deficit for next fiscal year, possibly more than $100 million. County Administrator Pat Bean said the reduced revenue could lead to 1,000 layoffs in the county, an admission which stunned some Commissioners and led to a heated discussion about how the County Commission ultimately works.

Leading off the discussion was county Budget Director Eric Johnson, who had little positive ...

Jeffrey Sachs on climate change and overpopulation listen

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Tags: Economics, economy, climate change

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wrapped up her first diplomatic mission to Asia earlier this week with climate change experts praising her for putting global warming at the center of U.S. foreign policy.

Clinton said the Obama administration wants to see economic growth continue in China. But she also noted that the two nations produce 40 percent of the world's heat-trapping gas emissions.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs writes extensively about the dangers of climate change. His lat...

The vast problems confronting President Obama listen

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Tags: Jeffery Sachs, economics

Jeffery Sachs is director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special advisor to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on the Millennium Development Goals.

His latest book is Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet, just published in paperback.

In his book, Sachs writes that the 21st century will overturn many of our basic assumptions about economic life, such as the end of American dominance in the world. We asked Sachs if he ever thought it might happen so soon. ...