ALSO VISIT

Senator Clinton told ABC's This Week that Bush has "no economic policy, as near as I can tell" and has placed all hope in blunt tax cuts. Gingrich says there is a new and growing danger of deflation in the US economy. He forecast a "20 to 30 year cycle" in which the globalization of trade, together with the "rise of India and China" conspire to undermine economic growth in the US.

The COPS program has effectively been closed by the Bush administration. Community Oriented Policing Services became law in 1994 and used federal funding to add tens of thousands of policemen to US cities. While American taxpayers are asked to pay for much needed Iraqi policing, even as cities and states across the country face financial crisis and new federal security mandates, funding for the COPS program has been abandoned by the White House. TV host John McLaughlin predicts that Congress will reinstate funding for the politically-sensitive program.

The New York Times ran a front page story today covering a provision of the recently passed Medicare legislation that shocks many. According to the Times, the new bill forbids seniors from purchasing "Medigap" insurance policies to cover gaps in federal coverage of prescription drug costs, stripping many of a needed safety net. The provision is shocking because the legislation was supposed to reduce the cost of drugs to seniors, while this particular component may have the effect of contributing to an overall increase for many.

Joe Klein, on NBC's Chris Matthews show, echoed the sentiments of various other pundits in predicting an insufferable tax burden for future generations required to pay the debts incurred by current government spending.

Demographic shift: millions of Americans have moved away from urban centers to "ex-urban centers", growing up amid the suburban sprawl around vital American cities. This migration appears to have unique political implications, but also depicts an economic overhaul of the American landscape. While some communities fight suburban sprawl, others are either flourishing or overwhelmed by the inrush of new businesses, capital and construction.

For more on ex-urban migration:

• The Sierra Club
• National Geographic
• NASA view of Baltimore expansion