PUBLICATIONS BY Israel Ortega
Research
Commentary
Media Appearances
2008 Research
May 13, 2008
How Reforms in Mexico Could Make the U.S. More Secure
By James M. Roberts and Israel Ortega
(Backgrounder #2135)
Failures in Mexico's economic model have pushed millions of unemployed workers toward the U.S., creating a crisis on both sides of the border. President Felipe Calderón must reform Mexico's economy to create new private-sector jobs, and President Bush and Congress should support Mexican efforts to help solve the immigration crisis, open Mexico to more U.S. exports and investment, and secure our border.
May 13, 2008
Executive Summary: How Reforms in Mexico Could Make the U.S. More Secure
By James M. Roberts and Israel Ortega
(Executive Summary #2135)
Executive Summary: Failures in Mexico's economic model have pushed millions of unemployed workers toward the U.S., creating a crisis on both sides of the border. President Felipe Calderón must reform Mexico's economy to create new private-sector jobs, and President Bush and Congress should support Mexican efforts to help solve the immigration crisis, open Mexico to more U.S. exports and investment, and secure our border.
2007 Research
June 05, 2007
Immigration Reform: The Need for Upholding Our National Language
By Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. and Israel Ortega
(WebMemo #1488)
An amendment being offered by Senator James Inhofe (R–OK) will give every Senator the opportunity to affirm the importance of declaring, preserving, and enhancing the role of the English language in the United States.
2008 Commentary
November 14, 2008
U.S.: Why we are All Winners
By Israel Ortega
What are we to make of this epic election? Are we really, as some contend, a country torn between "red" and "blue" America. Are there truly "patriotic" and "unpatriotic" quarters? A closer look at our country's history reveals otherwise.
November 04, 2008
Congress Can't Police Itself
By Israel Ortega
There's a reason football coaches spend so much time looking at tape of their team’s games. By looking back, they can identify mistakes and work with their players to make sure those mistakes don’t happen again. Plus, they can make changes they don't have time to implement during the game itself.
October 20, 2008
What about Latin America?
By Israel Ortega and Ray Walser
Halfway through the season's presidential and vice presidential debates, it seems likely there’s going to be little discussion of U.S.-Latin American relations during this election.
September 27, 2008
Gaining Health Care Coverage Without Losing Freedom
By Israel Ortega
Americans are anxious about the future of our health care system — and rightly so. They’re looking for a sensible way to extend coverage to the tens of millions of Americans who lack health insurance.
September 15, 2008
Class is in Session - What Will the New School Year Bring?
By Israel Ortega
Change is in the air. The leaves are changing colors, and there is less sunlight -- a sure sign fall is around the corner, bringing a new school year. And lawmakers already have their first assignment: fix the broken education system that fails to provide a quality education for our nation’s children.
September 08, 2008
Why Our Schools Need to Run Like Businesses
By Israel Ortega
Would it make sense to give a Burger King the power to decide whether or not a McDonald’s may open next door? How about if we allowed the New York Mets to pay their players based solely on how many years they’ve been in the Big Leagues? As strange as it sounds, the current educational establishment employs similar faulty business practices. And the results have been disastrous.
August 08, 2008
Protectionism 1 – Free Trade 0
By Israel Ortega
Trade's in trouble. With little time left in this year's legislative calendar and an unproductive meeting at the latest Doha Round, it's becoming painfully clear that protectionism is winning and free trade is losing.
August 04, 2008
What You're Not Hearing
By Israel Ortega
From rising gas prices and global warming to the war in Iraq and health care, the presidential hopefuls haven’t hesitated to bring up many of the pressing issues facing America. And yet there is one issue that both candidates have avoided so far -- even though it could threaten our nation's livelihood for generations to come.
July 30, 2008
The Real Meaning of the 4th of July
By Israel Ortega
Earlier this month our nation celebrated the 4th of July -- Independence Day. For American families, it’s a tradition that involves food, friends and fireworks. Unfortunately, as with many holidays, it’s easy to lose sight of why we’re celebrating.
July 07, 2008
Troubling Statistics for Hispanic Teens
By Israel Ortega
With the recent rise in gasoline prices, we’re all trying to cut corners to make our dollar last longer. For families with teens, this may mean less allowance money, coupled with lessons on better financial stewardship. While they’re at it, they may want to emphasize the importance of making good life decisions.
June 26, 2008
Opening America's Energy Potential
By Israel Ortega
Most New Yorkers rely on public transportation to get around. In an age of $4-a-gallon gasoline, they’re lucky.
June 21, 2008
Immigration Reform: A Two Way Street
By Israel Ortega
Immigration. Lately, speaking this one word alone is akin to stirring up a hornet’s nest. Nonetheless, our country needs to do something. Illegal immigration persists, and the natural question is: What will we do?
June 20, 2008
Why Polar Bears and Politics Don't Mix
By Israel Ortega
After months of relentless lobbying, environmentalists had reason to celebrate recently when the Bush administration named the polar bear a “threatened species.” Should we join in on the celebration? Not if you’re one of the many Americans feeling the pain at the pump because of rising gas prices.
June 05, 2008
Mexico Needs Reforms
By Israel Ortega
Mexico should open its nationalized oil, natural gas, and electricity sectors to private investment and participation.
May 21, 2008
The High Cost of Broken Families
By Israel Ortega
Between 1970 and 2005, the number of children living in two-parent homes has dropped from 85 percent to 68 percent. Essentially, one third of all U.S. children are now born outside of wedlock. Of significance, 46 percent of all babies born out of wedlock are Hispanic. Why should our community care? Or even yet, why should our government care?
May 06, 2008
Tax Hike on the Horizon
By Israel Ortega
There are some days (Christmas, the Fourth of July) that people look forward to, and there are some we dread. April 15 -- the deadline for filing taxes -- is certainly one of the latter.
April 19, 2008
Tough Love
By Israel Ortega
The sky is falling. At least, that’s what politicians who make a living out of pandering to the fear of the masses would like for us to believe. In this busy season of finger pointing, it’s easy to see why our elected officials would like to flex their political muscles for the constituents back home. But perhaps our country would be better served if our elected officials were to plot a more sensible and responsible course, even if it is not the most popular.
April 14, 2008
An Unexpected Ally?
By Israel Ortega
Now that the Eliot Spitzer administration is behind us, perhaps we can focus our attention again on tackling the most pressing issues facing New Yorkers. Let’s hope education leads the list.
April 01, 2008
The Trade Two Step
By Israel Ortega
Have you learned the steps to the latest dance sweeping the halls of Congress and race for the White House? If you answered no, it's probably because you aren’t a politician trying to have it both ways on free trade while improving our ties with our friends in Latin America.
March 17, 2008
Politics Doesn't Stop-Even for National Security
By Israel Ortega
Picture this: Two terrorists abroad are communicating over email/IM plotting a potential strike in New York City and the surrounding areas. The government knows that this communication is going to take place, but can’t do anything.
March 08, 2008
35 Years of Achievements
By Israel Ortega
For many, “conservatism” is a dirty word. It brings to mind an image of a stubborn, rich, greedy businessman trying to exploit others. At least, that’s the image the Left has managed to craft in many minds.
February 11, 2008
The Link between Economic Opportunity and Prosperity
By Israel Ortega
What accounts for the economic success of some countries and the shortcomings of others? Why do some countries boast high per-capita income while in others many citizens go hungry? Do historical circumstances shackle the success of developing countries as some contend? Or do specific actions taken by governments hold the answer to this perennial riddle?
January 23, 2008
Poverty and Hunger: Why the Government's Not the Answer
By Israel Ortega
Thanks to the endless media coverage of the upcoming Presidential election, there is no shortage of candidates talking about the plight of Americans facing tough times. Many even say we have a moral obligation to help the poor and disenfranchised. Perhaps, but the real question may be: What is the appropriate role of the federal government?
January 15, 2008
Public Elected Officials: Hispanics Want School Choice
By Israel Ortega
Here's a suggestion for a New Year's resolution for politicians -- listen to Hispanic Americans who support school choice. It's an issue of paramount importance to our country's children, and an issue where politicians' seem to be well behind the curve.
2007 Commentary
December 18, 2007
Read the Fine Print
By Israel Ortega
With the joyous holiday season upon us, it's easy to get wrapped up into writing a long wish list. But Santa's not the only one eager to grant wishes this year.
December 11, 2007
Hurting or Helping?
By Israel Ortega
In the House of Representatives' spirited rush out the door for Thanksgiving break, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus claimed it scored a victory for the Hispanic community recently. How? By striking down a measure that would have allowed the Salvation Army to require its employees to understand basic English.
November 21, 2007
Congress' Dirty Secret
By Israel Ortega
German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck once quipped, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” Well, that was true in the 19th century and its true today. This Congress' spending spree is enough to make anyone’s stomach churn.
November 03, 2007
Cuba at the Crossroads
By Israel Ortega
A critical power of the presidency is the ability to shine a spotlight on issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. So, thanks to President Bush's October 23rd speech on Cuba and Fidel Castro's deteriorating health, it’s not surprising that the issue is generating more discussion and drawing more ink in our daily newspapers.
November 02, 2007
The Do-Nothing Congress
By Israel Ortega
The final minute of a New York Red Bulls game, the ninth inning in a Yankees game, the last 30 seconds of a Knicks game -- what do all these things have in common with the current Congress? Well, lawmakers have only a short time left to fulfill one of its chief responsibilities – pass twelve appropriations bills to keep our government running. The pressure is on. Will Congress get the job done?
October 12, 2007
Children: The New Political Prop
By Israel Ortega
It was quite the spectacle the other day in front of the White House. Children as young as seven turned up to protest, begging the president not to veto an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or S-CHIP. But their pleas fell on deaf ears, and the veto happened anyway.
September 25, 2007
Who do We Listen To?
By Israel Ortega
With the eyes of the nation watching, General David Petraeus recently delivered a sobering report on Iraq to members of Congress. And yet, even before he'd said a word, many Americans had already made up their minds. Unfortunately, many of these Americans are our elected officials tasked with the unique responsibility of looking out for our best interests. It's sad that, even with this critical issue, too many can't set politics aside for the sake of our country and its citizens.
September 25, 2007
Hispanic Children, Getting Left Behind
By Israel Ortega
Don’t let the title of the bill fool you (the No Child Left behind Act). If Congress moves forward with this measure, many Hispanic children will indeed be left behind.
September 01, 2007
How Poor are the Poor?
By Israel Ortega
"The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer." It's a common catchphrase many Americans use to describe our economy. Politicians often repeat the phrase. Not too long ago, former Sen. John Edwards gained notoriety for claiming there are, "Two Americas -- one for the rich and one for the poor."
August 17, 2007
Hispanic Voters - Why We?re Not all Alike
By Israel Ortega
As the fastest growing minority population in the United States, the Hispanic-American electorate will play a critical role in upcoming elections. In fact, it’s likely that at this very moment someone is crunching numbers, trying to determine how best to attract Hispanic-American voters for their respective political party. But could it be that there is no magic formula to win the Hispanic vote?
August 02, 2007
Immigration reform: the need for upholding our national language
By Matthew Spalding and Israel Ortega
With the most expansive immigration and naturalization overhaul in the past 40 years languishing in Congress, it is worth pausing to reflect on the wise words of Alexis de Tocqueville: "The tie of language is perhaps the strongest and the most durable that can unite mankind."
June 29, 2007
I Don't Need Your Hot Soup
By Israel Ortega
Today's politicians continue to treat immigrants -- illegal as well as legal -- more or less like a giant herd of ethnic, voting cattle rather than free-thinking individuals. And often the media help propagate this dehumanizing view.
November 20, 2008
