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Don't Kill Jobs and Growth In The Name Of Deficit Reduction

Don't Kill Jobs and GrowthMore than 300 economists, policy experts and civic leaders have signed a statement warning political leaders of “a grave danger” that the still-fragile economic recovery will be undercut by austerity economics of the kind being pushed by conservative politicians and by the White House deficit commission. Read the statement and related commentary on the critical choices we must make to revive the economy.... read more »

Social Security Isn't Broke

In the deficit hysteria now sweeping Washington, Social Security has emerged in the bull's-eye as a target for cuts. But the best "fix" for Social Security is simply to tell the truth about it. Social Security isn't broke; there is no need to "fix" it. We explain why. ... read more »

Don't Kill Jobs and Growth In The Name Of Deficit Reduction

Don't Kill Jobs and GrowthMore than 300 economists, policy experts and civic leaders have signed a statement warning political leaders of “a grave danger” that the still-fragile economic recovery will be undercut by austerity economics of the kind being pushed by conservative politicians and by the White House deficit commission. Read the statement and related commentary on the critical choices we must make to revive the economy.... read more »

The Facts

The Next Austerity Disaster

NUMBER 11 | January 28, 2013

The leaders of both political parties suggest that more deficit reduction is needed and that it would help the economy. Not surprisingly, polls suggest that most Americans believe that cutting spending will help the economy, not harm the recovery. The reality is that spending is not out of control, the deficit is already plummeting, and we should be focused on fixing the economy to make it work for working people, not on austerity driven by wrong-headed deficit hysteria.

read more »

Holding the Economy Hostage

NUMBER 10 | January 22, 2013

Conservatives are trying to extort unpopular cuts in vital programs by holding the economy hostage. In total, the White House has agreed to spending cuts that total $1.5 trillion (or $1.7 trillion including interest savings) over 10 years. And the New Year’s “fiscal cliff” deal will raise $600 billion in taxes over 10 years. But all that has only encouraged them. Now they have triggered the biggest set of austerity bombs in history to go off this spring if they don’t get their way. Holding America hostage is a ridiculous way to negotiate a budget. It is time to say, "No more."

read more »

The News

The Campaign Disconnect

By Isaiah J. Poole
October 4th, 2010

Andy Stern: Invest Social Security Funds In Wall Street

By OurFuture.org Staff
July 1st, 2010

The Case

Making Voting Constitutional

Early last year, when Attorney General Eric Holder took a strong stand against voter-identification laws, he emphasized how much they violate core American ideals. “What we are talking here is a constitutional right,” he said. “This is not a privilege. The right to vote is something that is fundamental to who we are as Americans. We have people who have given their lives—people have sacrificed a great deal in order for people to have the right to vote. It’s what distinguishes the United States from most other countries.” The problem is: Eric Holder is wrong. Unlike citizens in every other advanced democracy—and many other developing ones—Americans don’t have a right to vote. Popular perception notwithstanding, the Constitution provides no explicit guarantee of voting rights. read more »

Employees? Consumers? Feh!

Should the Supreme Court uphold it, last Friday’s decision by three Reagan-appointees to the D.C. Circuit Appellate Court appears at first glance to rejigger the balance of power between Congress and the president. The appellate justices struck down three recess appointments that President Obama had made to the five-member National Labor Relations Board during the break between the 2011 and 2012 sessions of Congress partly on the grounds that Congress wasn’t formally in recess. It’s not that Obama has made a lot of recess appointments. He’s only made 32—compared to the 171 made by George W. Bush. Presidents have been making recess appointments since the mid-19th century, but this is the first time that the courts have objected. Certainly, the three judges on the D.C. appellate court voiced no such opinions when Bush was president. The real issue here is who Obama appointed, and to what agencies. read more »

Latest from our Bloggers

nov
19
2012
2:27 pm

Arm Yourself For Fiscal Cliff Arguments

By Dave Johnson

I joined Campaign for America's Future's Richard Eskow to talk about the "fiscal cliff" scare, austerity, Social Security, Medicare and how we WON the election so we really should be talking about jobs instead. read more »

nov
5
2012
1:09 pm

Obama's Closing Argument: A Winning Message

By Terrance Heath

When it comes to politics, it ain’t over ’til its’ over. And even then it may not be over. With the presidential election just days away, the contest remains close enough to ensure some jangled nerves and nail-biting among Republicans and Democrats. Still, the latest news and numbers should give President President Barack Obama a boost as he delivers his closing argument to voters. 

Should Obama emerge the victor when the dust settles after Tuesday, his closing argument will become the winning message. And voters convinced to reward Obama with a second term on the strength of that message will — and should — expect him to live up to its vision and promise. 

read more »

oct
5
2012
12:27 am

So DO Tax Cuts Create Jobs?

By Dave Johnson

In Wednesday's debate Mitt Romney repeated his claim that cutting individual and corporate income taxes creates jobs. But when you look at what actually happened, the periods when we had the highest tax rates were the periods we had the greatest job and economic growth. And the periods with lower taxes had lower job and economic growth. (And we all know what happened in the Bush years...) read more »

oct
2
2012
2:41 pm

Why Conservatives Have Lost "The Real Referendum"

By Terrance Heath

In his most recent column, Paul Krugman makes a convincing case that the "real referendum" in this election isn't about President Obama's (real or imagined) economic policies, but about the "the legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society, on Social Security, Medicare and, yes, Obamacare, which represents an extension of that legacy." Krugman predicts that President Obama will win this resolution, and goes on to question whether the President will honor the will of American voters in his second term.

If Obama wins, that means conservatives will have lost the "real referendum." Conservatives have already lost the "real referendum." They've been losing it for a long time — and it's worth considering why that's the case.

read more »

oct
1
2012
12:27 pm

A Mandate To Preserve And Extend Our Social Insurance System

By Digby

Those of you who read this blog know that I've been nearly apoplectic over the past few months over the behind the read more »

sep
27
2012
3:44 pm

Don't Let Them Push Social Security Off The Fiscal Cliff

By Roger Hickey

They call it the "fiscal cliff," but it's Social Security that's going to be pushed over it, unless we speak out now.

The forces of austerity in Washington are using the prospect of automatic spending cuts and tax increases at the end of the year to pressure Congress into a "grand bargain," slashing Social Security benefits in the name of deficit reduction.

read more »

sep
27
2012
2:44 pm

Demonizing The Poor: It's What's For Dinner

By Digby

This is awful, but I expect it happens every day and is only getting worse with the GOP assault on the "parasites": read more »

sep
20
2012
2:34 pm

Republicans Vote On Welfare Reform Lie

By Isaiah J. Poole

Republicans won't abandon the Obama's-gutting-welfare-reform lie, no matter how often it is discredited.

Today Republicans took the lie to the House floor, in the form of a resolution that would block the implementation of a Health and Human Services memorandum that would give states more flexibility in how they move welfare recipients into meaningful jobs.

read more »