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The High Costs of Cheap Talk by Jakob S. Hacker, Paul Pierson, Huffington Post | December 1, 2010
Perhaps the best that can be said about President Obama's preemptive sacrifice to the deficit-reduction gods -- a two-year freeze on pay for non-military federal workers -- is that it represents small change. Amid widespread calls for big immediate cutbacks that could endanger a painfully weak recovery, the president's proposal might seem a modest offering to calm the screeching deficit hawks. But the price isn't as small as the numbers suggest. In one fell swoop, the president has validated three dangerous myths that, if accepted, are likely to consign the United States to years of economic struggle and a continued widening of the huge gap in our society between the richest and the rest. read more »The United States of Fear by Tom Engelhardt, tomdispatch.com | December 1, 2010
It’s finally coming into focus, and it’s not even a difficult equation to grasp. It goes like this: take a country in the grips of an expanding national security state and sooner or later your “safety” will mean your humiliation, your degradation. And by the way, it will mean the degradation of your country, too. read more »The Showdown on Tax Cuts for the Rich by Robert Reich, robertreich.org | December 1, 2010
The President met with Republican leaders at the White House this morning to talk about whether the Bush tax cuts should be extended to top taxpayers, as Republicans want. No decision has been reached, but this is the first test of the President’s resolve with the new Congress — and he should be tough as nails. The economics and politics both dictate it. Taxpayers in the top 1 percent don’t need it. They don’t deserve it. They won’t spend it to stimulate the economy. And giving it to them blows a giant hole in the budget. read more »Freezing Pay = Losing Votes by Chris Bowers, dailykos.com | November 30, 2010
Freezing the income of millions of federal employees will have negative effects on President Obama’s re-election campaign. And no, this is not because it will anger left-wing groups or discourage the activist base. Rather, it’s because this policy move will reduce the real disposable income of millions of voters through the 2012 elections. Among all economic indicators, annual changes in real disposable income have the strongest correlation to electoral outcomes. A pay freeze would mean declining real disposable income, which is seriously bad news for an incumbent party’s electoral chances. read more »The Unreported Economic Depression in Black America by Devona Walker, blogs.alternet.org | November 30, 2010
The definition of an economic depression is a severe economic downturn, one that typically last several years. The last depression the country as a whole experienced was in 1929. It lasted 10 years. It was marked by 25 percent unemployment, wages that declined 42 percent. And a total economic output that fell from $103 to $55 billion. The current recession the nation is much worse for Black America. This may have been a recession for the nation as a whole. But this is a classic depression for Black America, and few appear to be paying attention. read more »Saving Progressivism from Obama by Robert Kuttner:, alternet.org | November 30, 2010
If politics continues on its present course, about the best one might expect for 2012 is that the Republicans will nominate such a nut-case that Obama will stagger to re-election. But unless he is re-elected with a mandate to carry out drastically different policies, we can anticipate continued economic pain and continuing drift of the electorate to the right. So what is the alternative? My audacious hope is that progressives can move from disillusion to action and offer the kind of political movement and counter-narrative that the President should have been leading. read more »The Spanish Prisoner by Paul Krugman, The New York Times | November 30, 2010
The best thing about the Irish right now is that there are so few of them. By itself, Ireland can’t do all that much damage to Europe’s prospects. The same can be said of Greece and of Portugal, which is widely regarded as the next potential domino. But then there’s Spain. The others are tapas; Spain is the main course. What’s striking about Spain, from an American perspective, is how much its economic story resembles our own. read more »The Economics and Politics of Elizabeth Warren by Simon Johnson, baselinescenario.com | November 30, 2010
Don’t play the Republicans’ game by agreeing to debate “big” vs. “small” government. This is a complete illusion – just watch the favors that businesses will seek from Republicans on the Hill; not all of these appear “on the government’s balance sheet”, to be sure, end up costing the taxpayer a lot of money. The political debate should begin with documenting business practices that are misleading and duplicitous, wherever they occur. We need transparency and accountability in the financial sector – and in all other parts of our economy. Elizabeth Warren is exactly the right person to lead this charge. read more »Deficit Hawks: Substituting Money for Competence by Dean Baker, truth-out.org | November 30, 2010
The Washington Post, National Public Radio (NPR) and everyone else who is respectable in Washington agrees: we must do something about the deficit now. They also agree that this "something" involves major cuts to the Social Security and Medicare, programs that the middle class depends upon. According to these knowledgeable, respectable types, there is no alternative to painful cuts. The question is whether politicians will have the courage to take a baseball bat to the middle class. read more »Can Obama Fight the GOP's Blame Game? by E.J. Dionne Jr, The Washington Post | November 30, 2010
I am afraid that we are about to enter a two-year period in which the Beltway Republicans will always blame Obama's America first - you know, the America that is not the "real" America, the America that happens to disagree with much of the conservative agenda, the America from which they want to "take back" the country, as if the rest of us represent an alien force. If Obama and his America are for something, even if that something is in the nation's interest, it will be rejected out of hand. read more »
The Latest
TARP expected to cost U.S. only $25 billion, CBO says, The Washington Post | November 30, 2010
The Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was widely reviled as a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street titans, is now expected to cost the federal government a mere $25 billion - the equivalent of less than six months of emergency jobless benefits. read more »
If GOP wins, Expect More Obstruction, The Washington Post | October 19, 2010
I'm cautious about the conventional wisdom that the Democratic Party is about to get flattened by a Republican steamroller. Pollsters are less certain than they'd like you to believe about who's a "likely voter" and who isn't. read more »
Bank of America to restart foreclosures in 23 states, The Washington Post | October 19, 2010
Just 10 days after announcing a nationwide halt to foreclosure sales, Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, said Monday that it would begin resubmitting paperwork on Oct. 25 to restart foreclosures on borrowers who missed their payments in 23 states. read more »
Banks Restart Foreclosures, The Wall Street Journal | October 19, 2010
Bank of America Corp. reopened more than 100,000 foreclosure actions, declaring that it had found no significant problems in its procedures for seizing homes. GMAC Mortgage, a lender and loan servicer, said that it also is pushing ahead with an unspecified number of foreclosures that came under intense pressure.
