wonkroom.thinkprogress.org — There is one consensus among all lawmakers as they push to bring back the jobs lost over the last few years and lower the unemployment rate: small businesses are the key. But Republican leaders are manifesting their desire to help small businesses by pushing for an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the rich (which will help less than two percent of small businesses) while simultaneously filibustering a bill providing tax credits to actual small businesses
huffingtonpost.com — After opposing, stalling, stonewalling and filibustering almost every recession-related bill for the past year, Republican lawmakers have finally proposed a jobs plan of their own: a bigger, more expensive version of George W. Bush's tax cuts for the rich.
That's the question, as the Senate puts off a vote on $10 billion for state and local governments to prevent teacher layoffs. Senate leadership wanted the bill to be deficit neutral--a line never applied to war funding, where no spending's too great because we're killing for peace. Estimates are that it costs $1 million per soldier per year to keep troops in Afghanistan. But enough of that.
huffingtonpost.com — We're only three months away from the midterm election when a shockingly large number of American voters will inexplicably vote for Republican candidates. Why? Because too many voters tend to be low-information, knee-jerk Springfield-from-The-Simpsons types, and the Republicans have lashed their crazy trains to this new wave of inchoate roid-rage to help sweep them into more congressional seats.
robertreich.org — Second-quarter earnings reports are coming in, and they’re making Wall Street smile. Corporate profits are up. And big American companies are sitting on a gigantic pile of money. The 500 largest non-financial firms held almost a trillion dollars in the second quarter, and that money pile is growing larger this quarter. Profits that plummeted in the recession have bounced back. Big businesses have recovered almost 90 percent of what they lost. So with all this money and profit, they’ll start hiring again, right? Wrong — for three reasons.
consortiumnews.com — The “recovery,” so breathlessly trumpeted by Obama and other politicians who want it to be true, is not generating the new jobs we need. The resumption of unemployment benefits will help those who were cut off but not all who need them. Foreclosures are rising, and government programs to stop them are not working. It is unlikely that the current policies can remedy any of this and it is certain that the Republican demand for extending George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the rich will not create jobs.
krugman.blogs.nytimes.com — Mankiw’s broader point is that since we have seen nothing like this before except for the Great Depression, we should be humble and risk averse–and hence have the government stand back and wash its hands of the situation.
However, even a minor and hasty acquaintance with the Great Depression teaches that the belief that the government should stand back and wash its hands because the self-regulating market quickly returns to full-employment equilibrium is the most arrogant belief possible.
guardian.co.uk — Sunday afternoon, a storm hit Washington. It knocked out the power not only in my house, approximately 3 miles from the White House, but also in large chunks of the city and suburbs. Fifteen hours later, we still don't have power. The shocking truth is: it wouldn't happen if the government gave people work.
thenation.com — While the middle class disappears and poverty increases the wealthiest people in our country are not only doing extremely well, they are using their wealth and political power to protect and expand their very privileged status at the expense of everyone else
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