Archive
NYT Claims Deficit Means "No New Domestic Initiatives." Really? Even When They Cut The Deficit?
The New York Times made quite an assertion in its news pages -- not the oped page -- today: "For Mr. Obama and his successors, the effect of those [deficit] projections is clear: Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political compromises, creates some unforeseen...
Don't Let Citizens United Wreck Our Economy
In a landmark decision last week, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations could spend unlimited funds to influence American elections, overturning a century of legal precedent. The Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC undermines the integrity of the U.S....
Common Sense on Budgets
Amid the blizzard of statistics, trillion dollar deficits, howls about impending bankruptcy, and Republican stupocrisy that surround the budget, it is worth repeating a little common sense. 1. The huge deficits are caused primarily by the economic downturn, and the...
Progressive Breakfast - 2/2/2010
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. Split Reaction From Dems. Scorn...
Cut What?
Here’s an easy way to win an argument with a conservative over taxes and spending. Hand the conservative a piece of paper, a pencil and a calculator and ask him or her to write down exactly what spending they would cut, and by how much. And ask them to keep writing...
2011 Federal Budget: Timidity Instead Of Transformation
For a short period on NYTimes.com today, there was a compelling juxtaposition of stories: In one column, President Obama proposes a budget that "pivots to trim future deficits." Next to that story is a photo of firefighters in New York City fighting a blaze in which...
SOTU - A List Not a Vision
In last week’s State of the Union speech President Obama talked about jobs. It was a great speech. It was SO satisfying to see him scold the Supreme Court for enabling monopoly corporatocracy to replace democracy, scold the Repubicans for obstructing every single...
Jobs And Magical Thinking
If you hope hard enough, and look hard enough, the jobs will appear. At least, that's the thrust of Mark Lange's recent column in The Christian Science Monitor When we imagine that government - and even companies - "create" jobs, we're missing half the story: the...
Sen. McConnell, If We're Really Spending Too Much, Why Can't You Say What You'd Cut?
As the details of the President's budget proposal were surfaced, the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN, "Nobody thinks raising taxes in the middle of a recession is a good idea ... I think the problem is we spend too much." Put aside for a moment that...
Rigging the Rules: The Next Corporate Sting
The president's budget will trigger a new battle over America's direction. It contains many sensible proposals. But hidden in it is the next corporate sting: a massive tax break for multinationals. Here is how the rules get rigged.
