Archive
Mad Money
I have a confession to make. I've been trying to grasp the national global economic situation. I even constructed a (popular and recently updated) timeline. But I didn't feel I could make any sense of it, Because, no matter how many times I've had it explained to me,...
Meltdown Timeline, Updated
Yikes! I realized that the Meltdown 2008 timeline needed updating, with all that's gone on this week. And when I logged in to add new events I discovered my timeline was featured on the front page, among the "Trending Topics - Making a Splash"! (The screenshot below...
The Bribe So Far: $151 Billion
In the unsanitary sausage kitchen that is Congress, the bailout bill that the Senate approved Wednesday night is particularly ugly and smelly. Must vote-buying be so shameless in the midst of a serious financial crisis? We've focused a lot on what this bailout bill...
This Bailout Is Still A Bad Deal
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a bad bailout bill last night. Nothing to kick-start the real economy, except tax breaks for business. No help for homeowners.. No mandate for taxpayers to get shares in the banks that are bailed out. Virtual unchecked...
A Media 'Disaster' Of Games, Gaffes and Gotchas
A new report released this week adds some statistical weight to what dismayed us about the media's performance during the 2008 primary debates: The media failed to engage the candidates in a meaningful discussion of the issues, but instead largely focused the...
Happy Energy Freedom Day! ... Uh, Where's The Party?
Today, the ban on most coastal drilling has officially expired. Conservatives planned to claim this day as "Energy Freedom Day." But the celebration seems awfully quiet. Conservative politicians, who went into a "Drill, Baby, Drill" frenzy all summer, got exactly what...
Firing Back on the CRA Libel
Conservative pundits and politicians have piled onto the excuse like shipwreck victims clinging to a passing log: The real blame for the current economic crisis lies not with anything they did, but rather with the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act—a successful...
A Progressive Plan for Health Care
Long before anyone had been nominated or elected, the voters of 2008 had gotten one message across loud and clear: Fix our dysfunctional health care system! For obvious reasons (and big reasons that aren't so obvious), the leaders of 2009 must heed that call....
The One-Sided Idea War: Newt Edition
The one-sided idea war continues. Last week, it was evident that while progressives were bursting with fresh ideas to get our deregulated derailed economy back on track, conservatives were running on fumes -- reflexively offering 80s right-wing favorites like more...
Prisoners of War
On September 29, Congress revolted against the $700 billion price tag of the proposed bailout of Wall Street. The day before, that same Congress passed without murmur—unanimously in the Senate—a $700 billion budget for the Pentagon in 2009. The worst financial crisis...
