Archive
The Truth and Consequences of Sequestration, Pt. 1
"Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan," the old proverb goes. The sequester is one of the biggest examples of Washington's failure to address the crises facing the country, but it is not an orphan. This failure has more fathers than even a "Maury Povich Show" paternity test could begin to sort out.
Sorry, Tyler Cowen, We're Not Taking Any More Lumps
I have a message for Tyler Cowen, the occasional New York Times columnist and George Mason University professor who was quoted this morning in a Times story on the effects of the upcoming federal spending sequester: We're done taking our lumps. "It may be time to take...
Unmarried Women Reject The Right's Sequester Line
Republicans and deficit hawks are out of touch with unmarried women voters, and that is particularly true when it comes to the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester that are due to go into effect Friday. A study released today by Democracy Corps,...
Macho Men, Social Security and the Chained CPI
In societies across the globe, men demonstrate their manhood in different ways. There are many wonderful tracts on the topic. However, in the culture of Washington DC, the best way to demonstrate your manhood is to express your willingness to cut Medicare and Social Security. There is no better way to be admitted into the club of the Very Serious People.
This is the reason that we saw White House spokesman Jay Carney tell a press conference. He told the reporters that President Obama is still willing to cut Social Security benefits by using the chained CPI as the basis for the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). This willingness to cut the benefits of retirees establishes President Obama as a serious person in elite Washington circles.
Progressive Breakfast
MORNING MESSAGE: Repeal the Sequester OurFuture.org's Roger Hickey: "Our month-long campaign to 'disarm the austerity bomb' and repeal the sequester is gaining traction in Washington. On Monday, leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus joined our call, saying...
Bob The Businessman: An American Success Story
This is the story of Bob the Businessman. Suppose a local businessman, let’s call him Bob, went around town raising money from the townspeople to open a car dealership. Dozens and dozens of people in town invested, putting in $1,000, $5,000, and a few putting in as...
Lords of Disorder: Billions For Wall Street, Sacrifice For Everyone Else
The President’s "sequester" offer slashes non-defense spending by $830 billion over the next ten years. That happens to be the precise amount we’re implicitly giving Wall Street’s biggest banks over the same time period. We're collecting nothing from the big banks in...
Only Two Days Left: Tell Congress To Repeal The Sequester
Our month-long campaign to “disarm the austerity bomb” and repeal the sequester is gaining traction in Washington. On Monday, leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus joined our call, saying if Republicans refuse to compromise, then we should simply “eliminate...
350 Economists Warn Sequester Cuts Could Kill Recovery
How many economists does it take to make the Congress, President Obama and the media pay attention? Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has been warning of the dangers of austerity in his New York Times column and on TV for a long time. But the media treats him as an...
Tell Washington To 'Pull The Pork' From Defense Spending Hogs
While progressive organizations, Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration correctly focus on the damage the federal spending cuts to be forced by the March 1 sequester will do to the overall economy and to vital government services, USAction is using...
