by Digby | Jan 9, 2014 | Conservatism
"Misfortune?" Really? I think of misfortune as getting cancer or losing your job. Getting caught for illegally using your power to punish innocent people is something else entirely. The Village is enjoying the spectacle today. But I'd guess he's not...
by Bill Scher | Jan 9, 2014 | Unemployment Benefits
[fve]http://youtu.be/IAPccIfqG8k[/fve] While legislation to renew extended unemployment insurance cleared a big hurdle in the Senate this week, it's far from the last one. Most of the handful of Republicans who voted to advance the bill say they won't support the...
by Joshua Holland | Jan 9, 2014 | Economy, The Jobs Challenge, Trans-Pacific Partnership
Fool Me Once: 20 Years of NAFTA Show Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Must be Stopped (via Moyers & Company) The post-NAFTA era has been marked by growing inequality, declining job security and new leverage for corporations to attack government regulations...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Jan 9, 2014 | Uncategorized
Conservatives can't seem to help themselves. Even when they try to put on a face of compassion and creativity, they end up coming off at best as stale and clueless. That is precisely what happened when Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., gave his speech on the War on Poverty...
by Bill Scher | Jan 9, 2014 | Uncategorized
Jobless Aid Stalls No deal imminent for offset to cover cost of extended unemployment insurance. Politico: "Democrats are moving away from finding a way to cover the cost of an emergency three-month extension of unemployment benefits, hoping instead to strike a deal...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 9, 2014 | Uncategorized
Yesterday the “Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget” issued a statement chiding the Senate for a bill which opened the door to extending unemployment insurance, because the bill didn’t require that any extension be offset elsewhere in the budget. Which raises an...
by Derek Pugh | Jan 8, 2014 | Populist Majority
There’s something going awry with economic mobility in this country: It is now strikingly clear that not much has improved since President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. This is evident in our post-recession economy and illustrated in a new study by the...
by Robert Borosage | Jan 8, 2014 | Making it in America
Washington reality constantly astounds even the most cynical. The U.S. trade deficit with China has reached new heights (depths?). This deficit with one country – historically unprecedented – now approaches $1 billion a day, and is about 45 percent of our entire...
by Robert Reich | Jan 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
The following was orginally published on Facebook I'm freezing in Chicago. Meanwhile, in Washington, Republicans say they won't extend emergency unemployment benefits unless their cost is offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget. But they won't even consider offsetting...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
A new report from In the Public Interest (ITPI) highlights some of the horror stories that happen when local and state governments "outsource" or "privatize" public functions to private companies, and offers recommendations to prevent similar disasters. "Government Is...
by Bill Scher | Jan 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
Jobless Aid Advances Extended unemployment insurance clears first Senate hurdle, but more hurdles remain. AP: "...six Republicans sided with Democrats on a 60-37 Senate vote to keep the measure alive ... [Sen. Dan] Coats, for one, immediately made clear that his vote...
by Jeff Bryant | Jan 8, 2014 | Education
All the reviews of last year's top education news stories are out and the consensus view is 2013 was a "pivotal year" for the nation's education policy, to quote Texas superintendent John Kuhn. The pivot from what to what has various interpretations, but 2013 was a...
by Derek Pugh | Jan 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
This year the GOP will once again try to rebrand itself as compassionate, diverse, and in touch with the American public. Inevitably, they will once again fail. It won’t be for their lack of resources or effort, but their failed economic agenda that the majority of...
by Terrance Heath | Jan 8, 2014 | Conservatism, Economy
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson stood before Congress and declared war on poverty. His plans included broadening the food stamp program, extending minimum wage coverage, increasing education funding, and providing “hospital insurance” for older Americans....
by Richard Eskow | Jan 7, 2014 | Economy
“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity,” said Nelson Mandela, “it is an act of justice.” When the War on Poverty began a half-century ago, it was widely seen as the moral obligation of a wealthy nation. President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty in his...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 7, 2014 | Making it in America
This morning the U.S. Census Bureau’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released trade deficit figures for November. The enormous, humongous trade deficit in goods and services fell from $39.3 billion in October to $34.3 billion for November. Even though this is still an...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Jan 7, 2014 | Unemployment Benefits
Now that the Senate has disarmed a filibuster threat and cleared the way for legislative debate on emergency extended unemployment benefits, it's time to take on this specious Republican demand that an extension of these benefits have to be "paid for" – particularly...
by Bill Scher | Jan 7, 2014 | Climate
On Sunday, 60 Minutes aired an odd hit piece on the Obama administration's clean energy investments, strongly suggesting that it has wasted taxpayer money on pipe dreams. Thankfully, on Monday, Media Matters, the San Jose Mercury News and the National Memo (with a big...
by Bill Scher | Jan 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
Close Jobless Aid Vote Expected Today Reid delays jobless aid vote, now expected this AM. The Hill: "...at least 17 senators weren't present for the vote Monday evening due to the severe cold weather that has delayed flights ... It’s unclear if both sides will come to...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 7, 2014 | Conservatism, Unemployment Benefits
Filibuster. Use the word. Call it what it is. Succeed or not, Republicans are trying to filibuster the effort to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed. A majority want this to pass, but Republicans are trying to block it with a filibuster. If...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
It’s beginning to look as if JPMorgan Chase has had a hand in every major banking scandal of the last decade. In fact, it's the Zelig of Wall Street crime. Take a snapshot of any major bank fraud and chances are you’ll see JPMorgan Chase staring out at you from the...
by Sam Pizzigati | Jan 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
In the year ahead, nurses in Massachusetts and campus activists in Maryland just might jump-start the struggle against America's chronic — and growing — income inequality. From the White House to the Vatican, everyone these days seems to be talking about income...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 6, 2014 | Trans-Pacific Partnership
As the administration tries to sell Congress on passing fast-track trade promotion authority in order to push through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, we may be seeing some familiar tactics at work. This time it is an effort to get people to jump...
by Thom Hartmann | Jan 6, 2014 | Conservatism, Economy, The Jobs Challenge
Congress is back from vacation, but that doesn't mean Republicans are ready to get to work. Senate Democrats have already scheduled a test vote to restore unemployment insurance, but Republicans say they won't approve an extension without something in return. As of...
by Roger Hickey | Jan 6, 2014 | Unemployment Benefits
Congress failed to extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program before they left for vacation. The result? Three days after Christmas, 1.3 million long-term unemployed Americans lost their unemployment benefits. If Congress doesn't act now, 2014 promises to...
by Bill Scher | Jan 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
Senate Vote Today on Unemployment Insurance Not enough GOP support yet for jobless aid to clear Senate tonight, reports W. Post: "With [GOP Sen. Dean] Heller and 55 members of the Senate Democratic caucus, supporters still need at least four votes ... Spokespeople for...
by Roger Hickey | Jan 6, 2014 | The Jobs Challenge
Praise the Lord! It looks as though Democrats are starting to act like populists as we go into 2014. A few weeks ago, President Obama declared economic inequality has become the "defining challenge of our time." Bill de Blasio, sworn in on January 1 as mayor of New...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 5, 2014 | Uncategorized
This recent piece by Ayobami Olugbemiga has much to recommend it, but the most striking thing about it may be this: Mr. Olugbemiga manages to discuss the retirement crisis faced by Millennials for seven paragraphs without once blaming older generations for their...
by Digby | Jan 3, 2014 | Progressive Vision
E.J. Dionne makes an interesting argument today designed specifically for the Village. I don't know how it's going to go over --- there remains an irrational fear of hippies among its denizens, even among those who were born long after the 60s lefties turned to...
by Bill Scher | Jan 3, 2014 | Uncategorized
When Secretary of State John Kerry is not working on nuclear deals with Iran, ending civil war in Syria or creating a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, he's spending his free time on solving the climate crisis. The New York Times reports Kerry is eyeing a...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 3, 2014 | Democracy, Economy, Populist Majority, Progressive Vision, Unemployment Benefits
Federal unemployment assistance for 1.3 million people who have been unemployed longer than 26 weeks expired last Saturday, after Republicans blocked efforts to extend them. 3.6 million more people will lose these benefits over this year. Restoring these benefits is a...
by Bill Scher | Jan 3, 2014 | Uncategorized
Minimum Wage Push Could Tip 2014 Dems pushing ballot initiatives to raise wages in battleground states. W. Post's Harold Meyerson: "...Democrats are working to put wage-increase initiatives before voters in states that will have contested House and Senate races in...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 2, 2014 | Uncategorized
What's the economic issue we should focus on - jobs, or inequality? An increasing number of people, including the President and New York's new mayor, have suggested that inequality of wealth and opportunity is the defining issue of our time. But some of the folks at...
by Thom Hartmann | Jan 2, 2014 | Democracy, Economy, Financial Reform, Progressive Vision
In our nation, finance has a hold on almost every single part of our lives – from the day we're born, until we take our last breath. Capitalism and the quest for larger profits have taken hold of our healthcare, our education, our homes, our communication, and even...
by Digby | Jan 2, 2014 | Health, Progressive Vision
When Capitalism: A Love Story came out I was lucky enough to be at a screening with Michael Moore present and there was, as you might imagine, quite a bit of discussion about the Health Care Reform that was ending its way through congress since Moore was so...
by Robert Borosage | Jan 2, 2014 | Uncategorized
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio used his brief and compelling inaugural address to make clear one point: his campaign pledge to “take dead aim at the Tale of Two Cities” wasn’t just rhetoric; it will drive his administration. De Blasio’s inaugural revealed a savvy...
by Bill Scher | Jan 2, 2014 | Uncategorized
Monday Vote Possible On Jobless Aid Senate may vote on extending unemployment insurance Monday. The Hill: "Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council, said the administration is behind Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) vow to bring up a cloture...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 30, 2013 | Making it in America, Populist Majority
Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch has issued a new report, NAFTA at 20: One Million U.S. Jobs Lost, Mass Displacement and Instability in Mexico, Record Income Inequality, Scores of Corporate Attacks on Environmental and Health Laws. The report compares the promises...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 30, 2013 | Conservatism, This Is The GOP
“Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson’s comments on race didn't cause as much controversy as his anti-gay spiel, but they deserve just as much scrutiny. In an interview with a GQ reporter, Robertson reflected growing up in the segregated south, and said he believes that...
by Richard Eskow | Dec 29, 2013 | Uncategorized
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, a president and a party who had just won an election with progressive rhetoric were quickly pivoting toward a "Grand Bargain" which would cut Social Security and Medicare. Leaders in both parties were obsessed...
