by Dave Johnson | Feb 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
In the State of the Union (SOTU) speech President Obama emphasized the importance of manufacturing to our economy. Wednesday in Ashville he expanded on his plan, outlining four steps in particular. The President has opened the doors to discussion of manufacturing...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 15, 2013 | Blog
Many of us fought hard to reform the filibuster and fight the Republican obstruction that is blocking everything the country needs to get done. And I do mean everything. We said please just "make them talk," which is what the public already thinks the filibuster is...
by Digby | Feb 15, 2013 | Blog
Dave Weigel has the definitive post today on the Hagel nomination cock-up. He points out that Hagel himself is the only real loser here: He botched up his confirmation hearing, giving Republicans all kinds of reasons to oppose him. (In his "no" statement, Sen. Mark...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 15, 2013 | Chained CPI, The Sequester
A majority of House Democrats have signed a House Progressive Caucus letter to President Obama opposing benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. "We write to affirm our vigorous opposition to cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits in any...
by Bill Scher | Feb 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: The Great Wealth Robbery OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow: "An updated report from economist Emmanuel Saez details the loss of income suffered by 99 percent of Americans ... The top 1 percent has captured 121 percent of the increases in income since the...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 14, 2013 | Minimum Wage
Two important events took place this week. One was President Obama's call for a higher minimum wage, which got a lot of attention. The other was a new report which showed just how much of our nation’s wealth continues to be hijacked by the wealthiest among us....
by Robert Reich | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog
Part of the President’s State of the Union message and of his second term agenda apparently will focus on public investments in education, infrastructure, and basic R&D. That’s good news. But how do we fund these investments when discretionary spending is being...
by Derek Pugh | Feb 14, 2013 | The Sequester
“Cut, Cut, Cut” has been the chorus sung by the House GOP for far too long. Republicans hide under the guise of good intent, while knowing full well what the beat of their rhythm means for the American people. The Office of Management and Budget released a report on...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog
Watching the various Republican responses — official and otherwise — to President Obama's State of the Union address was a bit like watching a right-wing remake of The Three Faces of Eve, the 1957 classic about a woman who suffered from "multiple...
by Bill Scher | Feb 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: State of the Progressive Union 2013 OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow: "It was as good a speech as we could possibly expect, once we accept the limits of 'centrist' liberalism. But we shouldn’t accept those limits. The country deserves visions that are...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 14, 2013 | Minimum Wage
A State of the Union address is always important. It's the president's opportunity to tell the nation what he or she plans to do in the coming year. But what the history books say about this year's speech may also depend what we do in the weeks and months to come. In...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 13, 2013 | Uncategorized
Florida Senator Marco Rubio gave a "Republican Response" to the President's State of the Union address. He said that taxes cause employers to reduce hours or lay people off. Others say that raising the minimum wage will mean layoffs. Let's take a closer look at that....
by Richard Long | Feb 13, 2013 | Uncategorized
2.13. For most people the significance of February 13 is that it’s the day before Valentine’s Day, the day you say, “Uh oh, I forgot to get a gift for Valentine’s Day tomorrow.” But for millions of workers, 2.13 has a different significance: $2.13 is the federally...
by Bill Scher | Feb 13, 2013 | Climate, Economy
As I discussed yesterday, David Leonhardt of the New York Times counseled President Obama to drop using green jobs as a selling point for address climate change. Thankfully, last night Obama did not listen. Obama made clear that tackling the climate crisis can be...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 13, 2013 | Uncategorized
Uh Oh, President Obama is being bipartisan again. You know what that means: Republican sabotage again enabled. This time he's appointing a conservative operative to help "fix" voting problems. Will this just enable Republicans to sabotage the voting commission? The...
by Bill Scher | Feb 13, 2013 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: Obama’s Liberal Vision ... And Its Limits OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "Progressives will surely be pleased by the president’s audacity and scope. There is much worth fighting for in the speech. But its limits are most revealing ... The president...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 13, 2013 | Minimum Wage
The president certainly can deliver a speech. Last night, he showed he could do a Clinton one better, delivering an hour-long speech packed with policy initiatives, with rhetorical flourishes to rouse his audience. Empowered by his re-election and the progressive...
by Roger Hickey | Feb 13, 2013 | Chained CPI, Economy
With tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama attempted to refocus his new second term with a focus on jobs and supporting the middle class. He clearly wants to stop talking about deficits and debt and start talking about reviving the economy for...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 13, 2013 | The Sequester
Koch-funded Florida Tea-Party Sen. Marco Rubio gave the "Republican Response" to the President's State of the Union speech. Then Koch-funded Kentucky Tea-Party Sen. Rand Paul gave the "Koch-funded Tea-Party" Republican response. (Did the networks ever air a...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 12, 2013 | Blog
Politico today features a story by Jennifer Epstein detailing 10 proposals from Obama’s previous State of the Union addresses that were mostly frustrated. The report begins with an utter distortion that is nearly universal in Washington reporting: “Perhaps...
by Daniel Marans | Feb 12, 2013 | Chained CPI, The Sequester
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has ruled out Social Security cuts in any plan to replace the sequester. In the State of the Union address, President Obama can either stand with Harry Reid and Senate Democrats--or betray them. Democrats' disagreement over cutting...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 12, 2013 | Uncategorized
On Wednesday the Senate Finance Committee will hear from Jack Lew, the President's pick as Treasury Secretary, who will succeed the controversial Tim Geithner if confirmed. While Lew wouldn't be taking office during a grave systemic crisis the way Geithner did, it...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 12, 2013 | Financial Reform
On Wednesday the Senate Finance Committee will hear from Jack Lew, the President nominee for Treasury Secretary. If confirmed, Lew will succeed the controversial Tim Geithner. While Lew would not be taking office during a grave systemic crisis, as Geithner did,...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 12, 2013 | Education
Is it over yet? Michelle Rhee's barnstorming of America this week, to hawk her new memoir, taxed the stamina of even the most ardent education wonk. It was a relentless PR campaign that would truly be the envy of any tobacco executive or gun manufacturer. In interview...
by Bill Scher | Feb 12, 2013 | Climate, Economy
Expectations are high for President Obama to get specific about his second-term plans to protect the climate, particularly regarding plans to bypass Congress and use the EPA's authority to further reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The appeal is obvious: no need to...
by Digby | Feb 12, 2013 | Blog
Here it is, in living color: Previewing his speech for The Weekly Standard’s Stephen F. Hayes, Rubio said he would make the case that the national debt “has a direct impact on unemployment” and that it is hurting job growth: “The debt has a direct impact on...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 12, 2013 | Blog
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today called for the creation of a National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) and is drafting legislation to accomplish this. The legislation would help establish more next generation manufacturing centers like the National Additive...
by Stan Collender | Feb 12, 2013 | Blog
Quick note about tonight's State of the Union Address: I'm not expecting too much to be said about the budget, deficit or debt. There are four reasons. First, as much as a budget person likes me hates to admit it, all three of those topics are highly contentious,...
by Bill Scher | Feb 12, 2013 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: The State of the Union Stakes OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "...the president has little choice but to focus on the central challenge now facing the country – and his emerging progressive coalition today. That is the same challenge that drove the...
by Leo Gerard | Feb 12, 2013 | Minimum Wage
President Obama demonstrated his gutsiness in recent months by speaking so many words that craven politicians contend cannot be spoken. These are hot-button words like same sex-marriage, immigration reform, gun control and climate change. Fighting words. The president...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 12, 2013 | Economy
"Reviving his populist re-election message," says the Washington Post about tonight's State of the Union speech, "President Barack Obama will press a politically-divided Congress to approve more tax increases and fewer spending cuts." Messages like that are always...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 11, 2013 | Economy
The previews of President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday promise that job creation will be a major focus – a welcome development in the face of Washington's debilitating and wrong-headed obsession with deficit-cutting. But what's really important is...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 11, 2013 | Economy, Making it in America
Before the election President Obama set a goal of doubling exports and creating one million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016. What has to happen for these goals to be met? In The State of the Union Stakes Bob Borosage points out the stakes and challenges that...
by Digby | Feb 11, 2013 | Blog
Bill Moyers asked a bunch of smart people what they would like to see the President say in the State of the Union address this year. Their answers are all good and I urge you to read them. if we could put them all together it would make a hell of a speech. The one...
by Stan Collender | Feb 11, 2013 | Blog
Anyone who thinks H.R. 325 -- the No Budget No Pay law that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) wants everyone to believe will do so much and be so important -- will, in fact, make any difference is both falling for Boehner's spin and doesn't understand how the...
by Bill Scher | Feb 11, 2013 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: The Postal Service Outrage OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "The story of the intentional destruction of the U.S. Postal Service is one more piece of the story of crisis-after-crisis, all manufactured to advance the strategic dismantling of our...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 10, 2013 | Economy, Minimum Wage
The president will stand before Congress for his State of the Union address as the leader of an emerging progressive majority coalition that he has helped to forge. Empowered by that coalition, he has already teed up an ambitious agenda: comprehensive immigration...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 10, 2013 | Minimum Wage
You are probably hearing that the Post Office is "in crisis" and is cutting back Saturday delivery, laying people off, closing offices, etc. Like so many other "crises" imposed on us lately, there is a lot to the story that you are not hearing from the "mainstream"...
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 10, 2013 | Blog
From hiking trails in Oregon to boardrooms in Berlin, critics of our staggeringly unequal corporate order are calling for new limits that link executive compensation to worker paychecks When do societies start taking a new idea seriously? Easy. New ideas start gaining...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 10, 2013 | Blog
Archaeologists of the future will sift through our newspapers, websites, and other ephemera and marvel at the inverted shape of our political debate. They'll be particularly surprised to discover that, at a time when retirement security was being destroyed for an...
