by Dave Johnson | Feb 13, 2011 | Blog, Economy, Financial Reform
The new Congress was elected by promising things to voters, but now in office they are doing different things. It is as if they said what they needed to say to get votes, but had a plan to do something else all along. The big question on everyone's mind: where is the...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 13, 2011 | Blog, Economy
There were three of us on Warren Olney’s "To the Point" public radio program, one of the more enlightened shows on NPR. But the program, addressing the coming debate on spending cuts, quickly descended into Beltway babble. Stephen Moore, the gleeful right-wing...
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 13, 2011 | Blog
It’s federal budget time, and they’re talking 1950s on Capitol Hill. Well, sometimes we can move forward by turning the political clock back. But we have to know exactly where to stop. Last week, in a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, President Obama pledged...
by Bill Scher | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog
Today, the House is expected to approve a Republican resolution that would effectively cut all federal government "non-security" spending by nearly 20%. Their political objective is contrast Republican budget slashing to the President's support of a "spending binge" –...
by Bill Scher | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog
No, that headline is not a quote from White House political adviser David Axelrod during yesterday's blogger roundtable which I was fortunate to attend. But you tell me how else to interpret this: DAVID AXELROD: Well, we have an obligation to put a budget forward, and...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter are having some success in creating jobs for their residents in a tough economic climate. And Republicans in Congress are working to take away the tools they are using to put people to work. Both...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog
Whatever you may think of him, you've got to give Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) credit. He said he would present his own budget, and now he's done it. He's even taken to the pages of The Wall Street Journal to defend it, and challenge Republicans and Democrats to: find other...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Slasher-Movie Economics A vicious, savage, axe-wielding killer stalks the political landscape, yearning to draw blood, slash victims, and amputate limbs. That's not my description of austerity economics - that's how its fans talk about it. "Austerity" is defined as...
by Bill Scher | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog, Economy
Yesterday, House Republican leaders tried to tamp down a conservative revolt within the caucus, explaining that to support deeper cuts than initially proposed would mean destroying jobs. NYT reported: [House Appropriations Char Hal] Rogers and other Republicans warned...
by Bill Scher | Feb 11, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Crimes ... And GE...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Can a crime be committed if there is no criminal to commit it? According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the answer to that Zen koan is apparently "yes." The SEC collected a $50 million settlement from GE Capital after concluding that the corporation...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 10, 2011 | Blog, Economy, Making it in America
Summary Our present severe recession, though officially over, lends urgency to tackling U.S. trade issues. Without the announcement effect of a trade bill, manufacturers will continue to shutter factories and move production overseas. President Obama’s goal of...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 10, 2011 | Blog
Demanding bold solutions to today's jobs crisis.Read the series » Register for The Summit on Jobs & America's Future » Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has declared this week "jobs week" in his city, and he has been using it as an opportunity to announce a series...
by Bill Scher | Feb 10, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Austerity Horrors...
by Bill Scher | Feb 9, 2011 | Blog, Economy
Demanding bold solutions to today's jobs crisis.Read the series » Register for The Summit on Jobs & America's Future » After President Barack Obama first invested in a national high-speed rail network, concerns persisted among some rail advocates that not...
by | Feb 9, 2011 | Blog
Demanding bold solutions to today's jobs crisis.Read the series » Register for The Summit on Jobs & America's Future » Much could be done to help state budgets and reduce unemployment. None of them will happen. Business Week reports that President Obama is...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 9, 2011 | Blog, Economy
To break the inside-the-Beltway consensus that a robust, government-led effort to lower the unemployment rate this year should not be on the table for legislative debate, the Campaign for America's Future this week announced that it is convening a "Summit on Jobs and...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 9, 2011 | Blog
I was looking for news reports about the "99ers" -- people unemployed for 99 weeks or more, and therefore unable to receive any unemployment benefits -- and noticed that almost no one is covering this. Mostly Examiner.com, MLive, "From the Trenches" and "RantRave."...
by Bill Scher | Feb 9, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Mortgage Reform:...
by Terrance Heath | Feb 9, 2011 | Blog, Reagan Revolution
"Now that he is safely dead, let us praise him." poet Carl Wendell Hines wrote of Martin Luther King Jr., after his assassination. Ronald Reagan has been "safely dead" for just under seven years, but the economic impact of his policies remain with...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 9, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Here's an idea: Let's give hundreds of billions of dollars in government-backed guarantees to private banks so they can make a fortune writing mortgages without any risk to themselves. Hey, what could go wrong? The FCIC's recent report illustrated an important lesson...
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog
If our business leaders spoke Norwegian, President Obama wouldn't have to beg them to do the right thing. A new report offers a fascinating window into the Scandinavian business mind. President Obama has opened 2011 preaching a new gospel: competitiveness. To succeed...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog
President Obama's visit to the Chamber of Commerce always seemed bizarre. Reaching out to the U.S. Chamber isn't like reaching out to business. Under the guidance of Tom Donohue, the Chamber has become less a business association than a right-wing lobby operation that...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Why don't the CEOs of AIG and JPMorgan Chase give a damn what you think? Because they don't have to. The Third Chamber of government, that unelected body of lobbyists and wealthy executives symbolized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has insulated them from public...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog
President Obama is speaking today to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The press is reporting this as an effort to be "pro-business," to "patch up" relations with business, to "reach out" to business, to "court" business and to begin a "thaw" or "truce"with "business...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog, Economy
President Obama today appealed to the patriotism of the members of the Chamber of Commerce to begin investing in America again, to begin bringing factories and jobs back and to begin sharing the gains of our economy with the American people. Saying that we cannot go...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog
Earlier tonight, Robert Borosage appeared on MSNBC to analyze the President's appearance before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Excerpts from his remarks are below the video clip. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy We've got record...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog, Economy
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been pushing what he calls the 30/10 Initiative. The idea is simple: take all of local transportation projects around the country that are planned for the next 30 years and get them done in the next 10 years instead. This...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog, Making it in America
The Democratic Leadership Council, according to press reports, is broke and closing its doors. For anyone who cares about working and poor people, this is a demise that should have come much sooner. The DLC -- Democrats for the Leisure Class, in Jesse Jackson's...
by Bill Scher | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog
Before becoming Speaker, Rep. John Boehner flatly pledged to deny all funding to the health reform law if he couldn't repeal it, saying, "They'll get not one dime from us. Not a dime." How interesting then that, all of the sudden, Speaker Boehner is carrying a big...
by Bill Scher | Feb 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: DLC RIP...
by Alan Jenkins | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog
After two weeks behind the curve on the uprising in Egypt, the Obama administration seems to have found it’s voice, recognizing that our national interests and our national values point in the same direction—toward democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. There...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 7, 2011 | Blog
Conservative Republican legislators have vowed to block raising the debt limit to force deep cuts in spending on everything from head start to K-to12 education, to health research. They vow to combine blocking any increase in the debt limit with instructions mandating...
by Mary Bottari | Feb 7, 2011 | Blog
Earnings and bonus reports are rolling in and the big, bailed-out banks are back in the black. In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion -- up almost six percent from 2009 according...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 7, 2011 | Blog
Check out the Eminem Chrysler Superbowl Ad: The Motor City, with moxie
by Bill Scher | Feb 7, 2011 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: After Obama...
by Bill Scher | Feb 7, 2011 | Blog
President Barack Obama addresses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today. In a preview of his remarks, the Washington Post reports that infrastructure investment will be a "likely point of focus for Obama" as it is a "rare point of agreement between business and labor."...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 6, 2011 | Blog
DEMOCRACYPLUTOCRACY We, the PeopleWealthy Few One Person One VoteOne Dollar One Vote GovernmentLimited Government MajoritySupermajority InformationPropaganda Taxes on the WealthyTax Cuts for the Wealthy BudgetsBudget Cuts Jobs programsBank Bailouts WelfareWarfare...
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 6, 2011 | Blog
Wall Streeters made fortunes, the new official report on America's 2008 economic meltdown charges, defrauding the American public. They're still making fortunes — and this new official report is already sinking out of sight. A quarter-century ago, in 1986, the biggest...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 4, 2011 | Blog, Economy, Making it in America
Today's monthly jobs report was odd. There were few new jobs, but the unemplopyment rate dropped again as even more people gave up looking for work. This month they blame the weather for the lack of government action on job-creation or helping state and local...
