by Robert Borosage | Mar 24, 2010 | Blog
House Republican leader John Boehner's final rant against health care reform, featuring the refrain of "hell no," aptly summarized the temper and the substance of the general Republican position as the run up to the fall elections begins. (Rumors that the normally...
by Bill Scher | Mar 24, 2010 | Uncategorized
Popularity Swells For New Health Care Law Ezra Klein notes polls suggest that health care is more popular after passage than before: "Voters like success, the media covers winners more positively than losers, and people take their cues from outcomes. The first poll...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 23, 2010 | Blog, Economy, Making it in America
Everyone knows that we have lost a lot of jobs to China since 2001. Now you can find out exactly how many, and where. The Alliance for American Manufacturing and Economic Policy Institute released a report today titled, “Unfair China Trade Costs Local Jobs” by EPI's...
by Bill Scher | Mar 23, 2010 | Blog
President Barack Obama has just signed into law comprehensive health care reform, expanding coverage to 32 million Americans, cutting the deficit by over $1 trillion, and codifying the principle that every American has the right to affordable health insurance. The...
by Sara Robinson | Mar 23, 2010 | Blog
President Obama's "no-brainer" suggestion that the government get back into the direct lending business has such obvious fiscal merit that you'd think it would melt the heart of the most obdurate conservative. But it's getting resistance anyway -- which is proof that...
by Bill Scher | Mar 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
President Signs Health Care Bill Today, Senate To Begin Reconciliation President to sign health care bill today, prepares victory lap strategy. LAT: "Obama is to sign the healthcare bill in a ceremony Tuesday. Two days later, he'll travel to Iowa City, where as a...
by Alan Jenkins | Mar 23, 2010 | Blog
Last Sunday, as the health care bill was being debated, 200,000 Americans gathered on the National Mall to urge action on another national priority: fixing our broken immigration system. Speakers included civil rights leaders like Ben Jealous of the NAACP, faith...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog
Sen. Jim DeMint famously predicted that health reform would be Obama's "Waterloo(1)," saying: "If we're able to stop Obama on this ... it will break him." It looks like Jim DeMint's crowd might be using the same obstructionist strategy toward financial reform. Here's...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog, Economy
Dot: No net job gains since 2000. 8 million jobs lost in the recession. Never mind jobs for the 86,000 new people entering the labor force every month... Dot: According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) “congested highways, overflowing sewers, and...
by Robert Borosage | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog
David Frum is a conservative, former Bush speech-writer. He has the quaint view that Republicans in office should provide leadership, not zealotry. In this post, he describes the "crushing legislative defeat" conservatives have suffered on health care. Worth reading....
by Dave Johnson | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog
On April 15 the Obama administration is required to officially declare whether China is manipulating its currency. SInce China is manipulating its currency there is a great deal of pressure on the administration to say so. Surprise! On April 12 China is now said to be...
by Sam Pizzigati | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog, Economy
Local government elected leaders are claiming we have no alternative to king-size budget cuts. But their numbers don’t add up. You won’t find many suburbs in the United States more affluent than the burbs that ring Washington, D.C. In fact, six of the ten...
by Alex Lawson | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog
The Billionaires for Wealthcare thanked Senator Mitch McConnell for his outstanding obstructionism by showering him with real cash this Sunday. Anticipating his 'no' vote on health care reform, the Billionaires offered him an advance on contributions from Big...
by Bill Scher | Mar 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
Majority Will Passes Historic Health Care Reforms Senate health care bill clears House with votes to spare. NYT: "House Democrats approved a far-reaching overhaul of the nation’s health system on Sunday, voting over unanimous Republican opposition to provide medical...
by Roger Hickey | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog
The vote Sunday in the House represents an historic accomplishment! The first House vote passes the Senate health care bill. Now, they will quickly pass the reconciliation fix -- Sunday night -- and get the Senate to vote for the House's improvements. Congratulations...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 20, 2010 | Blog
There is much worry throughout the land about government spending, borrowing, deficits, debt and similar concerns. Conservatives are loudly declaring that the dollar is in danger, that the country is going bankrupt, etc. and are demanding that spending be cut back. In...
by Bill Scher | Mar 20, 2010 | Blog
Yesterday on The Bill Dwight Show, airing on WHMP-AM in Western MA I faced off with local GOP operative Isaac Mass about the pending health care. And I was able to put some persistent right-wing myths to rest about "government takeover," the "Cornhusker Kickback" and...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
The other day I wrote about the huge impact from California's Toyota NUMMI plant closing, Toyota takes off with a ton of cash, we pay the costs, it's the way the system is set up -- by us. ... When the plant closes the public takes up the costs -- paying unemployment,...
by Steven Capozzola | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
The Wall Street Journal says the U.S. is “wrong” to protest China’s “fixed yuan-dollar rate.” Their explanation is that many countries adopt a fixed rate, so as to ensure market stability. China is no different… Actually, that’s not true. If it were correct that most...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
Recently we wrote that Sen. Chris Dodd's draft financial reform bill would create a "cumbersome bureaucracy." That wasn't an endorsement of a conservative talking point: The operative word was "cumbersome." The Right likes to use the word "bureaucracy" as an epithet,...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
Rep. Alan Grayson has written a letter calling for the release of all documents and materials contained on AIG's internal servers. His idea deserves support. US taxpayers rescued AIG and own a majority (79.9%) of its shares. Serious questions remain about the payment...
by Leo Gerard | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
Tricky auto loans didn't cause the financial meltdown on Wall Street. Unscrupulous payday lenders didn't cost taxpayers a $700 billion "troubled asset" bailout. So fussing about whether U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd's financial reform legislation contains an independent...
by Bill Scher | Mar 19, 2010 | Uncategorized
Strong Deficit Reduction Smooths Path To Sunday Health Care Vote House leaders post the health care bill online 72 hours before expected Sunday vote. W. Post: "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced the weekend debate schedule, with a 72-hour march...
by Terrance Heath | Mar 18, 2010 | Blog
This is one of those things you just have to see to believe. Chances are you've seen it posted elsewhere, but it bears replaying over and over and over again. Here's the face of conservatism today, for ya — mocking and screaming at a man with Parkinson's...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 18, 2010 | Blog
The CBO now says health reform will cut the Federal deficit by $138 billion That's a win for the bill's backers, and should make it tougher for self-described 'fiscal conservatives' in the Democratic Party to vote against this bill. (No, let's re-frame that as a...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 18, 2010 | Blog
China's currency manipulation is a worldwide problem, not just a job-killer here. U.S. Ambassador Calls China’s Currency Stance ‘a Real Concern’, In a speech to students at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, the ambassador, Jon Huntsman, said that economic problems in the...
by Bill Scher | Mar 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. Health Care Bill Cuts Deficit $1.2...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 17, 2010 | Blog
When President Obama asked a group of senior executives for suggestions on streamlining government, it's unlikely that any of them suggested layers of new bureaucracy, vague marching orders, or management by committee. Yet Sen. Dodd's 'compromise' financial reform...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 17, 2010 | Blog, Making it in America
The Chinese currency manipulation issue continues to make news. Economist Paul Krugman lays out the stakes, China is in effect imposing an anti-stimulus of that magnitude — which plausibly means 1.5 percent of GDP. This is not a small issue. Senators Schumer, Graham...
by Terrance Heath | Mar 17, 2010 | Blog
If you believe the buzz in Washington, this week could very well be "make or break" for getting
by Isaiah J. Poole | Mar 17, 2010 | Blog, Economy
The nation is facing a jobs crisis, but “crisis” doesn’t begin to tell the story in the African-American community. “Five-alarm emergency” comes closer. A report by the Joint Economic Committee released today underscores the severity of African-American unemployment...
by Bill Scher | Mar 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
Phony GOP Attack On House Rules American Enterprise Institute's Norm Ornstein rips Republicans for hypocrisy on procedure: "...I can’t recall a level of feigned indignation nearly as great as what we are seeing now from congressional Republicans and their acolytes at...
by Robert Borosage | Mar 17, 2010 | Blog
Where will the jobs come from? President Obama wants to double America’s exports over five years to help generate good jobs. With Recovery Act spending coming to an end, states and localities laying off employees, banks still not making loans, and consumersl reeling...
by Bill Scher | Mar 16, 2010 | Blog
Several traditional media outlets are regurgitating the conservative spin that if the House uses the parliamentary procedure known as a "self-executing rule" or "deem and pass," it will be
by Zach Carter | Mar 16, 2010 | Blog
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., unveiled his latest financial reform proposal on Monday, and the stakes for the new legislation couldn’t be higher. After consumer groups raised a major ruckus, Dodd has dropped one of his most...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 16, 2010 | Blog, China Currency Showdown
China argues that some American companies will suffer if China stops subsidizing manufacturing and adjusts their currency to market levels. They're right. The fight over Chinese violations of trade rules is also another story about Wall Street and big, monopolistic...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 16, 2010 | Blog
Eighteen former members of the Federal Reserve’s Consumer Advisory Council (CAC) strongly endorsed the idea of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency in a letter released last week . Draft legislation released yesterday by Sen. Chris Dodd would instead...
by Bill Scher | Mar 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
GOPers Complain About Rules They Used ... Again Republicans criticize possible use of "self-executing rule" so can House deem underlying Senate bill law upon passage of changes in reconciliation ... but Republicans used to do the same thing. Swampland's Jay-Newton...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 16, 2010 | Blog
Democracy requires vigorous public debate in an open forum, conducted by leaders willing to take a public stand and face the consequences. Today's proposal on banking reform from Sen. Dodd is the product of backroom negotiation and holds nobody accountable. It allows...
by Bill Scher | Mar 15, 2010 | Blog
Many armchair pundits have taken whacks at the President and his communications team for having "lost control of the message behind his drive for health care." This critique is based on the faulty logic that the President can control everything. It ignores the...
