Sunday, July 3, 2011
The End of Upward Mobility?
American society is based on the idea that 'anyone' can reach the top. But the gap between rich and poor is growing, and the ladder seems to be disappearing.
HERE
HERE
Just how did Republicans turn a surplus into massive debt?
Here's the explanation...
The nation’s unnerving descent into debt began a decade ago with a choice, not a crisis.
In January 2001, with the budget balanced and clear sailing ahead, the Congressional Budget Office forecast ever-larger annual surpluses indefinitely. The outlook was so rosy, the CBO said, that Washington would have enough money by the end of the decade to pay off everything it owed.
Voices of caution were swept aside in the rush to take advantage of the apparent bounty. Political leaders chose to cut taxes, jack up spending and, for the first time in U.S. history, wage two wars solely with borrowed funds. “In the end, the floodgates opened,” said former senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), who chaired the Senate Budget Committee when the first tax-cut bill hit Capitol Hill in early 2001.
Now, instead of tending a nest egg of more than $2 trillion, the federal government expects to owe more than $10 trillion to outside investors by the end of this year. The national debt is larger, as a percentage of the economy, than at any time in U.S. history except for the period shortly after World War II.
Polls show that a large majority of Americans blame wasteful or unnecessary federal programs for the nation’s budget problems. But routine increases in defense and domestic spending account for only about 15 percent of the financial deterioration, according to a new analysis of CBO data.
The biggest culprit, by far, has been an erosion of tax revenue triggered largely by two recessions and multiple rounds of tax cuts.
MORE
The nation’s unnerving descent into debt began a decade ago with a choice, not a crisis.
In January 2001, with the budget balanced and clear sailing ahead, the Congressional Budget Office forecast ever-larger annual surpluses indefinitely. The outlook was so rosy, the CBO said, that Washington would have enough money by the end of the decade to pay off everything it owed.
Voices of caution were swept aside in the rush to take advantage of the apparent bounty. Political leaders chose to cut taxes, jack up spending and, for the first time in U.S. history, wage two wars solely with borrowed funds. “In the end, the floodgates opened,” said former senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), who chaired the Senate Budget Committee when the first tax-cut bill hit Capitol Hill in early 2001.
Now, instead of tending a nest egg of more than $2 trillion, the federal government expects to owe more than $10 trillion to outside investors by the end of this year. The national debt is larger, as a percentage of the economy, than at any time in U.S. history except for the period shortly after World War II.
Polls show that a large majority of Americans blame wasteful or unnecessary federal programs for the nation’s budget problems. But routine increases in defense and domestic spending account for only about 15 percent of the financial deterioration, according to a new analysis of CBO data.
The biggest culprit, by far, has been an erosion of tax revenue triggered largely by two recessions and multiple rounds of tax cuts.
MORE
Friday, July 1, 2011
Greek austerity package: Social counterrevolution in Europe
With the votes of the social democratic PASOK party, the Greek Parliament approved a new package of austerity measures on Wednesday. The vote marks a political watershed for the whole of Europe.
No serious economist doubts that the austerity measures will reverse the living standards of broad social layers by decades. The first austerity package adopted last year already contained massive cuts to public service salaries, pensions and other benefits. At the same time, it increased consumption taxes, thereby triggering a deep recession and a sharp increase in unemployment.
Now an additional €28 billion is to be saved by 2015. This represents 12 percent of the gross domestic product of this country of 11 million people. In Germany, equivalent cuts would amount to €300 billion, and in the US to $1.7 trillion. A further €50 billion will be raised through the privatisation of state enterprises.
The new program will lead to 150,000 job cuts in public services, reductions in social spending and health care, together with huge tax increases for median incomes. The Value Added Tax for pubs and restaurants will be increased from 13 to 23 percent. In Greece, where the economy relies heavily on such small businesses, this will mean ruin for thousands, and will deepen the recession.
Even Wolfgang Münchau, a leading columnist for the Financial Times and, until now, an advocate of austerity has come to the conclusion that such austerity measures are “financially reckless and politically irresponsible.” “The program, as it stands, is politically, morally and economically hard to justify,” he writes.
HERE
I guess the USA is next for financial ruin caused by 'austerity'.
No serious economist doubts that the austerity measures will reverse the living standards of broad social layers by decades. The first austerity package adopted last year already contained massive cuts to public service salaries, pensions and other benefits. At the same time, it increased consumption taxes, thereby triggering a deep recession and a sharp increase in unemployment.
Now an additional €28 billion is to be saved by 2015. This represents 12 percent of the gross domestic product of this country of 11 million people. In Germany, equivalent cuts would amount to €300 billion, and in the US to $1.7 trillion. A further €50 billion will be raised through the privatisation of state enterprises.
The new program will lead to 150,000 job cuts in public services, reductions in social spending and health care, together with huge tax increases for median incomes. The Value Added Tax for pubs and restaurants will be increased from 13 to 23 percent. In Greece, where the economy relies heavily on such small businesses, this will mean ruin for thousands, and will deepen the recession.
Even Wolfgang Münchau, a leading columnist for the Financial Times and, until now, an advocate of austerity has come to the conclusion that such austerity measures are “financially reckless and politically irresponsible.” “The program, as it stands, is politically, morally and economically hard to justify,” he writes.
HERE
I guess the USA is next for financial ruin caused by 'austerity'.
You Work Too Hard
Workers are left scrambling to get everything done at the office and at home, often ignoring spouses, skimping on family time, or avoiding community commitments—shortcomings that may feel like failures. But: “Guess what: It’s not you,” says Mother Jones.
These might seem like personal problems—and certainly, the pharmaceutical industry is happy to perpetuate that notion—but they’re really economic problems. Just counting work that’s on the books (never mind those 11 p.m. emails), Americans now put in an average of 122 more hours per year than Brits, and 378 hours (nearly 10 weeks!) more than Germans.
Read more: http://www.utne.com/The-Sweet-Pursuit/You-Work-Too-Hard.aspx#ixzz1Qrxgb3mC
Woman Gang-Raped by 7 Halliburton Employees "Signed Away" Her Right to Sue? How Justice Has Become the Privilege of Corporations
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/151452/woman_gang-raped_by_7_halliburton_employees_%22signed_away%22_her_right_to_sue_how_justice_has_become_the_privilege_of_corporations/
Let Them Die Because It’s About Money, Not Lives
http://mariopiperni.com/uncategorized/let-them-die-because-its-about-money-not-lives.php
'War on Terror' Set to Surpass the Cost of Second World War
The total cost to America of its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus the related military operations in Pakistan, is set to exceed $4 trillion – more than three times the sum so far authorised by Congress in the decade since the 9/11 attacks.
This staggering sum emerges from a new study by academics at the Ivy-league Brown University that reveals the $1.3 trillion officially appropriated on Capitol Hill is the tip of a spending iceberg. If other Pentagon outlays, interest payments on money borrowed to finance the wars, and the $400bn estimated to have been spent on the domestic "war on terror", the total cost is already somewhere between $2.3 and $2.7 trillion.
And even though the wars are now winding down, add in future military spending and above all the cost of looking after veterans, disabled and otherwise and the total bill will be somewhere between $3.7 trillion and $4.4 trillion.
HERE
And don't forget the joys of having your junk touched in public!
This staggering sum emerges from a new study by academics at the Ivy-league Brown University that reveals the $1.3 trillion officially appropriated on Capitol Hill is the tip of a spending iceberg. If other Pentagon outlays, interest payments on money borrowed to finance the wars, and the $400bn estimated to have been spent on the domestic "war on terror", the total cost is already somewhere between $2.3 and $2.7 trillion.
And even though the wars are now winding down, add in future military spending and above all the cost of looking after veterans, disabled and otherwise and the total bill will be somewhere between $3.7 trillion and $4.4 trillion.
HERE
And don't forget the joys of having your junk touched in public!
Monday, June 27, 2011
CHART: States That Cut The Most Spending Have Lost The Most Jobs
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) is an ardent follower of this Cut-Grow cult, as are a number of high profile governors. For instance, Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) declared, “We’re going to have to reduce spending…to create a platform for economic growth.” When Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) delivered his budget to the state Legislature he argued, “We must continue to cut government spending” to create jobs and prosperity for New Jersey families. Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) vowed his budget “lays [the] foundation to create jobs.”
Now these Republicans want the American public to drink a giant glass of their Cut-Grow Kool-Aid. But the data actually show the opposite of their claims to be true: steep spending cuts are hampering economic recovery in some states, while other states that resisted cuts or increased spending are now seeing declining unemployment rates, faster private-sector job creation, and stronger economic growth.
HERE
Middle Class Held Hostage
President Reagan came into power in 1981 after convincing Americans that our debt was out of control — at that time, compared to our gross national product (GNP), it was at a 50 year low. Republicans and Democrats alike voted for Reagan’s budget that lowered tax rates substantially with the bulk of the benefits going to America’s most wealthy (trickledown economics). By the end of Reagan’s 8 years, the deficit had tripled. The deficit grew by another 55% under George H.W. Bush after he saw the light of fiscal responsibility and broke his no new taxes pledge. The budget was balanced during the Clinton Administration and the debt was actually on a trajectory to decline. But the federal budget doubled under President George W. Bush after two tax cuts, again mostly to the wealthy, at the same time we were engaged in two wars.
America had its largest employment growth under President Clinton’s administration and its poorest employment growth under the second President Bush. Trickledown (supply side) economics simply does not work and most reputable economists will admit as much. It fails especially in times of globalization because tax cuts for the wealthy are often invested, not in America, but in countries where growth rates are higher because of slave labor and a lower standard of living.
MORE
Monday, June 20, 2011
Ron Paul Blasts Our Involvement In 'Endless, Undeclared, Unwinnable Wars'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/20/ron-paul-blasts-wars-straw-poll_n_880217.html
Michele Bachmann Used Taxpayer Money For Tea Party Rally
The next time a Republican tells you how honest they are, run away fast.
On Nov. 5, 2009, at the behest of Rep. Michele Bachmann, thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol to vent their rage over the health care overhaul bill pending before Congress.
The assembled activists chanted, "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" and waved signs opposing a government takeover of health care — but they may not have known that the same government was paying for the event.
According to House expense reports, Bachmann and three conservative GOP colleagues — Reps. Tom Price (Ga.), Steve King (Iowa) and Todd Akin (Mo.) — each paid $3,407.50 that day, a total of $13,630, to a sound and stage company called National Events, apparently for the sound system used at the rally.
The money came from the Members' taxpayer-funded office accounts, despite House rules prohibiting the use of these funds for political activities. Bachmann's office insists the expense was a proper use of official funds.
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_141/bachmann-plays-with-house-money-206599-1.html?pos=hftxt
Suuuuuure, it was 'proper'.
On Nov. 5, 2009, at the behest of Rep. Michele Bachmann, thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol to vent their rage over the health care overhaul bill pending before Congress.
The assembled activists chanted, "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" and waved signs opposing a government takeover of health care — but they may not have known that the same government was paying for the event.
According to House expense reports, Bachmann and three conservative GOP colleagues — Reps. Tom Price (Ga.), Steve King (Iowa) and Todd Akin (Mo.) — each paid $3,407.50 that day, a total of $13,630, to a sound and stage company called National Events, apparently for the sound system used at the rally.
The money came from the Members' taxpayer-funded office accounts, despite House rules prohibiting the use of these funds for political activities. Bachmann's office insists the expense was a proper use of official funds.
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_141/bachmann-plays-with-house-money-206599-1.html?pos=hftxt
Suuuuuure, it was 'proper'.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
No Surprise Here
Paul Ryan And His Family To Benefit From The $45 Billion In Subsidies For Big Oil In His Budget
Paul Ryan’s budget, which means austerity for most Americans, turns out to mean prosperity for Ryan and his family.
That budget, which the GOP-led House adopted as its blueprint, slashes funding for everyone from seniors to the disabled to students while preserving $45 billion in tax breaks and subsidies for Big Oil over the next 10 years, as has been widely reported.
But what we have only just learned from Ryan’s financial disclosure forms for Congress (here) that were made public this week is “he and his wife, Janna, own stakes in four family companies that lease land in Texas and Oklahoma to the very energy companies that benefit from the tax subsidies in Ryan’s budget plan,” as The Daily Beast reported today.
READ ABOUT THIS TYPICAL REPUBLICAN BEHAVIOR HERE.
Paul Ryan’s budget, which means austerity for most Americans, turns out to mean prosperity for Ryan and his family.
That budget, which the GOP-led House adopted as its blueprint, slashes funding for everyone from seniors to the disabled to students while preserving $45 billion in tax breaks and subsidies for Big Oil over the next 10 years, as has been widely reported.
But what we have only just learned from Ryan’s financial disclosure forms for Congress (here) that were made public this week is “he and his wife, Janna, own stakes in four family companies that lease land in Texas and Oklahoma to the very energy companies that benefit from the tax subsidies in Ryan’s budget plan,” as The Daily Beast reported today.
READ ABOUT THIS TYPICAL REPUBLICAN BEHAVIOR HERE.
Before yew believe Gov. Perry's Bullscheit About Texas Job Growth, Check The Facts
Governor Goodhair has been touting Texas as a leader in job growth utilizing conservative principles. T'ain't necessarily so...
As the Austin American-Statesman noted, “while the national unemployment rate is 9.1 percent and the Texas unemployment rate is 8 percent, some 23 states, including New York, have lower unemployment rates.” In addition, “jobs grew at about the same rate during Democrat Ann Richards’ four years as governor” as they have under Perry.
Between 2008 and 2010, jobs actually grew at a faster pace in Massachusetts than they did in Texas, and “Texas has done worse than the rest of the country since the peak of national unemployment in October 2009.” But as it turns out, Texas is leading the nation in one employment metric — the number and percentage of minimum wage jobs.
TRUTH FOUND HERE.
As the Austin American-Statesman noted, “while the national unemployment rate is 9.1 percent and the Texas unemployment rate is 8 percent, some 23 states, including New York, have lower unemployment rates.” In addition, “jobs grew at about the same rate during Democrat Ann Richards’ four years as governor” as they have under Perry.
Between 2008 and 2010, jobs actually grew at a faster pace in Massachusetts than they did in Texas, and “Texas has done worse than the rest of the country since the peak of national unemployment in October 2009.” But as it turns out, Texas is leading the nation in one employment metric — the number and percentage of minimum wage jobs.
TRUTH FOUND HERE.
Sarah Palin Rewrites History, A Pome
Palin rewrites history
By Bill Press - 06/06/11 09:29 AM ET
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Sarah Palin’s version of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
On the eighteenth of April, in seventy-five,
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that story the way she makes it appear.
Forget the lantern and the story it tells.
In Sarah’s take, there were no lanterns. Only bells.
And forget Samuel Adams, told the British were coming as he lay in his bed.
According to Sarah, Paul Revere didn’t warn American colonists. He warned the Brits instead.
Now, of course, this is not what historians have told us all along.
But Sarah says for 236 years everybody else got it all wrong.
In Sarah’s world, nothing we learned in school is actually true.
And, would you believe, Nazi Germany won World War II.
What Sarah Palin says about our past is really no mystery.
While running for president, she is rewriting history.
Which brings us back to what Paul Revere saw from the steeple.
And represents a serious warning to the American people:
One if by land, two if by sea.
There’s never been a nuttier presidential candidate than she.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/164849-palin-rewrites-history
By Bill Press - 06/06/11 09:29 AM ET
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Sarah Palin’s version of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
On the eighteenth of April, in seventy-five,
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that story the way she makes it appear.
Forget the lantern and the story it tells.
In Sarah’s take, there were no lanterns. Only bells.
And forget Samuel Adams, told the British were coming as he lay in his bed.
According to Sarah, Paul Revere didn’t warn American colonists. He warned the Brits instead.
Now, of course, this is not what historians have told us all along.
But Sarah says for 236 years everybody else got it all wrong.
In Sarah’s world, nothing we learned in school is actually true.
And, would you believe, Nazi Germany won World War II.
What Sarah Palin says about our past is really no mystery.
While running for president, she is rewriting history.
Which brings us back to what Paul Revere saw from the steeple.
And represents a serious warning to the American people:
One if by land, two if by sea.
There’s never been a nuttier presidential candidate than she.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/164849-palin-rewrites-history
Target hired union actors for anti-union propaganda video
Yep. Target put out an anti-union video. And the two 'stars' of the video are union members. Heh heh.
HERE
HERE
Friday, June 17, 2011
BWAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAA HAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA
AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HAH HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HA HAA HAAAAA SNORT HAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HEEEE HEEEEE HEEEEEE HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE HE HE HE HE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HAH HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HA HAA HAAAAA SNORT HAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HEEEE HEEEEE HEEEEEE HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE HE HE HE HE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HAH HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HA HAA HAAAAA SNORT HAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HEEEE HEEEEE HEEEEEE HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE HE HE HE HE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HAH HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HA HAA HAAAAA SNORT HAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HEEEE HEEEEE HEEEEEE HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE HE HE HE HE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HAH HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HA HAA HAAAAA SNORT HAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HEEEE HEEEEE HEEEEEE HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE HE HE HE HE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HAH HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HA HAA HAAAAA SNORT HAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HEEEE HEEEEE HEEEEEE HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE HE HE HE HE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HAH HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HA HAA HAAAAA SNORT HAAAAA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HEEEE HEEEEE HEEEEEE HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE HE HE HE HE HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/michele-bachmann-intelligent-design-evolution_n_879618.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/michele-bachmann-intelligent-design-evolution_n_879618.html
Lawyer attacks climate change scientists... for doing science.
This is another example of what happens when Americans are totally ignorant about science. You get lawyers who politicize science accusing scientists of um, politicizing science.
The University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group decided in May to add 0.3 millimeters -- or about the thickness of a fingernail -- every year to its actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming.
"Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," said James M. Taylor, a lawyer who focuses on environmental issues for the Heartland Institute.
Steve Nerem, the director of the widely relied-upon research center, told FoxNews.com that his group added the 0.3 millimeters per year to the actual sea level measurements because land masses, still rebounding from the ice age, are rising and increasing the amount of water that oceans can hold.
"We have to account for the fact that the ocean basins are actually getting slightly bigger... water volume is expanding," he said, a phenomenon they call glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA).
FAUX NOISE
The University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group decided in May to add 0.3 millimeters -- or about the thickness of a fingernail -- every year to its actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming.
"Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," said James M. Taylor, a lawyer who focuses on environmental issues for the Heartland Institute.
Steve Nerem, the director of the widely relied-upon research center, told FoxNews.com that his group added the 0.3 millimeters per year to the actual sea level measurements because land masses, still rebounding from the ice age, are rising and increasing the amount of water that oceans can hold.
"We have to account for the fact that the ocean basins are actually getting slightly bigger... water volume is expanding," he said, a phenomenon they call glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA).
FAUX NOISE
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