Thursday Reading

U.S. government checks constituted 40% of farmers’ income in 2020

A New Congressional Budget Office Study Shows That Medicare for All Would Save Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Annually

Trump’s Businesses Raked In $1.9 Billion Of Revenue During His First Three Years In Office

Ronald Reagan Paved the Way for Donald Trump

Republicans won in rural Wisconsin again, now comes the hard part — governing

Trickle-down economics doesn't work but build-up does – is Biden listening?

Trickle-down economics is dead. It’s time to tax the rich harder

NBC's Chuck Todd to GOP senator on Electoral College challenge: 'You're the arsonist here'

A decade ago, this scientist predicted 2020 would bring 'peak' chaos to the U.S.

The Senate’s coup-staging ‘Dirty Dozen’ shouldn’t be allowed to hold office

Federal Judge Tears Apart Election Lawsuit

Many Scientists Now Say Global Warming Could Stop Relatively Quickly After Emissions Go to Zero

Capitol attackers have long threatened violence in rural American west

The Covid Tracking Project

St Croix County Republican Party tells members to 'prepare for war' and to remove 'leftist tyrants' from local office

Holiday Reading

The Fed has a new approach to inflation: What it means for your savings, credit-card debt — and your mortgage rate

Why do taxpayers subsidize rich farmers?

U.S. Debt Is Set to Exceed Size of the Economy Next Year, a First Since World War II

Want to Be a Landlord? Consider This First

Black-Scholes Option Pricing is Wrong

Chicago 's Wall: Race, Segregation and the Chicago Housing Authority

How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering

10 Crucial Things That Result From Einstein’s Theories of Relativity

Most Dangerous Jobs

[source, source]

Republicans Never-Ending Hypocrisy

Remember when Republicans criticized the auto industry "bailout"?

“Unless Chrysler, Ford and General Motors become lean and innovative and competitive in the market place, this is only delaying their funeral,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican and bailout opponent.

It was a colossal waste of money and pointless.

Actually, it was a success.  The auto companies are performing well again and have paid back the "bailout".

Auto workers are union members and usually vote for Democrats, which is the real reason Republicans were against helping them out.

Farmers usually vote Republican ...

And, what most Americans probably don't know, Trump's Farm Bailout Has Cost The Taxpayers More Than Double The Auto Bailout.  (Lets also not forget that Trump's own trade policies exacerbated farmers' problems.)

As Bloomberg reported, "Doling out billions in aid to American farmers, who have become more dependent on government money than they’ve been in years. At $28 billion so far, the farm rescue is more than twice as expensive as the 2009 bailout of Detroit’s Big Three automakers."

This is what the Republican party has become - a spiteful cabal of sycophants and grifters, only concerned with power and cronyism.  Their policies have nothing to do with what is right for America, what would be good for America, but are more concerned with what will buy them votes, keep them in power, and allow them access to the trough of public dollars to reward themselves.

Weekend Reading

The Oceans We Know Won't Survive Climate Change
Tax Aversion And The Legacy Of Slavery
How Slavery Shaped American Capitalism
Amid Trade War, Farmers Lean On New Crop: Hemp
Federal Judge In Trump Tax Case Picks Apart DOJ Rule Barring Indictment Of President
How To Get Away With Gerrymandering
For The First Time In History, U.S. Billionaires Paid A Lower Tax Rate Than The Working Class Last Year
Federal Deficit Estimated At $984 Billion, Highest In Seven Years
No More Half-Measures On Corporate Taxes
How A Brief Socialist Takeover In North Dakota Gave Residents A Public Bank