Now, it appears, South Milwaukee has succumb to the siren song of Walmart.
For Further Reading:
Always the low-road strategy
Cudahy: Out of ideas
Purchasing power
Walmart subsidy report for Wisconsin
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Boiling Point
Republican cynicism and misdirection during a recession garnered Republican election victories and, thus, they have pushed their sweeping agenda involving voter ID, conceal and carry, and ending collective bargaining...along with more corporate tax cuts, of course. (All the while, mind you, Republicans are simultaneously accusing the Democrats of changing the country for the worse, being anti-American, and of having their own sweeping agenda. Because they tried to get all citizens health care? Because they want to invest in the nation's infrastructure?)
Public workers and concerned citizens all over the country rallied and made their voices heard regarding this outrageous power-grab. Some might even consider Madison, Wisconsin the initial spark of this, now national, activism. Primarily agitated to life in Wisconsin due to the budgetary shenanigans and anti-labor policies of Scott Walker.
From this movement Occupy Wall Street is born. A decades-overdue opposition to neoliberal, laissez faire, deregulated, unbridled capitalism, haunting us since the Reagan administration. These policies explain much of our inequality and the primary reason people have started The Occupation.
Midweek Reading
As Unions Weaken So Does Middle Class
Blue States To The Rescue. Again.
China Labor Costs Push Jobs Back To U.S.
CEO Pay Soaring
Death Of Forests, Loss Of Key Climate Protector
Did Fannie Cause The Disaster?
Gas Tax Short Of Covering Roads
Misrepresentations, Regulations, Jobs
No Economic Recovery Without Smart Growth
Rewarding CEOs Who Fail
Spend, Spend, Spend
Tax Subsidies For Film Doesn't Pay Off
5 Facts About The Wealthiest One Percent
To Boost Incomes, Uncle Same Should Lend A Hand
U.S. Manufacturing: The Engine That Could
Blue States To The Rescue. Again.
China Labor Costs Push Jobs Back To U.S.
CEO Pay Soaring
Death Of Forests, Loss Of Key Climate Protector
Did Fannie Cause The Disaster?
Gas Tax Short Of Covering Roads
Misrepresentations, Regulations, Jobs
No Economic Recovery Without Smart Growth
Rewarding CEOs Who Fail
Spend, Spend, Spend
Tax Subsidies For Film Doesn't Pay Off
5 Facts About The Wealthiest One Percent
To Boost Incomes, Uncle Same Should Lend A Hand
U.S. Manufacturing: The Engine That Could
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Milwaukee RiverWalk
The American Planning Association named the Milwaukee RiverWalk one of America's Great Public Spaces for 2011.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tax, Draft, Seize, Sell, Arrest, Incarcerate, Execute
But they can't make you buy insurance.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Midweek Reading
Are Wisconsin Public Employees Over-Compensated?
Child Poverty Rose Dramatically In Wisconsin Last Year
Does Right-To-Work Create Jobs?
Jim DeMint's Race To The Bottom
Milwaukee Income Drops 22% As Jobs Threats Continue
Smart Growth Law Would Be Gutted By Proposed Legislation
Tax Cuts Break The Bank
What's Wrong With Right-To-Work?
Wisconsin Has Lean Public Sector
Wisconsin Public Servants Already Face A Compensation Penalty
Child Poverty Rose Dramatically In Wisconsin Last Year
Does Right-To-Work Create Jobs?
Jim DeMint's Race To The Bottom
Milwaukee Income Drops 22% As Jobs Threats Continue
Smart Growth Law Would Be Gutted By Proposed Legislation
Tax Cuts Break The Bank
What's Wrong With Right-To-Work?
Wisconsin Has Lean Public Sector
Wisconsin Public Servants Already Face A Compensation Penalty
Prosperity, Poverty & Unemployment
In an article celebrating the Milwaukee area's good job growth, the most concealing quote has to be, "It's possible to have prosperity and poverty right next to each other. We're kind of accumulating, in the human resources sense, tons of people who just don't have employable skills. I don't know what you do to flip that around."
Another great obfuscation of our increasingly unequal society, alongside the talking-point of structural unemployment.
We have poverty alongside prosperity because the prosperous have taken control of government and steered all the economic gains back into their own pockets. There are plenty of jobs [infrastructure, public works] which could employ the supposedly unemployable if only we had the political will.
It should also be noted that there is a general lack of interest in poverty. It's rarely mentioned. It's rarely talked about. They are the unspoken class in American society. We're much too concerned with quarterly returns, tax breaks for the job "creators," and keeping up with the Joneses. 1 in 6 Americans lives in poverty. Yet, we're more concerned about making sure the richest among us don't see their taxes rise 3 percent.
The idea that there aren't skilled workers to do the needed jobs is really just a diversion of responsibility by the job "creators". People can't get by on the wages being offered. We keep hearing how businesses just can't find workers to do the job. It's the fault of government, universities, the technical schools. But all of this myth-making misses the rudimentary economic principle of supply and demand. If there is work that needs to be done, yet workers are hard to find, business either goes to where the workers are, or they pay a wage high enough to attract the workers they need.
This also exemplifies the double-standard many anti-tax, pro-business people hold. They are job creators. They shouldn't have to pay taxes or have social responsibilities. But when they are unwilling to pay the market wage, the government must come to the rescue and train workers, provide subsidies, or help them out in some fashion. And, we shouldn't forget (as Elizabeth Warren recently reminded) about the roads, the court system, police protection, and other public services that allow their businesses to operate - services that we all pay for.
In another [two articles mentioning poverty! - I guess that will be all we hear about it for the rest of the year] recent article (which displayed the usual passerby/woe-is-me/only-time-will-tell attitude toward poverty), Tom Hefty, ex-Blue Cross executive, blamed Milwaukee politicians (i.e. Democrats) for "economic decline and rising poverty rates" in Milwaukee. Backhandedly blaming Democratic policies for all economic calamity. Yet, seemingly oblivious to the fact that poverty is increasing 5 times faster in the suburbs than in the city.
Policy is failing workers, the poor, the middle class, 99% of us, whether we're in the suburbs or the city. The reality is: tax cuts are no panacea, and, good government does more for the majority of citizens than "free" markets and privatization. Poverty and unemployment are a failure of leadership...business executives included.
For Further Reading:
Assessing Structural Unemployment
Debunking The Theory of Structural Unemployment
Deconstructing Structural Unemployment
It's About Job Shortage, Not Skills Mismatch
Jobs Revisions Bust Structural Unemployment Myths
The Myth of Structural Unemployment
Structural Unemployment & "Skills" Mismatch
Structural Unemployment Myths
Structural Unemployment
Structure of Excuses
Who's Unemployed?
Another great obfuscation of our increasingly unequal society, alongside the talking-point of structural unemployment.
We have poverty alongside prosperity because the prosperous have taken control of government and steered all the economic gains back into their own pockets. There are plenty of jobs [infrastructure, public works] which could employ the supposedly unemployable if only we had the political will.
It should also be noted that there is a general lack of interest in poverty. It's rarely mentioned. It's rarely talked about. They are the unspoken class in American society. We're much too concerned with quarterly returns, tax breaks for the job "creators," and keeping up with the Joneses. 1 in 6 Americans lives in poverty. Yet, we're more concerned about making sure the richest among us don't see their taxes rise 3 percent.
The idea that there aren't skilled workers to do the needed jobs is really just a diversion of responsibility by the job "creators". People can't get by on the wages being offered. We keep hearing how businesses just can't find workers to do the job. It's the fault of government, universities, the technical schools. But all of this myth-making misses the rudimentary economic principle of supply and demand. If there is work that needs to be done, yet workers are hard to find, business either goes to where the workers are, or they pay a wage high enough to attract the workers they need.
This also exemplifies the double-standard many anti-tax, pro-business people hold. They are job creators. They shouldn't have to pay taxes or have social responsibilities. But when they are unwilling to pay the market wage, the government must come to the rescue and train workers, provide subsidies, or help them out in some fashion. And, we shouldn't forget (as Elizabeth Warren recently reminded) about the roads, the court system, police protection, and other public services that allow their businesses to operate - services that we all pay for.
In another [two articles mentioning poverty! - I guess that will be all we hear about it for the rest of the year] recent article (which displayed the usual passerby/woe-is-me/only-time-will-tell attitude toward poverty), Tom Hefty, ex-Blue Cross executive, blamed Milwaukee politicians (i.e. Democrats) for "economic decline and rising poverty rates" in Milwaukee. Backhandedly blaming Democratic policies for all economic calamity. Yet, seemingly oblivious to the fact that poverty is increasing 5 times faster in the suburbs than in the city.
Policy is failing workers, the poor, the middle class, 99% of us, whether we're in the suburbs or the city. The reality is: tax cuts are no panacea, and, good government does more for the majority of citizens than "free" markets and privatization. Poverty and unemployment are a failure of leadership...business executives included.
For Further Reading:
Assessing Structural Unemployment
Debunking The Theory of Structural Unemployment
Deconstructing Structural Unemployment
It's About Job Shortage, Not Skills Mismatch
Jobs Revisions Bust Structural Unemployment Myths
The Myth of Structural Unemployment
Structural Unemployment & "Skills" Mismatch
Structural Unemployment Myths
Structural Unemployment
Structure of Excuses
Who's Unemployed?
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Going Postal
By now we've all heard about the "crisis" at the U.S. Postal Service. But, in what seems more Republican smoke and mirrors, this "crisis" is another manufactured distraction.
As explained at Firedoglake:
"The USPS economic crisis is the result of a provision of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 that requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the health care benefits of future retirees—a burden no other government agency or private company bears.
The legislation requires the USPS to fund a 75-year liability over a 10-year period, and that requirement costs the USPS more than $5.5 billion per year. Guffey also pointed out that “the federal government is holding billions of dollars in postal overpayments to its pension accounts.
All of the USPS losses over the past four years come from this mandate. You cannot find another organization in the world, AFAIK, that pre-funds 75 years of benefits over a 10-year period. And it’s not just the overpayments, it’s the opportunity costs of having to hold that much reserve capital that cannot be used when times are tough, or to invest in more attractive services. This results from a 2006 law that was one of the last time bombs of the Denny Hastert-Bill Frist Congress. That needs to change.
Today, rallies are being held from 4-5:30pm local time to support the postal service. The locations are available here. Just about every Congressional district in the country will see a rally.
Over time, the postal service could need some additional innovation, as mail volume reduces. I suggested they take on simple banking, and there are other ideas available. In the short-term, the pre-funding mechanism is the entire problem. Hopefully the rallies will stick to this very simple message."
For Further Reading:
Postal Workers Rally Against Manufactured Crisis
As explained at Firedoglake:
"The USPS economic crisis is the result of a provision of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 that requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the health care benefits of future retirees—a burden no other government agency or private company bears.
The legislation requires the USPS to fund a 75-year liability over a 10-year period, and that requirement costs the USPS more than $5.5 billion per year. Guffey also pointed out that “the federal government is holding billions of dollars in postal overpayments to its pension accounts.
All of the USPS losses over the past four years come from this mandate. You cannot find another organization in the world, AFAIK, that pre-funds 75 years of benefits over a 10-year period. And it’s not just the overpayments, it’s the opportunity costs of having to hold that much reserve capital that cannot be used when times are tough, or to invest in more attractive services. This results from a 2006 law that was one of the last time bombs of the Denny Hastert-Bill Frist Congress. That needs to change.
Today, rallies are being held from 4-5:30pm local time to support the postal service. The locations are available here. Just about every Congressional district in the country will see a rally.
Over time, the postal service could need some additional innovation, as mail volume reduces. I suggested they take on simple banking, and there are other ideas available. In the short-term, the pre-funding mechanism is the entire problem. Hopefully the rallies will stick to this very simple message."
For Further Reading:
Postal Workers Rally Against Manufactured Crisis
Is Our Children Learning?*
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities latest research highlights the drastic effect of the Scott Walker budget on education funding for Wisconsin. We have seen the 4th largest dollar decline in spending per student. We have the 3rd largest percent decline in spending per student. And, the largest decline in inflation-adjusted dollars spent per student (FY11 to FY12).
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Uncertainty?
Jared Bernstein (with the help of Lawrence Mishel) dispels the right-wing talking-point of "uncertainty":
"Larry Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, has an extremely useful piece up collecting all the reasons -- with evidence -- why the conservatives' "uncertainty" talking point is shovel-ready nonsense.
First, "uncertainty" in this context refers to the Republicans argument that it's government and central bank actions -- taxes, regulation, fiscal/monetary policy, health care/financial regulation reforms -- that are holding back the economy, not any of that ill-begotten Keynesian stuff, like lack of customers, orders, investors.
So how might you test for something like that?
Well, what about actual investment?
Investment in the current recovery has increased more than in it had at the same time period in the prior two recoveries and roughly the same as it did during the 1980s recovery [see figure]. In other words, this recovery is far more investment-led than the recovery under the pro-deregulation George W. Bush administration.
Private sector jobs, you ask?
...private sector job growth in this recovery looks much like job growth in recent recoveries, suggesting that businesses are not reacting to a new threat of potential regulations and taxes (the difference with this recovery is actually the loss of public sector jobs.
And then, of course, there's what the business folks, as opposed to their DC reps, actually say about what's bugging them:
...the regular National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) surveys of small businesses found that the most common answer to the question, "what is the single most important problem your business faces?" was "poor sales." And while a number of businesses also cited regulation, the numbers were not substantially higher than under Presidents George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan and were lower than under Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.
None of this is to say "uncertainty" is not a problem. But while conservative politicians are busy jamming their perennial tax cut/deregulate agenda into the current context, the thing that businesses are truly uncertain about is when they're going to start seeing some customers again."
Grilling Season
When a news anchor actually asks pointed questions, or wants explanations for certain actions or policies, it's now considered "grilling".
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Warren Wisdom
As usual, Elizabeth Warren is making sense.
“You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did."
“Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”
“You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did."
“Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”
This is a point President Obama should have been making since day one in office.
Covert Campaign
Shouldn't those investigative watchdogs at the Journal Sentinel be doing a bit more in-depth analysis of the expanding scandal involving our duplicitous governor, Scott Walker?
Fed grants immunity to Walker's former spokesman in ongoing probe.
Update:
I don't consider blurbs in the online Newswatch section of the Journal to be "breaking the story". In a search for "Scott Walker" on the Journal Sentinel website, over the past 30 days, only nine "stories" reference the Cindy Archer debacle. I've seen more information (contextually) provided by Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, and Daily Kos.
I am focusing on the online coverage primarily because that is primarily where people get their news. I've seen a couple of the nine "stories" alongside the headline story on the front page of the print edition. But, isn't the possible headline of "Corruption in the governor's mansion" as important as "Brewer's clinch division"? Yes, I'm being somewhat picky and this is essentially a matter of scale. But maybe because our news focuses on sports and the sideshow more than the substantive stuff, this is why our democracy is in shambles and we no longer focus on shared prosperity, how we ought to live, and matters of quality of life.
Walker has a history of poor decisions and dubious tactics, especially as county executive. How is this not a daily front-page story of a political tool participating in questionable, and possibly illegal, behavior? This should be the lead story. Not the Brewers. Not Frontier airlines. Not Marquette's new boss. But, the story of our (Journal Sentinel-supported) possibly crooked governor. Which seems kind of important considering the massive agenda and changes he is trying to sweep across Wisconsin.
But that's just my (now, hopefully, explicated) opinion. And, my fault for being brief in my initial one-sentence posting.
Aside:
It's also interesting to see the Journal Sentinel belittling recall elections. Proactively, it appears, trying to dissuade readers from giving any momentum to the efforts to recall Scott Walker.
News breakers? More like news manipulators and stiflers.
For Further Reading:
An Introduction to Walkergate
Walkergate: Tea-Parties, E-mails and Cronies! Oh My!
Fed grants immunity to Walker's former spokesman in ongoing probe.
Update:
I don't consider blurbs in the online Newswatch section of the Journal to be "breaking the story". In a search for "Scott Walker" on the Journal Sentinel website, over the past 30 days, only nine "stories" reference the Cindy Archer debacle. I've seen more information (contextually) provided by Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, and Daily Kos.
I am focusing on the online coverage primarily because that is primarily where people get their news. I've seen a couple of the nine "stories" alongside the headline story on the front page of the print edition. But, isn't the possible headline of "Corruption in the governor's mansion" as important as "Brewer's clinch division"? Yes, I'm being somewhat picky and this is essentially a matter of scale. But maybe because our news focuses on sports and the sideshow more than the substantive stuff, this is why our democracy is in shambles and we no longer focus on shared prosperity, how we ought to live, and matters of quality of life.
Walker has a history of poor decisions and dubious tactics, especially as county executive. How is this not a daily front-page story of a political tool participating in questionable, and possibly illegal, behavior? This should be the lead story. Not the Brewers. Not Frontier airlines. Not Marquette's new boss. But, the story of our (Journal Sentinel-supported) possibly crooked governor. Which seems kind of important considering the massive agenda and changes he is trying to sweep across Wisconsin.
But that's just my (now, hopefully, explicated) opinion. And, my fault for being brief in my initial one-sentence posting.
Aside:
It's also interesting to see the Journal Sentinel belittling recall elections. Proactively, it appears, trying to dissuade readers from giving any momentum to the efforts to recall Scott Walker.
News breakers? More like news manipulators and stiflers.
For Further Reading:
An Introduction to Walkergate
Walkergate: Tea-Parties, E-mails and Cronies! Oh My!
Monday, September 19, 2011
The Low Tax Truth
Lets get back to the good ole' days of higher marginal tax rates, productivity growth alongside wage growth, full employment, and broadly shared prosperity.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Mining for Dollars
It's good to see someone is keeping an eye on Scott Walker and his crony capitalism.
Corps of Engineers questions Wisconsin rewriting mining laws.
Corps of Engineers questions Wisconsin rewriting mining laws.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Hop On The Bus, Gus
An Analysis of the Impact of Proposed 2012 Milwaukee County Transit Service Reductions on Access to Employment.
"The principal finding of this report is that implementation of the entire menu of service cuts proposed by MCTS would result in the loss of bus service to 997 of the 18,292 employers currently served by MCTS, a decline of 5.4 percent. The vast majority of these employers (all but 10 percent) are located in the suburbs. At a minimum, 13,553 jobs in locations currently served by MCTS would become inaccessible by transit."
"The principal finding of this report is that implementation of the entire menu of service cuts proposed by MCTS would result in the loss of bus service to 997 of the 18,292 employers currently served by MCTS, a decline of 5.4 percent. The vast majority of these employers (all but 10 percent) are located in the suburbs. At a minimum, 13,553 jobs in locations currently served by MCTS would become inaccessible by transit."
The Bubble's Remains
According to Calculated Risk, "The value of household real estate has fallen $6.6 trillion from the peak - and is still falling in 2011."
We need more than $775- and $500-billion stimulus initiatives to get the economy back on track.
We need more than $775- and $500-billion stimulus initiatives to get the economy back on track.
Privatization Loses Money
Great new study by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). More real-world, empirical evidence that privatization does not save money. We're simply shifting money from good-paying jobs (public sector) for services we need, to low-paying private sector companies that charge more, yet only a select few at the top of the organization share in the majority of the bounty. We're paying more to privatize public sector work based on the MYTH that it's costing us less to have it done by a private organization.
"This report proves otherwise: in fact, it shows that the government actually pays service contractors at rates far exceeding the cost of employing federal employees to perform comparable functions."
"POGO estimates the government pays billions more annually in taxpayer dollars to hire contractors than it would to hire federal employees to perform comparable services. Specifically, POGO’s study shows that the federal government approves service contract billing rates—deemed fair and reasonable—that pay contractors 1.83 times more than the government pays federal employees in total compensation, and more than 2 times the total compensation paid in the private sector for comparable services."
"This report proves otherwise: in fact, it shows that the government actually pays service contractors at rates far exceeding the cost of employing federal employees to perform comparable functions."
"POGO estimates the government pays billions more annually in taxpayer dollars to hire contractors than it would to hire federal employees to perform comparable services. Specifically, POGO’s study shows that the federal government approves service contract billing rates—deemed fair and reasonable—that pay contractors 1.83 times more than the government pays federal employees in total compensation, and more than 2 times the total compensation paid in the private sector for comparable services."
Weekend Reading
Chile's Privatization Failures
Contracting Out Costs Government Lots Extra
Higher Fees Paid to U.S. Physicians
Historically Low Taxes
The Investor's Dilemma
The Keynes-Hayek Rematch
The Legend of Margaret Thatcher
The Magical World of Voodoo Economists
Painful Medicine
Republican Assault on Post Office and Postal Unions
Studies Cite CEO Pay Cause of Wealth Inequality
U.S. Healthcare Costs High Because Doctor Fees are High
Was Marx Right?
What Caused the Recession of 1937-38?
Why Do Mayors Love Sports Stadiums?
Contracting Out Costs Government Lots Extra
Higher Fees Paid to U.S. Physicians
Historically Low Taxes
The Investor's Dilemma
The Keynes-Hayek Rematch
The Legend of Margaret Thatcher
The Magical World of Voodoo Economists
Painful Medicine
Republican Assault on Post Office and Postal Unions
Studies Cite CEO Pay Cause of Wealth Inequality
U.S. Healthcare Costs High Because Doctor Fees are High
Was Marx Right?
What Caused the Recession of 1937-38?
Why Do Mayors Love Sports Stadiums?
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Klein on Social Security
The boring truth about Social Security
There was a long and mostly confused conversation about Social Security during Wednesday night’s GOP debate. But rather than get sidetracked over whether the pension program is a “monstrous lie” (Perry), “a Ponzi scheme” (Perry again), “tyranny” (yep, Perry), “broken” (Cain), or a great system that Americans are being “defrauded out of” (Romney), let’s just go to the numbers.
Over the next 75 years, Social Security’s shortfall is equal to about 0.7 percent of GDP (pdf). If we increase its revenues by that amount -- which could be accomplished by lifting the cap on payroll taxes -- or reduce its benefits by that amount or do some combination of the two, Social Security is back in the black. Here are 30 policy tweaks that could get us there.
Why does Social Security show a shortfall? As Stephen C. Goss, the system’s chief actuary, has written, Social Security projects an imbalance “because birth rates dropped from three to two children per woman.” That means there are relatively fewer young people paying for the old people. “Importantly,” Goss continues, “this shortfall is basically stable after 2035.” In other words, we only have to fix Social Security once. After we reform it to take account of modern demographics, the system is set for the foreseeable future.
And that’s...it. That’s what’s needed to fix Social Security. All this talk about it being a “monstrous lie” or “a Ponzi scheme” or “broken” is meant to create a crisis to clear the way for radical changes in Social Security. But if folks want to make radical changes to Social Security, they should just make the argument for their proposed fixes. And good luck to them. But in reality, what’s going to happen is that sometime in the next decade or so, Republicans and Democrats are going to compromise on a package that adjusts Social Security by about 0.7 percent of GDP over the next 75 years.
Monday, August 29, 2011
The End of Loser Liberalism
A new book from Dean Baker.
Contents
1 Upward Redistribution of Income ....... 1
2 Where We Are and How We Got Here........ 12
3 The Great Redistribution ......... 27
4 The Bubble Economy ............ 35
5 The Fed and Interest Rates........ 49
6 Full Employment without the Fed ....... 61
7 The Treasury and the Dollar ........ 79
8 Trade in an Overvalued-Dollar World...... 87
9 Reining in Finance.......... 111
10 Government-Granted Monopolies ..... 129
11 Follow the Money:......... 141
The Right-Wing's Scapegoat/Savior Politics
Mark Neumann (in what seems a continual run for any vacant elected public office) kicked off his Wisconsin Senate campaign with a right-wing talking-point, "Wisconsin is at the forefront of a new breed of fiscal conservatism, with Republicans including Gov. Scott Walker, Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Ron Johnson leading the way. The Badger State is poised to show the rest of the nation that we know how to put a stop to the reckless spending that threatens to send our economy off the rails."
Where were all these fiscally conservative Republican deficit-hawks when George W. Bush was doubling the U.S. deficit? Reality seems to indicate Republicans couldn't control their own spending proclivity.
[Graphs courtesy of Dave Johnson]
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Wisconsin Spending
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities comments, "In Wisconsin, lawmakers enacted over $90 million in new tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. For example, corporations will be allowed to claim as a tax deduction a greater share of the losses they have incurred in past years and will tax less of their capital gains income. Together with other tax cuts enacted earlier this year, the total revenue loss to the state is about $200 million over the next two year budget cycle, requiring further budget cuts. Lawmakers filled $56 million of the budget shortfall by scaling back the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit for 152,000 low-income working families, at an average cost of $518 for families with 3 or more children and $154 for families with 2 children, annually."
Productivity & Wages
Benjamin Landy reports, "Productivity -– a measure of economic efficiency in terms of output per hour worked -– actually grew at the relatively fast rate of 2.8 percent between 1948 and 1973, when tax rates were far higher and regulations were more extensive in many industries, relative to 1973 to 2010, when average productivity growth slowed to 1.9%. In addition, during the period from 1948 until 1973, almost all Americans were seeing their average income rise as productivity climbed. Income inequality in the United States was at its lowest levels in history, with the rising economic tide lifting all boats. But beginning in the mid 1970s, the income of the bottom 90% –- all but the highest earners -– started to fall behind productivity increases. As the graph shows, though,the incomes of the top 10% and 1% continued to track productivity growth. As of 2008, the average American’s real wages were no higher than they were forty years ago. Since all workers are collectively enhancing the efficiency of the economy, there's little justification for perpetuating policies that have enabled only the wealthiest to benefit from those improvements."
No Retirement
I'm sure the Republicans (whom are kept awake at night worrying about debt and our children) just forgot to be outraged by the fact that retirement is becoming an antiquated notion.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
We Must Save The Trust Fund Babies
We actually have empirical evidence that shows higher tax rates, than we currently have, result in increased revenues and a better quality of life for the majority of Americans.
We also have empirical evidence demonstrating that lowering taxes simply increases income inequality whilst simultaneously diminishing revenues for schools, infrastructure, and research - thus lowering our quality of life.
Yet, in the Republican fantasy world, when faced with the policy option of increasing taxes, they scream class warfare.
Destroying pensions, laying off teachers and police officers, allowing health care costs to be the largest cause of bankruptcy, decreasing Social Security and Medicare payments, increasing the retirement age, etc. Where are the Republicans screams of class warfare when this is going on?
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Death of the English Language
KID: "Do you believe in Evolution?"
RICK PERRY: "It's a theory that's out there. It's got some gaps in it. In Texas we teach both creationism and evolution....You know, 'cos I figure you're smart enough to figure out which one's right." [WINK]
And, the death of Republican public servants interested in governing.
Fake Messiahs
Articles thoroughly debunking the effectiveness and honesty of Mitt Romney and Rick Perry:
Gridlock & Recessions - Or - Thanks, Republicans!
Typical hypocrisy and myth-making coming from the right-wingers.
Sean Hannity and the other FOX charlatans are complaining because President Obama took a vacation.
They're very upset.
Suddenly they're blathering on and on about the "real" unemployment rate.
Suddenly they're worried about workers and creating jobs.
They conveniently ignore George W. Bush's economic record (and the record of all Republican policies, in general).
When Republicans are in power, where is the outrage when:
Sean Hannity and the other FOX charlatans are complaining because President Obama took a vacation.
They're very upset.
Suddenly they're blathering on and on about the "real" unemployment rate.
Suddenly they're worried about workers and creating jobs.
They conveniently ignore George W. Bush's economic record (and the record of all Republican policies, in general).
When Republicans are in power, where is the outrage when:
- our deficit is doubling (Reagan) and tripling (Bush)?
- workers' wages are stagnating (as they did during the Bush administration)?
- unemployment continues to grow (as it did during George W. Bush)?
It's arguing with people willing to cut off their own nose just to spite their face.
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Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Too Little Too Late
Eight months into his first term as Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker finally decides it's time to be bipartisan and focus on jobs.
Now that Walker can't just push through anything he'd like, he's decided to be bipartisan.
And, let's be clear, the Democrats won the recall campaign. They gained two seats. The Republicans - zero.
Surely the Dem's gains are partially because of Walker's attack on collective bargaining and his policy priorities thus far - voter ID; concealed-carry; killing the train, broadband expansion, and wind farms; more corporate tax breaks; etc.
If only Scottie had been concerned with job creation and working on necessary policies for Wisconsinites, maybe the whole recall brouhaha wouldn't have materialized. Instead he pandered to cronies, focused on ideological dictates, and has ended up increasing unemployment in Wisconsin.
The stage is set for a Scott Walker recall in early 2012.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The Spending Boogeyman
U.S. spending is slightly higher now than the late 70s, early 20s and 80s, and much less than the mid-to-late 40s - a period that coincided with the creation of the American middle-class and the greatest period of economic growth this country has ever seen. Government spending increases (hopefully) during a recessionary period. This helps the economy recover. Economic suffering of citizens/business is minimized.
Based on historical evidence and the magnitude of our current recession, we should be investing (spending) more on our country and it's citizens.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Victimization Double-Standard
Or...The absolutely f!@#ing insane, disingenuous, and warped worldview of Republicans.
We should just assume the Republicans are guilty of anything they are bitching about - and even more so when they are blaming "liberals".
We should just assume the Republicans are guilty of anything they are bitching about - and even more so when they are blaming "liberals".
Poor in America
The Republicans and the Heritage Foundation feel America's poor aren't really poor.
If you have a refrigerator, air conditioning, or a coffee maker, you're not poor.
"If you still have the strength to brush the flies off your eyeballs, you're not really poor."
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