About That Romney "Tax Plan", cont...

Feb 26th, 2012

Some instructive charts detailing the nonsense.
click images for clearer view

Roughly half of all cuts go to the top 5% with the largest reduction going to the top 0.01%.

Chart via the Tax Policy Center of the Brookings Institution

Totally unrealistic and draconian measures to mitigate the deficit impact are central to the plan.

CBO analysis republished by White House Policy Director, James Kvall

How The Deficit Exploded

Dec 30th, 2011

HT to The Dish for reminding everyone about this today.

Rules For Rational Debate

Dec 15th, 2011

In light of the endless, droning, prevaricating monotony that has been the GOP debate season, I thought it was worth posting this gem. Via 22 Words:

Click image for clearer view

What Not Extending The Payroll Cut Looks Like

Dec 8th, 2011

Again, the impact of removing as much as $150 billion from the already weak consumer economy seem to be lost on opponents of the extension. Or, they just want to screw the President.
SOURCE

Wacky GOP Frontrunner Madness

Dec 3rd, 2011

So, Cain is out as of a few hours ago and I suspect this will give Gingrich a tremendous bump... at least through the next several hours. The wild and wacky ups and downs of this primary season are unlike anything we've ever seen.

Peter Suderman of Reason reflects on what is driving the phenomena while commenting on a remarkable interactive graph over at TPM tracking the ups and downs of the candidates in Iowa polling (screen-capped below):

"Fear the boom and bust, indeed.

The national polling is similarly contorted, and it suggests that the Republican party is in a bit of a pickle: They think they can win against Obama in 2012. But they don’t have a candidate they think they can win with.

Try talking to Republicans about Mitt Romney, and you’ll find two things: First, a lot of them don’t want to talk, and when they decline they frequently stress the need for maintaining a good working relationship should Romney become the nominee. Those who do talk tend to say a few cautiously nice things about him. He’s a decent guy. He’s a good manager. He’s intelligent. He knows business. But it’s hard to find party insiders or activists who are genuinely enthusiastic about his candidacy. The people who like him best—self-styled moderates and business folks who shy away from the rougher edges of the party’s activist base—are merely comfortable with him, because they see, or think they see, a familiar type of individual."

The REAL Class War In A Chart

Dec 1st, 2011

Ahem...

Charting Palin's Brain

Oct 7th, 2011

First of all, I want to admit up front that I was wrong and most everyone else was right; Sarah Palin is not running for the office of the Presidency in 2012. It was a money making scheme all along. That said, I came across this chart today which pokes some fun at her thought processes. It's still worth sharing.

How We Got Here, cont...

Oct 5th, 2011

The chart below details the merger mania in American banking over the last 2 decades.

Open the image in a new window for a larger view. 

Cycling Poverty

Sept 20th, 2011

The chart below from EPI tracks the American poverty cycle since 1979. We are just slightly below the two previous peaks in that period. There is, however, a fundamental difference between now and then. The two booms that temporarily reduced the overall rate in the last three decades were illusory and built upon variations of the same unsustainable model. The markets, as we have been pointing out recently, are no longer working.

Paying For The Jobs Bill

Sept 13th, 2011

The American Jobs Act doesn't stand much of a chance. The reasons for this are two fold:

First, it would actually help the country and the GOP's saboteurs (previously noted HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE) definitely can't have that. Second, it would rely on the rich getting some more "skin in the game."

via Washington Post

Charting The Debt Deal

Aug 11th, 2011

The whole thing is bad medicine and represents a failure of national priorities.

Percentages

April12th, 2011

With the U.S. government nearly shutdown last week over abortion arguments and the partial federal funding of Planned Parenthood in particular, it was interesting to see these figures.

Source

A Graphic History Of 20th Century Recessions

Dec 21st, 2010

We are providing this as a resource and will be referencing it in posts over the next several days. You are encouraged to take a look at this post for more damnably irrefutable facts.

RECESSIONS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Date	Duration
Sept. 1902-Aug. 1904	23
May 1907-June 1908	13
Jan. 1910-Jan. 1912	24
Jan. 1913-Dec. 1914	23
Aug. 1918-March 1919	7
Jan. 1920-July 1921	18
May 1923-July 1924	14
Oct. 1926-Nov. 1927	13
Aug. 1929-March 1933	43
May 1937-June 1938	13
Feb. 1945-Oct. 1945	8
Nov. 1948-Oct. 1949	11
July 1953-May 1954	10
Aug. 1957-April 1958	8
April 1960-Feb. 1961	10
Dec. 1969-Nov. 1970	11
Nov. 1973-March 1975	16
Jan. 1980-July 1980	6
July 1981-Nov. 1982	16
July 1990-March 1991	8
March 2001-Nov. 2001	8

source: NBER