Quote Of The Day - Here and Now Edition

Sept 2nd, 2011

"Their optimism has been crushed by reality: They are still not working, or if they are working they're making a lot less money. You're either devastated or you're hurting, that's the range."

-- Carl E. Van Horn on the continued hardships faced by the millions who lost their jobs during the Great Recession. Van Horn teaches at Rutgers and is also a co-author of the just released study, Out Of Work and Losing Hope: The Misery and Bleak Expectations of American Workers

I Keep Saying This...

June 1st, 2011

The crisis of American economy is one of willful design. Lawrence Mishel of The Economic Policy Institute published a paper a few weeks ago titled We're Not Broke Nor Will We Be that supports this view.


His conclusion is both clear and actually somewhat entertaining:

"There is an old joke about the Lone Ranger, who turned to Tonto and said, "We’re surrounded by Indians," and Tonto responds, "What do you mean by 'we,' kimosabe?'" That same logic applies to policymakers who claim that "we're broke." It matters who is included in "we." We, collectively, have been gaining income and wealth and will continue to do so. "We," the broad middle class, have not been gaining wealth and have not received much of the income gains of the past 30 years. Whether the broad middle class prospers in the next 30 years does not hinge on whether there will be substantial income growth; there most definitely will be. The future prosperity of the broad middle class hinges on the economic policies and structures that determine how that income is generated and shared. Are our federal and state governments "broke"? They certainly face deficits. Whether those governments provide the services we need will totally depend upon the political decisions made regarding taxing and spending. Taxation and revenues have diminished, both due to policy choices and the impact of the Great Recession.

So, are we broke? Only if we choose to be."

Reich On Taxing The Rich

April 4th, 2011

On Friday, I wrote a plea for a return to some sense of sanity regarding tax policy.

Today, Robert Reich wrote:

"Here's the truth: The only way America can reduce the long-term budget deficit, maintain vital services, protect Social Security and Medicare, invest more in education and infrastructure, and not raise taxes on the working middle class is by raising taxes on the super rich.

Source - The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities - CBPP

Even if we got rid of corporate welfare subsidies for big oil, big agriculture, and big Pharma -- even if we cut back on our bloated defense budget -- it wouldn't be nearly enough.

The vast majority of Americans can't afford to pay more. Despite an economy that's twice as large as it was thirty years ago, the bottom 90 percent are still stuck in the mud. If they're employed they're earning on average only about $280 more a year than thirty years ago, adjusted for inflation. That's less than a 1 percent gain over more than a third of a century. (Families are doing somewhat better but that's only because so many families now have to rely on two incomes.)"

We are quickly running out of time to right our course. The proof of the deepening plutocracy which drives our monetary policy is revealed in the hard numbers showing a majority of Americans were opposed to the extension of the "W Tax Cuts" for the hyper-wealthy. Tomorrow, it appears Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is going to double down on this madness. This is because they don't care what the people think. 

Our window of opportunity is closing.