Saturday, July 21, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Love the name of the title by the way. Good Read. Check it out.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
David Simon is going to kick my ass for stealing content but It has to be done....in regard to the republican retard John Boehner
The news out of House Speaker John Boehner’s speech to the New York Economic Club was his demand for “cuts of trillions, not just billions” before the debt ceiling can be raised. Not just broad deficit-reduction targets, the Ohio Republican insisted, but “actual cuts and program reforms.”
That’s alarming enough. It is all but impossible to get this done in the available time. It certainly can’t be accomplished on Boehner’s unbending, no-new-taxes terms. And if the speaker truly believes that it would be “more irresponsible” to raise the debt ceiling without instituting deficit-reduction measures than not to raise it at all, we’re in a heap of trouble.
Reporters naturally tend to ignore this boilerplate. Journalistically, that makes sense. Boehner’s economic comments were nothing particularly new. Indeed, they reflect what has become the mainstream thinking of the Republican Party. But that’s exactly the point. We become so inured to hearing this thinking that we neglect to point out how wrong it is.
My argument with Boehner is not that he believes in a more limited role for government than I do, not that he is more skeptical of government intervention and regulation, and not that he is more worried about the economically stifling implications of tax increases. Those are legitimate ideological differences. American politics is better off for them.
I’m talking about statements that are simply false.
“The recent stimulus spending binge hurt our economy and hampered private-sector job creation in America.”
Reasonable economists can disagree about the effectiveness of the stimulus spending and whether it was worth the drag of the additional debt, but no reasonable economist argues that it hurt the economy in the short term.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the stimulus added, on average, about one percentage point annually to economic growth and reduced the unemployment rate by half a point between 2009 and 2011. And that’s the low-end estimate. The high-end numbers show the stimulus spending adding more than 2 percentage points annually to economic growth and cutting the unemployment rate by more than 1 percentage point.
The CBO is not alone. Economists Alan Blinder and Mark Zandi estimated in a July 2010 paper that without the stimulus spending, the unemployment rate would be 1.5 percentage points higher.
“The massive borrowing and spending by the Treasury Department crowded out private investment by American businesses of all sizes.”
Crowding out occurs when government spending drives up interest rates and makes borrowing unattractive to the private sector. As economist Joseph Minarik of the Committee for Economic Development explains, “When interest rates are on the floor, you can’t say federal government borrowing is crowding out business investment.” The lackluster investment climate reflects low consumer demand and underutilized capacity. You can’t be crowded out of a room you’re not trying to enter.
“The truth is we will never balance the budget and rid our children of debt unless we cut spending and have real economic growth. And we will never have real economic growth if we raise taxes on those in America who create jobs.”
Never? Under President Clinton, taxes were raised, primarily on the wealthy. During the eight years of his administration, the economy grew by an average of close to 4 percent.
“I ran for Congress in 1990, the year our nation’s leaders struck a so-called bargain that raised taxes as part of a bipartisan plan to balance the budget. The result of that so-called bargain was the recession of the early 1990s. It wasn’t until the economy picked back up toward the end of that decade that we achieved a balanced budget.”
Boehner blames the budget deal for tanking the economy, but the recession actually started in July 1990, two months before the agreement was reached. And that revived economy? It came despite the supposed dead weight of the Clinton tax increase.
“A tax hike would wreak havoc not only on our economy’s ability to create private-sector jobs, but also on our ability to tackle the national debt.”
During the early 1980s, taxes were cut and public debt ballooned, from 26 percent of GDP in 1980 to 40 percent by 1986. In 1993, taxes were increased (and spending cut); debt as a share of the economy fell, from 49 percent to 33 percent. In 2001 and 2003, taxes were cut. By the time President Obama took office, debt had climbed to 40 percent of GDP.
Listening to Boehner, I began to think the country suffers from two deficits: the gap between spending and revenue, and the one between reality and ideology. The first cannot be solved unless we find some way of at least narrowing the second.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Imaginary Conversations: President Obama addresses the Luke Scott Situation
Ok, maybe it didn't go down this way. But it could have. This week in Imaginary Conversations, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs asks President Obama how he wants to handle the "Luke Scott Situation."
Robert Gibbs: So, there is one more item of business I'd like to discuss, Mr. President. Someone made some bizarre public comments about you this week, and I'm wondering whether you think we should respond.
President Obama: (Sigh) Was it DeMint again? You know Gibbsy, I'm about ready to see if Great Britain wants to do a sign and trade for the entire state of South Carolina. At this point, I don't know who would complain other than Hootie and the Blowfish fans.
Gibbs: Actually Mr. President, it was a baseball player, outfielder Luke Scott of the Baltimore Orioles. He believes you weren't born in Hawaii, sir. He believes that, constitutionally, you're not eligible to be president.
President Obama: Back up for a second, Gibbsy. Baltimore still has a baseball team?
Gibbs: Yes, Mr. President. They have uniforms and everything, sir.
President Obama: That's fascinating. I'm surprised I haven't heard much about them. Are they a stitched together toothless mess, much like the Heath Care Bill?
Gibbs: They are, sir. FEMA has looked into the feasibility of stabilizing the situation, but there is an aging dictator involved, and it's not something we want to get bogged down in. Supposedly, if HBO had renewed The Wire for a sixth season, the institutional failure of Orioles would have been the final piece of David Simon's Baltimore noir.
President Obama: All the pieces matter, Bob.
Gibbs: It's true, sir. There's a thin line between heaven and here. But what about Scott's comments, Mr. President? Do you wish to respond? I mean, it seems that it doesn't matter how many times we show people your birth certificate, a small percentage of them remain more likely to believe email forwards WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS by an uncle who specializes in fluoride conspiracies. And even though Scott is playing in a sport with an anti-trust exemption and revenue sharing rules that essentially forces the successful teams to prop up the bad ones, he's believes you're a communist sent to destroy his way of life.
President Obama: Gibbsy, I've been jotting down some notes during our conversation, and I've asked Jon Favreau to make a few additions and upload them to my teleprompter. Now I'm going to read them aloud.
Dear Luke -- Let me be clear. We cannot let ... [pause to imply deep reflection] ... the false hopes and partisan divisions of yesterday's broken politics [pause again, look serious] continue to serve as the wedge that widens the distance between us, either as Americans or as sports fans. ... Instead, we must forge new frontiers, form new coalitions, and spread the word until it echoes from the hills of New Hampshire to the deserts of Nevada. We must show people that a pragmatist, egg-headed President with a penchant for annoying people on both sides of the aisle, and an opinionated, but in many respects average designated hitter who strikes out too often with runners on base, can come together and remake the world as it should be. Luke, we are the ones we've been waiting for.
Gibbs: Would you really like me to send this out, Mr. President?
President Obama: No Gibbsy, I was just goofing. I defend his right to say whatever crazy nonsense he wants. I might believe in conspiracies too if I played for that franchise. Just tell him to enjoy his tax break.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Evie the Dog and the Boomerang
480p is the best way to be viewin/listnin to this video here.
I have a dog named eve.
Her stage/youtube name is Evie Skevie Devie
She is talented.
Here we are playing some music to introduce her to the people of earf.