Tax breaks for the wealthy; greater tax burdens for the lower and middle class. And EXPLODE the deficit. Why isn't that "class warfare"? WaPo: The report, prepared by Senate Democrats and reviewed by nonpartisan tax experts, marks the first attempt to quantify the trade-offs inherent in the GOP tax package, which would replace the current tax structure with two brackets — … Read More
Romney Promises To Increase Unemployment Rate
"I can tell you that over a period of four years, by virtue of the policies that we'd put in place, we'd get the unemployment rate down to 6%, and perhaps a little lower," the presumptive GOP nominee said in a TIME interview published Wednesday. One problem with that…. based on the current rate of growth, the jobless rate is … Read More
Bain Capital Experience
It took him a while, but Obama is on message. His point? It's that the role of a President bears no resemblance to the role of a business leader, particularly a private equity or leveraged buyout specialist. One should have a concern on how to create jobs and the other has what amounts to a fiduciary duty to create profit. And … Read More
Opposite Man
Mitt Romney shared a straightforward summary of his guiding economic principle at a campaign stop earlier today. Kicking off his Virginia campaign, Republican Mitt Romney said Wednesday he'll do "the opposite" of what President Barack Obama has done to help the economy. His wife, Ann, chipped in by appealing to women voters in a key region of a state both candidates will … Read More
Stephen King Goes Cujo On The 1 Percenters
Well, he's a pretty rich guy himself. Still, he has some thoughts on other rich people and taxes and he minces no words. An excerpt: I’ve known rich people, and why not, since I’m one of them? The majority would rather douse their dicks with lighter fluid, strike a match, and dance around singing “Disco Inferno” than pay one more cent in … Read More
Tough Obama Ad Dings Romney on Swiss Bank Accounts
The Obama campaign is up with a new ad in Ohio, Virginia, and Iowa. That's going to leave marks.
Major Airlines: Don’t Go There
Spirit Airlines, and as of yesterday, Allegiant Airlines, have found yet another way to charge customers. They are making them pay to store luggage in the overhead bins. How much? Ten to thirty dollars, depending. Not a good sign. So far, this new "innovation" is limited to these small, regional, airlines. But if the big boys deide this is a good … Read More
Quote Of The Day
“How I measure riches is by the friends I have and the loved ones I have and the people that I care about in my life, and that’s where my values are and that’s where my riches are.” – Ann Romney, wife of Mitt Romney, on why she doesn't consider herself wealthy Um… okay. Well, when we talk about income … Read More
How Now Dow Jones?
Obama's socialist policies bring ruin to capitalism? I don't think so:
The Tone-Deaf Romney Gaffe
If you haven't seen it yet, here is the interview in which Romney said he's "not concerned with the very poor." As an sidenote, kudos to Soledad for actually hearing Romney say those words and asking him about it. Good journalists listen, and Soledad is a good journalist. The Romney camp, as well as Romney himself, seem perplexed by this. … Read More
When Can You Start Crediting (Blaming) Obama For Jobs?
Steve Benen makes a great point which everyone needs to keep in mind this election season: Consider a thought experiment. Imagine you could go back to March 1, 2009, when the global economy is on the brink of collapse. The White House's Recovery Act had just been signed into law, but the investments hadn't even begun, and President Obama, still … Read More
The Recession Shows No Mercy
Twinkies is filing for bankruptcy.
Signs of Economic Recovery
The new jobs number for December is out, and while it doesn't show we're on the way to recovery, it shows signs of recovery, and so we have reason to smile. The U.S. economy gained 200,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5%, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast the U.S. would add … Read More
The Obama Campaign Awakens
With the recess appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (after the GOP minority in the Senate essentially filibustered the appointment), it's clear that the Obama campaign is awake and feisty. Mitt Romney responded to the appointment with hyperbole: President Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is perhaps the most powerful and unaccountable bureaucracy in the history of our … Read More
Verizon Caves
I was going to write about Verizon's decision to charge a $2 "convenience fee" to its customers who make payments over the phone or online with their credit cards. I was going to rant what a scam it was. After all, it's convenient to Verizon when people pay that way. They get the money quicker (than by check). I was going … Read More