Latest From Our Writers

Along with squandering a federal budget surplus, getting us mired in two “wars” and devastating the net worth of most Americans, today’s revised jobs data show a net loss of 646,000 private sector jobs during the eight Bush/Cheney Republican presidential years—and only 1,466,000 private sector net jobs were created during G.H.W. Bush’s four years.

more »

More »»

Originally posted at Capital Gains and Games.

This should eliminate all doubts about how little some members of Congress understand about federal finances.

As Dana Milbank explains in his column from today's The Washington Post, eight House Republican freshman made a grandstanding play this week to get public attention and credit for something that makes no financial sense whatsoever.

First, the eight representatives didn't spend all of the amount they got in 2011 from the House of Representatives to pay for staff and other expenses in their Washington and district offices. They correctly claimed that they saved taxpayers money by doing so.

But second, the representatives then said that they wanted to return the unspent money to the Treasury and designate that the funds be used to reduce the national deb. They clearly felt that they should get big props for doing this.

This is wrong on so many levels that it's hard to know where to start.

More »»

The news is just out, the economy added a healthy number of new jobs last month, even with government jobs still declining thanks to austeridiocy. The better news is that there is an accelerating trend. more »

More »»

President Obama today will go to a fire house in the Virginia suburbs of Washington to tout his plan to promote hiring of veterans as first responders. more »

More »»

• MORNING MESSAGE: Don't Break Out The Bubbly
• Unemployment Rate Ticks Down
• Romney Economic Message Tied Up In Knots
• President Roots Fight Against Inequality In His Faith
• SEC Goes Easy On Banks
• Corporations Warm To Super PACs
• Breakfast Sides

More »»

Although it's a bit early to know for sure, let's hope that 2012 is the year that the economic policies known as "austerity" finally crashed and burned. more »

More »»

On Wednesday the House voted to extend a two-year federal worker pay freeze an additional year. These workers, instead of getting a raise at the end of 2012, will have to wait until the end of 2013. (The House vote and our analysis is posted on our sister site, TheMiddleClass.org.) more »

More »»

MItt Romney is taking a lot of heat for saying that he's "not concerned about the very poor." To be fair, he also said he's not concerned about the very rich either. Lucky for him the feeling isn't mutual that that side of the economic divide. According to recent FEC filings, the very rich are very concerned with Mitt Romney's campaign for his party's presidential nomination. And why shouldn't they be concerned? After all, some of them are Mitt's friends and former colleagues.

More »»

 Last week Republican Mitch Daniels once again pushed the "means testing" argument against Social Security, saying that we can no longer "afford to send millionaires pension checks" or  "pay medical bills for even the wealthiest among us."   more »

More »»

This week three new reports described even more continuing damage to our economy caused by China's trade cheating -- and our own lack of response. Even as the auto industry recovers and auto-assembly jobs are returning, the auto-parts industry and jobs are not. more »

More »»