Blog Archive: February, 2011

• MORNING MESSAGE: Citizens Guide To The Budget Battle
• President's Budget: Bold Investments and Harsh Cuts
• Republican Budget: Harsh Cuts For People, Bold Investment For Salmonella
• Conservative Budget Madness Extends To States
• Breakfast Sides

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With the submission today of the President’s proposed budget for next year (FY 2012), Washington descends further into the furious debate about less. How much less will government do? The president pledges to freeze domestic spending for five years, reducing it to a portion of the economy not seen since Eisenhower, while investing in areas like infrastructure vital to growth. more »

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Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure the American people didn't vote last November for fewer jobs, teachers and cops and more sickness, pollution and hunger. more »

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It’s federal budget time, and they’re talking 1950s on Capitol Hill. Well, sometimes we can move forward by turning the political clock back. But we have to know exactly where to stop.

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A few months ago, when Fiscal Commission Co-Chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson released their Social Security proposal, even their worst critics conceded that the plan would improve benefits for the very poorest. According to a new analysis by the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration, however, that just isn't true. The Bowles-Simpson proposal would reduce benefits by as much as $1,107 (16%) for 60% of “Very Low” earners, those workers with average annual earnings of around $10,800. Click here to see a graph of the benefit cuts prepared by Social Security Works, or check it out below.

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I have to admit, I got a little excited during Mitt Romney's speech at CPAC. It began so well, in a sense. I wrote yesterday that I heard (and saw) very little about jobs and job creation at CPAC. Then, Mitt Romney took to the stage and changed that. But, it turned out, only for a moment.

I was only half-listening to Romney until I heard the "J-Word" — the equivalent of a four-letter word at CPAC, it turns out, because it's only mentioned in the context of slamming the president and the Democratic congress for "failing" to create jobs. The problem is, that's where it ends at CPAC.

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Will DC wake up and smell the real economy? more »

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• MORNING MESSAGE: Crimes ... And GE Capital Crimes
• GOP Leaders Cave, Risk Government Shutdown
• Record Trade Gap With China
• Treasury Releases Fannie/Freddie Report
• Conservative Governors Plan To Worsen Economy
• Dems Push End Of Oil Subsidies, Shy From Gas Tax Hike

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Can a crime be committed if there is no criminal to commit it? According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the answer to that Zen koan is apparently "yes." The SEC collected a $50 million settlement from GE Capital after concluding that the corporation "misled investors" by committing accounting and bank fraud, but then apparently decided that no individuals were responsible.

GE has been one of corporate America's worst repeat offenders, with a long history of settlements and guilty pleas. Its behavior in this case casts a spotlight on the world of "shadow banking," where institutions can behave like banks without being banks. That's another koan-like statement, and it's a very convenient one that lets them avoid a lot of oversight and regulation.

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