Social Contract
Top Stories
The GOP Payroll Tax Plan Does So Stink
December 1st, 2011
No doubt Republicans know the fight over extending the payroll tax is one they could lose. Thus, they've pivoted away from opposing the extension, and have presented a plan of their own — one that Timothy Noah says the Democrats should be willing to work with because it "doesn't stink."
Well, in my experience, just because you can't smell something doesn't mean it doesn't sink. Some things "pass the smell test" because of a faulty sniffer; not because they don't stink. And the GOP's payroll tax plan does so stink.
Featured Issues
Don't Kill Jobs and Growth In The Name Of Deficit Reduction
More than 300 economists, policy experts and civic leaders have signed a statement warning political leaders of “a grave danger” that the still-fragile economic recovery will be undercut by austerity economics of the kind being pushed by conservative politicians and by the White House deficit commission. Read the statement and related commentary on the critical choices we must make to revive the economy.... more »
Social Security Isn't Broke
In the deficit hysteria now sweeping Washington, Social Security has emerged in the bull's-eye as a target for cuts. But the best "fix" for Social Security is simply to tell the truth about it. Social Security isn't broke; there is no need to "fix" it. We explain why. ... more »
Don't Kill Jobs and Growth In The Name Of Deficit Reduction
More than 300 economists, policy experts and civic leaders have signed a statement warning political leaders of “a grave danger” that the still-fragile economic recovery will be undercut by austerity economics of the kind being pushed by conservative politicians and by the White House deficit commission. Read the statement and related commentary on the critical choices we must make to revive the economy.... more »
The Facts
The Next Austerity Disaster
NUMBER 11 | January 28, 2013
The leaders of both political parties suggest that more deficit reduction is needed and that it would help the economy. Not surprisingly, polls suggest that most Americans believe that cutting spending will help the economy, not harm the recovery. The reality is that spending is not out of control, the deficit is already plummeting, and we should be focused on fixing the economy to make it work for working people, not on austerity driven by wrong-headed deficit hysteria.
Holding the Economy Hostage
NUMBER 10 | January 22, 2013
Conservatives are trying to extort unpopular cuts in vital programs by holding the economy hostage. In total, the White House has agreed to spending cuts that total $1.5 trillion (or $1.7 trillion including interest savings) over 10 years. And the New Year’s “fiscal cliff” deal will raise $600 billion in taxes over 10 years. But all that has only encouraged them. Now they have triggered the biggest set of austerity bombs in history to go off this spring if they don’t get their way. Holding America hostage is a ridiculous way to negotiate a budget. It is time to say, "No more."
The News
The Campaign Disconnect
October 4th, 2010
Andy Stern: Invest Social Security Funds In Wall Street
July 1st, 2010
The Case
Making Voting Constitutional
Early last year, when Attorney General Eric Holder took a strong stand against voter-identification laws, he emphasized how much they violate core American ideals. “What we are talking here is a constitutional right,” he said. “This is not a privilege. The right to vote is something that is fundamental to who we are as Americans. We have people who have given their lives—people have sacrificed a great deal in order for people to have the right to vote. It’s what distinguishes the United States from most other countries.” The problem is: Eric Holder is wrong. Unlike citizens in every other advanced democracy—and many other developing ones—Americans don’t have a right to vote. Popular perception notwithstanding, the Constitution provides no explicit guarantee of voting rights. more »
Employees? Consumers? Feh!
Should the Supreme Court uphold it, last Friday’s decision by three Reagan-appointees to the D.C. Circuit Appellate Court appears at first glance to rejigger the balance of power between Congress and the president. The appellate justices struck down three recess appointments that President Obama had made to the five-member National Labor Relations Board during the break between the 2011 and 2012 sessions of Congress partly on the grounds that Congress wasn’t formally in recess. It’s not that Obama has made a lot of recess appointments. He’s only made 32—compared to the 171 made by George W. Bush. Presidents have been making recess appointments since the mid-19th century, but this is the first time that the courts have objected. Certainly, the three judges on the D.C. appellate court voiced no such opinions when Bush was president. The real issue here is who Obama appointed, and to what agencies. more »
Latest from our Bloggers
nov
19
2012
1:27 pm
1:27 pm
I joined Campaign for America's Future's Richard Eskow to talk about the "fiscal cliff" scare, austerity, Social Security, Medicare and how we WON the election so we really should be talking about jobs instead. more »
nov
15
2012
1:43 pm
1:43 pm
Ohio Senator Sherror Brown won reelection by "waging class warfare" using middle-class populism. Here is how. more »
nov
5
2012
12:09 pm
12:09 pm
When it comes to politics, it ain’t over ’til its’ over. And even then it may not be over. With the presidential election just days away, the contest remains close enough to ensure some jangled nerves and nail-biting among Republicans and Democrats. Still, the latest news and numbers should give President President Barack Obama a boost as he delivers his closing argument to voters.
Should Obama emerge the victor when the dust settles after Tuesday, his closing argument will become the winning message. And voters convinced to reward Obama with a second term on the strength of that message will — and should — expect him to live up to its vision and promise.
oct
4
2012
11:27 pm
11:27 pm
In Wednesday's debate Mitt Romney repeated his claim that cutting individual and corporate income taxes creates jobs. But when you look at what actually happened, the periods when we had the highest tax rates were the periods we had the greatest job and economic growth. And the periods with lower taxes had lower job and economic growth. (And we all know what happened in the Bush years...) more »
oct
4
2012
8:26 am
8:26 am
I think President Obama spoke the best line in the debate last night. Call it a "zinger" if you want.
"If you're 54 or 55, you might want to listen."
Again and again Mitt Romney talked about how under his Medicare plan there would be no changes for "current retirees." He stressed that, without explaining what that means. more »
oct
2
2012
1:41 pm
1:41 pm
In his most recent column, Paul Krugman makes a convincing case that the "real referendum" in this election isn't about President Obama's (real or imagined) economic policies, but about the "the legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society, on Social Security, Medicare and, yes, Obamacare, which represents an extension of that legacy." Krugman predicts that President Obama will win this resolution, and goes on to question whether the President will honor the will of American voters in his second term.
If Obama wins, that means conservatives will have lost the "real referendum." Conservatives have already lost the "real referendum." They've been losing it for a long time — and it's worth considering why that's the case.
oct
1
2012
11:27 am
11:27 am
Those of you who read this blog know that I've been nearly apoplectic over the past few months over the behind the more »
sep
27
2012
2:44 pm
2:44 pm
They call it the "fiscal cliff," but it's Social Security that's going to be pushed over it, unless we speak out now.
The forces of austerity in Washington are using the prospect of automatic spending cuts and tax increases at the end of the year to pressure Congress into a "grand bargain," slashing Social Security benefits in the name of deficit reduction.
