This Is How Michael Steele Feels About The Economy

How does laughing at the state of the economy win back any voters to the Republican party? It just goes to show that Steele, like the rest of the Republicans in power are clearly out of touch with the rest of the American people.



Memo to Chairman Steele, conservative radio commentators do not represent the broad range of views in this country.

The New York Times I Dream To Read

A group called the "Yes Men" helped to pull off a stunt this morning that gave thousands upon thousands of a fake New York Times Frontpage that shows how how much we can accomplish under Obama in less than a year. I especially love the "maximum wage" idea. Bravo!



See more of it here!

The Economy Is Improving...For The Rich

George Bush recently made statements saying how despite some storm clouds, the economy was good, or at least its underpinnings. What he failed to mention is whose economy he was talking about. If you thought he was talking about America as a whole, you thought wrong. Things couldn't be worse for America's lower class and shrinking middle class. What he was referring to was the upper class, or as he knows them, his base.

From The New York Times:

The increase in incomes of the top 1 percent of Americans from 2003 to 2005 exceeded the total income of the poorest 20 percent of Americans, data in a new report by the Congressional Budget Office shows.

The poorest fifth of households had total income of $383.4 billion in 2005, while just the increase in income for the top 1 percent came to $524.8 billion, a figure 37 percent higher.

The total income of the top 1.1 million households was $1.8 trillion, or 18.1 percent of the total income of all Americans, up from 14.3 percent of all income in 2003. The total 2005 income of the three million individual Americans at the top was roughly equal to that of the bottom 166 million Americans, analysis of the report showed.

See, things are going superbly....for Bush's most loyal fans. If only Calvin Coolidge and Warren Harding were alive to see this, they'd be so proud of lil' Bush. Of course the pResident correctly claims that the income gap has been widening over the last 25 years (or since Reagan was in office) but the increase has never been so dramatic as it has been under this Administration.

So for all those poor families out there with no heat and no way to buy a small Christmas gift for their children, do not worry about the economy, Bush says the underpinnings are just fine.

You Know How Immigrants Suck Our Resources Dry?

Well it is a load of steaming, heaping BS and the product of xenophobic bastards everywhere that spread their ignorant hate of others. If you don't believe me, just look at the studies out there that show otherwise. Here in New York, all immigrants make up 21 percent of New York's population and over 22 percent of the gross domestic product. A labor think tank examined the effects of immigrants on our state and it shows just how important they are, if you didn't know already. Chances are, more than one in five of you are one of those that help contribute to the economy.

From The Daily News:

Immigrants, who make up 21% of the Empire State's population, added $229 billion to the economy last year alone and accounted for 22.4% of New York's gross domestic product, Fiscal Policy Institute researchers found.

(snip)

The report found that immigrants in the city are moving into various realms of commerce and employment, and now make up 21% of all chief executive officers, half of accountants, and one-third of office clerks, receptionists and building cleaners.

The study also found that city neighborhoods with high concentrations of immigrants have seen rapid growth over the past decades in new business startups.

Will these facts and figures put an end to the crap the right wing spews over immigrants on a daily basis? Probably not, but at least clear thinking Americans can look at what is really going on, and not on Fox News. The Albany Project highlights much more from the report here.

Is The 110th Congress Good For Business?

In my opinion it is far superior to the 109th, but Congress still has a long way to go to even-out the playing field so that the only winners in our society aren't corporations. CNBC had a debate today with a panel of economic pundits from CATO, Center for American Progress and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

The Middle Class Is Suffering

The Republicans' old talking point about Democrats was that they never had any ideas. Isn't it funny how rare that one is heard these days? Probably because the Republicans are being held accountable as the party with bad ideas, a theory validated by the election last November. Not only have they failed miserably in Iraq and elsewhere abroad, the home front has truly suffered. Don't fear America, there is a new way out of the situation we are in. Democrats truly are a party of ideas that are geared to help the Middle Class and everyone outside the top 1% who do not need the extra assistance Republicans have afforded them in the last 6-12 years.

From the Democratic Policy Committee:

Democrats will work to provide Americans with more sustainable and affordable sources of energy. Democrats are working to pass legislation that will enhance America's security by reducing the nation's dependence on foreign and unsustainable energy sources and the risks of global warming by requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; diversifying and expanding our use of secure, efficient, and environmentally friendly energy supplies and technologies, by repealing tax giveaways to big energy companies; reducing the burdens on consumers of rising energy prices; and preventing energy price gouging, profiteering and market manipulation.

Democrats will raise the minimum wage. In February, after a ten year battle, both houses of Congress have passed versions of H.R. 2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. The bill, which will raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15/hour to $7.25/hour in three steps over two years, will benefit 13 million workers and help reverse years of wage stagnation without harming the economy. Of those who would be directly or indirectly benefited, nearly 59 percent are women and 46 percent are their family’s sole breadwinner. Moreover, this raise of $2.10 per hour will benefit well-over six million children whose parents will receive an increase in earnings. As the House and Senate work to clear the bill for the President’s signature, the nation can be assured that Democrats are dedicated to giving workers their long overdue raise.

Democrats will restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, while providing tax relief to the middle class. As an important first step in restoring our nation’s fiscal security, S. Con. Res. 21 would bring the budget back into balance by 2012. Under the resolution, gross debt as a share of gross domestic product will begin to fall after 2009. And spending as a share of gross domestic product will decline in every year after 2008. The plan also restores crucial budget enforcement provisions such as strong pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules that proved to be highly effective in promoting fiscal discipline and producing record surpluses in the 1990s. In addition, the budget calls for providing meaningful tax relief to the middle class.

Democrats are also working to eliminate unfair tax burdens on middle-class Americans. Skyrocketing health care, education, housing, and gas costs have placed middle-class families in a tight economic squeeze. Making matters worse, more and more of these families are being forced to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which was originally intended only for the super-wealthy to ensure that they paid a minimum tax. S. Con. Res. 21 includes AMT relief for middle-class taxpayers, to prevent millions of Americans from being subjected to the tax.

There is so much more in the briefing, including all the charts and graphs that show how Bush has hurt our economy and our nation here at home. I know it is a partisan document, but so what? Republicans don't apologize for their propaganda and we are not going to apologize for addressing the facts and reality our nation is facing.

The Rich Are Getting Richer And You Know What That Means

As the rich get richer, the poor inevitably get poorer. The old saying is as true today as it was when it was first uttered, whenever that was. The truth of the matter is that the discrepancy in incomes between the top percentiles and the rest of us is growing at an alarming rate. The top one percent have their highest share of the national income since the year before the Great Depression came crashing in during the late 1920s.

More from The New York Times:

While total reported income in the United States increased almost 9 percent in 2005, the most recent year for which such data is available, average incomes for those in the bottom 90 percent dipped slightly compared with the year before, dropping $172, or 0.6 percent.

The gains went largely to the top 1 percent, whose incomes rose to an average of more than $1.1 million each, an increase of more than $139,000, or about 14 percent.

The new data also shows that the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans. Per person, the top group received 440 times as much as the average person in the bottom half earned, nearly doubling the gap from 1980.

The news is grim for most Americans but the rich should not be too excited, despite their increasing purchasing power. The current economic circumstances cannot support a growing national economy for an indefinite amount of time. Much like the roaring 20s, things can come tumbling down in the 2010s just like they did in the 1930s. Unfortunately our leaders have not learned any lessons from the greed that predominated the upper class eighty years ago. As the cliche goes, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Colbert's Frenemy

With the coming of the Chinese New Year, Stephen dedicated his show to our relations with China. The whole show was hysterical, but the word was a great primer in U.S.-China relations. We truly are frenemies in every sense of the 'Word'.