Category: National Politics
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Fighting For Their Lives
On November 5th 2008, everyone knew that Senate Republicans were a shrinking minority. The question was by how much. By the end of November there were, for certain, 58 Democratic seats, 41 Republican seats and 1 yet to be decided; Al Franken vs. Norm Coleman for Minnesota Senator. A recount process was set in motion,…
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What About the Rest of the Mess?
It’s been a week hasn’t it? The StimPack passed, with new bailed-out CEO pay limits. Three Republicans in the entire Congress voted for it, though they supposedly all support it. What a cop-out! Geitner dazzled the…well…nobody with new but few details about the TARP II package. Judd Gregg realized he was incapable of any kind…
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Doing Nothing is an Act of Aggression
Yesterday the Senate passed it’s version of the Economic Stimulus bill. The passage came after over a week of debate, and a great deal of arm-twisting. Now the measure goes to a conference committee to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions. While passage in the Senate is a positive step, the differences…
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Out of Touch
You’re out of touch, I’m out of time – Hall and Oats Yesterday, the US unemployment rate reached its highest level since 1992. 600,000 jobs were reported lost in the previous month. There has been no significant job creation since January of 2007. We’ve experienced two years of stagnant or increasing unemployment. (Source) The reality…
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What First 100 Days?
In my experience, the honeymoon never lasts as long as it should. I’m sure President Obama feels the same way right about now. Just 14 days in office and the Right Wing Chatterbox has taken over the airwaves in opposition to a stimulus package that is intended to help our damaged economy recover from the…
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Bank Nationalization
Barry Ritholtz over at The Big Picture, debunks the arguments against Bank nationalization. Ritholtz and company have been arguing for nationalization for some time now, as an alternative to the current “Bad Bank” scenario that Treasury is pursuing. I don’t know enough about the Macro effects of this, but I agree with the basic premise;…