The Democrats’ proposed tax on millionaires would raise an estimated $453 billion, more than enough to pay for President Obama’s jobs bill. That’s the latest from the Congressional Budget Office, which on Friday released its cost and revenue estimates for the American Jobs Act of 2011. The bill calls for $447 billion in new and…
Category: Economy
FDA approval of ancient remedy sends price soaring
“One company chose to seek FDA approval and they spent tens of millions of dollars in order to present data necessary for that approval and in the process, there were some important things that came out of the approval process,” Autor said. “We discovered a lot of people were being excessively dosed with Colchicine.”…
Congestion and the real value of public transit
One common argument against boosting public transportation is that buses, trains and subway systems “don’t pay for themselves.” Roads, we’re told, are bankrolled by drivers, via gas taxes. Subway systems, by contrast, aren’t self-sufficient and usually need additional funds on top of whatever they collect through fares. (Boston’s subway system, for instance, collects just 25…
Talking Points 2012 – The Stimulus
“The argument that the stimulus had zero impact and we shouldn’t have done it is intellectually dishonest or wrong,” he says. “If you throw a trillion dollars at the economy, it has an impact. I would have preferred to do it differently, but they needed to do something.” via Could this time have been different?…
Obama Slams GOP Claim America Can’t Compete: “I’m Not Going to Surrender to Other Countries.”
Last week, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) said “We can’t compete with China to make solar panels and wind turbines.” As Climate Progress noted, this defeatism is un-American in every respect. This morning, President Obama responded bluntly: I heard there was a Republican member of Congress who is engaging in oversight on this. And…
The four habits of highly successful social movements
Americans–infatuated with the next new thing, and proud to believe they are outside the constraints and burdens of history–love neophytes, gifted amateurs. We’re action-oriented and suspicious of elitist expertise, and we thrill to the idea that anybody with moxie can jump in and deliver a baby or land a 737. Right now, it…
Reports Of Arrests And Pepper Spraying At Wall Street Protests
There have been multiple reports of arrests and pepper spraying of protesters on Wall Street tonight. According to the Guardian, “there’s a flashpoint on the intersection of Broadway and Cedar Street, with reports of a number of arrests. Police have deployed orange netting to contain protesters. Subway trains have been ordered not to stop at…
Occupy Wall Street Gets Union Backing; Approval Rating Tops Congress
The AP notes the groups fast growth into a movement: The protests began two and a half weeks ago with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp in a park nearby and have become increasingly organized,…
Study Shows Income Inequality Severely Hampers Economic Growth
Income inequality in the U.S. is higher than at any other time since the Great Depression, and the U.S. is currently more unequal than countries like the Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, and Pakistan. Though Republicans dismiss concerns over the gap as “class warfare,” the ever-increasing level of disparity has tangible consequences, leading to poor…
Obama, Banks Trade Fire In Debit-Card Debate : NPR
President Obama has waded into the controversy over bank-card fees, suggesting that Bank of America is mistreating its customers with a plan to start charging a $5 monthly fee for the use of its debit card. In an interview Monday with ABC, the president seemed to suggest the fee could become a target…
CEO pay in one graphic
So, did CEOs become five times better between 1980 and 2000? Not really. They just got better at working the system. via CEO pay in one graphic – The Washington Post.
Obama signs temporary spending bill
President Barack Obama signed legislation into law early Wednesday that will keep the federal government funded through November 18, the White House said. The measure, called the “Continuing Resolution Act, 2012,” ends the latest threat of a government shutdown. The new legislation is part of a deal to extend an additional $2.65 billion in…
“The top is not paying the price of civilization”
American economist Dr. Jeffry Sachs, author of the new book “The Price of Civilization,” on “Morning Joe” talking about the economic state of the United States; education, stagnating wages, the wealth gap, and all the charts you could want. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Business Owners, Investors Say Tax Changes Make ‘Zero Difference’ In Hiring: ‘I’m Not Sure What The Connection Is’
But a surprising group of people find that to be entirely untrue: the “job creators” themselves. As the billionaire behind the Buffett Rule, Warren Buffett, explained, “I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77…
Climate Change Could Make Chocolate A Luxury Item, Report Finds
The worlds $9 billion chocolate industry gets almost half of its cocoa from West African farmers in Ghana and Cote dIvoire Ivory Coast, reports Thinkprogress.org.According to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, if Ghana and the Ivory Coast experience a 2.3 Celsius degree jump in temperature by 2050, the climate wont be suitably cool enough…
Majority Leader Cantor Says Obama Jobs Plan Won’t Receive A Vote On The House Floor
Several news outlets are reporting that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said that the GOP will not bring President Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan to a vote on the House floor. The administration has been asking for a vote on the bill this month. Last week, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News said that the…
Regulations aren’t to blame for the ‘uncovery’
The Republican narrative on the economic recovery — or, as some are calling it, the “uncovery — is simple: It’s not Europe, or deleveraging, or lack of consumer demand. It’s government. Businesses, Speaker John Boehner has said, have been “slammed by uncertainty from the constant threat of new taxes, out-of-control spending and unnecessary regulation.” It…
Russell Simmons: All My Employees Paid Less Taxes Than I Did
Russell Simmons: All My Employees Paid Less Taxes Than I Did
Regulatory uncertainty: A phony explanation for our jobs problem
An examination of current economic trends, and especially what employers are doing in terms of hiring and investment, debunks this story about regulatory uncertainty as the cause of our dismal job growth. An examination of what employers and their economists are saying again and again in private surveys (cited later in this paper) makes it…
REPORT: How The Right-Wing Uses Misleading Numbers To Claim The Rich Are Unfairly Taxed
First of all, these numbers apply only to federal income taxes — which Wallace, to his credit, acknowledged. But the distinction is often elided, allowing the impression that this applies to all taxes to slide by uncontested. Rove, for instance, never mentioned it. It’s just in the fine print of the charts. And…