I Don't Know If I Would Go As Far

as to call Obama's job creation a "fraud," but he clearly isn't doing enough to help people who are in desperate straits:

The states most in need of help received the fewest number of jobs. In Michigan—which leads the nation with a 15.3 percent unemployment rate—only 397 jobs were “created or saved.” This is a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of workers who lost their jobs in the state under Obama’s forced restructuring of GM and Chrysler.

Businesses in Nevada, which has the next highest jobless rate, reported 159 new jobs. Rhode Island, which has the third highest unemployment rate at 12.8 percent, reported only six new jobs. In California, where more than 2.2 million are officially unemployed and joblessness is the highest since 1940, only 2,260 jobs are attributed to the federal stimulus money.

More Stupid Posturing

by morons like Gibbons who are bitching about the unemployment aspect of the stimulus package when they know they can't "pick and choose" which parts of the stimulus package to take.

Dumbass GOP Governors

want to keep fucking over the unemployed because they think the unemployed won't fight back, but I think they are going to find out they can.

Not only that, but the stimulus package isn't a cafeteria deal.

Jimbo Eruptions

Our dipshit governor decides he wants to flex his muscle against the federal stimulus package states the obvious about the state budget.

Regardless of the federal money, state cuts still have to be made.

It's Too Bad, So Sad for

those GOP governors who think they can pick and choose what items in the stimulus package they will take; in fact, they can't do it.

Senator Schumer reminds these politically-motivated dipshits:

February 24, 2009

Dear Director Orszag:

In recent days, a small minority of governors, mostly Republicans, have publicly weighed the possibility of foregoing certain emergency provisions provided under the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed last week by President Obama. I believe this prospect not only would undercut the stimulative effect of the recovery package, but also is inconsistent with a key provision included in the law passed by Congress. To protect the integrity of the recovery program, I urge the administration to issue implementation guidance clarifying that while any Governor may exercise his or her discretion to accept or reject the federal funds provided in the stimulus, no Governor should have the authority to arbitrarily adopt a select subset of the overall package.

As you know, Section 1607(a) of the economic recovery legislation provides that the Governor of each state must certify a request for stimulus funds before any money can flow. No language in this provision, however, permits the governor to selectively adopt some components of the bill while rejecting others. To allow such picking and choosing would, in effect, empower the governors with a line-item veto authority that President Obama himself did not possess at the time he signed the legislation. It would also undermine the overall success of the bill, as the components most singled out for criticism by these governors are among the most productive measures in terms of stimulating the economy.

For instance, at least two governors have proposed rejecting a program to expand unemployment insurance for laid-off workers. Economists consistently rank unemployment insurance among the most efficient and cost-effective fiscal stimulus measures; by one frequently cited estimate, it provides an economic return of as high as $1.73 for every dollar invested. Thus, by denying this provision for their residents, these governors are not just depriving some of the neediest Americans of relief in a dire economy; they are undermining the overall stimulative impact of the package.

No one would dispute that these governors should be given the choice as to whether to accept the funds or not. But it should not be multiple choice. The composition of the package was rightly dictated by economic considerations; we should not let the implementation of the package be dictated by political considerations.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

Far too many Republican politicians DESPISE UI because they want the wage base to further be pulled down, and if people on UI are more selective about what they take for employment, employers will be less inclined to pay rockbottom pay.

Dumbass Republican Posturing

A few nitwit GOP governors, including Sanford (SC), Jindal (LA), and Barbour (MS), are posturing for 2012 by saying they are going to reject some stimulus money, this despite the fact they have NO say about it, for Congress made sure of it that the legislators can overrule the moronic governors. Municipalities can take the money as well.

Mostly these bastards are bitching about UI. Unemployed people can go to hell, as far as they are concerned, and move to other states, provided they can afford to move at all.

Obama's Stimulus Plan

It's stating the obvious to say Republicans are worried sick people might actually like the government spending involved in the new stimulus package and thus their political fortunes are further down the shitter.

They believed they had to vote against it to help them next year and in 2012, but they'd have been better off if they'd just voted for it and taken partial credit for when the economy finally gets back on track.

The Economy

Obama's stimulus package will affect almost everybody. Some regard it as a victory of historic proportions.

He is expected to sign the bill next week.

What is funny, or even galling, is some Republicans who voted against the stimulus to help their dismal chances in 2010 and 2012 are now touting it!!!!

Rep. John Mica was gushing after the House of Representatives voted Friday to pass the big stimulus plan.

"I applaud President Obama's recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America's future," the Florida Republican beamed in a press release.

Yet Mica had just joined every other GOP House member in voting against the $787.2 billion economic recovery plan.

As Arlen Specter, one of the three GOP senators to have voted for the stimulus, noted, Republicans supported the stimulus, but they just didn't want to have their "fingerprints" on it.

It's all about 2010 and 2012, as I said above.

Obama's Stimulus Plan

It finally passed Congress:

The vote in the House was 246 to 183, with just 7 Democrats joining all 176 Republicans in opposition. In the Senate, the vote of 60 to 38 was similarly partisan. Only three centrist Republicans joined 55 Democrats and two independents in favor.

The Senate finally adopted the bill at 10:47 p.m. after what appeared to be the longest Congressional vote in history. The peculiar, 5-hour, 16-minute process was required because Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, had to return to Washington from his home state after attending a funeral home visitation for his mother who died on Feb. 2 at the age of 88.

I Hope, Hope, HOPE This Comes to Pass

All the GOP, especially those in the Senate, can do is obstruct, obstruct, obstruct, and let's hope Democrats can make inroads next November so there will be a cloture-proof margin in the Senate. Democrats then would not have to feel they must be "meek" in a spirit of "cooperation" or "bipartisanship." This, of course, includes Obama--ESPECIALLY Obama:

None of the Democratic seats is in real jeopardy unless Roland Burris chooses to run for reelection. If he demurs, the Illinois seat will certainly remain Democratic. The only other seats even in remote jeopardy are those held by Christopher Dodd and Harry Reid, and I don't foresee much trouble winning either unless the political climate undergoes a sea change between now and election day in 2010. Ted Kaufman, Joe Biden's replacement in Delaware, will be retiring, but that seat is a mortal lock to remain in Democratic hands. Kirsten Gillibrand, Hillary Clinton's replacement in New York, may face a serious primary challenge but the winner is highly likely to retain the seat for the Democrats.

On the other hand, the Republicans have trouble on several fronts. Judd Gregg's announcement today that he will not run for reelection (my mind is racing in speculation about what this might be about) is almost certain to result in a Democratic pick-up. Kit Bond is in terrible trouble in Missouri, and assuming his opponent will be Robin Carnahan this is virtually assured to be a pick-up. If Jim Bunning runs again, and he has made no moves indicating retirement, he will almost certainly be defeated in Kentucky -- there are two very popular Democrats contending for the right to cherry-pick this seat. Mel Martinez' retirement puts Florida's seat up for grabs, although if Charlie Crist runs it is likely he will retain it for the Republicans, if he retains his current party affiliation, which may be in some doubt. George Voinovich's retirement gives us a very real shot at increasingly Democratic Ohio's open seat. In Pennsylvania, our candidate, Joe Torsella, is almost certain to defeat Arlen "Single Bullet" Specter this time out. And Louisiana gives us the delicious prospect of running against David Vitter.

This is a PROBABLE pick-up of six, maybe seven, Senate seats, and some of the Republican seats generally thought of as safe may not turn out to be all that safe, particularly if Obama turns out as popular as he might. Richard Burr in North Carolina and John Thune in North Dakota may have some trouble. McCain might very well retire, and Arizona has been trending Democratic. Even Chuck Grassley might find himself in a fight.

This is SERIOUS trouble for Republicans. If things break right, and that seems the likeliest outcome, we could possibly have seventy Democratic Senators in the next Congress. This would make me very happy indeed!

Let's hope. As it stands, the GOP has a death wish, as their moronic opposition to the stimulus bill attests.

Paul Krugman

hits it on the head, as usual. Why is it Obama's victory over the economic stimulus package feels like a defeat?

It is a half-measure, which is certainly better than nothing, but unfortunately we have an opposing political party which is hellbent on destroying the United States because of ideology.

And I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach — a feeling that America just isn’t rising to the greatest economic challenge in 70 years. The best may not lack all conviction, but they seem alarmingly willing to settle for half-measures. And the worst are, as ever, full of passionate intensity, oblivious to the grotesque failure of their doctrine in practice.

There’s still time to turn this around. But Mr. Obama has to be stronger looking forward. Otherwise, the verdict on this crisis might be that no, we can’t.

The GOP are slaves to a goddamned cult, there is no other description for it, and because they represent the interests of a tiny, moneyed elite, their policies are by definition catastrophic to the country. They would never win elections if the truth about them were known to EVERYBODY, including their less well-heeled supporters. Hence their continued conning the masses by peddling "social issues" like abortion and the like. As for the Democrats, their lack of political will stems from their desire to get political contributions from the same moneyed elite, and if they go too far to the left, or so they think, they risk losing those donations, which would go to their GOP opponents. For these Democrats, it's political survival for them rather than being slaves to a goddamned Randian/Friedmanite cult.

Meanwhile, the country and the world go down in flames.

Gene Lyons

takes the view that the fact Obama's stimulus plan is about to pass is a big achievement for the administration this early in the game.

Obama's Press Conference

At least one person is having grave doubts about Obama:

But he was evasive, and quite obviously and squirmily so, at many other times during that conference, and often fell to speechifying and particularly verbose and complex circumlocution in an rather blatant attempt to deflect attention away from the actual question that the questioners asked. This makes me very uncomfortable. I had so deeply hoped for better. I had hoped for actual openness, and it seems that it ain't happening.

Mr. Obama is getting some very bad advice, bad advice that decries open partisanship at need, bad advice that denies the value of punishing Bush administration wrongdoing, bad advice regarding openness and honesty to the public, and some VERY bad advice on the nature of the economic recovery programs that we need. I believe that the Dow went into the dumpster yesterday because this bailout is looking increasingly like Obama is planning to follow some very Bushian policies (in return for the illusion of bipartisanship) and that Tim Geithner looks an awful lot like a weasel and talks like one, too. Picking him was a terrible blunder. Why not Robert Reich, or even Paul Krugman?

Nobody except fatcat robber barons wants to further enrich fatcat robber barons, but the immense Treasury plan, and to a slightly lesser extent the Senate version of the recovery package, seem to have this aspect to them as their chief features. Speculators do not deserve rescue, nor do those whose subterfuges in crafting opaque investment instruments led us into this mess. They are the ones who have earned the right to sleep in refrigerator boxes under bridges, not American wage earners and office workers whether in the private sector or the public.

I thought that this past election was supposed to bring us hope. I'm having a very hard time feeling any at all. Indeed, I am getting the awful feeling that we have no hope at all, and even our victories are defeats as America falls deeper and deeper into plutocracy and two-class feudalism. This was supposed to be different. Dammit, this was SUPPOSED to be different!

Understand how the Nazis oozed out from the muddy ashes of the Weimar Republic. It all started with the printing of mountains of worthless greenbacks during a period of economic distress, briefly masking the pain of that distress without addressing its underlying causes.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. One thing we have decidedly not done or even discussed: It is wrong to allow any private enterprise to become "too big to fail." We once understood this, and that's why we passed the Sherman Act, which had a scope too limited to deal with the conditions that prevail today. We need to return to the days of really ROBUST anti-trust, and if the rightwing courts try to block it, we need to find a way to screw the rightwing judges, many of whom got their jobs precisely for the purpose of obstructing such anti-trust action.

The WSWS criticizes the administration's plan to expand the bank bailout.

Obama's Stimulus Plan

has passed the Senate by a 61-37 vote and will now go to conference to iron out the differences.

Let's hope much if not most of what the House voted in will be in the final bill.

Obama's Stimulus Plan

Obama held his own during last night's press conference and got in at least a couple of digs at the Republicans who refused to partake in Obama's "transformative" politics. Maybe Obama finally realizes he can't compromise with these economic terrorists.

Even if Obama did everything the WSWS thinks should be done, it would never be enough.

I wish these types of critics would spend more time going after the GOP than the Dems, but in the WSWS's case, they wouldn't have a prayer in hell of getting any support at all if they did that.

In case you missed it, here is yesterday's press conference:



link

Obama's Stimulus Plan

Cloture (meaning debate ends in the Senate) passed 61-36.

Now it will go to a House-Senate conference to iron out the details and differences.

Obama's been out on the stump pushing for support of his plan.

I just hate it when a handful of people can hijack something that necessary for the country.

Political Commentary

The Republicans and right-wing Democrats might think they are smart cutting the stimulus bill, but it is idiotic economics.

Not that any of them understand the importance of the government infusing money into the economy to jumpstart it again.

Paul Krugman

starts out his column with a riddle:

What do you call someone who eliminates hundreds of thousands of American jobs, deprives millions of adequate health care and nutrition, undermines schools, but offers a $15,000 bonus to affluent people who flip their houses?

He answers his riddle with this: A proud centrist.

The true answer is a Republican and a handful of so-called "blue dog" Democrats from "conservative" states who are hijacking legislation which could benefit millions while at the same time giving away money to people who don't need them.

And the reasons these legislators hate working people and pander to the rich are twofold. For the Republicans it is a desire to see Obama fail by being obstructionist and helping their own fortunes in 2010 and 2012, no matter if they destroy the world economy in the process. For the Democrats, it's a matter of wanting more of those political contributions from the same corrupt interests as those financing the Republicans.

They don't care about the rest of us. They really don't care.

The stimulus bill will go to conference, and no doubt some of the parts eliminated by the Senate will be restored, maybe even all of them, for the bill is going to pass both houses regardless.

Even if it passes, Obama has lost some political capital by naively believing that if one just reaches across the aisle, all the legislators in both parties will sing kumbaya and the country will get moving again. Obama should realize if he tries to reach across the aisle with these fascists, he will get his arm bit off.

The Loyal Opposition

Although they are the biggest enemies of working people and of this country and all of the countries in all the world, the Republicans think their attitude regarding the stimulus package is going to help them.

It's all about politics. It's all about making inroads in 2010 and 2012 by trying to pin the worsening economic disaster on Obama. That's why they threw the election last fall. The problem is making enough people SEE what in the hell is happening.

The Booming Economy

The problem goes far beyond just having more money to spend; there has to be creation of jobs paying enough so people can buy or keep their homes (or enough for rent, for that matter) and buying cars.

A debit card for 2 grand isn't going to cut it.