Working Life

   Billions of dollars can buy you a lot–for example, a little toy called New York City that you pocket for yourself and, then, keep for yourself even when the rules say it’s time to go (hey, if you’ve got billions, you can buy off politicians to let you keep the toy for a little […]

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    Yesterday, I wrote about the monumentally crazy letter co-signed by 60 House DEMOCRATS, who, by adding their names to the letter, in my view, were embracing austerity, cuts in Medicare and a de-funding of basic government services. One of the signers of the letter, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), responded to my post. So, in […]

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   In today’s installment of stupidity, crass political calculations and the desperate need to be inducted into the Washington Post’s circle of Very Serious People, I present to you a list of 60 House Democrats who now say they are willing to lock arms with the people who seek to destroy Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security […]

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Somehow, I’ve been thinking a lot about Molly Ivins recently and how she would know exactly what to say about the absurdity of our political leaders who are just clueless. She once said, of former Republican House Majority leader Dick Armey, “If ignorance ever goes to $40 a barrel, I want drillin’ rights on that […]

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    This is great news: Senate and House leaders are becoming more directly involved with the supercommittee responsible for delivering a sizable deficit-reduction plan by Thanksgiving, amid growing concern the panel’s members could be deadlocked. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has been meeting more frequently with Democratic members of the 12-member supercommittee, an […]

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  A number of people–including your truly–have been making the point for a long time that there is no debt and deficit "crisis". The problem is that there is a bi-partisan obsession with the phony "crisis", helped by the transcribers of press releases (formerly known as "journalists") that has drowned out any rationale discussion–a discussion […]

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   Yee Haw! Some sense. Those questions reflect a common refrain of businesses, their lobbyists and supporters in Washington, who complain that too much regulation is stifling the economy. In both cases, Mr. Obama responded that farmers might be hearing unfounded rumors. “If you hear something is happening, but it hasn’t happened, don’t always believe […]

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   In the list of really annoying habits of the bi-partisan obsession with the phony debt and deficit "crisis" is the inability, or the ideological desire to willfully refuse, to do simple math. Because if you did simple math, then, you cannot be FOR cheaper government without being FOR single-payer health care. Put another way, […]

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    I am perplexed by the storm of criticism leveled at Standard & Poor’s. Don’t get me wrong–that S&P, or any of the ratings agencies, is even taken seriously is a monumental farce, given their role in the financial crisis.   But, we’re missing the point:   It is a mistake to solely blame the […]

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   My friends say, correctly, that I should not waste my time reading Tom Friedman. Yes, true. But, I dipped into his moronic column yesterday mainly because it’s in the same non-reality based theme that is a plague everywhere–we need "shared sacrifice" to make the cuts "needed". Spare me.     Dumb stuff: Yes, we have […]

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