Rich vs. poor in the Great Recession

via Cesca

This chart via Jon Chait illustrates everything you need to know about the ultimate impact of Reaganomics. In short: the working and middle classes were totally hosed.



Chait: "The remedy, of course, is to cut tax rates for the highest-earning 2%."

Everything you need to know about the Pledge to America

Those "responsible spending cuts"? Not so much. The GOP has promised to kill the affordable Health Care act (increasing the deficit), keep the Bush Tax Giveaway to the Wealthy (increasing the deficit) and has not shown where cuts are going to come from.

In fact, John Boehner was interviewed by Chris Wallace about the Pledge and it's lack of specificity and he had the following to say:

WALLACE: Congressman Boehner, as Willie Sutton said about banks, entitlements are where the money is. More than 40% of the budget. Yet, I’ve looked through this pledge and there is not one single proposal to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.

BOEHNER: Chris, we make it clear in there that we’re going to lay out a plan to work toward a balanced budget and deal with the entitlement crisis. Chris, it’s time for us as americans to have an adult conversation with each other about the serious challenges our country faces. And we can’t have that serious conversation until we lay out the size of the problem. Once Americans understand how big the problem is, then we can begin to talk about potential solutions. [...]

WALLACE: Forgive me, sir, isn’t the right time to have the adult conversation now before the election when you have this document? Why not make a single proposal to cut social security, medicare and medicaid?

BOEHNER: Chris, this is what happens here in Washington. When you start down that path, you just invite all kind of problems. I know. I’ve been there. I think we need to do this in a more systemic way and have this conversation first. Let’s not get to the potential solutions. Let’s make sure Americans understand how big the problem is. Then we can talk about possible solutions and then work ourselves into those solutions that are doable.

SRSLY? Let's not talk about solutions. That's the gist. Typical Republican response: 'Let's not talk about solutions until after the election because we hope Americans are dumb/frustruated enough to elect us on vague and empty promises, so we can give more money to the wealthy and screw the economy (again) after the elections'. This is full of non-specific iconography that the GOP hopes Americans are stupid enough to buy.

Are we this stupid?

Here's an analysis of the differences between the Pledge and Obama's proposed budget.

American Progress

The substantial increase in deficits under the “Pledge to America” budget are due to the significant tax cuts that come from extending all expiring tax provisions and the implementation of several new tax cuts. Altogether, tax revenues under the “Pledge to America” plan would average 16.7 percent of GDP. During the last period the federal government ran balanced budgets revenues averaged 20 percent of GDP.

The document claims that these cuts will be offset by spending reductions, but their proposals for these reductions add up to significantly less than their revenue cuts. The vast bulk of these spending cuts are achieved through what are described as “hard caps,” but they provide little detail as to what programs would be cut.

The “Pledge to America” also includes a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. But since the ACA reduces deficits over the next 10 years, repealing it increases the deficit as well.

Chart via Ezra

Waiting for Superman: Thank a teacher

I'll have more to say as this movie gets closer. I'm a high school teacher, and I agree with much of what David Guggenheim has already let out about Waiting For Superman. We do have massive problems in education, and the teacher's unions, of which I am a member, are a part of that problem. In some districts, a big part. But to lay the blame for the state of American education solely at the feet of the teacher's unions is an oversimplistic, convenient meme for this Tea Party era we're living in.

This video was done by Morgan Spurlock, Jon Hamm, John Legend, Juliette Lewis and others, thanking the teachers that made a difference. Check it out.

Deranged, probably closeted, socially awkward Michigan AG stalks college student on-line

Gawker

For months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general for Michigan, has been writing the blog "Chris Armstrong Watch," devoted to attacking the University of Michigan's gay student assembly president with homophobic and other horrible slurs. What is wrong with him?

Shirvell, who faced an outraged Anderson Cooper on CNN last night, is a deeply conservative Christian who claims that he has the right to say whatever he wants outside of work. Which may be true, but his campaign against a gay college student might have veered into the category of harassment, and at the very least, is as sad and pathetic as pretty much anything an adult can do under the name of "political activism."

More....

Watch this cupcake, he's like a character from The Office. He's got the obstinance of Dwight Schrute with the absolute cluelessness of Michael Scott.

This guy is an assistant Attorney General? In a major state? SRSLY?

Fox News racebaiting: "POTUS loves gangsta rap"

In Obama's interview in the new Rolling Stone, he gets asked about what's on his iPod.

My iPod now has about 2,000 songs, and it is a source of great pleasure to me. I am probably still more heavily weighted toward the music of my childhood than I am the new stuff. There's still a lot of Stevie Wonder, a lot of Bob Dylan, a lot of Rolling Stones, a lot of R&B, a lot of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Those are the old standards.

A lot of classical music. I'm not a big opera buff in terms of going to opera, but there are days where Maria Callas is exactly what I need.

Thanks to Reggie [Love, the president's personal aide], my rap palate has greatly improved. Jay-Z used to be sort of what predominated, but now I've got a little Nas and a little Lil Wayne and some other stuff, but I would not claim to be an expert. Malia and Sasha are now getting old enough to where they start hipping me to things. Music is still a great source of joy and occasional solace in the midst of what can be some difficult days.

Here's how Fox presented it:


Really? Can this be seen as anything other than racebaiting? This is clearly throwing red meat to the racist elements of the Republican party. Fox should be ashamed. How can someone who cites Maria Callas, Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan be a gangsta thug? But that's exactly what Fox has implied.

They're disgusting.

Stewart comes to Colbert's defense and shows the "serious" side of Congress that Colbert degraded