Economy

Mo Brooks - Clueless At Another Town Hall

November 12, 2011 by Left in Alabama

Mo Brooks had another town hall (in Alabama!) and constituents asked him real questions, which he couldn't answer.

One person asked why Congress won’t take the same actions as many Americans when cutting household debt — cut expenses but also increase revenue.

“If I was in serious debt, I’d cut spending,” the man said. “But I’d also get a second job, and even a third job.”

The crowd applauded.

Brooks said raising taxes would decrease, not increase, federal revenue. He said higher taxes, especially on employers, reduce the incentive to produce and increase the price of goods.

Several people questioned Brooks about how he knows taxes are at a point where increasing them on the wealthy would reduce federal tax revenue.

“Nobody knows,” Brooks responded. “It’s a matter of judgment. I believe our tax burden is already so high, particularly on our employers, that if you raise taxes, it would actually lower revenue.”

On Punishing The Job Creators, Or, "The Poor Have It So Good Today"

November 10, 2011 by Left in Alabama

You know what the problem is with America?
The poor don’t get just how great they have it.

I’ve been hearing this a lot lately; the basic thrust of the discussion is that all those cars, TVs, DVD players, refrigerators, and stoves that have found their way into the homes of the economic underclass are proof there’s really no such thing as “poor” in America.

If they were truly poor, the argument goes, well…think recycled corn.

And if the poor want things to get better, let ‘em pull themselves up by their own bootstraps – and if they can’t, then let ‘em rot, because that’s the best thing for the economy.

But I don’t buy all that, and by the time we’re done today, I hope to have given you a whole new perspective on how jobs get created in this country.

Jeff Sessions - Legislation By Focus Group

November 3, 2011 by Left in Alabama

No jobs in Jeff Sessions' latest bill, but the focus group folks call it "legislative perfection." 

A bill intended to clamp down on misleading federal budgeting practices, introduced by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, is “legislative perfection” in the eyes of a prominent Republican pollster.

“Of all the things I’ve done this past year, the concept of restoring honesty in what Washington does — ending the accounting tricks, the budget gimmicks and all the empty promises — it was the No. 1 tested item that I’ve done, in terms of legislation, with any segment of the population,” this week.

Florida’s Middle Class Comeback Starts With Flexing Muscles

October 28, 2011 by Kenneth

(Cross-posted at Examiner.com)

Next Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 – just about one year before the Big Election – is a day for Florida’s Middle Class to begin mounting a major comeback.

There’s a surplus by now of indisputable facts, figures, charts and graphs, all documenting the decimation – not decline – of the Middle Class in Florida, and nationwide.

That’s a critically important difference, between decimation and decline.

It’s the difference between cause, and effect.

Decline is the effect, defined as  “a deterioration in quality, strength, or degree, or a reduction in amount”.

Dear Journal Sentinel editors: Please check your Walker notes

October 21, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Truthiness, the made-up term from comedian Stephen Colbert, supposedly is better than actual truth, because it seems truthful and yet doesn't have to be. The latest case in point: The Saturday, Oct. 21, 2011 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Very truthy. Not very informative to casual readers.

First up, on page 2 of the front section, we find Politifact, or as I like to call it, Politifactoid. In its latest recurring "Walk-o-Meter" chart, it again examined progress on Walker's pledge to create 250,000 jobs by the end of his four-year term (assuming, of course, he isn't recalled by voters before then). The paper's latest chart shows this information, culled from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development: 

Nothing obviously wrong with the numbers, as re-rendered by the newspaper. Focus on the overall September change in net Wisconsin jobs -- a loss of 900. Park that number in temporary memory and read on. 

Now turn back to the newspaper's business page, which in a news story gives the greater context that Politifact does not (boldfacing added by me):