Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Quinceañera

Fifteen years ago this evening, my wife made the biggest mistake of her life. And she still hasn’t repented. But that doesn’t mean there might not be a little “buyer’s remorse“: G-d help me, that was the best specific option I could find.* So let’s go instead with a standard: *Really, folks, does no one […]

A few questions about Obama and Next Year’s Presidential Election

by Mike Kimel A few questions about Obama and Next Year’s Presidential Election Assume that Michelle Bachmann wins the Republican nomination next year and Obama wins re-election. Given Obama’s governing style (i.e., fold early, fold often), in what way will the outcome of Obama’s final five years in office (i.e., next year plus the second […]

A Billion Here, A Billion There…

This is why Andrew Leonard (h/t Yves Smith) gets paid for blogging and I don’t. He tries to do the impossible: make sense out of Michelle Bachmann’s “economics“: 1) The interest can easily be paid for … Bachmann is making the argument here that the U.S. can choose to pay its creditors — the various […]

Mark Thoma Has Become a Fiery, Liberal Spirit

Mark Thoma joins Dr. Black, putting him one-up on some Liberal Bloggers Who Should Know Better.* Thoma: 1. You have to make the Republicans pay in terms of eroded public support before they will agree to cooperate at all. The president in particular has not played a long-run strategy, the Republicans have, and the results […]

I want spending, I want spending, I WANT SPENDING!

By: Daniel Becker There is some new information from Adam Hersh of Center for American Progress showing what has happened in the states that have followed the conservative economic approach (yes, talking to you Obama, DLC, Clintonites).  Keep cutting at your own risk. Here’s the thing.  Like the Wile E Coyote, we seem to have […]

Just When I Thought it was Safe to Click a Headline

I just couldn’t resist clicking “Bank of America to pay $8.5 billion settlement over mortgages”. Finally the Bankers are paying for destroying the economy. My enthusiasm rapidly faded as I read the article. Then I read “Shares of Bank of America Corp. jumped more than 4 percent, or 48 cents to $11.30 before the market […]

Beating The New Republic by Seven Days, or Does Jonathan Cohn Read AB?

Yes, it’s another “AB was right” post. Detractors of this blog in general and me in particular could stop reading now. But they shouldn’t. Anyone who thought through the economics could have pointed out what I did on the 17th: From [Republican Congressman John] Boehner’s site: At least 30 percent of employers would gain economically […]