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

5 Reasons Why Student Loan Debts Are Only Increasing

From the many submissions of posts offered as publishable material, this one makes the guest post list.  Dan   by Dave Landry Jr. (Davis is a debt relief counselor and personal finance manager, working with National Debt Relief to alleviate the stresses of debt through consolidation and advisement.) 5 Reasons Why Student Loan Debts Are […]

Subsidies and the 4th District Of Iowa (Rep. Steve King) Summary Information

4th District and the shutdown, this article describes the predominant sentiment in the 4th district, and certainly Rep. King’s loudly proclaimed views, on the “shutdown” and even “default” as being not so bad. Mr. King gets a solid vote from its voters. From this site comes information on the 4th district. I did look for […]

THE CBO AND SOCIAL SECURITY… HYSTERIA and HONEST MATH

by Dale Coberly THE CBO AND SOCIAL SECURITY HYSTERIA and HONEST MATH The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a new projection for the costs of Social Security  [no citation.  I looked up the link in the AEI article (below) and did not immediately find a projection for SS].   They say that increases in […]

Dear GOP: a Daily Kos staff reminder on the constitutional process for changing the law

by Linda Beale Dear GOP: a Daily Kos staff reminder on the constitutional process for changing the law The Tea Party/GOP coalition has often talked about the importance of the Constitution, but one can’t help wondering if the recent extortionist behavior doesn’t belie that, when the governnment shutdown it has caused as a means of […]

Cruz, Tea Party, Hostage-Taking Budget Tactics (and the IRS)

by Linda Beale Cruz, Tea Party, Hostage-Taking Budget Tactics (and the IRS) The House, dominated by Tea Party/GOP politicians (or those fearful of their impact on upcoming primaries) passed a bill that attempted to tie the continuing operations of the government to compliance with Tea Party ideas about getting rid of the health reform legislation […]

SOCIAL SECURITY AND INNUMERACY

by Dale Coberly SOCIAL SECURITY AND INNUMERACY MATH HELP FOR K*ASTINGS In the open thread section last night constant reader B*uce K*asting reported: “CBO changed some variables, the result was an increase in the unfunded numbers. In 2012 CBO concluded that the shortfall was 1.9% of payrolls. In 2013 they increased that to 3.4% – […]

Obamacare Defunding and the Mandate

This is pure political fantasy. I will pretend to take Republicans seriously. They claim that Obamacare is unpopular (true) and tha the people want them to defund Obamacare. It is clear that the most unpopular part of Obamacare is the mandate (the Medicare entitlement reform which is included in House budget resolutions and of which […]

For the Record, No: A Review Too Late

Were Lawrence Summers what his critics say he is—a political hack with an inflated sense of his own skills that is matched only by his sense of entitlement, accompanied by a grotesquely non-realistic view of his accomplishments—this is precisely the letter he would write. Felix, who was The Voice of Reason on this  before and […]

Ohio Governor John Kasich to Follow Panera Bread CEO’s Lead in Taking the SNAP Challenge

In case you missed it, Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich (founder) is taking the SNAP Challenge. “in an effort to find out how the other half lives by limiting grocery purchases to the average benefit amount shelled out by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It’s not much. A typical food stamp recipient receives just $4.50 […]

More on part time jobs

Moody’s economist Marisa DiNatali discusses the idea of part timers and current times: Though some businesses are claiming that they are hiring more part-time workers to avoid the Affordable Care Act’s employer responsibility requirements, which apply to companies with more than 50 full-time employees, that incentive is limited and research from Moody’s economist Marisa DiNatale […]