At first glance the December employment report shows that the trends throughout 2012 were unchanged in December. But within the report there were some greater signs of strength. Private payroll employment showed a gain of 155,000 and the household survey reported a much smaller gain of only 28,000. These changes are about the same as […]
On January 1, Congress approved a tax and spending bill to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” combination of tax hikes and spending cuts that would have created deflationary pressure on the United States (though Yglesias questioned the conventional wisdom of whether it would necessarily cause a recession). Let’s take a look at the deal in […]
David Atkins succinctly nails the situation we face: No matter what Obama does, Republicans won’t care and won’t fold…This is what makes the poker analogy so often used to criticize the President’s negotiating tactics such a weak metaphor. Obama is often said to be the worst poker player in history, consistently bluffing then folding. But […]
All of the terms in the post title have at least two usages, some of which map upon to common sense ideas from business or household budgeting, some not. Unfortunately the usages that don’t tend to be those used in federal budget reporting, and the result is untold confusion. Now one way out would be […]
“There is only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Wednesday. “The House majority and their speaker, John Boehner.” But after a closed-door session with the New York and New Jersey congressional delegations, Boehner announced that the House would vote on the measure […]
I’m not a fan of circuses, or for that matter, of zoos. I am a fan of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. And this breaks my heart. I don’t want to even think about the animals who won’t be rescued because $9.3 million of donations to the ASPCA will […]
I want to remove the post I posted this afternoon called “Harry Reid Throws Down the Gauntlet In Front of … Obama. Hurray.” I think Reid has done exactly that, and I think he’ll play a much larger role in the debt ceiling debate and other fiscal-policy debates going forward, as will the other Dem […]
Obama pushed forward despite strong reservations expressed by top congressional Democrats — especially Reid — who privately described it as a “bad deal” that would increase Republican leverage in future budget fights. … Reid figured Democrats could get a more favorable agreement if they waited. When Reid saw an offer that Obama had considered pitching […]
by run 75411Update: Beverly Mann adds this note lifted from comments: The Supreme Court is rarely in session. It’s seasonal, part-time work. They usually hear argument in 10 cases a month, seven months a year. In December, they didn’t hear even that many.There’s really sooo much that can, and should, be said about the issue […]