In poker a “tell” is the physical giveaway or tic that lets you know someone is lying about his or her hand. In politics it’s the mode of evasion a politician chooses to sidestep a truth he or she doesn’t want to admit or to avoid saying something against self-interest. In his debut interview with Fox […]
Oh, Mr. Ryan, Do Get Wonky On Us. Please. (I.e., thank you, Brit Hume and Matt Miller.)
Romney says he never paid less than 13% in taxes for any of the last 10 years. But how much would he pay each year once the Ryan plan is passed?
… And when, exactly, did he pay that at-least-13% per year? Might some of it have been paid under the 2009 IRS amnesty plan for people who’d been hiding money in secret overseas bank accounts, after the Swiss banks suddenly agreed to reveal to the IRS the identities of American account holders? Just wondering.
Romney says he likes straight talk. Just not from him.
Washington may not like straight talk, but I do. — Mitt Romney, yesterday Sooo, Governor, about those massive tax cuts for the wealthy …. You know, including the elimination of all incomes taxes on capital gains and stock dividends, which your running mate’s budget proposal includes? How, exactly, do you plan to balance the budget […]
Why are Most Advocates of Unconventional Monetary Policy so Conventional ?
I associate the phrase “unconventional monetary policy” with Joe Gagnon. Here we were in 2008 with the conventional monetary instrument — the target Federal Funds rate — pedal to the metal and the economy stalling. Many people said it was time for fiscal stimulus (I think Gagnon agreed). He also suggested unconventional monetary policy, by […]
Romney’s Private Equity Magic Trick–equity manager’s gain, taxpayers’ losses
by Linda Beale Romney’s Private Equity Magic Trick–equity manager’s gain, taxpayers’ losses (Reich Video) Mitt Romney claims that his business experience at Bain Capital is a superb qualification for the presidency. He implies that this experience will carry over to his economic policies, with the suggestion that he will become a “job creator-in-chief” like all […]
New Romney Campaign Ad: Ask Not What Your Medicare Taxes Can Do For THEM, …
A new Romney ad tells older voters to think of it this way: “The money you paid for your guaranteed health care is going to a massive new government program that’s not for you.” — Gail Collins, Middle-Age Blues, New York Times, this evening What? If current Medicare recipients, and those who will begin receiving it within the […]
Individualism vs. Collectivism: Thanks For the Ammunition, Ann
Ann Romney said in an interview airing Wednesday that her husband has no plans to release additional tax returns, saying “it’ll just give them more ammunition” and insisting that “there’s nothing we’re hiding.” “We have been very transparent to what’s legally required of us. But the more we release, the more we get attacked, the more […]
France is Stuck in the Mud
by Rebecca Wilder According to the Eurostat flash estimate, Euro area GDP fell by 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU27 in the second quarter of 2012. In the first quarter of 2012, growth rates were 0.0% in both zones. On balance, the Euro area is very likely in recession despite the fact […]
Romryanomics–prosperity for the well-off fueled by austerity for the rest
by Linda Beale Romryanomics–prosperity for the well-off fueled by austerity for the rest I’ve put off writing about stilted robo-Romney’s choice of the perpetual-smily-Ryan as veep about as long as I can, I suppose. So let me talk about it in broad terms in this post. In the next posts, I’ll discuss more methodically the […]