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

Due Process: Holder vs Colbert. Art or Reality. Choose.

Re-posted from last year is Dan Becker’s post: Due Process: Holder vs Colbert. Art or Reality. Choose. This is the object: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury,… nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due […]

Ok class, let’s review before the exam (election)

I’m sure you are all feeling kind of blah. You have this final exam for this session and I can tell by your performances on the quizzes that you are still confused. The problem solving portions of the quizzes have been very telling. So lets review.   You’re taxes are not too high. It’s your […]

Screw the Clinton tax rates. Lets party like it’s 1936!

  Update: *Additional numbers added Digby wrote a few days ago about the“grown-up” people coming to town to save America from the deficit. She listed a few of those people and their annual income.   Also, a few days ago the Senate had a vote on the tax cuts. Letting the Bush cuts go (I’m […]

Due Process: Holder vs Colbert. Art or Reality. Choose.

This is the object:  No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury,… nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;   It’s all one sentence. Any questions?   This is Art: The lyrics of […]

Guest post: Who Are the 1%?

Update: Mike Konczal also takes a  look at this question in Who are the one percent and what do they do for a living.Update 2: Another source for historical trends on inequality is at The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities by Taryn Hart     Taryn Hart publishes at her blog Plutocracy files and has interviewed […]

Income Mobility

Lifted from comments from Daniel Becker’s post here, reader PJR provides links to two good sources: Another data-driven study indicates income mobility is down at the same time that inequality is up, saying “Overall, the evidence indicates that over the 1969-to-2006 time span, family income mobility across the distribution decreased, families’ later-year incomes increasingly depended […]

Define Rich, Part III. What the tax tables of yore say.

 By Daniel Becker Randolph Duke: Money isn’t everything, Mortimer. Mortimer Duke: Oh, grow up. Randolph Duke: Mother always said you were greedy. Mortimer Duke: She meant it as a compliment. Trading Places 1983 A while ago (an understatement) I posted on the question of what is rich. The first dealt with what issues to consider […]

Monetary policy. I’m sorry, it’s just not doing it for me.

By Daniel Becker Stock market is up, Profits are up and banks are safe. So what? Unemployment is somewhere between going down and I can’t get no satisfaction. Housing values are still falling.  A new nationwide survey from real estate Web site Zillow.com says the value of U.S. homes fell 3% from January 1 to […]

Joseph Stiglitz: Of the 1% by the 1% for the 1%

by Daniel Becker This is an interview of Joseph Stiglitz on Democracy Now regarding his article in the current Vanity Fair.  He discuss the issue of income inequality, taxes, etc and how it has set us up to be less of a land of oportunity than what old Europe was. A few quotes: The question […]

Let the tax cuts go and you actually stick it to the top for real.

By: Daniel Becker (DOLB) On Countdown (12/9/10), Keith had on Thomas Buffenbarger, president of the International Machinist Union. It was a chance for an “I told you so moment”in that Mr. Buffenbarger noted while campaigning for Secretary Clinton that President Obama would not be a fighter. Go watch the episode. I made my position on […]