Where Does It Say the Supreme Court Has the Constitutional Power to Hike Medicine Prices to 5x Their Cost? | Alternet

Where Does It Say the Supreme Court Has the Constitutional Power to Hike Medicine Prices to 5x Their Cost? | Alternet
"How the industry uses the high court to allow bribery and evade the FDA."

The Coming Crash: Our Addiction to Endless Growth on a Finite Planet [With Photo Slideshow] | Alternet

The Coming Crash: Our Addiction to Endless Growth on a Finite Planet [With Photo Slideshow] | Alternet
"Richard Heinberg talks about the new book "Energy: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth," a haunting look at our current energy path."

The Need for Public Banks - Truthdig

The Need for Public Banks - Truthdig
"Once upon a time American banks supported the economy by financing the growth and development of industry. For the last many decades they’ve had the opposite effect by plowing money into existing assets and loading the economy down with debt. The consequences have been disastrous"

PERRspectives: As CBO Predicted, Higher Taxes Not Hurting Spending by the Rich

PERRspectives: As CBO Predicted, Higher Taxes Not Hurting Spending by the Rich
"according to a new survey, a majority of those earning over $500,000 a year report that the new higher rates on income and capital gains have not impacted their spending, charitable giving or investment strategies. As it turns out, the Chicken Little conservatives could have spared themselves this embarrassment had they just heeded the lessons of American history and the predictions of the Congressional Budget Office."

The Beginning of the End of Too-Big-to-Fail | Common Dreams

The Beginning of the End of Too-Big-to-Fail | Common Dreams
"Amidst an endless series of votes on amendments to a federal budget bill, the United States Senate voted 99-0 in favor of an amendment to end subsidies to too-big-to-fail financial institutions."

Profit Share Hits Post-War High and the Post Doesn't Notice | Common Dreams

Profit Share Hits Post-War High and the Post Doesn't Notice | Common Dreams
"The revised GDP data for the fourth quarter released yesterday showed the profit share of corporate income hitting 25.6 percent. This is the highest since it stood at 25.8 percent in 1951. However if we look at the after-tax share of 19.2 percent, we would have to go back to 20.8 percent share in 1930 to find a higher number, excepting of course the 19.3 percent number hit last year."

PERRspectives: Republicans Ask CBO to Rig Tax Cut Numbers

PERRspectives: Republicans Ask CBO to Rig Tax Cut Numbers
"Perhaps the greatest myth in the Republican pantheon is the claim that "tax cuts pay for themselves." Sadly, that article of supply-side faith--that tax cuts fuel economic growth so explosive that federal revenue exceeds what otherwise would have been collected--has been painfully debunked by decades of history. Unfortunately, as part of budget deal just completed by Congress Republicans quietly ensured that such "dynamic scoring" would become part of future analyses by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). If the GOP succeeds, voodoo economics will henceforth be a feature, not a bug."

Kochs, Chamber of Commerce Bankroll Judges’ Seminars On Corporate Crime And Capitalism

Kochs, Chamber of Commerce Bankroll Judges’ Seminars On Corporate Crime And Capitalism: The Louisiana federal judge overseeing the civil trial over BP’s alleged gross negligence in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident attended a seminar in 2009 called “Criminalization of Corporate Conduct” sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 13 other funders. In 2011, that same judge dismissed a wrongful-death claim in a suit [...]/p

Why Rich People Hate Talking About Inequality

Why Rich People Hate Talking About Inequality: Ed. note: This is the third and final post in a TP Ideas symposium on Branko Milanovic’s The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality. The first installment is here here and the second is here. The wealthy don’t like it when we talk about it inequality. Mitt Romney famously [...]/p

Without Medicaid Expansion, Poor Americans In The South Are Less Likely To Get Medical Care

Without Medicaid Expansion, Poor Americans In The South Are Less Likely To Get Medical Care: Low-income Americans in the South, where states impose some of the nation’s most restrictive Medicaid eligibility requirements, are being forced to put off the medical care they need because they can’t afford it. According to a new study from the New England Journal of Medicine, the American adults who don’t qualify for Medicaid assistance in [...]/p

Working as designed: high profits and stagnant wages | Economic Policy Institute

Working as designed: high profits and stagnant wages | Economic Policy Institute
"Newly released data on corporate profitability for 2012 show the continuation of historic levels of profitability despite excessive unemployment and stagnant wages for most workers."

Why Is Socialism Doing So Darn Well in Deep-Red North Dakota? | Alternet

Why Is Socialism Doing So Darn Well in Deep-Red North Dakota? | Alternet
"North Dakota's thriving state bank makes a mockery of Wall Street's casino banking system -- and that's why financial elites want to crush it."

What You Need to Know About the Terrifying Monsanto Protection Act - Truthdig

What You Need to Know About the Terrifying Monsanto Protection Act - Truthdig
"In case you haven’t yet heard of the so-called Monsanto Protection Act—which was buried deep in the spending bill recently passed by Congress to avert a government shutdown and signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday—it’s a horrific piece of legislation that is tantamount to a huge corporate giveaway to the agricultural biotech giant Monsanto."

Noam Chomsky: If Nuclear War Doesn't Get Us, Climate Change Will

Digital Grab: Corporate Power Has Seized the Internet | Common Dreams

Digital Grab: Corporate Power Has Seized the Internet | Common Dreams
"corporate power has seized the Internet -- and the anti-democratic grip is tightening every day."

First Three Months Of 2013 Were Worst On Record For Student Loan Defaults

First Three Months Of 2013 Were Worst On Record For Student Loan Defaults: Student loan debt is already reaching crisis levels in the United States, as borrowers are struggling to pay back the money they used to obtain higher educations. Borrowers were already defaulting on their debts in record numbers heading into this year, and the first three months of 2013 were the worst on record for loans [...]/p

How Big Corporations Are Unpatriotic | Common Dreams

How Big Corporations Are Unpatriotic | Common Dreams
"Many giant profitable U.S. corporations are increasingly abandoning America while draining it at the same time."

David Cay Johnston: U.S. is Redistributing Income - Up

David Cay Johnston: U.S. is Redistributing Income - Up
"Between 1966 and 2011, the richest 1 percent of Americans saw their average income increase by more than $18 million. Meanwhile the bottom 90 percent have only seen average incomes increase by $59. Cenk asks, “Are we being robbed blind?” Johnston says, “Oh, unbelievably. This is not because American workers have suddenly gotten lazy. It’s because government policies have changed, and what they’re doing is the exact opposite of the myth we’re being sold"."

A Cinderella Story? How The Koch Brothers Use Florida Gulf Coast University To Promote Their Agenda

A Cinderella Story? How The Koch Brothers Use Florida Gulf Coast University To Promote Their Agenda: It’s a great story: the virtually unknown, 15th seeded Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), has made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. But there’s something you might not know about FGCU: its economics department is, as a consequence of grants from Randian businessman John Allison and the Charles G. Koch Foundation, a haven [...]/p

Think Your Money is Safe? Think Again: The Confiscation Scheme Planned for US and UK Depositors | Alternet

Think Your Money is Safe? Think Again: The Confiscation Scheme Planned for US and UK Depositors | Alternet
"Although few depositors realize it, legally the bank owns the depositor’s funds as soon as they are put in the bank. Our money becomes the bank’s, and we become unsecured creditors holding IOUs or promises to pay. (See here andhere.) But until now the bank has been obligated to pay the money back on demand in the form of cash. Under the FDIC-BOE plan, our IOUs will be converted into “bank equity.”  The bank will get the money and we will get stock in the bank. With any luck we may be able to sell the stock to someone else, but when and at what price? Most people keep a deposit account so they can have ready cash to pay the bills."

Walmart Wants You To Deliver Their Packages -- For Free

Walmart Wants You To Deliver Their Packages -- For Free
"This is a company that has already "crowd sourced" their low wages by having the rest of us subsidize their food stamps. They also "crowd sourced" employee health insurance by holding workshops telling employees how to apply for Medicaid.

This, from a company that's owned by the wealthiest family in America."

Why Michigan’s ‘Right-To-Work’ Law Won’t Benefit The State’s Workers

Why Michigan’s ‘Right-To-Work’ Law Won’t Benefit The State’s Workers: Michigan’s so-called “right-to-work” measure officially went into effect today, just more than three months after Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed the anti-union legislation into law. Snyder and Michigan Republicans have touted the law as a way to boost the state’s lagging economy, saying it would make it more competitive for businesses and a better place [...]/p

Why New York Should Pass A Strong Paid Sick Leave Policy

Why New York Should Pass A Strong Paid Sick Leave Policy: Since 2010, New York City’s earned sick leave initiative has been debated but never passed, largely thanks to New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s (D) refusal to allow a vote. Now, with her hat firmly in the ring for the 2013 mayoral race, Quinn is hinting that she might wind up putting her weight [...]/p

New Sanders Bill Would Break Up Big Banks | Common Dreams

New Sanders Bill Would Break Up Big Banks | Common Dreams
"U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today he will introduce legislation to break up banks that have grown so big that the Justice Department has not pursued prosecutions for fear an indictment would harm the financial system."

Capitalism in Crisis: Richard Wolff Urges End to Austerity, New Jobs Program, Democratizing Work

Cyprus Has the Global Money Elite’s Fingerprints All Over It | Common Dreams

Cyprus Has the Global Money Elite’s Fingerprints All Over It | Common Dreams
"The debacle in Cyprus is far from over, but it’s already taught us some very important lessons. We’ve seen, for example, that the world’s financial leaders insist on clinging to the principles of austerity economics even after they’ve failed over and over again. They don’t seem very interested in learning from experience."

Chicago Is Ground Zero for Disastrous "Free Market" Reforms of Education | Common Dreams

Chicago Is Ground Zero for Disastrous "Free Market" Reforms of Education | Common Dreams
"If you want a glimpse of what slash-and-burn free market education reform does in cities throughout the US, look no further than Chicago."

Corporations Pay Lower Tax Rates Than Ever While Lobbying For Even Bigger Tax Breaks

Corporations Pay Lower Tax Rates Than Ever While Lobbying For Even Bigger Tax Breaks: As large American companies continue to lobby Congress for tax reform that would lower their tax rates, a study of historical corporate tax rates found that they are in fact paying at rates roughly half of those they paid decades ago. The Washington Post analyzed 30 large companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average [...]/p

Thom Hartmann: Healthcare lottery...may the odds be forever in your favor

Corporate Kangaroo Courts Supplant Our Seventh Amendment Rights | Common Dreams

Corporate Kangaroo Courts Supplant Our Seventh Amendment Rights | Common Dreams
"Most Americans don't realize it, but our Seventh Amendment right to a fair jury trial against corporate wrongdoers has quietly been stripped from us."

Conservative Morality: Free Pass for Criminal Bankers, Restrictions for Women and Gay Citizens | Alternet

Conservative Morality: Free Pass for Criminal Bankers, Restrictions for Women and Gay Citizens | Alternet
"We're still legislating and regulating private morality, while at the same time ignoring the much larger crisis of public morality in America."

STUDY: States Refusing To Expand Medicaid Will Leave Over 200,000 Low-Income Veterans Uninsured

STUDY: States Refusing To Expand Medicaid Will Leave Over 200,000 Low-Income Veterans Uninsured: Adding to the extensive body of evidence that participating in Obamacare’s optional Medicaid expansion is both smart fiscal policy and the right move for securing poor Americans’ health care, a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute study concludes that states refusing to expand Medicaid will leave over 200,000 low-income, uninsured veterans and two-thirds [...]/p

Sanders Amendment on Social Security, Disabled Veterans

Cyprus Crisis Reveals Shadowy World of Tax and Money Laundering Haven

Richard Wolff Gives Bill O'Reilly a Lesson in Economics 101

Richard Wolff Gives Bill O'Reilly a Lesson in Economics 101
"From this Monday's Democracy Now, economist Richard Wolff is asked about Bill O'Reilly's remarks last week where he told his audience on Fox that Cyprus and other European countries are facing economic hardships because they’re so-called "nanny states." Wolff responded with a lesson in economics 101 for Bill-O"

California Investigation Might Break the Koch Machine

California Investigation Might Break the Koch Machine
"The flow of money was traced as it passed through several non-profit organizations, ultimately going all the way back to a known dark money conduit known as Americans for Job Security."

The Corporate ‘Predator State’ | Common Dreams

The Corporate ‘Predator State’ | Common Dreams
"Multinational executives have just launched the “LIFT America” Coalition to push for a territorial tax system that would exempt from U.S. taxes all profits reported abroad. ASBC and its allies could rally small businesses to demand closing down overseas tax havens and imposing a minimum tax on profits sitting abroad, so that they didn’t face a higher tax burden that their global competitors.
In today’s Washington, powerful corporate interests stymie progress on areas vital to our future. Can a right/left, small-business/worker odd bedfellows alliance emerge to counter the predatory interests? We can only hope so."

The Oligarchs are Sucking Dry America's Working Class

Neoliberalism and the Politics of Higher Education: An Interview With Henry A. Giroux

Neoliberalism and the Politics of Higher Education: An Interview With Henry A. Giroux
"Neoliberalism, or what can be called the latest stage of predatory capitalism, is part of a broader project of restoring class power and consolidating the rapid concentration of capital."

As Neoliberal Order Wreaks Havoc, World Social Forum Gathers in Tunisia | Common Dreams

As Neoliberal Order Wreaks Havoc, World Social Forum Gathers in Tunisia | Common Dreams
"In a world witnessing revolutions in mid-stride, flourishing climate crises, and the reign of austerity economics, tens of thousands of people from all over the globe are gathering in Tunisia for the 2013 World Social Forum to confront the contemporary situation with their consistent call: "another world is possible"."

More Proof That America Doesn’t Have A Spending Problem

More Proof That America Doesn’t Have A Spending Problem: The idea that the United States has an out of control spending problem has gripped Washington D.C. for most of the economic recovery, and nowhere is that more evident than in recent budget negotiations, where the conversation has been almost solely about when budgets will balance and by how much they will reduce the debt. [...]/p

As Safety Net Faces Cuts, One-In-Six American Children Are Affected By Unemployment

As Safety Net Faces Cuts, One-In-Six American Children Are Affected By Unemployment: One of every six American children has a parent that is either unemployed or underemployed, according to a new study from First Focus and the Urban Institute. Overall, 6.2 million children live in homes where at least one parent is unemployed; the total rises to 12.1 million when underemployment is included too. While that number [...]/p

Wealth Inequality in America

Textbook Right-Wing Economics Can Ruin The Economy

Textbook Right-Wing Economics Can Ruin The Economy: Daron Acemoglu, an economist at MIT, and James Robinson, a political scientist and economist at Harvard, provide an interesting academic analysis of how mainstream (i.e., mainly conservative) economic policies centered on privatization, deregulation, and free trade lead to unwanted social outcomes. Echoing warnings from progressives about the consequences of right-wing policies, Acemoglu and Robinson (authors [...]/p

That Giant Sucking Sound...it's the Oligarchs

That Giant Sucking Sound...it's the Oligarchs
"The oligarchs are sucking dry America's middle and working class, while the rest of us are being left to feed off of their crumbs."

New Jersey Governor Christie Paves Way for Privatizing Camden Schools | Common Dreams

New Jersey Governor Christie Paves Way for Privatizing Camden Schools | Common Dreams
"The wave of school privatizations couched under the banner of "reform" may be headed to Camden, New Jersey."

Senate Unanimously Votes Against Cuts to Social Security: Media Don’t Notice

Senate Unanimously Votes Against Cuts to Social Security: Media Don’t Notice
"There are few areas where the corruption of the national media is more apparent than in its treatment of Social Security. Most of the elite media have made it clear in both their opinion and news pages that they want to see benefits cut."

Meet the CEO Who Cut Worker Pay in Half While Pulling in $21 Million Last Year | Alternet

Meet the CEO Who Cut Worker Pay in Half While Pulling in $21 Million Last Year | Alternet
"CEOs these days aren’t just slashing worker jobs to add on to their own rewards. They’re slashing worker pay as well."

Average Income For The Bottom 90 Percent Of Americans Grew Just $59 In 40 Years

Average Income For The Bottom 90 Percent Of Americans Grew Just $59 In 40 Years: The top 90 percent of Americans have experienced rapid income growth over the last 40 years, but the bottom 90 percent haven’t been so lucky. In fact, average income rose just $59 from 1966 to 2011 for the bottom 90 percent once those incomes were adjusted for inflation. That’s according to a new study of [...]/p

Low-Income Tennesseans Resort To ‘Health Care Lottery’ For Coverage

Low-Income Tennesseans Resort To ‘Health Care Lottery’ For Coverage: Twice a year, Tennessee holds a “health care lottery” that gives some hope to the uninsured residents in the state who can’t afford health coverage. Tennesseans who meet certain requirements — in addition to falling below a certain income threshold, they must be elderly, blind, disabled, or a caretaker of a child who qualifies for [...]/p

Hidden Victim of Austerity: State Universities That Educate Our Children | Alternet

Hidden Victim of Austerity: State Universities That Educate Our Children | Alternet
"Foolish policies are speeding America’s decline and placing terrible burdens on the next generation."

Fun Facts About Rich People: Walmart Heirs Own More Wealth Than Bottom 40% of Americans; the Wealthy Give Less to Charity Than the Poor | Alternet

Fun Facts About Rich People: Walmart Heirs Own More Wealth Than Bottom 40% of Americans; the Wealthy Give Less to Charity Than the Poor | Alternet
"And let's not forget that their fortune was originally made by accelerating the American worker's race to the bottom. If you haven't watched it in a while, Robert Greenwald's "The High Cost of Low Prices" will remind you of just what a crock the entire political deabte in Washington DC really is"

Five Ugly Extremes of Inequality in America-- The Contrasts Will Drop Your Chin to the Floor | Alternet

Five Ugly Extremes of Inequality in America-- The Contrasts Will Drop Your Chin to the Floor | Alternet
"The first step is to learn the facts, and then to get angry and to ask ourselves, as progressives and caring human beings, what we can do about the relentless transfer of wealth to a small group of well-positioned Americans."

How to Defeat Useless Rich Moochers | Alternet

How to Defeat Useless Rich Moochers | Alternet
"Taming wealthy, unproductive "moochers" will require a populist campaign to stop them. Here's how we can do it."

Government Job Losses Still Plaguing Economic Recovery As More Furloughs, Cuts Loom

Government Job Losses Still Plaguing Economic Recovery As More Furloughs, Cuts Loom: For all the talk among conservatives about the “bloated” size of government, public sector job losses have plagued America’s economic recovery from the Great Recession. And with the automatic budget cuts that took effect on March 1 beginning to take effect, those losses are only going to make efforts to fully escape the throes of [...]/p

Financial Firms Double Lobbying Efforts Against Proposals To Curb Risky Trading

Financial Firms Double Lobbying Efforts Against Proposals To Curb Risky Trading: Financial firms that specialize in risky high-speed trading are boosting their lobbying efforts against proposals to rein in the practice, a Wall Street Journal analysis of lobbying records found. Three Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would institute a small tax, known as a financial transactions tax, on high-frequency trades, which reap major profits for firms [...]/p

Cyprus Fallout: Is Your Money Safer in a Mattress? | Alternet

Cyprus Fallout: Is Your Money Safer in a Mattress? | Alternet
"As long as banking activities are allowed to run against the public good, deposits will always be at risk."

Seattle boom an inconvenient truth for Republicans | Local News | The Seattle Times

Seattle boom an inconvenient truth for Republicans | Local News | The Seattle Times
"GOP leaders confessed that their mantra that business is stifled by high taxes and big government is so confounded by the jobs boom in high-tax, big-government Seattle that it’s only prudent they now re-examine those beliefs."

Pro-Democracy Movement Rises Against 'Disaster Capitalism' in Detroit | Common Dreams

Pro-Democracy Movement Rises Against 'Disaster Capitalism' in Detroit | Common Dreams
"pro-democracy activists in Detroit have no intention of rolling over and playing dead for Kevyn Orr, the city's new 'emergency manager' appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who will begin his contract to run the city as a one-person government on Monday.
Called a "bloodless coup" by some, the appointment of an 'emergency financial manager' (EFM) will allow Orr to take full control over the city's resources now that the city council and school board have been stripped of their governing powers."

Austerity Is An Utter Failure

Alexander Reed Kelly: Truthdigger of the Week: Tomas Young - Truthdigger of the Week - Truthdig

Alexander Reed Kelly: Truthdigger of the Week: Tomas Young - Truthdigger of the Week - Truthdig
"For struggling for as long as he has, for publicly shaming a class of people who make a holiday of the deaths and suffering of the powerless, and for forcing us again to consider the terrible consequences of America’s unnecessary, ongoing and disgraceful wars, we honor Tomas Young as our Truthdigger of the Week."

Congress Has a Constitutional Duty to Preserve and Promote the Post Office | The Nation

Congress Has a Constitutional Duty to Preserve and Promote the Post Office | The Nation
"No member of Congress who takes seriously their oath sworn to uphold the Constitution can neglect the duty to preserve the United States Postal Service."

Thinking for Ourselves: On Disaster Capitalism in Detroit | Common Dreams

Thinking for Ourselves: On Disaster Capitalism in Detroit | Common Dreams
"The appointment of Kevyn Orr as the Emergency Manager of Detroit is a sad day for democracy. There is a growing understanding that the financial crisis justifying this move was manufactured by the withholding of state funds, the drive to protect the $474 millions paid to banks, and the desire to wrest control of the city away from its people and put it into the hands of the corporate elite."

Aggressively targeting a full recovery is the least risky thing you can do: Back to Work Budget edition | Economic Policy Institute

Aggressively targeting a full recovery is the least risky thing you can do: Back to Work Budget edition | Economic Policy Institute
"research indicates that for the U.S., the rates of return on public investment are almost certainly above those for private investment."

JP Morgan Wins ‘Crisis Management’ Award For London Whale Scandal That Cost It $6 Billion

JP Morgan Wins ‘Crisis Management’ Award For London Whale Scandal That Cost It $6 Billion: JP Morgan Chase accepted a “crisis management” award at an event Thursday night that rewarded the bank for the way it handled the London Whale trading crisis that cost the bank at least $6 billion. The trade set the financial world ablaze when the firm’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, announced it, considering JP Morgan had [...]/p

How Noam Chomsky Is Discussed | Common Dreams

How Noam Chomsky Is Discussed | Common Dreams
"The book on which I'm currently working explores how establishment media systems restrict the range of acceptable debate in US political discourse, and I'm using Chomsky's treatment by (and ultimate exclusion from) establishment US media outlets as a window for understanding how that works."

The ABCs Of Economic Inequality

What It Means To Be A Progressive: A Manifesto

What It Means To Be A Progressive: A Manifesto: People often ask what, exactly, do progressives believe?  Over the past few years, we’ve worked with a great group called the American Values Project, representing a cross section of leaders from think tanks, philanthropic organizations, and environmental, labor, youth, civil rights, and other progressive groups, to try to distill progressive beliefs and values into clear language in one [...]/p

Outrageous -- David Cay Johnston Explains How Big Corporations Withhold Your Taxes and Then Pocket Them | Alternet

Outrageous -- David Cay Johnston Explains How Big Corporations Withhold Your Taxes and Then Pocket Them | Alternet
"Nobody has done more to expose the infinite ways in which the American economy is rigged to benefit those at the top than Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston. His rigorously researched books –Perfectly Legal, Free Lunch and now his latest, The Fine Print, are not recommended for people with egalitarian views and high blood pressure – they're every bit as maddening to contemplate as they are informative."

Beware the New Corporate Tax-Cut Scam: LIFT Is a Big Lie

Beware the New Corporate Tax-Cut Scam: LIFT Is a Big Lie
"First it was Fix the Debt, with tax-dodging corporations “leading the charge for massive new corporate tax cuts paid for with cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.” Now there’s a new “LIFT America coalition,” pushing for massive, massive corporate tax cuts, without bothering about cutting benefits. LIFT stands for “Let’s Invest for Tomorrow,” but as Citizens For Tax Justice (CTJ) points out, it really ought to be called LIE, for “Let’s Invest Elsewhere"."

What It Costs the Worst Bank to Be Truly Evil | Alternet

What It Costs the Worst Bank to Be Truly Evil | Alternet
"$16 billion.

That's how much JPMorgan Chase has paid in fines, settlements and other litigation expenses in the last four years alone."

Say No to the Chained CPI

Americans Want a 'Back-to-Work' Alternative to Ryan's Austerity Scheme | Common Dreams

Americans Want a 'Back-to-Work' Alternative to Ryan's Austerity Scheme | Common Dreams
"The American people want a “Back to Work” budget. The polling is clear and unequivocal in this regard. Gallup found that 92 percent of Democrats back federal spending to create infrastructure jobs, but so, too, do 71 percent of independents and 53 percent of Republicans. Federal spending to create one million new jobs has the support of 93 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Republicans and 52 percent of Republicans."

Does Irrationality Doom America? | Alternet

Does Irrationality Doom America? | Alternet
"The United States is on the verge of committing suicide. Slow suicide, perhaps, which may take decades to fully play out, but suicide nonetheless. The proximate event is the sequester - deep across-the-board cuts to military and discretionary domestic spending, originally conceived as a Sword of Damocles, but which Tea Party-dominated Republicans now see as just the perfect budget axe. And that's just one of several successive and mostly recurring crisis points at which Republicans are obstinantly demanding deep budget cuts that will inevitably slow, if not cripple the already weak economy - as well as debilitating or destroying vital government functions in the long run."

A Crash Course in Economics

Congress Is Strong-Arming The Postal Service Into Bankruptcy Even Faster

Congress Is Strong-Arming The Postal Service Into Bankruptcy Even Faster: On Thursday, Congress voted against allowing the U.S. Postal Service to cut its delivery down to five days a week, forcing the organization to keep delivering mail on Saturdays. This will drive the USPS into looming bankruptcy — already foisted upon the USPS by Congress itself — even faster. In 2006, Congress passed the Postal [...]/p

Economists Disagree With Paul Ryan’s Claim That ‘Debt Is Crushing Our Economy’

Economists Disagree With Paul Ryan’s Claim That ‘Debt Is Crushing Our Economy’: Over the past three years, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) has repeatedly introduced budget resolutions that contain draconian spending cuts in an effort to stave off the debt crisis he says is right around the corner if it isn’t addressed immediately. Ryan’s plans, all three of which have passed the House of Representatives, [...]/p

Glenn Greenwald: Meet the Journalist Rotting in Prison for Crossing the FBI | Alternet

Glenn Greenwald: Meet the Journalist Rotting in Prison for Crossing the FBI | Alternet
"Prosecutorial abuse is becoming the preeminent weapon used by the US government to destroy online activism and journalism."

America's Problem: Private Sector Parasites | Alternet

America's Problem: Private Sector Parasites | Alternet
"You don’t have to be a Tea Party conservative to believe that the economy is threatened when there are too many “takers” and not enough “makers.” The “takers” who threaten the dynamism and fairness of industrial capitalism the most in the 21st century are not the welfare-dependent poor — the villains of Tea Party propaganda — but the rent-extracting, unproductive rich."

The Myth Of ‘Dependency’: Almost All Households On Food Stamps Will Be Employed Within A Year

The Myth Of ‘Dependency’: Almost All Households On Food Stamps Will Be Employed Within A Year: One of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) favorite ways of defending the House Republicans’ budget is to claim the social safety net represents a moral threat to Americans’ character, as well as a fiscal threat to their country’s budget. He’s incessantly warned of luring “able-bodied people into lives of dependency and complacency” and [...]/p

PERRspectives: Boehner, Ryan Undermine GOP's Next Debt Ceiling Extortion

PERRspectives: Boehner, Ryan Undermine GOP's Next Debt Ceiling Extortion
"Yet, House Republicans are preparing to do it all again. Even though, they tell us, there's no debt crisis now."

It's time for our media to offer us - and the people of Iraq - an apology

How Student Loans Are Keeping You Out Of The Middle Class | Alternet

How Student Loans Are Keeping You Out Of The Middle Class | Alternet
"The problems that have led to today’s middle-class crisis for borrowers aren't unknown. Cuts to public funding for higher education have gradually shifted the costs of a college education on to individual students. With scholarship and grant funding limited, students have turned to loans. Escalating tuition combined withstagnating middle-class incomes have made it harder for borrowers to meet their obligations."

The Real Reason Scout Prouty Leaked the Famous Romney "47%" Video -- It Was Over Romney Profiting from Slave Labor | Alternet

The Real Reason Scout Prouty Leaked the Famous Romney "47%" Video -- It Was Over Romney Profiting from Slave Labor | Alternet
"Scott Prouty was appalled at how Romney was callous to slave labor ... too bad we didn't have an national conversation about that."

Tomas Young and the End of the Body of War | Common Dreams

Tomas Young and the End of the Body of War | Common Dreams
"Tomas Young was in the fifth day of his first deployment to Iraq when he was struck by a sniper’s bullet in Baghdad’s Sadr City. The single bullet paralyzed him from the chest down, and changed his life forever. Now, nine years later, at the age of 33, Tomas has decided to end his life. He announced recently that he will soon stop his nourishment, which comes in the form of liquid through a feeding tube."

Exclusive: Dying Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young Explains Decision to End His Life

Boehner Pledges To Keep Country In Perpetual Crisis: Intends To Take Debt Ceiling Hostage emAgain/em

Boehner Pledges To Keep Country In Perpetual Crisis: Intends To Take Debt Ceiling Hostage emAgain/em: Right after the House of Representatives approved a Senate bill to avert a government shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) set the stage for another down-to-the-wire crisis that will threaten the nation’s economic growth. At his weekly press conference, Boehner indicated that Republicans would again demand spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s debt [...]/p

Thom Hartmann: How the Media Fueled the War in Iraq

Thom Hartmann: How the Media Fueled the War in Iraq
"The media failed us leading up to the Iraq War, and its cost hundreds of thousands of human beings their lives and the United States has lost both trillions of dollars and our standing in the world as a moral force.

It's time for our media to offer us – and the people of Iraq – an apology. And make sure this sort of thing never happens again."

Starbucks CEO Comes Out In Favor Of A Minimum Wage Increase

Starbucks CEO Comes Out In Favor Of A Minimum Wage Increase: Howard Schultz, the Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks, has added another pro-worker notch to his belt: support for increasing the minimum wage. Schultz already has a relatively good reputation on workers’ issues; his company offers health care to all of its employees, and doesn’t mind spending more on health care than on coffee. Starbucks also [...]/p

The 21st-Century Version of Slavery Is Widespread In America | Alternet

The 21st-Century Version of Slavery Is Widespread In America | Alternet
"A 21st-century version of slavery—captive labor—is rampant at the bottom of the U.S. economy, and Washington politicians and business lobbies want to keep it that way, or even expand it as part of the immigration reform talks now in Congress."

House GOP Approves Budget That Cuts Taxes For Millionaires, Slashes The Social Safety Net

House GOP Approves Budget That Cuts Taxes For Millionaires, Slashes The Social Safety Net: The House of Representatives this afternoon approved the Republican budget plan authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) by a vote of 221-207, with 197 Democrats and 10 Republicans voting against it. Three Democrats and one Republican did not vote. For the third consecutive year, the House GOP has approved a budget that ends the traditional [...]/p

Elizabeth Warren Asks: Why Isn't The Minimum Wage $22/Hour?

Elizabeth Warren Asks: Why Isn't The Minimum Wage $22/Hour?
"What would the US Senate be without Elizabeth Warren? She's a national treasure."

The Grand Bargain Could be Grand Sellout | Common Dreams

The Grand Bargain Could be Grand Sellout | Common Dreams
"We need a budget that keeps the promises we have made to our seniors, veterans and the most vulnerable by protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits."

Inequality Is Hurting Us All | Common Dreams

Inequality Is Hurting Us All | Common Dreams
"Consider this: If the levels of greater income equality of 1968 still prevailed today, that same poorest fifth of Marylanders would be earning twice what they take home now. Imagine the differences. They’d be able to purchase more goods and services, which would generate more jobs and income throughout the state."

Report: State Education Cuts Causing 'Surge' in University Tuition Prices | Common Dreams

Report: State Education Cuts Causing 'Surge' in University Tuition Prices | Common Dreams
"The gross slashing of funds for public universities has caused a "surge" in tuition prices, disproportionately impacting low-income students says a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)."

FBI Investigated Occupy Movement as 'Domestic Terrorists, Criminals' | Common Dreams

FBI Investigated Occupy Movement as 'Domestic Terrorists, Criminals' | Common Dreams
"The FBI organized a nationwide law enforcement investigation and monitoring of the Occupy Wall Street movement beginning in August of 2011."

Statutes of Limitations Are Expiring on Some Bush Crimes | The Nation

Statutes of Limitations Are Expiring on Some Bush Crimes | The Nation
"Statutes of limitations applicable to possible crimes committed by former President George W. Bush and his top aides, with respect to wiretapping of Americans without court approval and to fraud in launching and continuing the Iraq War, may expire in early 2014, less than a year from now."

Republican Twilight Zone

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Utah Schoolchildren Asked To Celebrate Fossil Fuels And Mining On Earth Day

Utah Schoolchildren Asked To Celebrate Fossil Fuels And Mining On Earth Day: Earth Day is April 22, and today is the last day children in Utah can send in their submissions for the state-sponsored Earth Day poster contest lauding fossil fuel production. This year’s theme is “Where Would WE Be Without Oil, Gas & Mining?” Last year’s theme was “How Do YOU Use Oil, Gas, and Mining?” [...]/p

Access to Health Care, Basic Necessities a Matter of Life or Debt

Access to Health Care, Basic Necessities a Matter of Life or Debt
"The US has used a market-based health system for so long that most people probably feel that it is normal, but in truth, the US health system is an aberration. Most industrialized nations have publicly-funded universal health care systems paid for through taxes that cover virtually 100 percent of necessary care. Their systems have been in existence for many decades, and while no system is perfect, other countries spend half what the United States  does per person on health care, cover everyone and have better health outcomes."

Why Progressives Need To Talk About Economic Mobility If They Want To Fix Inequality

Why Progressives Need To Talk About Economic Mobility If They Want To Fix Inequality: The conservative trickle-down approach to the economy assumes that maximizing rewards for those at the top is the path to both growth and prosperity for the society as a whole.  If inequality rises, that does not matter, runs the conservative argument, because absolute levels of prosperity will rise for everyone even if the top gains [...]/p

One Day After RNC Calls For Minority Outreach, Arkansas GOP Passes Bill To Suppress Minority Vote

One Day After RNC Calls For Minority Outreach, Arkansas GOP Passes Bill To Suppress Minority Vote: Monday morning, the Republican National Committee released a lengthy “autopsy” of their 2012 electoral loss, much of which was devoted to the GOP’s weak standing among people of color. “It is imperative that the RNC changes how it engages with Hispanic communities to welcome in new members of our Party” the autopsy proclaims, and “the [...]/p

Faith Leaders Across America Protest Budget Cuts To Programs That Help The Poor

Faith Leaders Across America Protest Budget Cuts To Programs That Help The Poor: A collection of faith groups will today hold protest actions across the country calling on Congress to pass a budget that invests in programs to help low-income Americans instead of giving tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations. The coalition will hold 21 events in 13 states, according to a release from Faith in Public [...]/p

US Media Sold Iraq War

Scahill Calls for Accountability on Our Invasion of Iraq

Scahill Calls for Accountability on Our Invasion of Iraq
"On the ten year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, there has been an awful lot of naval gazing by our media, sadly with most of it being revisionist history on what happened during the run up to that invasion and occupation, with a lot of glossing over just how complicit the media was in helping the neocons beat the war drums."

How A Path To Citizenship For Undocumented Immigrants Would Boost The American Economy

How A Path To Citizenship For Undocumented Immigrants Would Boost The American Economy: As Congress continues to piece together comprehensive immigration reform legislation, a new study from the Center for American Progress asserts that legal status and a path to citizenship for America’s 11 million undocumented immigrants would provide substantial boosts to the nation’s economy in the immediate future. The study from Robert Lynch and Patrick Oakford examined [...]/p

The Plague of Wall Street Banking » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

The Plague of Wall Street Banking » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
"The economic news this week highlights what happens when governments are unable to confront the root cause of the financial collapse – the risky speculation and securities fraud of the big banks.  What happens? They blame the people, cut their benefits, tax their savings and demand they work harder for less money."

Gawker Publishes George W. Bush's E-mail Address So We Can Wish Him a "Happy Iraq War Day" | Alternet

Gawker Publishes George W. Bush's E-mail Address So We Can Wish Him a "Happy Iraq War Day" | Alternet
"On Tuesday, Gawker published George W. Bush's private email address and encouraged readers to "wish George W. Bush a Happy Iraq War Day." They stated that readers should email him and "let him know that you're thinking of him today"."

The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Jamie Dimon, Wall Street’s Golden Boy | Alternet

The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Jamie Dimon, Wall Street’s Golden Boy | Alternet
"Now the truth is out, and Wall Street’s golden boy, Jamie Dimon, has fallen to earth with a thud."

In The United Kingdom, Austerity Made It Harder To Reduce The Deficit

In The United Kingdom, Austerity Made It Harder To Reduce The Deficit: The United Kingdom’s breathless pursuit of austerity under Prime Minister David Cameron was aimed sparking economic growth and reducing deficits. Three years after the conservative government began its deficit reduction efforts, though, it has failed to do both. Britain is now on the brink of its third recession in four years and its economy is [...]/p

'Simply Unacceptable': US Gets D for Infrastructure | Common Dreams

'Simply Unacceptable': US Gets D for Infrastructure | Common Dreams
"Curious how your state scored?  The report includes an interactive map to see what grade each state received across the 16 categories."

CEOs To Begin Lobbying Campaign For Corporate Tax Cuts, Reforms To Make It Easier To Offshore Profits

CEOs To Begin Lobbying Campaign For Corporate Tax Cuts, Reforms To Make It Easier To Offshore Profits: A top lobbying group for major chief executives is set to begin a campaign calling on Congress to achieve corporate tax reform that lowers tax rates, shields offshore profits from taxation, and does not raise any new revenue. Business Roundtable, a collection of CEOs from top business groups, will spend at least hundreds of thousands [...]/p

Truthdig - The Last Letter

Truthdig - The Last Letter
"I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with painkillers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire."

The US Invasion of Iraq Was a Crime and Its Perpetrators Are Murderers | Common Dreams

The US Invasion of Iraq Was a Crime and Its Perpetrators Are Murderers | Common Dreams
"On the tenth anniversary of the invasion, the only truly serious question about the war is whether President George W. Bush and those who participated in the decision to invade Iraq did anything illegal or unconstitutional or criminal."

The Lies: No Doubt, No Question, Mountain of Evidence, We Know He Has Them, No Doubt | Common Dreams

The Lies: No Doubt, No Question, Mountain of Evidence, We Know He Has Them, No Doubt | Common Dreams
"Marking ten years of the unprecedented, ongoing debacle that was the Iraq War, acompilation by William Pitt of the flood of lies, told over and over, by an Adminstration that has yet to receive its just rewards. Chilling."

Matt Taibbi Explains JP Morgan Chase’s Crime Spree

Matt Taibbi Explains JP Morgan Chase’s Crime Spree
"Matt Taibbi explains the myth of JP Morgan Chase as the “one good bank”, why too big to fail is the problem, why Washington is finally getting fed up with Wall Street, how Wall Street miscalculated the 2012 election, how JP Morgan Chase hides losses and commits regular acts of financial fraud and is genuine Wall Street reform possible now?"

House Democratic budget would also boost employment | Economic Policy Institute

House Democratic budget would also boost employment | Economic Policy Institute
"The Van Hollen budget would be a net positive for the labor market over the next two years, relative to current budget policy, current law, or the Ryan budget."

16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes -- While Also Cutting Jobs! | Alternet

16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes -- While Also Cutting Jobs! | Alternet
"Corporations have simply stopped paying their taxes, perhaps using the 2008 recession as an excuse to plead hardship, but then never restoring their tax obligations when business got better. The facts are indisputable. For over 20 years, from 1987 to 2008, corporations paid an average of 22.5% in federal taxes. Since the recession, this has  dropped to 10% -- even though their profits have doubled in less than ten years."

INFOGRAPHIC: House Republicans, Senate Democrats Offer Competing Visions For The Federal Budget

INFOGRAPHIC: House Republicans, Senate Democrats Offer Competing Visions For The Federal Budget: Last year, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his radical House budget rode a wave of conservative popularity all the way to a spot on the Republican Party’s presidential ticket. Six months and one resounding electoral defeat later, Ryan’s popularity has collapsed and even his Republican allies are disavowing his ‘cut first, ask questions later’ approach [...]/p

As Austerity Looms, A Push for Progressive Budget that 'Works' | Common Dreams

As Austerity Looms, A Push for Progressive Budget that 'Works' | Common Dreams
"There are two budgets up for a vote in the US House of Representatives this week."

The Shame of America’s Gulag | Common Dreams

The Shame of America’s Gulag | Common Dreams
"As long as profit remains an incentive to incarcerate human beings and our corporate state abounds in surplus, redundant labor, there is little chance that the prison system will be reformed. It is making our corporate overlords wealthy. Our prisons serve the engine of corporate capitalism, transferring state money to private corporations. These corporations will continue to stymie rational prison reform because the system, however inhumane and unjust, feeds corporate bank accounts. At its bottom the problem is not race—although race plays a huge part in incarceration rates—nor is it finally poverty; it is the predatory nature of corporate capitalism itself. And until we slay the beast of corporate capitalism, until we wrest power back from corporations, until we build social institutions and a system of governance designed not to profit the few but foster the common good, our prison industry and the horror it perpetuates will only expand."

Two-Thirds Of House GOP’s Budget Cuts Come From Programs For Low-Income Americans

Two-Thirds Of House GOP’s Budget Cuts Come From Programs For Low-Income Americans: The House Republican budget’s vast spending cuts are overwhelmingly aimed at low-income Americans, so much so that nearly two-thirds of its budget cuts would come from poverty programs that aid the neediest people in the nation, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), the plan’s author, claims [...]/p

Republican National Committee Plan: More Money In Politics, More Influence For Rich People

Republican National Committee Plan: More Money In Politics, More Influence For Rich People: The Republican National Committee’s investigation into its 2012 electoral defeat, dubbed their “Growth & Opportunity Project,” aims to provide a blueprint for how to “grow the Party and improve Republican campaigns.” Among their top proposals for how the GOP can win: dismantling the nation’s already weak campaign finance laws to allow rich people even more [...]/p

Whistleblowers May Save Democracy

PERRspectives: 10 Signs Paul Ryan is Dropping Acid

PERRspectives: 10 Signs Paul Ryan is Dropping Acid

1. Two Million Jobs Lost in 2014 Alone
2. $4.4 Trillion Tax Cut, Mostly for the Wealthy
3. Zero Tax Breaks Ended
4. Tax Hikes for the Middle Class
5. Medicare Rationing Boosts Annual Premiums for Seniors by $2,200 in 2030
6. 38 Million More Uninsured
7. Slashing Medicare and Medicaid Benefits, But Keeping the Tax Revenue
8. Non-Defense Discretionary Spending at Lowest Level in Decades
9. Two Trillion Dollar Flip-Flop on Defense Spending
10. Cutting Historically Small Federal Workforce by 10 Percent 

House GOP Budget Would Give Millionaires A $200,000 Tax Cut

House GOP Budget Would Give Millionaires A $200,000 Tax Cut: The latest House Republican budget would grant taxpayers with incomes above $1 million at least $200,000 in tax cuts even if the GOP closes tax loopholes to help pay for the plan, according to an analysis from Citizens for Tax Justice. The GOP plan, authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), aims to reduce [...]/p

Stop Freaking Out About the Debt! 5 Reasons There Is No Debt Crisis | Alternet

Stop Freaking Out About the Debt! 5 Reasons There Is No Debt Crisis | Alternet
"In conclusion: the “debt crisis” is a mere phantom — only one of many possible futures, and far from a certainty. The interest America is paying on its debt  is currently lowerthan it was in the 1990s, despite a lower debt-to-GDP ratio then. When inflation is factored in, current real interest rates on our debt  are negative. Financial markets are willing to pay us to borrow from them.

Meanwhile, every dollar we cut — nay, every dollar we fail to borrow — is a dollar that isn’t going to shore up the safety net, to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, or to support struggling Americans while their livelihoods remain on the line. That we’re passing on this opportunity to repair our country, much less even considering the monstrosity that is the Ryan budget, really is absurd."

Social Security for the Next Generation? If You're Under 40, You Should Be in the Streets | Common Dreams

Social Security for the Next Generation? If You're Under 40, You Should Be in the Streets | Common Dreams
"The secret sauce of my generation was that when I was young, prosperity was widely shared, ladders were plentiful, and tax rates were progressive. If gazillionaires pay their fair share, and we invest adequately in the young, there's no reason why Generations Y and Z can't enjoy the same economic tailwind that my generation did.

That, however, will not just happen. It requires a politics -- and not the politics of young versus old, much less the politics of austerity."