Dubya ventures to the Midwest to hype the jobless recovery in Kansas City, site of 10,000 recent telecom layoffs. Perhaps he’d do better to sell his tax writeoff plan for the wealthy to a swing state it’s actually helped…that is, if he can find one. (In almost completely unrelated news, Doglover Dubya, via High Industrial.)
Category: Political Economy
Forgotten Loot(ers).
Warriors, come out and play…With help from Columbia’s own KJ, David Greenberg attempts to explain the lack of NYC looters during the blackout, particularly as compared to the events of 1977. Also, in blackout news, the Dems (Edwards excepted) point the finger at Dubya’s lousy energy and infrastructure policies. Works for me.
Cross your Fingers.
Despite the 2.6 million jobs lost during his tenure, Dubya declares his tax cut was the “absolute right course of action” for restoring the economy. I guess we’ll see…expect the Bushies to latch on to every moderately decent economic indicator in the next eighteen months as being directly related to the Dubya tax debacle. By the way, do you get the sense Karl told Dubya to use the phrase “tough decision”?
Read My Lips.
With New Hampshire continuing to heat up, Dean and Kerry spar over tax cut repeal. It’s at least comforting to see that the front-running Dems know the Dubya tax giveaway has to go.
The Gray Davis Blues.
Via my friend Ben, try your hand at balancing a state budget…if you can.
War Games.
“He should turn it in to his professor, get his grade — and then they both should burn it.” A GMU grad student finds his infrastructure research may be groundbreaking…and dangerous.
Summoning the Spirit of Enron.
After a week of considerable coverage for Dean (due to his second-quarter funding success), John Edwards tries to get back in the game by unveiling his corporate accountability plan. As usual, I think Edwards is playing this smart. The issue shores up his Populist creds while drawing attention to an area where Dubya is dismal. And Edwards still holds a trump card, in that he is the only top-tier candidate with an answer to the Dem’s Southern problem. It’d be nice to see Edwards, Dean, and Kerry go head-to-head-to-head in a real debate, but first the field still needs to be culled, of course.
Pac-Man, Lay off the Dots.
An Albany congressman proposes a “fat tax” on junk food, video games, and TV commercials to combat NY’s growing obesity rate. Thinking outside the box, I suppose, but where would this end? There are very few items in American life these days that don’t contribute to obesity, so it seems a bit harsh to pin the blame on Grand Theft Auto.
Willful Disbelief.
Salon examines the reasons for Dubya’s continued public support despite the WMD shenanigans. “Just imagine how much shock and complaining there would be if we learned that ‘American Idol’ had been rigged. But Bush and his comrades can use deceptive means to launch a war and to pass trillion-dollar tax cuts that bust the bank — and then skate away.” In related news, the New Republic offers a concise overview of the story to date.
The First Estate.
Ever beholden to their wealthy masters, the House GOP try once again to permanently eliminate the estate tax. Thankfully, this probably won’t pass the Senate, but you’d think someone on the Republican side of the House would remember the days of true conservatism and start thinking about balancing the budget, rather than granting further handouts to the filthy rich. A long shot, I know, particularly when you take a gander at the GOP economic team these days. (Ah, fun with Photoshop.)