Have them go out of business.

From Calculated Risk yesterday, we have this chart:

I leave it up to others to conclude whether that is good or bad.

Many, including "progressive" bloggers, insisted that it was acceptable for Obama to remove contraceptive funding from the stimulus bill, particularly if it could get GOP votes. Besides the fact that such a move rendered zero GOP votes, appeasing the GOP is equivalent to begging to be shot in the head, and the selling out of poor women and girls has misogynistic overtones to it, the removal of this funding also took aim at the economy (Read the whole article).

The Swamp's Mark Silva has a piece online -- complete with a picture of Joe Biden at President Obama's elbow carrying a caption mocking the President's introduction of Biden -- describing the first steps the new President is taking in an effort to undo the damage of the last eight years to our economy. Go read that first. I'll wait.

Don't miss the way Silva undermines the unions in the opening graf, either.

President Barack Obama, creating a "Task Force on the Middle Class'' today, also signed executive orders aimed at strengthening labor unions - this on a day when the nation's Gross Domestic Product suffered its worst slide in three decades.

Oh, hai. You're back early. The M$M, the Corporate Media, the shills for big money, the cheap-labor conservatives' mouthpieces, will harp on this meme -- unions bad, corporations good -- until the world looks level. They're lying. You'll need to remember that.

No doubt that's one of the more spinnable statements of the young administration. But.
What if that's really what the men mean? What if this administration really sees organized labor as part of the solution?
That's such a huge turnaround, right there on its face, from the Reaganomics BS we've been force-fed since 1980 -- 28 years of slops -- that I'm nearly in tears with joy.
Meanwhile, I'm making a statement here of my own and backing it up with some fair use quotes -- from Silva and other sources, below the fold.

Go read his editorial, The Union Way Up. Fifty years ago, the nation still thought Unions (or organized labor) were good for the economy, good for the nation, good for the middle class, good for the working man and his family.
Excerpt from Reich:

The way to get the economy back on track is to boost the purchasing power of the middle class. One major way to do this is to expand the percentage of working Americans in unions.

Tax rebates won't work because they don't permanently raise wages. Most families used the rebate last year to pay off debt -- not a bad thing, but it doesn't keep the virtuous circle running.

And your state is sure to be suffering:

“Medicaid rolls are surging, by unprecedented rates in some states, as the recession tightens its grip on the economy and Americans lose their employer-sponsored health coverage along with their jobs.” In many states, Medicaid rolls grew by 5 to 10 percent in the last year, often double the growth the previous year. Congress is likely to extend Medicaid aid to states in the upcoming stimulus package.

And, as early as March, Obama will be moving forward on health care reform, according to the Politico:

The move signals Obama’s intent to keep one of the most ambitious and politically crucial campaign promises at the top of his agenda. On the campaign trail, Obama pledged to provide universal health care by the end of his first term, but the severity of the economic downturn has raised doubts about how quickly he can deliver on that promise. Obama and his point person on health care, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, have staffed up like they plan to push forward with it, lining up a roster of communications and policy strategists to assist in the effort.

I wrote last week on a Tom Daschle statement that could be taken as a signal of which way Obama wants him to go:  Read more…

American families have long felt squeezed, if not choked, by housing expenses (emphasis mine):

Specifically, between 1996 and 2006, all the major categories of homeowner expenses increased faster than incomes. Mortgage payments increased 46 percent, utilities 43 percent, property taxes 66 percent, and property insurance 83 percent. By contrast, homeowner incomes increased by 36.3 percent. Rental costs also increased faster than incomes. Rents increased by 51 percent between 1996 and 2006, while renter incomes increased only 31.4 percent over the same period.

Last May, Kevin Phillips wrote an article for Harper's that I completely missed: The Numbers Racket.

Today, the AP reported (via the NYT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage were either at least a month behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September as the source of housing market pressure shifted to the crumbling U.S. economy.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday the percentage of loans at least a month overdue or in foreclosure was up from 9.2 percent in the April-June quarter, and up from 7.3 percent a year earlier.

Dr. James Galbraith says, “In principle, economic growth can come from household consumption, business investment, government spending, or exports. This is a tautology, indisputable and known to everyone who has ever opened a textbook...”

Well, yeah. Note the “in principle,” though. Snort. What about in practice? Practically speaking, economic growth can also come from stealing. But be that as it may…I’m making fun because I am in disagreement with Dr. Galbraith, Dr. Krugman, and a bunch of other smart people regarding the fiscal stimulus and I am too insecure to take them head on. So I will occasionally be snide. It’s a weakness but I accept this flaw in my character.

But less about me and more about why I am confused…

UPDATE: Events overtook this post so the note of optimism no longer holds. I am still publishing it because the points about failed leadership, failed lawmaking strategies and the need to not be frightened into relinquishing our values all still hold. I have also posted a table with the list of yes voters, their home pages and a quick search link for their challengers next month. Throw all of 'em out.

No Associated Press content was harmed in the writing of this post

No Associated Press content was harmed in the writing of this post

Cross-posted from The Global Sociology Blog

It is detrimental, says Thilo Thielke in Der Spiegel, because it creates unfairness and dependency in many different ways. First, using the case of Kenya, Thielke invokes a classical concept of formal organizational behavior: self-perpetuation.

"The roads are in horrid disrepair, and they'll stay that way for a while. As a result, it would take days or even weeks to get the corn from the west to the northern parts of the country. But why would they need it there anyway? There's a shortage in the north because the World Food Program is usually there to hand out food for free. The UN's employees are paid to fight hunger, and that's why they usually write reports in which they dramatically portray the situation in Africa and which they usually end with appeals demanding more donated food.

These developmental aid workers, whose reports largely shape our image of Africa, behave this way to a certain extent out of an instinct for self-preservation that they believe the Africans don't have. Without help, they say, all the Africans will starve. And, indeed, without aid, all the helpers would also be out of a job."

A first problem then is that the persistent handing out of free food (largely surplus from Western countries) eliminates any incentives to be locally self-sufficient. And there is also the idea that the WFP needs people to be hungry in order to justify its existence and work (and some well-paying jobs for UN consultants). Even if some adventurous local entrepreneur tried to start local food production in an area with a numerous malnourished or under-nourished population, the results would likely be disastrous:  Read more…

Well, you can't say I don't know when to Be There. What an entertaining week it's been for me, here in the old hometown. CD got her Chitown on, and it's just got my brains a-stirrin. Heh, there haven't been any riots between supporters of the two hometown candidates now that it's all over (nevermind that 'convention' thingee) and for the most part, people seem genial and happy that One of Ours is going to go all the way. Seriously- outside of these evil, hateful wars we have in the blogosphere, Dems I spoke with this week seemed pretty happy and satisfied; some even hopeful that the "Dream Ticket" is still possible, some happy that the SB finally Q (which I guess I missed, but anyway). Heh, I kept my cards close to the vest all week; I wanted to listen and perceive. Biggest thing I noticed: even here, in the Windy City for which Da Mayor has slaughtered many enemies to economically buttress and protect, the Recession is here. That's one thing I really hate about our gummint today: you just can't trust anything they tell us about "the economy" and are often reduced to anecdotes and personal impressions. So let's reduce.

Massive post alert, Cross-posted from The Global Sociology Blog, because believe it or not, there is other stuff going on in the world besides tomorrow's much anticipated coronation.

I read all these articles and reports so you don't have to.

Weeks after the food riots spread around the world, a flurry of articles have been published all over the place, taking stock of what is happening, providing analysis and critique as well as prospects on global food production and policy. So let's review.

I have already blogged extensively on the current food price crisis affecting mostly poor countries. Now, via Le Monde, we learn, unsurprisingly, that riots have exploded in parts of Africa in response to the cost of food.

L'Afrique piégée par la flambée des prix des aliments
LE MONDE | 04.04.08

©

Via the Independent,

"A deal has been agreed that will place a financial value on rainforests – paying, for the first time, for their upkeep as "utilities" that provide vital services such as rainfall generation, carbon storage and climate regulation.

While Democrats are off proving that only Republicans can use a "hold" effectively, here's what a sober, actually serious mind has to say about what's coming:

Stiglizt-
The president has not driven the United States into a recession during his almost seven years in office. Unemployment stands at a respectable 4.6 percent. Well, fine.

But the other side of the ledger groans with distress: a tax code that has become hideously biased in favor of the rich; a national debt that will probably have grown 70 percent by the time this president leaves Washington; a swelling cascade of mortgage defaults; a record near-$850 billion trade deficit; oil prices that are higher than they have ever been; and a dollar so weak that for an American to buy a cup of coffee in London or Paris—or even the Yukon—becomes a venture in high finance.

And it gets worse.

I'm reminded of that scene in Godfather III, for which I can't seem to find a YouTube, in which Michael learns that Old Yurp ain't so askeerd of his new world tough guy shit after all. I don't know jack about econ, but this seems important to me:

IHT - Politicians, regulators and financial specialists outside the United States are seeking a role in oversight of American markets, banks and rating agencies in the wake of recent problems related to subprime mortgages.

Their argument is simple: The United States is exporting financial products, but losses to investors in other countries suggest that American regulators are not properly monitoring the products or alerting investors to the risks.
"We need an international approach, and the United States needs to be part of it," said Peter Bofinger, a member of the German government's economics advisory board and a professor at the University of Würzburg.

No, really. No one.

hrough April 2006, DOD has reported about $273 billion in incremental costs for GWOT-related operations overseas--costs that would not otherwise have been incurred. DOD's reported GWOT costs and appropriated amounts differ generally because DOD's cost reporting does not capture some items such as intelligence and Army modular force transformation. Also, DOD has not yet used funding made available for multiple years, such as procurement and military construction. GAO's prior work found numerous problems with DOD's processes for recording and reporting GWOT costs, including long-standing deficiencies in DOD's financial management systems and business processes, the use of estimates instead of actual cost data, and the lack of adequate supporting documentation. As a result, neither DOD nor the Congress reliably know how much the war is costing and how appropriated funds are being used or have historical data useful in considering future funding needs.

The Times finally reports what we all know:

Americans earned a smaller average income in 2005 than in 2000, the fifth consecutive year that they had to make ends meet with less money than at the peak of the last economic expansion, new government data shows.

The average income in 2005 was $55,238, nearly 1 percent less than the $55,714 in 2000, after adjusting for inflation, analysis of new Internal Revenue Service statistical tables shows.

The combined income of all Americans in 2005 was slightly larger than it was in 2000, but because more people were dividing up the national income pie, the average remained smaller. Total adjusted gross income in 2005 was $7.43 billion, up 3.1 percent from 2000 and 5.8 percent from 2004.

Total income listed on tax returns grew every year after World War II, with a single one-year exception, until 2001, making the five-year period of lower average incomes and four years of lower total incomes a new experience for the majority of Americans born since 1945.

I love new experiences. Don't you?

Why "values voters" don't consider the ability to put food on the table and a better life for their children a "value" I will never understand.

Updated with WSJ Bush-hating goodness!

Schadenfreude is wrong, I guess, because a superior person doesn't take pleasure from mocking other people's pains. I am not a superior person. People looked askance at me when I had a financial blowout, and I felt a lot of shame and guilt for signing my name to credit lines when I suppose I didn't have to. In my defense, it's hard to say "no" to spouses who beat you and then demand another credit line to support their profligate spending habits, and when they abandon you and you're trying to pick up the pieces of your life with only a part time income, things like food seem important. But anyway, I got over it, and no one will ever enslave me with money and credit again. But it seems I'm an outlier:

  Read more…

And at 5:00 on a Friday, too...

But don't worry! The business stenographers are still optimistic!

The economy has slowed to a snail's pace, growing in the just-finished quarter at the slowest rate in more than three years and stirring fresh debate about the country's financial health heading into the elections.

So much for the Bush recovery, which was never all that great to begin with. I never saw a dime from it. Did you? Say, how's your mortgage?