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Fri Feb 6, 3:19 PM Pacific
A deal?
Sounds like some sort of a deal has been reached in the Senate on stimulus. Some leakers say the price tag for the bill will be $780 billion over the next three years (a bit less than 2% of GDP).
Undoubtedly, when the legislation goes to conference, the overall stimulus package will grow, closer to the size of what the House passed.
Whatever the case, it's pretty ironic that the idiot Senators who want to reduce the size of the stimulus bill argue that they are increasing the stimulus bill.
Cutting spending to achieve more stimulus is like saying saying they want to see more scoring in football, so they are making the field 125 yards long.
Fri Feb 6, 11:53 AM Pacific
Question
I just saw Tom Coburn saying the solution for economic recovery is to "fix housing."
WTF does he mean? I hear this all the time from GOPers.
Do they mean that housing prices need to return to bubble-levels? Do they even think that's possible without tremendous inflation?
And if it were possible, wouldn't it just lead to a repeat of the mess we're in now?
To me "fixing housing" means putting in place policies that will prevent this from ever happening again. But the idea that we can return to the artificially high prices of the housing boom without ruinous economic policies is a complete and total joke.
There's a reason people like John Cole call Republicans clowns.
It's because that's just what they are.
Fri Feb 6, 8:25 AM Pacific
President Obama On Fire
From last night, President Obama talks up the stimulus to House Democrats, systematically dismantling the partisan Republican arguments against economic recovery:
This is the Obama that crushed John McCain during the campaign, and this is the President that will lead us out of the ditch the Republican Party has left us in.
Thu Feb 5, 10:03 AM Pacific
The President Strikes Back
After enduring an unrelenting partisan assault from Republicans on the economic recovery plan, President Obama is fighting back, reminding the GOP that in November the American people rendered their judgment on the GOP's failed economic dogma. "Now is the time to move forward," he said, "not back."
Here's the transcript:
But these numbers that we're seeing are sending an unmistakable message -- and so are the American people. The time for talk is over. The time for action is now, because we know that if we do not act, a bad situation will become dramatically worse. Crisis could turn into catastrophe for families and businesses across the country.
And I refuse to let that happen. We can't delay and we can't go back to the same worn-out ideas that led us here in the first place. In the last few days, we've seen proposals arise from some in Congress that you may not have read but you'd be very familiar with because you've been hearing them for the last 10 years, maybe longer. They're rooted in the idea that tax cuts alone can solve all our problems; that government doesn't have a role to play; that half-measures and tinkering are somehow enough; that we can afford to ignore our most fundamental economic challenges -- the crushing cost of health care, the inadequate state of so many of our schools, our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.
So let me be clear: Those ideas have been tested, and they have failed. They've taken us from surpluses to an annual deficit of over a trillion dollars, and they've brought our economy to a halt. And that's precisely what the election we just had was all about. The American people have rendered their judgment. And now is the time to move forward, not back.
Thu Feb 5, 8:30 AM Pacific
Thugs
Bill O'Reilly and Bernie Goldberg propose beating a New York Times reporter with a baseball bat.
(Thanks to Meteor Blades at Daily Kos for catching this. I think he'll be posting it over at DK later today.)
Wed Feb 4, 3:38 PM Pacific
In the game to win
This afternoon, President Obama echoed the same feistiness he displayed this morning during his speech before signing SCHIP.
Wed Feb 4, 9:49 AM Pacific
A warning shot to the GOP, from President Obama
President Obama's announcement of executive pay caps earlier today wasn't just notable for his new policy on compensation -- it was also the first time since the election that he's given Republicans a dose of what they've been dishing out on a daily basis.
Here's the video:
The President's remarks were more of a warning than open political warfare, but he did remind GOPers that the economic theories they are fighting for have been tested over the last eight years, and that they have failed. President Obama reminded Republicans that it wasn't just his opinion that their ideas have failed -- it was also the opinion of the American public, who on November 4th soundly rejected the conservative dogma.
It was the first time that President Obama invoked the results of the election in a public setting, and it was clearly intended as a reminder to Republican obstructionists that when they block progress on economic recovery, they are not only are they playing with the nation's welfare, they are also toying with their own political welfare.
Without saying it in so many words, he made it clear that if Republicans think he's going to roll over and not put up a fight, they are sorely mistaken.
Here's the key passage GOPers should contemplate:
Now, in the past few days I've heard criticisms of this plan that echo the very same failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis - the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can ignore fundamental challenges like energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.
I reject that theory, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. So I urge members of Congress to act without delay. No plan is perfect, and we should work to make it stronger. But let's not make the perfect the enemy of the essential. Let's show people all over our country who are looking for leadership in this difficult time that we are equal to the task.
The bottom-line is that President Obama signaled his willingness to fight back if the Republicans decide they want to fight. He's bent over backwards to work with them, but if they won't reciprocate, then he's willing to do political battle with them.
And this much we know: anyone who would walk willingly into a political battle with President Obama is a fool. Just ask the Clintons, or John McCain, or Sarah Palin.
Yet if the GOP has demonstrated one thing over the last few years, it is that among those clowns, there is no shortage of foolishness.
Full remarks below the fold:
Thank you, Tim, for your hard work on this issue and on our economic recovery.
The economic crisis we face is unlike any we've seen in our lifetime. It's a crisis of falling confidence and rising debt. Of widely distributed risk and narrowly concentrated reward. A crisis written in the fine print of sub-prime mortgages, on the ledger lines of once-mighty financial institutions, and on the pink slips that have upended lives and cost the economy 2.6 million jobs last year alone.
We know that even if we do everything we should, this crisis was years in the making, and it will take more than weeks or months to turn things around.
But make no mistake:
A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a longer recession, a less robust recovery, and a more uncertain future. Millions more jobs will be lost. More businesses will be shuttered. More dreams will be deferred.
That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that is before Congress today. With it, we can save or create more than three million jobs, doing things that will strengthen our country for generations to come. It is not merely a prescription for short-term spending - it's a strategy for long-term economic growth in areas like renewable energy, health care, and education.
Now, in the past few days I've heard criticisms of this plan that echo the very same failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis - the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can ignore fundamental challenges like energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.
I reject that theory, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. So I urge members of Congress to act without delay. No plan is perfect, and we should work to make it stronger. But let's not make the perfect the enemy of the essential. Let's show people all over our country who are looking for leadership in this difficult time that we are equal to the task.
At the same time, we know that this Recovery and Reinvestment plan is only the first part of what we need to do to restore prosperity and secure our future. We also need a strong and viable financial system to keep credit flowing to businesses and families alike. My administration will do what it takes to restore our financial system; our recovery depends upon it. And so next week, Secretary Geithner will release a new strategy to get credit moving again - a strategy that will reflect the lessons of past mistakes while laying a foundation for the future.
But in order to restore our financial system, we've got to restore trust. And in order to restore trust, we've got to make certain that taxpayer funds are not subsidizing excessive compensation packages on Wall Street.
We all need to take responsibility. And this includes executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses. As I said last week, that's the height of irresponsibility. That's shameful. And that's exactly the kind of disregard for the costs and consequences of their actions that brought about this crisis: a culture of narrow self-interest and short-term gain at the expense of everything else.
This is America. We don't disparage wealth. We don't begrudge anybody for achieving success. And we believe that success should be rewarded. But what gets people upset - and rightfully so - are executives being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers.
For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste - it's a bad strategy - and I will not tolerate it as President. We're going to be demanding some restraint in exchange for federal aid - so that when firms seek new federal dollars, we won't find them up to the same old tricks.
As part of the reforms we are announcing today, top executives at firms receiving extraordinary help from U.S. taxpayers will have their compensation capped at $500,000 - a fraction of the salaries that have been reported recently. And if these executives receive any additional compensation, it will come in the form of stock that can't be paid up until taxpayers are paid back for their assistance.
Companies receiving federal aid are going to have to disclose publicly all the perks and luxuries bestowed upon senior executives and provide an explanation to the taxpayers and to shareholders as to why these expenses are justified. And we're putting a stop to these kinds of massive severance packages we've all read about with disgust; we're taking the air out of the golden parachute.
We're asking these firms to take responsibility, to recognize the nature of this crisis and their role in it. We believe that what we've laid out should be viewed as fair and embraced as basic common sense.
Finally, these guidelines we're putting in place are only the beginning of a long-term effort. We're going to examine the ways in which the means and manner of executive compensation have contributed to a reckless culture and quarter-by-quarter mentality that in turn have wrought havoc in our financial system. We're going to be taking a look at broader reforms so that executives are compensated for sound risk management and rewarded for growth measured over years, not just days or weeks.
We've all got to pull together and take our share of responsibility. That's true here in Washington. That's true on Wall Street. The American people are carrying a huge burden as a result of this economic crisis: bearing the brunt of its effects as well as the costs of extraordinary measures we're taking to address it. The American people expect and demand that we pursue policies that reflect the reality of this crisis - and that will prevent these kinds of crises in the future.
Thank you.
Tue Feb 3, 1:01 PM Pacific
GOP Blocks Infrastructure Projects
Tom Daschle is grabbing the headlines (which isn't so bad, given that we're killing two tax problems today), but that's not the big story.
No, I'm not talking about the fact that Sarah Palin is still skipping out on paying the taxes she owes for per diems and travel expenses for her family paid for by Alaska, I'm talking about the GOP's hypocritical vote against infrastructure spending on the first Senate vote on an amendment to the economic recovery bill.
The first attempt to expand infrastructure spending in the economic stimulus bill fell short in the Senate Tuesday as lawmakers turned aside a bid to push the total size of the bill over $900 billion. A motion to waive a budget point of order for an amendment adding $25 billion in additional infrastructure spending to the bill drew a 58-39 vote -- two votes short of the 60 needed. The amendment, by Patty Murray , D-Wash., would have boosted the bill's highway funding from $27 billion to $40 billion, its transit funding from $8.4 billion to $13.4 billion, and its water and sewer funding from $6 billion to $13 billion. GOPers are hemming and hawing about how the issue was simply that they wanted to offset the infrastructure spending with cuts elsewhere in the bill. Funny, they don't seem to take the same attitude when it comes to tax cuts. For days, if not weeks, we've been hearing from GOP leaders that they support the idea of economic recovery, but they want more infrastructure spending. And here they are, with their first chance to increase infrastructure spending, and what do they say? They say no. And because of the strange rules of the Senate, which require a three-fifths majority for amendments like Murray's to pass the chamber, they get their way, even though only 39 Senators opposed the amendment (38 Rs + 1 loser Dem). If you ever needed any more evidence to believe that just about every Congressional Republican is a lying, hypocritical hack, today they supplied it. President Obama has done everything possible to reach out to these clowns. He's compromised with them, he's met with them, he's offered to work with them some more. And all they do is offer the back of their hand. I wouldn't mind if they offered principled opposition to the economic recovery plan, and proposed something different. They wouldn't get their way, but at least they'd be honest. But all we're getting now are lies and hypocrisy. It's not especially surprising. But at this moment in time, when there is so much at stake, it really is disappointing that they can't stop playing politics. There's work to be done to get this country back on track, but they seem intent on pulling out every political trick in the book to stop progress from happening. For eight years, they screwed things up time after time after time. Can't they give it a rest for just a few months and give us a chance to make things right again?
Tue Feb 3, 12:24 PM Pacific
Test Post
On Saturday, I was unable to login to my TJR account or the origin server for Daily Kos TV beta. (The origin server is basically the source of content used by content delivery networks, also known as CDNs. CDNs enable large scale content delivery for things like video or highly trafficked sites like Daily Kos.)
After four hours of being unable to login, my web host (not the CDN) told me that my account had been hacked. That gave me quite a heart attack, but it just didn't seem right, in large part because there were no markings on the front page of the site to indicate a hacking attempt.
It turns out that, after all, I wasn't hacked. My web host simply changed some of its configurations and broke my blogging software.
Not exactly great timing, given that I'm still heads down on DKTV development work. But I finally figured out a workaround for their screwup (and to their credit they gave me a $100 free hosting credit after I told them how to fix the problem).
Anyway, I fully expect that this post will make it to the front page just fine, but I need to try out a test just to make sure.
I guess I got my fingers crossed, but if you're reading this, there isn't any real suspense.
Also, the impetus for getting things working right now is that the Republicans have done something outrageous today. I'll be posting on that momentarily, assuming this works out.
