Great Depression
Left Needs to Monitor Obama on Social Programs if he Wins
As most of our readers know, I'm squarely in the Obama camp for the Presidential election. This isn't because I agree with everything he has done or pledges to do in office - far from it - Obama has disappointed me on many, many issues to the point where my defense of him has ...read more
Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago? Yes!
By Bob Cesca: In a speech filled with misleading statements and nostalgic lines about how wonderful life used to be before President Obama was inaugurated, the single-most ridiculous line from Mitt Romney's acceptance speech Thursday night was this: "...Every president since ...read more
Damn Right Obama Should Blame Bush for the Recession
By Bob Cesca: Yes, I get it. Among the children of Barbara and George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush is considered the "smart and reasonable" one. But that's sort of like saying, Lotsa' hammers in that tool box, but this hammer doesn't hurt as much when you bash it into my skull. Make ...read more
Why Paul Krugman is so Important
By Ben Cohen: Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman has been getting a huge amount of media attention over the past few weeks, in part due to a book he has written 'End This Depression Now!', but mostly because his message of economic sanity is resonating with the ...read more
Unemployment Rate Rises as Job Growth Stutters
The recovery in the US jobs market hit a wall in May as the economy added a paltry 69,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%, the first rise in nine months. The news, combined with fresh fears about the future of the eurozone, sent US stock markets into a tailspin. ...read more
What to make of Krugman vs Paul
By Ben Cohen: A note to our readers, I will be discussing the double dip recession in the UK on the RT network at 4pm ET with Abby Martin, so please tune in if you have time. I wrote a piece yesterday about the crisis, arguing that the austerity measures passed by the ...read more
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The Most Underrated but Huge Obama Accomplishment
By Bob Cesca: Paul Glastris from the Washington Monthly wrote a piece for the magazine's forthcoming issue that praises the Obama presidency. I hope he's prepared for the onslaught of screeching from various unhinged hipsters tarring him as an "Obamabot." Meanwhile, Kevin Drum ...read more
Irish Recovery Myth
Paul Krugman dispels the myth that Ireland is recovering from its prolonged recession due to a rise in pharma exports and austerity measures: So, some cold water. First of all, eventual recovery after years of Depression-level unemployment is a strange definition of success. ...read more
Quote of the Day: The Republican Mindset
Not torture when America does it Andrew Sullivan on the radical mindset of the Republican Party: It can only think in doctrines, because the alternative is living in a complicated, global, modern world they both do not understand and also despise. Taxes are therefore always ...read more
Quote of the Day: Has Deficit Reduction During Recession Ever Worked?
Bob Cesca asks for a reality check: When has deficit reduction ever stimulated economic growth during a difficult recovery, and especially considering the disturbing economic indicators we're experiencing today (sluggish GDP, high unemployment, housing crisis, etc)? Never. ...read more