TresSugar

Tea Parties Prove Conservatives Are Growing (Grass) Roots?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:00:38 -0700

A revolution might be coming this Wednesday, April 15. Antitax protests, known as tea parties, have been brewing around the country, and they could boil over on tax day. T.E.A. stands for "taxed enough already."

On Wednesday, conservatives around the country will evoke the spirit of the American Revolution. Some of the transgressions of congress and the president to be protested include: voting for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it; spending trillions of borrowed dollars; wanting government-controlled health care; trying to take wealth and redistribute it to others; and appointing a defender of child pornography to the number-two position in the Justice Department.

Basically there's a lot going on. Some sample slogans offered by TeaPartyDay.com? Party Like it's 1773. Obamanomics: Chains You Can Believe In. Commander and Thief. Your Mortgage Is Not My Problem. Liberty Is All the Stimulus We Need.

Economist Paul Krugman thinks the Tea Parties, which he calls AstroTurf - aka fake grass(roots) - should be mocked. To see why, read more.

He writes that the movement, organized by the usual suspects, makes inaccurate accusations:

President Obama is being called a “socialist” who seeks to destroy capitalism. Why? Because he wants to raise the tax rate on the highest-income Americans back to, um, about 10 percentage points less than it was for most of the Reagan administration. Bizarre.

What do you make of the tea parties?

Nobel Prize Winner Krugman Says We're All Ponzis

LibertySugar — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:00:44 -0800

When news broke last week that Wall Street investment wiz Bernard Madoff allegedly admitted to a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, it left me wondering how he managed to do this without alerting regulators.

This week, we found out that there were classic warning signs that the SEC admitted it should have acted upon. Well now, Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman says that Madoff's fraud is evidence of a systemic defect in our financial system - vast riches for those who managed other people's money has had a corrupting effect on American society.

For more on this, including an excerpt from Krugman's piece, read more. Krugman explains:

Consider the hypothetical example of a money manager who leverages up his clients’ money with lots of debt, then invests the bulked-up total in high-yielding but risky assets, such as dubious mortgage-backed securities. For a while - say, as long as a housing bubble continues to inflate - he (it’s almost always a he) will make big profits and receive big bonuses. Then, when the bubble bursts and his investments turn into toxic waste, his investors will lose big - but he’ll keep those bonuses.

O.K., maybe my example wasn’t hypothetical after all.

So, how different is what Wall Street in general did from the Madoff affair? Well, Mr. Madoff allegedly skipped a few steps, simply stealing his clients’ money rather than collecting big fees while exposing investors to risks they didn’t understand. And while Mr. Madoff was apparently a self-conscious fraud, many people on Wall Street believed their own hype. Still, the end result was the same (except for the house arrest): the money managers got rich; the investors saw their money disappear.

Krugman's powerful piece goes on to lament the fact that many of the nation's best and brightest have been lured to Wall Street, instead of going into public service or science.

Do you think there's a difference between what Madoff did and what typically happens on Wall Street?

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Front Page: Global Markets Rally, Krugman Wins Nobel for Economics, Afghanistan Commander is Hopeful

CitizenSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:56:07 -0700

Global Markets Rally:
Banking stocks in Asia and Europe jumped this morning after European leaders announced plans to inject capital into banks and guarantee interbank lending. Rising between 5 and 10 percent, the rallying world markets are hoped to have a positive impact on the US market which opened moments ago, up, but with the Dow still in the 8,000s.

Krugman Wins Nobel for Economics:
US Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has won this year's Nobel Prize for Economics. He won for his analysis of trade patterns and new theories that answer questions on free trade and globalization. Krugman says he hopes the $1.4 million prize won't change his life: "I hope it does not lead me into going to a lot of purely celebratory events."
Afghanistan Commander is Hopeful:
The top American commander in Afghanistan said yesterday he wants doubters to believe that the war against the Taliban can be won. Gen. McKiernan leads over 65,000 troops and said at a conference in Kabul that there have been "too many" reports about losing the war in Afghanistan. He says, “I absolutely reject that idea, I don’t believe it. It is true that there are many places in this country that don’t have an adequate level of security. We don’t have progress as even and as fast as any of us would like. But we are not losing in Afghanistan.”

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Front Page: Bangkok on Brink as Protests Rage

CitizenSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:02:24 -0700

Thailand's prime minister has declared a state of emergency after antigovernment protests and intense violence have continued for days. - CNN
Somali pirates have vowed revenge today for the death of three pirates killed by the US. They promise to kill US and French soldiers. - CNN
The Obamas will host 30,000 people today for the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. - ABC News
A passenger landed a small plane in Florida after the pilot died in flight. - AP
Officials say a woman jumped into the polar bear enclosure at the Berlin Zoo. She was bitten several times. - AP
Hannah Montana topped the box office this weekend, bringing in $34 million in ticket sales. - BuzzSugar
Economist Paul Krugman thinks Republicans have stopped having real policy debates. - New York Times

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Front Page: Man Who Killed Pastor Will Face Charges

CitizenSugar — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:09:17 -0700

A man suspected of shooting a pastor to death yesterday during mass will be charged by authorities soon. Police say the pastor first deflected bullets with a Bible. - MSNBC
President Obama plans to lift President Bush's ban on stem cell research today, pledging to take politics out of science. - Reuters
Economist Paul Krugman says the Obama Administration's economic policies are already falling behind the curve. - New York Times

North Korea has promised retaliation if its satellite launch is blocked by South Korea and the US. - Voice of America
Joseph Fritzl, the Austrian father who imprisoned his daughter in the basement for 24 years, plans on writing a memoir. His trial begins next week. - The Times of London

Check This: Euro-Bogeyman?

LibertySugar — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:00:28 -0800

With the odds of a US recession rising, I've been thinking about economic issues lately. On Friday, Paul Krugman, one of my favorite NYTimes columnists, wrote an interesting piece about Europe - the Comeback Continent. Krugman pointed to Europe's strengthening economy to refute the notion that low taxes and a weak social safety net (nixing goodies like universal health care) are essential to prosperity.

Offering data, Krugman maintained that Europe has seen great economic growth, without dismantling strong social safety nets. He argued that by exaggerating or misconstruing Europe's woes, Americans falsely excuse their system's injustices and insecurities. He writes, "the next time a politician tries to scare you with the European bogeyman, bear this in mind: Europe’s economy is actually doing O.K."

Although I know Europe has its share of problems, I think it's a good idea to step back from typical assumptions - in this case, that Europe is socialist and therefore economically in trouble - and look at what's really going on. Check out the article. Do you think that you can have social services and not eat your economic growth, too?

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More Americans Think Obama Can Save Economy - Do You?

LibertySugar — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:02:35 -0800

A poll released yesterday shows that 55 percent of Americans are at least somewhat confident that Barack Obama's economic team can lead the US out of its economic troubles.

Last week, when Obama held three consecutive press conferences to address the economic crisis, the markets rallied. In addition, Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman dubbed the recently unveiled economic team (made up of economists and many Clinton vets) the "Ministry of Talents."

Considering the recession has been under way for more than a year, I think it's about time to bring it to an end! The day after the election most SavvySugar readers thought Obama would have a positive impact on the US economy. Now that the President-elect has selected his team, are you all feeling confident that the end is in sight?

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Looking For Leadership: Candidates Tweak Economic Plans

LibertySugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:30:47 -0700

Barack Obama widened his economic agenda today, announcing proposals to create new jobs, give Americans access to retirement savings without penalty, implement a 90-day freeze on foreclosures of homeowners making good-faith efforts to pay lenders aided by the bailout plan, and make loans to credit-hungry local and state governments.

John McCain, set to kick off the week with a comprehensive economic proposal, scratched the idea when a Sunday night strategy meeting collapsed. McCain was planning on rolling out new tax cuts to jumpstart the economy. After rejecting the new economic plans offered by his advisors, McCain delivered an underdog speech, saying Obama was already measuring the drapes and planning to increase taxes with Pelosi. Still, GOP advisors want to see McCain focus on a consistent economic message distinct from Bush's.

Meanwhile, freshly minted Nobel-prize winner Paul Krugman thinks British PM Gordon Brown may have saved the world financial system (maybe we can give Brown a prize, too). Playing an effective leadership role the US presidential candidates dream of, Brown announced a smart plan to inject major equity into British banks and started doing so five days after he announced the plan.

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Is Hillary's Health-Care Mandate Polarizing?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:45:15 -0800

On ABC's This Week on Sunday, Hillary Clinton tackled the detail of the mandate function of her health-care plan: specifically, that under her proposal, health care is not optional. Barack Obama has drawn attention to this aspect of Hillary's plan, and she finally answered the question of how she would enforce the mandate. "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."

Hillary went on to say that the cost of her health care will be a low, wage-proportionate amount. Paul Krugman wrote a great piece in the New York Times this week comparing Obama and Clinton's health-care plans, singling out this issue as their big policy difference. Will this detail from Clinton, reported after as "wage garnishing," scare off potential supporters? Is the idea of a mandate, the most controversial part of Hillary's plan?

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Link Time

LibertySugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:00:33 -0800

Giuliani only repub to support a catastrophe fund, should tell Florida voters - The Fix
If Hillary wins, will GOP expose Bill's postpresidential sex life? - Huffington Post
Proposed stimulus package an economic disappointment - Paul Krugman
A controversial explanation of guilt-free abortion - Pandagon
The Invisible War in the DR Congo - truthdig
What does the French First Madame look like naked? - Wonkette
Retention crisis hits US military - America Blog
Go Green: Would you consider a "green-collared" career? - SavvySugar
Bush wants treaty without constitutional approval of senate - The Carpetbagger Report

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