Jamelle Bouie

“Terrible” is a good word to describe the jobs numbers for May. At 9.1 percent, the unemployment rate remains nearly unchanged from April. The number of long-term unemployed people increased by 361,000, to 6.2 million, and their share of the total unemployed increased to 45.1 percent from 43.4 percent. In total, the economy created 54,000 […]

Here at The Prospect, we like to stress the extent to which presidential elections are determined by macroeconomic variables, like unemployment. But there’s always the risk of being a little reductive, and The New York Times falls into that trap with this piece on the subject: No American president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has won […]

In an effort to reverse their lagging popularity with the public after taking serious hits for their plan to privatize Medicare, Republicans have dusted off their 2010 playbook and returned to attacking Democrats on Medicare from the left, with the accusation that they voted to “end Medicare as we know it.” Here’s Paul Ryan leading […]

As presidential election years approach, it’s not unusual to hear reservations about the primary schedule, and in particular, the huge influence of Iowa and New Hampshire. For example, here is _The New York Times_’ **David Leonhardt** with [reservations](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/business/economy/01leonhardt.html?_r=1&ref=politics) about the democratic bona fides of our presidential nomination process: >A presidential campaign is once again upon […]

Yesterday, the Senate voted on two Republican budgets: Paul Ryan‘s plan, and the plan introduced by Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey. Ryan’s plan has been in the spotlight for at least two months, but Toomey’s proposal is a little more obscure and considerably more radical. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) provides the details: […]

Since Tuesday’s election in New York, Paul Ryan has taken to complaining about Democratic “Mediscare” tactics, accusing Democratic leaders of demagoguing his Medicare plan and undermining “necessary” reforms to the program. At yesterday’s Fiscal Summit, hosted by the Peterson Foundation, he repeated the charge: [W]henever you put out a reform plan to try and fix […]

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes the GOP’s refusal to rest in its battle against food assistance for poor children: House Republicans are proposing a cut in the WIC nutrition program that would force WIC to turn away 325,000 to 475,000 eligible low-income women and young children next year. This cut — part […]