A belief in American pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mythology lies at the heart of conservative attacks on the 99 percent.
Budget
Posted inEconomic Policy
For Europe, High Stakes in Greece
Stabilizing one teetering economy won’t end the eurozone’s dance of death.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Europe Buys Some Time
The EU agreement reached this morning is by no means a sure deal—nor is it certain it will fix the debt crisis.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
“The Romney Rule”
Priorities USA, the Democratic consulting firm backed by former Clinton staffer Paul Begala, is out with its first ad attacking former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. It’s a good one: Like the The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent, I think that this will be a potent line of attack should Romney become the Republican nominee for president. […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Blame and How to Give It
That Senate Republicans used the filibuster to kill a Democratic stimulus bill isn’t a surprise – at this point, Republicans have all but announced their plan to keep the economy from significantly improving, and as a result, slash the tires on President Obama’s bid for re-election. What comes as a surprise is the extent to […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Occupy the Rules Committee
For last two months, we’ve been engaged in something of a natural experiment to see if presidential speechifying-in this case, a consistent focus on jobs-is enough to move public opinion in a progressive direction and create avenues for legislative success. So far, that hasn’t been the case. Instead, Republicans have taken their usual position of […]
Posted inCivil Rights in America
The NYPD: A Movement’s Best Friend
Occupy Wall Street’s confrontations with police and politicians have only fueled the protest’s growth.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
One out of Five Ain’t Bad
Rick Perry didn’t lose last night’s debate, which for him, counts as a win.
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
The Medicare Bind
Democrats should defend Medicare. But if they want to accomplish much else, they will have to change it.