CBO Report On ObamaCare Not "Job Killer" as Touted in Right Wing World

This guy wrote it, so he should know what it means.
Image from source, Think Progress

If there's one thing you can be relatively certain of, it's that if FOX "News," conservative talk radio and the rest of Right Wing World are screeching about something? It's most probably skewed or downright wrong. Don't be shocked, it's happened again.

[Excerpt]

Conservatives Seize On Report To Argue Obamacare Is A Job Killer — But The Author Says They’re Wrong

. . .Testifying before the House Budget Committee on the CBO’s newly released economic projections for the next decade, Elmendorf addressed the report’s finding that the Affordable Care Act will reduce the labor participation rate and the total number of hours worked by an equivalent of 2 million jobs in 2017. According to Elmendorf, that statistic is being taken out of context to suggest that Obamacare will eliminate jobs. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Doubling McDonalds' Paychecks Wouldn't Raise Menu Prices Much

Not McDonald's food, but one of several facts HuffPo
says the fast food industry doesn't want you to know.

Remember awhile back when the Papa John's founder (John McDoucherson, I think) balked at "ObamaCare," saying it would "force" him to raise the price of his pizzas by 14 cents each? And most rational people thought, "Wow! For 14 cents, the pizza workers can have health care? Great!" Well, except conservatives who for some reason don't want that. Anyway, the point is, nobody is going to cancel their pizza order over 14 cents, and look at all the good that would do.

Presently, McDonalds (and Walmart and others) are all in a twist over raising the minimum wage. Even though doing so wouldn't necessarily hurt business. In fact, it would create a larger base of consumers who can--you know--afford to buy things. What's more, given the big corporations' multi-billion dollar profits, they actually could afford to raise all of their workers' salaries, and still make a profit, just less profit. Or, they could raise their prices. But really, not all that much. Check out the story excerpted below.

And in a sidebar, I'd love a clarification on something. We hear, virtually every quarter, that Exxon-Mobil, BP and Shell have had record-breaking profits. In fact the biggest profits in the history of man. McDonalds makes billions too. A number of companies do. And then there's Walmart, with its handful of very, very lucky heirs. They rake in tens of billions in profits per year, per person! What is it to Alice Walton if she makes $10 billion this year, rather than $20 billion, but her employees can afford to shop in her own store? I'd seriously like to know, where do all of these multi-billions in profits go anyway? How much can Sheldon Adelson, for example, spend before he crumbles to dust? Why do the mega-rich try so hard to get even more mega-rich, while their employees can barely scrape by?

[Excerpt]

Doubling McDonald's Salaries Would Cause Your Big Mac To Cost Just 68¢ More: Study

McDonald's can afford to pay its workers a living wage without sacrificing any of its low menu prices, according to a new study provided to The Huffington Post by a University of Kansas student. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Obama Pushes Jobs Bill, GOP Says (Of Course) "NO!"

Add caption

Every month or two--sometime around when they're voting for the umpteenth time to stop "ObamaCare"--you'll hear John Boner Boehner shout, "Where are the jobs, Mr. President?" Forget that the House of Representatives haven't put forth any jobs bills, and that the President can't. And mostly forget that the President has, on more than one occasion, spoken out forcefully for the need for a jobs bill, works projects and the like. He's come up with a number of ideas and solutions, some of them traditionally bipartisan in nature.

But, much like when you're trying to help a friend or a sibling through a tough time with a list of solutions, every one is getting shot down. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (looking and sounding more like a cartoon turtle every day) whined vague reasons why he'd reject it, as did Boehner, who will again ask "where are the jobs" in a few weeks, undoubtedly.

[Excerpt]

Obama challenges GOP to fund jobs programs in exchange for corporate tax overhaul

President Barack Obama will offer Republicans a new “grand bargain” on taxes and job creation—an attempt to find some common ground while a bigger deal to reduce the deficit is stalled. . .

Read more at: Marketwatch

Vice President Biden: Romney is a Job Creator. . .in China

Vice President Joe Biden must throw the White House into a bit of a panic anytime he's scheduled to speak publicly. It's not so much that he's really wrong, more that he's liable to phrase the truth badly, or just too bluntly. His gaffes--and there are lots of them--seem to me to be his mouth getting ahead of his brain. A smart guy with less of a filter than a VP probably should have.

But when he's right? He's freakin' right.

[Excerpt]

Biden says Romney good at creating jobs — in China

Vice President Joe Biden kept the pressure on Mitt Romney’s White House bid Tuesday, lampooning the Republican as an expert at job creation — in rival China and growing economic power India. . .

Read more at: The Raw Story

The Keystone XL Pipeline

Here's a question for my Republican friends: why do you guys have such a chubby for the Keystone XL pipeline? I mean, it would create some temporary jobs--politicians can't seem to decide between 5,000. . .12,000. . .or just the random thousands--but is that it? I mean, there has been very little movement in the GOP on any other kinds of jobs (except cutting them). So, that can't be it. Can it be that Republicans just love big oil? Is it the nefarious Koch Brothers and their attendant back-room policy making?

From what I've read, this pipeline would go through a major portion of the nation's aquifers. It's going from Canada--where they're milking this tar-sands oil--and pipe it to the Gulf of Mexico. On top of the potential for spills (which the oil companies have shown no competence for cleaning up or containing), environmental scientists say that if all of the tar-sands oil is eventually burned, it's essentially "game over" for our current ecology.

I'm no scientist, but that sounds worth paying attention to. I read DC Comics, and I understand what happened when the politicians didn't listen to scientist Jor-El of Krypton. I certainly don't think you just throw caution to the wind, and build that sucker just because John Boehner gets all tingly thinking about it.


[Excerpt]


Republicans Holding Nearly 3 Million Transportation Jobs Hostage For 6,000 Temporary Oil Jobs

With as many as 2.9 million new and existing jobs on the line, House Republicans are refusing to pass a transportation reauthorization bill, even after the Senate’s version of the bill overwhelmingly passed through the upper chamber in a 74-22 bipartisan vote. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

UPDATED: Gingrich's "King of Bain" When Mitt Romney Came to Town

Okay, first I will admit that I haven't watched all of this yet, but I will. Second, I'd like to know why Newt Gingrich's SuperPAC--an organization that is allowed to be for him, but that he's supposed to have no affiliation with--is very clearly in cahoots with him, and vice versa. Everybody wink, wink, nudge, nudges, and lets it go. Why? I'm seriously hoping there's some sort of watchdog group that cleans up after the mess of this election, and holds a few people accountable.

Also, why is the video not embeddable? Was Gingrich Gingrich's PAC unaware that this is 2012, and we can do that now? Instead, here's a link. I'll post an update if the video turns up in usable form on another service.

And one more thing: keep in mind, this is a battle between men named MITT and NEWT. It's as though Sarah Palin named them.

UPDATED: Here's the video, finally in YouTube.

Mitt Romney's Job Creation Greatly Exaggerated

Mitt, hard at work.

I struggled a bit with the headline on this one. I guess Mitt Romney didn't exactly exaggerate as much as he lied by omission. Did the work Romney did result in as many as 100,000 jobs? Yes, sort of. Is that a net total? Not by along shot. It isn't unusual for polticians to lie. But what if they keep repeating it when they know that we know he's lying? I guess we'll see.

[Excerpt]

Romney on Jobs
Fehrnstrom says the 100,000 figure stems from the growth in jobs from three companies that Romney helped to start or grow while at Bain Capital: Staples (a gain of 89,000 jobs), The Sports Authority (15,000 jobs), and Domino’s (7,900 jobs).
This tally obviously does not include job losses from other companies with which Bain Capital was involved — and are based on current employment figures, not the period when Romney worked at Bain. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Herman Cain: It's Your Fault if You're Poor

Not his exact words, but that's what it boils down to. If you're not rich, or if you don't have a job, blame yourself. Which is a gross generalization if I've ever heard one.

President Obama's Jobs Speech

More on this, I'm sure, later.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Obama's Jobs Plan Revealed?

"And contrary to the opinions of some around here, I do have a spine!"
Image from source, Huffington Post

So it looks like the President's plan (which I gather my friend Stupid Monkey Planet was not fond of) is mostly tax cuts. Now, tax cuts are not usually a liberal/progressive's first choice when it comes to trying to improve the economy. That is the Republican way, and as far as I know, it has never been proven to work. But I'm no economist. What I want to know is, how are Republicans going to say no? I mean, they love tax cuts so much, they want to marry them. But they are also adamantly against anything President Obama is for by default, even if it's one of their own ideas. Oy.

[Excerpt]


Obama Jobs Plan: President Said To Be Looking At $300 Billion Package 

The economy weak and the public seething, President Barack Obama is expected to propose $300 billion in tax cuts and federal spending Thursday night to get Americans working again. Republicans offered Tuesday to compromise with him on jobs – but also assailed his plans in advance of his prime-time speech. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

6 Unconstitutional Laws the GOP Has Foisted Upon Us

Image from source, AlterNet

This is a partial list you understand. So much for the laser-like focus on "jobs, jobs, jobs." Instead we get legislation against Sharia Law! Abortion! Homosexuals! (Rant! Froth! Belch!) Sooooo predictable, but somehow every time the pendulum swings back to the right, the voting public seems to forget. This time, I think the pendulum hit one of those Angry Birds TNT crates, and is about to bo careening back to the left. But that's just a guess.

[Excerpt]

6 Crazy, Unconstitutional Laws Right-Wingers Are Blowing Your Money On

They rode into power on a wave of conservative populism, vowing to rein in spending, slash deficits (remember how the Tea Partiers swore they weren't focusing on those “wedge” social issues anymore?), and above all, restore our fealty to the Constitution, a document they claim to hold an almost religious reverence for. . .

Read (much) more at: AlterNet

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

Gov. Daniels (R-IN) to Slash Spending, Even if it Costs Jobs

"Missed it by that much."
from ThinkProgress

Do you think we will ever learn? For whatever reason--the reason doesn't matter really--the political pendulum swings from left to right. The Republicans win a big election. And then, they become political bulldozers, charging full-steam ahead with their pet agendas, regardless of what their actual "mandate" was.

This time, the pendulum swung faster than it really should have. No political party, no matter how masterful, could have put the economy back together in less than two years. Republicans really won because of a) some of the public is fickle, b) some of the public is uninformed, c) some Democrats are big babies, and sat out the election because of their own pet issues, and d) Republicans promised to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs.

So, the Republicans won a big election for a variety of reasons. And then, once they got in, they've done what they always do: overreached. Plus, they claim that everything they're doing: trying to regulate abortion into oblivion, trying to stomp on gay people, trying to bust unions, cutting taxes for the rich. . .is what "the people" voted for. Oh, and let's not forget that any cutting of taxes and services will nearly always benefit the rich and hurt the working people. Cut Social Security! Medicare! Pensions! But oh no, the petroleum companies must get multi-billion dollar subsidies! Bank of America musn't pay taxes! Bush tax cuts for the rich are essential! See what I'm getting at? 

I sort of predicted this, though it doesn't take a genius. And the hard right pendulum swing in 2010 is likely going to careen back to the left if the Republicans keep this up. Which is probably part of the reason for the Citizens United ruling, Karl Rove's young but powerful PAC groups, the Koch Brothers' muscle flexing, and the new united front of Republican Governors trying to squash the remaining unions. With all of that, Republicans will have far more money to spend on election advertising. Hopefully, that will be an overreach as well, and the all-GOP-all-the-time nasty political ads will just turn people off.

[Excerpt]

Gov. Daniels Says Governments Should Slash Spending ‘Even If They End Up Seriously Costing A Lot Of Jobs’



When asked earlier this month about the job loss that would occur if the continuing resolution passed by House Republicans were actually implemented, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) replied “so be it.” “We’re broke. It’s time for us to get serious about how we’re spending the nation’s money,” he said. . .
 
Read more at: Think Progress

Republicans Still Fighting Culture War: Planned Parenthood, Contraceptives

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Douche), from Raw Story

I'm so glad that the Republicans are focused like a laser beam on jobs. These small-government folks still want to micro-manage our sex lives, don't they?

[Excerpt]

House plans to defund Planned Parenthood, contraceptives, health counseling



The US House of Representatives is expected to pass an amendment to the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011 by this weekend that would cut millions of dollars in funding to Planned Parenthood for contraceptives, reproductive health counseling and cancer screenings. . .
 
Read more at: Raw Story

100,000 Show Up for 1,000 Delta Airlines Jobs

You know the economy is bad when there are 100 applicants for every job being offered. But it does give Delta Airlines a lot to pick from, letting them weed out any potential slide-pullers from the ranks. And as far as jobs go, you could do a lot worse than flight attendant. I'm married to one, and often lament that I didn't hear about the option on career day. Then again, even with all the travel, and the potential for lots of time off, I'd also have to deal with the public. I don't do the public well. I'd be a slide-puller for sure.

[Excerpt]

Delta Air Lines is Hiring 1,000 New Flight Attendants; More Than 100,000 Applied





Delta Air Lines is having what might possibly be the most-popular job search in a long time: More than 100,000 people have applied for just 1,000 openings as flight attendants. . .
 
Read more at: ABC News

Chamber of Commerce: Outsourcing Jobs a Good Thing?

NBC

I always thought that the US Chamber of Commerce was a fairly innocuous thing, with nebulous activities that didn't concern me. You know, like the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis, the Lion's Club and the like.  I had no idea until recently that they were very, very right wing, and that they pump tons of money into campaigns--primarily for Republicans--to further their goals. As has been recently reported, the Chamber also takes contributions from foreign companies and governments, and puts them into the very same account they use to pay for the ads. You'd think there would be at least a segment of the Tea Partiers who'd be rubbed the wrong way by that. Of course, they're not really deep thinkers, so that's another subject.

Another thing that's kind of troubling about the Chamber is that they are in favor of, and advocate for the outsourcing of jobs from the United States to foreign countries. Millions of American jobs have been lost this way, which I have to conclude might have something to do with our current economic predicament.  But what is the upside of saving money for corporations, if the public at large has no money to buy the things these corporations are making overseas?

Here's the scenario I've come up with.  All the big corporations send the jobs overseas so that they can save money. Millions of Americans lose their jobs and are chronically unemployed. They can't afford anything, so the corporations can't sell very much in America. So, they sell their products to the overseas people who are working for them, and now have some money to spend.  Eventually, as the third world becomes the first world, manufacturing overseas gets too expensive. In America, where there are now only the very rich and very poor, desperate people are willing to work for cheap. So, they start off-shoring to America. And the cycle begins anew!  Sure, it might take fifty years or so, and by then we won't recognize our country, but hey! The corporations will still be doing very well. Ain't the free market great?

My Alma Mater Gets Rebooted

Living in Las Vegas, you think I'd be used to history being bulldozed, and being rebuilt bigger and better. But when I found out today, via Facebook that my high school is being demolished, it kind of made my heart hurt. And it's worse than that! They're not just replacing my high school, but the junior high and elementary schools too, and every other school in the Whitehall, Ohio school district.

Far be it for me to be sad that all of those construction workers (and attendant trades) are going to be working. But really, is this necessary?  Knocking down and rebuilding every school from scratch?  I can see upgrading, building on, even wiping out a wing here and there and starting over.  But this screams of overkill.  My mom went to school in the 1950s and 60s. Her school still stands, and is a full campus of buildings, all quite lovely.

Whitehall's schools can't claim to be lovely.  The town was incorporated after World War II, and much of the town is evidence of that.  The Victorian redo of a section of town to make sort of a faux "Main Street" (but not on Main Street, it's on Yearling Road) looks ridiculous.  But the alumni that have travelled the halls of Etna Road Elementary, Beechwood Elementary, Kae Avenue Elementary, Rosemore Junior High School and Whitehall-Yearling High School are having their history wiped out.  "Heaven guard and keep you, we shall never fail you, dear Whitehall-Yearling High!" Well, I guess we failed.  Unless you believe in reincarnation.

[Excerpt]


Whitehall students can see the future as new schools go up



The first day of school is always full of change. There are new pencils, new books, new teachers and new homework to grumble over.


Whitehall students start class today, earlier than others, and they'll encounter something else new - construction. . .


Read more at: The Columbus Dispatch

Scott Brown Joins with Democrats on "Bipartisan" Bill

Image from source, MSNBC

It's funny that "bipartisan" now means a bare handfull from the Republican side voting with Democrats to help them flesh out their "small majority." Even funnier is that Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), whom the conservatives were fawning over last week is now on their shit list.

[Excerpt]

Bipartisan jobs bill clears GOP filibuster

A bipartisan jobs bill cleared a GOP filibuster on Monday with critical momentum provided by the Senate's newest Republican, Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

The 62-30 tally to advance the measure to a final vote on Wednesday gives both President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats a much-needed victory — even though the measure in question is likely to have only a modest boost on hiring. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

President Obama Stumps in Indiana for Jobs Bill

The President--who according to Lindsey Graham has been AWOL on the stimulus plan--made a big push for it today in Indiana, with a town hall meeting. The audience wasn't screened, and Barack Obama took all kinds of questions, with thoughtful answers. I don't know if this thing is gonna work or not, but this event shows that change is already happening.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

RNC Chair Michael Steele: Government Jobs Aren't Real

Say what, now? If the government gives you a job, it isn't a real job? Does that mean that Michael Steele's former job as an elected official wasn't "real?" The insistence by Republicans that only small businesses create "real jobs" is quite bizarre. People who aren't working don't care if the job is considered "real" by the GOP. They just want to work and get paid for it.

Besides, even if the jobs aren't long-term, they're better than nothing. They get people paid, they pad up their resumes, and they gain job experience. All of these things are very important. And they prevent people from losing their homes, or starving to death.

As a side note, the GOP is also trumpeting that tax cuts are the most effective stimulus. If you let people keep more of "their" money, they'll spend more. OK. But what if you aren't earning any money? What if you're one of the millions who has lost his job? How do tax cuts help the people who most need it? It's all so stupid.

[Excerpt]

RNC chair: Only real jobs are those business creates

Most state governors, including many Republicans, are strongly behind a stimulus bill that will fund government projects to put large number of people back to work and get the economy moving again.

"It comes at a time when we need it," Florida's Republican governor, Charlie Crist, recently stated. "People need jobs. It's about jobs, jobs, jobs. . ."

Read more at: Raw Story

We Can't Afford John McCain

Unless and until John McCain proves that he is not a continuation of the disasterous Bush Administration, we simply cannot afford to elect him. Speaking as someone whose employer shifted everyone to a four-day week to avoid layoffs, I am lucky not to be one of the statistics below.

Job Loss: The Price of More of the Same