Blog For Arizona

Action Alert: consumer installment loan bill in the House will hurt consumers

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There is a "consumer lender loans" bill that has made it through the House Rules Committee after approval by the House Finance Committee, HB 2526 (.pdf). It is on the Committee of the Whole (COW) Calendar #10 for TODAY. Contact your legislators to oppose this bill:

From the House Summary of the bill:

HB 2526 modifies the finance charge structure of consumer lender loans and increases the loan origination fee cap.

Current statute prohibits a licensee from paying a fee, commission or bonus, or give anything of value to any merchant, dealer, consumer, or other person in connection with attracting applicants or referring business, with exceptions (A.R.S. § 6-611).

Provisions

·          Increases the cap on loan origination fees to $150.

·          Allows a licensee to pay a fee, commission or bonus, or give anything of value to any merchant, dealer, consumer, or other person for referring business in an amount of up to $100 per completed loan.

·          Allows a licensee to give a consumer any prize, good, wear, merchandise, or tangible property in an aggregated amount of up to $25.

Governor Brewer vetoes SB 1062

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Cathi Herrod and her Christian Taliban at the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) are having a bad week. First the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the state of Arizona of CAP's attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.

Now Governor Jan Brewer has vetoed the Religious Bigotry bill from CAP, SB 1062, approved by our Tea-Publican lawless legislature.

Here is Governor Brewer's SB1062 Veto Letter (.pdf).

Here is Governor Brewer's Remarks (.pdf) at her press conference. Excerpt:

My agenda is to sign into law legislation that advances Arizona.

When I addressed the Legislature earlier this year, I made my priorities for this session abundantly clear...

Among them are passing a responsible budget that continues Arizona’s economic Comeback.

Additionally, our IMMEDIATE challenge is fixing a broken Child Protection system. Instead, this is the first policy bill to cross my desk.

Senate Bill 1062 does not address a specific and present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona. I have not heard of one example in Arizona where a business owner’s religious liberty has been violated.

The bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences.

After weighing all of the arguments, I vetoed Senate Bill 1062 moments ago.

CBO scores GOP health care alternative to 'Obamacare'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Tea-Publicans are not serious about public policy. Everything they propose turns out to be a disaster.

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report (.pdf) scoring the GOP health care alternative to 'Obamacare' finds that it would reduce the number of people receiving employer-based coverage, increase dependence on government-sponsored health care, and raise the national deficit.

Think Progress reports, GOP’s Own Health Care Bill Will Lead 1 Million To Lose Employer-Sponsored Insurance:

The proposal, which Republicans voted for in the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month, would alter the definition of full time employment under the Affordable Care Act from 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week and exempt more businesses from penalties for not offering employer-based insurance or lower the overall penalty burden. Under existing law, employers with more than 50 workers pay a penalty if their full-time employees (defined as working an average of 30 hours a week) receive subsidized coverage in the law’s health care exchanges.

Poll: GOP primary voters want Gov. Brewer to veto SB 1062

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A poll of Republican primary voters taken this week reveals that a majority of Republican primary voters want Governor Jan Brewer to veto SB 1062. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, Poll: GOP voters want Brewer to veto SB1062:

In the automated poll of 802 Republicans by Coleman Dahm, a Republican political consulting firm in Phoenix, 57.1 percent of respondents who were asked about the bill said they would like Brewer to veto it. Only 27.6 percent said they want her to sign SB1062. The remaining 15.3 percent had no opinion. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

* * *

Bert Coleman, one of the firm’s partners, said that the poll was of “hard core” Republican voters who had voted both of the last two primary elections. He said the results show that even conservative Republicans believe the bill is bad for the state’s image and will harm its economy.

Now, you are scratching your head and asking yourself, "How is it possible that 50 out of 53 Tea-Publicans in the Arizona legislature voted in favor of SB 1062, when a majority of even Republican primary voters want Governor Brewer to veto this bill? How is it possible these Tea-Publican legislators were elected to office when they are so out of touch with their own constituents?"

The Way Forward: Tax and Spend

Posted by Bob Lord

[Distributed via OtherWords.org]

The Way Forward: Tax and Spend

This strategy would reduce joblessness and inequality while stimulating the economy.

By Bob Lord and Emily Schwartz Greco

Have you heard? Our economic policy debate is getting some spring cleaning.

President Barack Obama has signaled that he’s had it with all that talk about America being broke and the belt-tightening austerity measures that went along with it. His proposed budget for the 2015 fiscal year will reflect this reality.

You know what he should try? A tax-and–spend strategy.

Yes, conservatives have tried for years to turn that simple solution into an epithet. But it’s the best way forward.

Taxing more and spending more would stimulate a $17 trillion U.S. economy that’s not producing at full capacity and dogged by high unemployment. It wouldn’t expand the budget deficit. And it would reverse the concentration of income and wealth that’s hollowing out our middle class and denying most Americans a fair shot.

Changing tax rates and spending levels are two of the three standard tools policymakers have at their disposal to goose the economy. The other is monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve’s expansionary monetary policy that began in 2008 is unprecedented. It may have helped get our financial system back on its feet and unleashed a multi-year bull market. But our economy is still staggering.

Unemployment still stands at 6.6 percent and typical American workers are earning less than they did before the Great Recession.

That means it’s time to give targeted tax increases and higher government spending a shot.

In the United States of Inequality, Arizona Ranks High

Posted by Bob Lord

The Economic Policy Institute is out with a study that looks at inequality in America state-by-state: The Increasingly Unequal States of America: Income Inequality by State, 1917 to 2011.

So, how does Arizona rank? All in all, it's one of the more unequal states, but the data don't suggest there's any pernicious reason for that. The worst statistic for Arizona is that 84.2% of our income growth between 1979 and 2007 went to the top 1%. Only four states, Nevada, Wyoming, Michigan and Alaska, did worse. In each of those states, 100% of the income growth went to the top 1%.

If you're seeking to break into the top 1% in your state, Arizona is a good place to be, because its threshold for the top 1% income group is only $267,667, lower than all but 10 of the other states. 

In terms of percentage of total income going to the top 1%, we're at exactly 20.0% as of 2007. That places us at 12th worst. The worst are Wyoming, Connecticut, New York, Nevada and Florida, ranging from a 28% share to a 33.4% share of income going to the top.

Do the data really tell us anything? Perhaps. On the surface, there is no apparent correlation between governmental policy at the state level and the states' statistical outcomes. The largest driver of inequality for a state seems to be whether it has places rich people like to live, not anything it does policy-wise. California, New York, Washington and Texas all show relatively high levels of inequality, even though two are high tax states and two are low tax states. The only states that have places where the rich like to live and are relatively low in inequality are Maryland and Virginia, but that may be attributable to their proximity to DC and the large number of well-paying middle class jobs in the area.

So, the takeaway it seems is that high income earners really are not that sensitive to income tax rates. The rich people who live in Seattle live there because they like Seattle, not because Washington lacks a state income tax, or so it seems. The rich people who prefer a city that never sleeps live in New York, despite its relatively high tax rates. 

George Takei and House Minority Leader Chad Campbell on The Last Word

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

George Takei and House Minority Leader Chad Campbell were the interview on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday night. (Video below the fold).

Last week, George Takei threatened to boycott Arizona:

Actor and gay rights activist George Takei warned Arizona to expect a boycott campaign if the controversial so-called “turn away the gay” bill becomes law.

In an open letter to residents beginning with “Dear Arizona,” the Star Trek actor sarcastically congratulated them for becoming the “first state actually to pass a bill permitting businesses–even those open to the public–to refuse to provide service to LGBT people based on an individual’s ‘sincerely held religious belief.’”

“This ‘turn away the gay’ bill enshrines discrimination into the law. Your taxi drivers can refuse to carry us. Your hotels can refuse to house us. And your restaurants can refuse to serve us,” Takei wrote.

* * *

“The law is breathtaking in its scope. It gives bigotry against us gays and lesbians a powerful and unprecedented weapon,” said Takei. “But your mean-spirited representatives and senators know this.” He added, “They also know that it is going to be struck down eventually by the courts. But they passed it anyway, just to make their hateful opinion of us crystal clear.”

Takei described his deep ties to the state; his husband Brad was born in Phoenix and the pair spends three weeks in Arizona every year on vacation to visit family and friends. But, Takei vowed to spend his time and tourist dollars elsewhere if this law gets the greenlight.

“If your Governor Jan Brewer signs this repugnant bill into law, make no mistake. We will not come. We will not spend. And we will urge everyone we know–from large corporations to small families on vacation–to boycott. Because you don’t deserve our dollars. Not one red cent.”

Read the full text of Takei’s letter.

SB 1062/HB 2153 Veto March at the Capitol Today

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Hero Phoenix has a SB 1062 / HB 2153 VETO MARCH TODAY at 5:30 p.m.

On Monday February 24th we will be gathering again at the Capitol building between 5:30-6pm to MARCH AROUND THE CAPITOL @ 6:30pm! Join us in our continued efforts to stop SB1062. #Bad4AzBiz

Arizona State Capitol, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Wingspan Daily Community Rally to Veto SB 1062 in Tucson

Posted by AzblueMeanie:

Tucson's Wingspan organization has an Official Daily Community Rally - VETO SB1062!

For businesses: you may print this sign directly by going to http://gallery.mailchimp.com/.../files/OPEN_FOR_BUSINESS.pdf

 

Friends and allies, please join us as we continue the momentum in our community. This is an official daily rally that will continue throughout the week! Lets increase the crowds every day and make a stance loud and clear.

Folks have the option to meet at Wingspan, 430 E. 7th Street, Tucson, at 5:00 p.m. to walk downtown for a 5:30 rally. For those who want to park and rally at Granada and Congress, folks could meet there at 5:30 p.m. with placards and horns!

We will continue the rally on the following dates starting at 5:00 p.m.:

Monday, Feb. 24
Tuesday, Feb. 25
Wednesday, Feb. 26
Thursday, Feb. 27
Friday, Feb. 28

Here are our parking options, some of which are free:

1) Free parking behind the Governor's Tucson Office at 400 W. Congress. About 30 parking spots.
2) Parking garage 100 ft. west of Gov's office parking lot. Free parking for 59 minutes! $2 for 1-2 hrs.

How to get there?

Heading West on Congress from downtown: Take a Right at the first driveway west of Granada.

Parking options are immediately visible there.

Please share this post and invite your friends!

The problematic disintegration of Syria

By Karl Reiner

In 1970, Gen. Hafiz al-Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect, took power in Syria following a long period of political instability. Assad's secular Bath Party portrayed itself as an upholder of Arab nationalism willing to defend the nation and its minorities against foreign threats and Islamic fundamentalism. Remarkably, he was able to hold on to the presidency for 30 years and then transfer power to his son, Bashar.

Under Hafiz al-Assad, the Alawites got an opportunity to overcome their second-class status but not necessarily to become wealthy. Repression was always one of Assad's tools. In February 1982, he was faced with an armed Islamist uprising. The general/president decided to make an example of the city of Hama where the rebellion was based. Estimates put the death toll resulting from the devastating attack on the city at between 10,000 and 30,000.

Raising the minimum wage 'has little or no discernible effect on the employment prospects of low-wage workers'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Here we go again . . .

The headline in the New York Times this morning: Minimum Wage Increase Would Have Mixed Effects, C.B.O. Report Says.

The headline in the Washington Post this morning: Minimum-wage hike could kill 500,000 jobs, CBO reports.

Note that the corporate media did not lead with the good news contained in the CBO report about an increase in the minimum wage. What Really Happens When You Raise The Minimum Wage:

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report on Tuesday on the impacts of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and $9 an hour. It found that a $10.10 minimum wage, implemented by 2016, would mean higher earnings for 16.5 million workers, resulting in $31 billion more in higher earnings. It would also lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty.

* * *

“Once the increases and decreases in income for all workers are taken into account, overall real income would rise by $2 billion,” it says. The vast majority of people impacted, over 95 percent, will be impacted positively.

Tea-Publicans were ecstatic that the CBO report also said "the $10.10 option would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers, or 0.3 percent.” Always with the negative waves, Moriarty.

Tea-Publicans want Americans to continue to earn sub-poverty level wages at the hands of exploitative  employers, because "Freedom!" (Some Tea-Publicans around the country have even proposed eliminating the minimum wage altogether). I would remind you that failed GOP economic policies have eliminated millions of jobs since 2000.

Feb 19 City Council Meetings: Bus Fare Hike, Ronstadt Transit Center Redevelopment

by Pamela Powers Hannley

At the Feb. 19 study session and evening meeting, the Tucson City Council will consider two issues that could greatly affect bus service in our town.

During the study session, they will consider a proposal to increase bus fares. At the regular evening meeting, they will hear public comments about the proposed redevelopment of the Ronstadt Transit Center. (Proposals and background here.) In between these two meetings, the Tucson Bus Riders Union will have a rally outside of the City Council Chambers, beginning at 4 p.m. (Details and related articles below.)

ALEC's stealth constitutional convention

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Craig McDermott has posted about this previously, The AZLege's Black Helicopter Caucus wants a Constitutional Convention. Just the wrong kind., as have I. The Teabaggers want a Constitutional Convention.

Today the East Valley Tribune published its wingnut editorial contributor Tom Patterson extolling the virtues of a "compact" among states calling for a Constitutional Convention for the purpose of a balanced budget amendment. Patterson: Compact for America could be answer to our nation’s despair. Oy.

First of all, this latest right-wing gimmick is a product of the "Kochtopus" organization ALEC. the Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch reports, Wisconsin Moving to Advance ALEC Constitutional Convention Scheme:

ALEC's Stealth Convention

"AJR 81 comes right out of the 'Convention of States' workshop and materials presented at ALEC where state legislators were promised bundled campaign contributions and grassroots support if they joined this effort to amend the federal constitution," said Rep. Chris Taylor, a Madison Democrat who attended ALEC's Annual Meeting in Chicago last summer, in a statement. "I am alarmed that this effort is now making its way through the Wisconsin legislature and is tentatively scheduled to be considered by the full Assembly next Tuesday."

Wartime events had an influence on Arizona’s geographic shape

By Karl Reiner

Early in the Civil War, Gen. Joseph Johnston and his generals in Northern Virginia quarreled with Confederate President Davis in Richmond over the practicality of the president's defensive war policy. While advocating a defensive posture in Northern Virginia, Davis was also eager to extend Confederate power as far as the Pacific. Taking control of California's lucrative gold fields would provide a source of revenue for the haughty, new Confederacy. Any westward expansion of slavery would also be strongly supported by the South's politically powerful large plantation owners.

For years, variations of the expansionist dream of slave owners had been a mainstay of dinner conversations in the South's finest plantations. The objective was to create a confederation in the Western Hemisphere which would include the Southern Slave States, the territories of the southwest United States, possibly Cuba, parts of Central America and northern Mexico. Although it is now largely forgotten, the hazy notion was a subtle part of the ideology driving many of the promoters of secession. The dream held out a promise of an empire based on cotton production and slavery. It offered a sparkling alternative to the fraying relationship the South had in the Union. It was a belief held by many of the South's leaders despite the fact that the institution of slavery was being dismantled in other parts of the world.

HCR2016 ERA Ratification Bill Languishes on Speaker Tobin's Desk

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Tucson Rep. Victoria Steele has introduced two bipartisan bills to advance the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the Arizona Legislature. One has made it to committee, while the other is waiting on Speaker of the House Andy Tobin's desk.

HCR2016 is a bill to ratify the ERA. Although ERA ratification has 22 sponsors, including four Republicans, it hasn't made it "out of the gate" yet. According to an aid in Steele's office, HCR2016 hasn't had a "first read" yet. Bills are read first by Speaker Tobin, who determines committee assignments. If a bill is never assigned to a committee, it is dead in the water. (HB2016 text here.)

HCM2006 is a memorandum to the federal government asking that the ratification deadline be extended. HCM2006 has 19 sponsors, including two Republicans. The bill has been assigned to the Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility Committee (FFR) but hasn't made it on the committee's agenda... yet. (More about the committee here. HCM2006 text here.)

Bills can be killed in multiple ways: they can be voted down in committee, voted down by the Legislature, or just plain ignored by the Speaker or the committee chair. Although it's early in the session, it appears as if the ERA bills are being ignored-- even though the ERA has bipartisan support in the Legislature and broad, popular support among the majority of Americans. (Sponsor list after the jump.)

Ted 'Calgary' Cruz filibuster fizzles - Senate approves clean debt ceiling increase

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember last fall when Sen. Joe McCarthy Ted "Calgary" Cruz (R-TX) had the Tea-Publicans in Congress all riled up with his demagoguery for a government shutdown over the federal debt ceiling?

That was then, this is now. After being led into a blind alley once by this reckless demagogue, nobody was going to march to his tune again.

After the House passed a "clean" debt ceiling increase on Tuesday, Teddy Calgary promised he would filibuster it in the Senate. "I will demand a 60 vote threshhold!"

Today, the Senate GOP leadership demonstrated they no longer fear this has-been teabagger idol. McConnell, Cornyn Vote To Advance Clean Debt Limit Hike:

The Senate on Wednesday voted 67-31 to break a filibuster and advance a "clean" debt limit hike, which the House passed a day earlier.

Shockingly, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) [provided the final] votes for cloture. Both are up for re-election and were widely expected to vote against the procedural motion. [Soon after, a half dozen other Republicans joined the two leaders.]

Boehner raises the white flag - President Obama and Democrats get 'clean' debt ceiling increase

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last week, Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio) was quoted as saying, “Right now, Jesus himself couldn’t be the speaker and get 218 Republicans behind something, so I think Speaker Boehner is trying his best to come up with a plan that can get close to that.”

As I predicted last week, the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, raised the white flag on the latest GOP debt ceiling hostage taking. The Tea-Publican economic terrorists could not agree on what they wanted to take hostage this time, so the TanMan this monring said "Fuck it! We're going with a clean debt ceiling bill." (Yes he does speak this way off the record). GOP leaders will bring up ‘clean’ debt-ceiling bill.

For debt-limit deniers, the answer is always ‘No.’ Sen. Joe McCarthy Ted "Calgary" Cruz (R-TX), who apparently believes he is Speaker of the House, wanted another debt ceiling showdown. Cruz: ‘Clean’ debt ceiling hike ‘irresponsible’. Boehner blew off the blowhard demagogue this time.

Today the House approved a debt limit increase with most Republicans voting for default:

The House of Representatives has raised the debt limit on a vote of 221-201, avoiding the economic catastrophe that would have resulted if the United States had been forced to default on its debt. All but two Democrats voted for the measure. They were joined by 199 Republicans who favored default. [Only 28 Republicans voted yes.]

UPDATE: Reps. John Barrow (D-Ga.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah), who is retiring, voted no. Initially Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), who is also retiring, also voted no, but switched his vote.

Uphill Battle: Rep. Victoria Steele Introduces Bill to Extend ERA Ratification Deadline

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
– Equal Rights Amendment

by Pamela Powers Hannley

There is an ideological perfect storm brewing in the Arizona Legislature. A memorandum supporting extension of the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has been assigned to a committee where five out of seven members have pledged to protect and fight for the rights of fetuses over the rights of women.

Not content with winning the right to vote in 1920, women’s rights advocates proposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) 91 years ago. The ERA was introduced during every Congressional session between 1923 and 1972 and finally passed nearly 70 years after it was originally proposed. In the 1970s, there was a ground war at the state level to get 38 state legislatures to ratify the ERA in order for it to become a Constitutional Amendment. The ERA fell 3 states short of ratification; Arizona is one of a handful of states that never ratified the ERA.

HCM2006 Sponsors

Fast forward to 2013, the ground war for women’s equality has resumed at the state level with ERA ratification proposals six states– Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Virginia, and now … Arizona.; Nevada and North Carolina plan to hear it in 2014. LD9 Rep. Victoria Steele has introduced HCM2006, a memorandum from the State of Arizona asking the federal government to extend the deadline for ratification of the ERA, and HCR2016, a fill to ratify the ERA.

In addition to Steele, the ERA memorandum has 18 co-sponsors– including two Republican women, Kelly Townsend (LD14) and Karen Fann (LD1). Below is the complete list. Although Southern Arizona is well-represented on this list with Steele, Wheeler, Gabaldon, Saldate, and Pencrazi, where are the rest of the Democrats and the “moderate” Repulbican? (Should I name names, or can you figure out who’s missing here? If you live in LD9, LD10, LD2, or LD3, you might want to ask your representatives and senators why their names are missing from this list.)

E.J. Dionne on the failure of conservative economics

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Conservative economics is taking the ass-whooping it so richly deserves today. First Paul Krugman, now E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post weighs in. An economic school has led to gridlock in Washington:

One of my favorite moments during the 2012 Republican presidential contest came when Ron Paul, fresh from his strong showing in Iowa, triumphantly told his supporters: “We’re all Austrians now!”

* * *

Of course those in the know, particularly Ron Paul’s enthusiasts, understood the libertarian presidential candidate’s reference: that Americans were rejecting the economic ideas of John Maynard Keynes that encouraged government intervention and provided intellectual ballast for the New Deal. Instead, they were coming around to the principles of the anti-government economics of Austrians Friedrich A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises.

Krugman on the GOP's ideological indifference to evidence

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Paul Krugman of the New York Times gets right to the heart of the matter today, Writing Off the Unemployed:

[I]t’s difficult to find a better example of the hardhearted, softheaded nature of today’s G.O.P. than what happened last week, as Senate Republicans once again used the filibuster to block aid to the long-term unemployed.

What do we know about long-term unemployment in America?

First, it’s still at near-record levels. Historically, the long-term unemployed — those out of work for 27 weeks or more — have usually been between 10 and 20 percent of total unemployment. Today the number is 35.8 percent. Yet extended unemployment benefits, which went into effect in 2008, have now been allowed to lapse. As a result, few of the long-term unemployed are receiving any kind of support.

Capitol screening of Robert Reich's 'Inequality for All'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Blog for Arizona's own Bob Lord is a member of the panel discussion which follows:

 

Boo Hoo: Two Sick Babies Hurt AOL's Bottomline... Not

by Pamela Powers Hannley

AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong reported that the highly profitable, multi-million-dollar company was forced to cut employee benefits because of  increased insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the cost of care for two sick dependent children born to AOL employees. 

Armstrong (who made $12 million in 2012) said because AOL paid $1 million for medical care for the two babies, the company must scale back the employee retirement plan. He also claimed that the ACA has increased AOL's insurance cost for 5000 employees by $7 million.

On the same day that Armstrong blamed the babies, AOL announced it's "strongest revenue growth in decades" -- with 2013 revenue at $679 million, up 13% over 2012. 

Oh, right, blame the sick babies! It's obviously their fault. It has nothing to do with corporate greed or over-blown CEO salaries. 

January job numbers reflect GOP austerity measures

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Steve Benen has his monthly break down of the job numbers for January. Jobs report underwhelms again:

The good news is, U.S. job growth picked up in January following December’s awful totals. The bad news is, that’s not saying much.

The new report from Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs in January, well below economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% – its lowest point since October 2008 – but that’s cold comfort given the overall data, and is likely affected by congressional Republicans’ decision to cut off jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

As is often the case, there was also a sizable gap between the public and private sectors – in January, businesses added 142,000 jobs, while spending cuts forced 29,000 government job losses.

This report, like the one before it, offer yet another reminder to policymakers that the economic recovery is far from robust. For GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill to forfeit 200,000 jobs this year by failing to extend jobless aid – or worse, threaten deliberate harm through another debt-ceiling crisis – only makes it harder for the economy to get to where it needs to be.

AZ Star Perpetuates ‘Ethan Orr Is a Moderate’ Myth

by Pamela Powers Hannley

In today's Arizona Daily Star, columnist Tim Steller chides the Pima County Democratic Party for trying to take down "moderate" Republican LD9 Legislator Ethan Orr. 

First of all, a quick look at Orr's voting record and political endorsements reveal that the "Ethan Orr is a moderate" meme is a myth. For example:

Orr voted FOR voter suppression on multiple occasions. Most recently, Orr cast the deciding vote in committee and sided Republicans who want to do an "end run" around voters by repealing last year's Omnibus Voter Suppression Bill (HB2305), in order to pass several other voter suppression bills this session. The bill to repeal HB2305-- if passed by the Legislature-- will eliminate the citizens' right to vote for or against voter suppression in the 2014 election. Orr voted for voter suppression last week,  and he was part of the Republican block that originally passed HB2305 in the dead of night in the waning hours of the 2013 Legislative session.

Orr signed an anti-abortion pledge to defend the rights of the unborn. Orr-- along with Governor Jan Brewer, Republican legislators, and three weak-kneed Democrats-- signed the Christian conservative Center for Arizona Policy's pledge to fight for the rights of unborn fetuses, while ignoring the legal rights of adult women to make choices about their bodies, their children, and their lives. Steller soft-sells Orr's pro-fetus stance by saying that Orr "tends toward a pro-life viewpoint on abortion." Orr signed a pledge to fight for fetal personhood; this is an extreme viewpoint that confers rights upon fetuses-- while taking away the rights of American women. This goes far beyond tending "toward pro-life". [Pledge text and more after the jump.]

A party built upon a foundation of lies

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember the $700 billion lie that will not die (up fro $500 billion in 2010) about "cuts" to Medicare, even after every media fact check organization in America rated the GOP claim a "pants on fire" lie repeatedly since 2010? NRCC's 'pants on fire' - the $700 billion lie that will not die returns. Expect to see this lie return in 2014.

This week it was the epic media fail on the CBO report that GOPropagandists tweeted and retweeted: Obamacare to mean 2 million fewer workers. Corporate 'lamestream' media fail on CBO reports. Even the GOP-friendly AP (All Propaganda) has fact-checked this lie, Anti-Obamacare chorus on job losses is off key, as has the GOP-friendly FactCheck.org. The ACA: Losing Jobs vs. Choosing Not to Work - FactCheck.org.

One would think the GOP would simply admit to making an error, as Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) did on Wednesday, Paul Ryan has momentary lapse into truthfulness, and say "my bad, it won't happen again."

Oh, you would be so wrong.

Senate GOP to punish the unemployed, will filibuster unemployment insurance extension

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a test vote on Thursday to extend long-term unemployment insurance benefits after having rejected Republican requests that they be allowed to propose a number of "poison pill" amendments to the Democratic bill. Reid sets up test vote on jobless aid:

Democrats controlling the Senate have set up a test vote on Thursday for the party’s new plan to extend unemployment benefits for people who have been out of work for more than six months.

The latest plan would extend long-term jobless benefits for three months at a cost of almost $7 billion, paid for by a tweak to pension law that Republicans call a gimmick.

Democrats don’t expect the measure to get enough GOP support to overcome a filibuster threshold of 60 votes. Democrats control the Senate with 55 votes and so far expect just three Republicans to join with them. They are Susan Collins of Maine, Dean Heller of Nevada and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

I would encourage you to call our senators, but we all know how these two losers will vote. By the way, in a real democracy without the tyranny of the minority engaging in obstruction and filibuster, this bill would have already passed the Senate.

Boehner raises the white flag on the latest GOP debt ceiling hostage taking

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Have Tea-Publicans finally learned their lesson about taking America hostage and threatening to default on the national debt and destroying the economy every few months? Or is it just because this is an election year and "once burned, twice shy?" (A new CNN poll finds that 54 percent would blame Republicans if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, versus 29 percent who would blame Obama. Independents would blame the GOP by 49-30.)

Following a meeting with his GOP caucus today, the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, raised the white flag on the latest GOP debt ceiling hostage taking. Steve Benen writes, A half-hearted hostage strategy unravels:

Just last year, the Speaker was eager to push the so-called "Boehner Rule" on spending cuts, all while proclaiming that there was simply no way his caucus would approve a clean increase the way he and other GOP colleagues used to.

All of that posturing has been replaced with a more circumspect approach.

Just days away from the administration's deadline to extend the nation's borrowing authority, Speaker John A. Boehner told House Republicans he sees no reason to pick a fight they cannot win on the issue.

"There's no sense picking a fight we can't win," the Ohio Republican told members in a private conference meeting, according to sources in the room.

He added, "No one wants to default on our debt." Since the Speaker is very likely sincere about this point, the crisis is already effectively over -- Boehner won't want to crash the economy on purpose, especially in an election year, so Democrats, who already remember Republicans caving twice on the debt ceiling last year, will have no incentive to pay a ransom now.

The prolonged aftereffect of deficient legislative management

By Karl Reiner

Arizona's legislature has allocated $100,000 to fight subpoenas involving the passage of SB 1070. Passed in 2010, the law is Arizona's belligerent attempt to get more involved in the area of federal immigration law enforcement. Brushing aside suggestions that the lawsuits would go away if the parts SB 1070 not already negated by the courts were repealed, the Republicans (not fiscally conservative in this case) decided funds needed to be allocated to protect their fuzzy concept of what characterizes Arizona's sanctified legislative process. The petulant Republican legislators don't like, and perhaps fear, the insinuation in the subpoena that SB 1070 was motivated partly by racial bias. Given SB 1070's unsympathetic scope, it is quite understandable how a large number of people could arrive at that conclusion.

 

GOP 'ObamaCare' alternative is a sick joke

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

First, a reminder that the Affordable Care Act aka "ObamaCare" was designed by Gov. Mitt Romney's health care advisors and is modeled after "RomneyCare" in Massachusetts. It is "ObamneyCare." 

RomneyCare originated with the Heritage Foundation as the Republican alternative to the Clinton health care reform proposals of the 1990s. The health care reform favored by the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party in recent years is "Medicare For All," a single-payer system that is far less complex and is more cost effective.

The "RomneyCare" Republican health care plan was supported by Republicans until the black guy in the White House, that secret socialist Muslim born in Kenya, Barack Obama, announced that he would support their plan. Suddenly the hybrid "ObamneyCare" was something created in the bowels of hell by Satan. Republican members of Congress who had sponsored the legislation and promoted it in the past were suddenly opposed to it. Such is the insanity induced by the Obama Derangement Syndrome era.

President Obama, having cleverly adopted the Republican plan as his own, left the Republicans without an alternative. And for four years the Republicans have been promising an alternative health care plan to what they refer to as "ObamaCare" in the hope that people will forget that it is their plan.

After four years, the Republicans are saying they finally have an alternative to their Heritage Foundation/RomneyCare/ObamneyCare health care plan. The outlines of the plan are a rehash of old proposals floated and rejected for years, and restores to insurers the financial advantage they enjoyed over consumers before "ObamaCare." It would cover far fewer people, limit coverage and allow for exclusions, and result in a tax increase for employer-sponsored health insurance plans.

A Watershed Book in Economic Thinking

Posted by Bob Lord

I don't know whether to wait until Thomas Pikkety's new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, comes out in English in March or brush up on my French so I can read it now. According to this review by Thomas Edsall in today's NY Times, Capitalism vs. Democracy, Pikkety's book has the potential to be a game changer in economic thinking on inequality. 

I sure hope so, because based on Edsall's review Pikkety has shone a light on some inconvenient truths about capitalism, inequality and taxation.

I'll get to the substance after the jump, but here's how Branco Milanovic of the World Bank described the book:

I am hesitant to call Thomas Piketty’s new book Capital in the 21st Century one of the best books in economics written in the past several decades. Not that I do not believe it is, but I am careful because of the inflation of positive book reviews and because contemporaries are often poor judges of what may ultimately prove to be influential. With these two caveats, let me state that we are in the presence of one of the watershed books in economic thinking.

According to another review, Pikkety's book defies left and right orthodoxy by arguing that worsening inequality is an inevitable outcome of free market capitalism."

The centerpiece of Edsall's argument appears to be based on the relationship between the return on capital and the rate of economic growth:

GOP's war on the poor: cut food stamps, keep farm subsidies

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The compromise "farm bill," which provides the appropriations for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) aka food stamps, survived a vote in the Tea-Publican House today. Last year a similar bill was defeated by Tea-Publicans in the House who felt the bill was not draconian and punitive enough towards the takers poor.

The New York Times reports, House Approves Farm Bill, Ending 2-Year Impasse:

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill authorizing nearly $1 trillion in spending on farm subsidies and nutrition programs, setting the stage for final passage of a new five-year farm bill that has been stalled for over two years.

Negotiators from the House and Senate spent several weeks working out their differences on issues in the legislation, including cuts to food stamps, income caps on farm subsidies and a price support program for dairy farmers. The bill is expected to save about $16.6 billion over the next 10 years.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 251 to 166. The Senate is expected to take up the bill later this week.

Compared with earlier, more contentious votes on the farm bill, Wednesday’s vote was largely bipartisan. Many Democrats who had opposed it because of cuts to the food stamp program supported it on Wednesday. A number of Republicans, including many who wanted deeper cuts to the food stamps, also voted for the bill’s passage.

Economic Mobility: Latest Ruse of the Rich

Posted by Bob Lord

Great piece by Sean McElwee in Salon yesterday, Listen up, talking heads: Upward mobiity isn't the answer. McElwee identifies and exposes the latest ruse of the rich, implemented through their proxies in the punditocracy and Congress: It's not inequality, but upward mobility, that we need to address. In other words, if we can just improve the odds of going from rags to riches, it would be just fine if most Americans were in rags. McElwee:

A new “bipartisan consensus” is brewing: 2014 will be the year in which Very Serious People argue that America’s primary economic goal should be increasing social mobility, not decreasing inequality. “Shame on Obama and De Blasio for talking about class, and trying to divide us,” they’ll smarm. “Let’s focus on something everyone can agree on: upward mobility.”

It’s already happening. At the Brookings Institution, Richard Reeves argues that while inequality is important, the defining issue of our era is “the shocking, illiberal, immoral transmission of poverty and affluence from one generation to the next.” Social mobility is the new deficit reduction, and luminaries from the left (Kirsten Gillibrand) and right (Paul Ryan) can both agree it’s a problem. Even David Brooks is concerned. Marco Rubio has already sketched out the battle lines: “It is this lack of mobility, not just income inequality, that we should be focused on.” At the core, the question about whether our society should focus on inequality or mobility gets to a significant schism built around one central question: Is inequality fundamentally immoral?

McElwee's piece is thought provoking, to say the least. He demolishes the underlying premise of those promoting the "it's not inequality, but upward mobility" position, that markets are inherently just and a society where property is distributed according to merit is optimal.

PDA Meeting, Jan 23: Should Arizona Move Its Money? (video)

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Following the Wall Street crash and the housing market collapse a few years ago, the Move Your Money campaign encouraged millions of Americans to take their money out of big commercial banks and hold the funds locally in credit unions and community banks.

Is it time for state governments to move their money?

Across the US, millions of dollars of taxpayer funds are held in big commercial banks and invested on Wall Street. If Arizona had a public bank, the state’s rainy day funds would be held and invested in Arizona.

Local investment of state funds translates into jobs and a stronger economy. An Arizona public bank could create jobs by investing in public works projects, can boost entrepreneurship by backing small business loans through community banks, can build our state’s future by helping finance college loans—and much more. Isn’t it time that Arizona invested in Arizona—instead of Wall Street?

Why does Arizona need a public bank?

• Maybe it's because Arizona has a crumbling infrastructure and "no money" to fix roads, bridges, and public buildings?
• Maybe it's because Arizona's entrepreneurs can't get the capital they need to grow and innovate?
• Maybe it's because cities and towns are strapped for cash and have have to sell bonds and pay high fees in order to get credit?
• Maybe it's because Arizona has the 3rd lowest credit rating in the US, making borrowing extremely expensive?
• Maybe it's because Arizona is among the 10 worst states in the country for home foreclosures?
• Maybe it's because 10 Arizona banks have failed in the last few years?
• Maybe it's because university tuition continues to increase, pricing young Arizonans out of the market for higher education?

The answer is, of course, all of the above and more. 

Come to the January 23, 2014 meeting of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson Chapter to learn how public banking can build Arizona’s economy and benefit Arizona’s citizens. [Event details and video after the jump.]

Humans have mechanized and computerized ourselves into obsolescence

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This morning we learned from an Oxfam International report, Working for the Few: Political Capture and economic inequality (.pdf), that the world's 85 richest people command as much wealth as the poorest half of the world.

Now a study from Oxford University projects that 47% of the world's currently existing jobs are likely to be automated over the next two decades. The Rich and Their Robots Are About to Make Half the World's Jobs Disappear:

Combined, those two stats portend a quickly-exacerbating dystopia. As more and more automated machinery (robots, if you like) are brought in to generate efficiency gains for companies, more and more jobs will be displaced, and more and more income will accumulate higher up the corporate ladder. The inequality gulf will widen as jobs grow permanently scarce—there are only so many service sector jobs to replace manufacturing ones as it is—and the latest wave of automation will hijack not just factory workers but accountants, telemarketers, and real estate agents.

That's according to a 2013 Oxford study The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation? (.pdf), which was highlighted in this week's Economist cover story. That study attempted to tally up the number of jobs that were susceptible to automization, and, surprise, a huge number were. Creative and skilled jobs done by humans were the most secure—think pastors, editors, and dentists—but just about any rote task at all is now up for automation. Machinists, typists, even retail jobs, are predicted to disappear.

Oxfam Report: The world's richest 85 people have the same amount of wealth as the bottom half of the population

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Growing income inequality is not just prevalent in the world's richest country, the United States. but is a global phenomenon.

The humanitarian organization Oxfam International has released a new research report, Working for the Few: Political capture and economic inequality, which finds that:

Almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population, and seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last 30 years. The World Economic Forum has identified economic inequality as a major risk to human progress, impacting social stability within countries and threatening security on a global scale.

This massive concentration of economic resources in the hands of fewer people presents a real threat to inclusive political and economic systems, and compounds other inequalities – such as those between women and men. Left unchecked, political institutions are undermined and governments overwhelmingly serve the interests of economic elites – to the detriment of ordinary people.

The troubling trend in Afghanistan

By Karl Reiner

Since 2002, the U.S. has spent $100 billion on nonmilitary aid in Afghanistan, a country considered by many analysts to be the most corrupt nation on earth. Despite the massive amount of aid, Afghan state institutions remain fragile and ineffectual, they do not provide good governance, deliver basic services or provide security. The country ranks near the bottom for GDP per capita income, life expectancy and electricity usage. Although more roads and schools have been built, the Taliban destroys around 100 schools per year. With a population of approximately 30 million, Afghanistan has an unemployment rate of 35%, it is the world's largest producer of opium.

Because Afghan government services are mostly imperceptible in the countryside, Afghanistan is becoming a defining study on how not to give aid. A sizeable part of the aid appears to have been wasted or siphoned off. Planning is said to be poor. The dangerous security situation makes contract oversight difficult allowing cunning contractors and their benefactors to take advantage of the chancy situation. Although the U.S. has spent an additional $51 billion to train the Afghan military since 2002, the local military and police forces are still having difficulty operating on their own. The literacy rate in the Afghan military is around 14%. This impediment makes it tough to perform tasks such as maintaining equipment, reading maps, providing logistics, communications, medical and intelligence support.

The GOP wrecking crew is sabotaging the economy out of partisanship

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

You likely have heard by now that the Senate GOP filibustered extended unemployment insurance benefits for the long-term unemployment on a straight party-line vote, 55-45. You should note than in an actual democracy, this bill passed with 55 votes. Negotiations to extend jobless benefits deadlock in Senate. Brad Plumer explains 7 reasons why Congress’s failure to extend unemployment insurance matters.

This is part of a broader partisan strategy by the GOP wrecking crew to sabotage the economy out of partisanship. They believe that if the economy is still struggling in November -- due largely to GOP austerity economic measures and their failure to pass a single jobs bill since taking over in 2011 -- low information voters will blame the president and his party rather than the Tea-Publican economic terrorists who have been sabotaging the economy at every turn.

That's right, the same assholes who blew up our financial system and economy in 2008 with their faith based supply-side "trickle down" economics and then engaged in unprecedented obstruction, and held the country hostage time and again to their extortionary economic terrorist demands ever since, expect to be rewarded by low information voters for their insurrection against the federal government and economic terrorism against the American people. A classic Stockholm syndrome.

Kavanagh for the kleptocracy of the 'Kochtopus'!

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last year I posted that the Goldwater Institute declares war on public employees:

Now the Goldwater Institute "Kochtopus" Death Star wants to extend this fiscally reckless amd irresponsible idea [Tucson public employee pension initiative] to state and local governments in Arizona through a statewide initiative. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, Initiative would tie government spending to pension funding:

A proposed ballot measure would effectively bar state and local governments from increasing spending across the board until its employee pension systems are adequately funded.

[The purposefully deceptively named] Responsible Budgets Act, which was filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on Friday, would bar political entities with underfunded pension systems from increasing spending, except for inflation and population growth. A provision in the initiative defines “adequately funded” as 80 percent funded.

[I-02-2014 Responsible Budgets in Support of Proposition __ and Petition Serial # ____, full text of initiative: PDF]

I am guessing that the Goldwater Institute "Kochtopus" Death Star is also behind this latest bill attacking the state employee pension system as well, sponsored by its waterboy, Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills). Lawmaker seeks to allow cuts in public pensions:

An Arizona lawmaker wants the state constitution amended to allow cuts to public employee pensions and increases in employee contributions if the systems are badly underfunded.

Republican Rep. John Kavanagh introduced a bill [HCR 2001 (.pdf)] that would refer the proposal to the voters. He said in an interview he is targeting automatic cost-of-living increases but acknowledged nothing in his proposal would prevent cuts to existing pensions.

Dr. King's Nightmare

The wealth possessed by our nation's 400 richest billionaires is equal to the collective net worth of  all African-American households.

By Bob Lord

As we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s 85^th birthday, we’ve all come to know his dream. Above all else, he dreamed that one day this nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Yet here’s the grim reality facing black America today:

The net worth of just 400 billionaires, a group that could fit into a high school gym, is on par with the collective wealth of our more than 14 million African- American households. Both groups possess some $2 trillion, about three percent of our national net worth of $77 trillion.

We chose to honor Dr. King by making his birthday a national holiday because of his tireless work for justice. And MLK stood not only for social justice, but for economic justice as well.

Back in 1951, he told his future life partner, Coretta Scott, that a small elite should not “control all the wealth.” “A society based on making all the money you can and ignoring people’s needs, is wrong,” Dr. King explained.

And the “March on Washington” was “for jobs and freedom.” At the time of his assassination in Memphis in 1968, Dr. King was standing with striking sanitation workers in their fight for economic justice.

How would MLK view the Forbes 400 controlling as much wealth as our entire African-American population of about 41 million people? Could that state of affairs co-exist with his dream?

Governor Brewer's bogus 'Arizona Comeback'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Linda Valdez at The Arizona Republic is appropriately skeptical of Governor Jan Brewer's State of the State Address, where the Guv injured her arm patting herself on the back. Brewer's speech: state of the state 2014 :

This time it was her announcement that she abolished CPS. Jaw dropping. But it will accomplish little if chronic underfunding is not corrected. Unless the new agency gets adequate staffing and equipment, Brewer’s bold move may be little more than a distraction. Let’s hope not.

She offered a litany of smiley-face ideas. Who is going to oppose helping abused kids or victims of human trafficking? Who isn’t glad Arnold vs. Sarn is settled? But these goals will be impossible unless the state has more revenue. But the governor is pushing more revenue-robbing corporate tax cuts.

That does not compute.

* * *

More tax breaks for business means less revenue for education.

Brewer approach to schools? Gotta get better.

Following recession-era cuts to K-12 that were among the worst in the nation, she talks an “ambitious” proposal to reward successful students. A nice idea. Interesting pilot. But this is no way to rebuild a fund that was attacked with a meat cleaver.

Calling on the Board of Regents to hold the line on tuition makes sense. But how can the universities pay for this?

Why "reinventing" CPS might not change anything

Today was the first day of Arizona's legislative session and also the day that Governor Brewer delivered her State of the State remarks. One of the highlights of her speech was her announcement that she was "abolishing" Child Protective Services via executive order. The agency will be spun off into a standalone, cabinet-level department. It will no longer be part of the Department of Economic Security (DES). I'm relieved that the Governor didn't put the agency under the aegis of law enforcement, as some conservatives have suggested, due to the chilling prospect of Arpaio's deputies demanding "papers" before investigating reports. 

But I don't see it changing much, if anything. At best, there could be some minor improvement initially due to hypervigilance but I predict things will return to exactly the way they were so long as CPS remains chronically underfunded. Defenders of Brewer's administration and Republican rule of the state will claim that cuts to CPS were inevitable due to the recession and that government agencies are bloated anyway. Isn't it funny, though, how child abuse prevention and enforcement had to be cut (along with education, health care, and social services) while prisons were spared? Obviously shrewd private prison lobbyists and their profit motive play a role in that but Corrections eats up 10% of the state's budget (which is about as much as we spend on higher education, by the way) and private prisons are only a fraction of that. The majority of state prisoners are in state-run prisons. Seems like it would be a ripe target for spending reductions and there are numerous effective alternatives to imprisonment at our disposal but they weren't considered. No, we had to hold prison spending harmless even though the actual number of prisoners in the state has decreased slightly. 

It's really easy to dismiss this as "that's Republicans for you" but this interview by Joshua Holland on Bill Moyers' site sheds some light on why certain things in government are prioritized over others. 

A growing body of academic research suggests that the wealthy see the world differently than the rest of us.

These studies are more than a matter of passing interest. Last week, the Center for Responsive Politics released a report that for the first time ever, a majority of those representing us in Congress are millionaires. And studies by political scientists Larry Bartels at Princeton and Trinity University’s Thomas Hayes have demonstrated that lawmakers vote to advance the interests of the wealthiest Americans. So in an effective plutocracy, the worldviews of ‘high-status’ individuals translate directly into public policies that affect us all.

Building on earlier research that found that those at the top tend to see themselves as being inherently more deserving than average working people, UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner and Michael Kraus, a colleague at the University of Illinois, looked at how those views might influence the way they view our criminal justice system in astudy published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

The researchers found that the wealthier the subjects were, and the wealthier they perceived themselves to be in relation to others, the more likely they were to attribute their good fortune to their innate superior qualities. Keitner and Kraus also found that wealth correlates with what they called a retributive versus restorative model of criminal justice.  

What we’ve learned in this study is that if you think that there are just bad people out there, because of their genes, because of their temperament, because of their biological makeup, you won’t have much hope in restorative justice or restorative punishment. You won’t think there’s really any opportunity for them to change.

And what we’ve found is that because they have this belief that the people who aren’t doing well aren’t doing well because of their genes, upper-class individuals — or people put into this upper-class mindset — are more likely to endorse harsher, more retributive forms of punishment. That’s true when thinking about crimes and also kids cheating in schools — all manner of transgressions. I think that’s really worrisome.

Our state government is not full of elected officials or bureaucrats of considerable wealth but that does describe many of the people with the most influence over it - the lobbyists, advisers, board members, etc. 

Keltner:

And I’m not only worried about our punitive tendencies. I’d also extend this analysis to other policy areas. For example, the idea of devoting resources to those in need, people who are struggling, is a foundational element of a strong state. And our data would suggest that the well-to-do, who are more likely to be in office, won’t have that intuition about directing resources to those in need. I think there are many applications of this work.

Most CPS reports are for neglect, not abuse. While abusive parents are found at all socioeconomic levels, neglect is probably more often a function of lack of resources rather than malice. But if wealthy people are likelier to believe that poor parents are simply constitutionally inferior than to see them as worthwhile people who need help, you can see how this could put abused and neglected children from poor families in a double bind. Prisons might be taking precedence over assistance to poor households for reasons people designing those policies haven't even given much thought to. 

Sen. John McCain makes a complete ass of himself (again)

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"If it's Sunday, It's John McCain." The Sunday morning bobbleheads are his base. No one else gives a damn.

The man who could not remember if he owns 8, no wait is it 9, no 10 homes, was on TeaNN (formerly CNN) on Sunday to explain why someone who made his fortune the old-fashioned way -- he married it -- voted against extending long-term unemployment benefits to the unemployed and is opposed to raising the minimum wage: Obama derangement syndrome.

Arizona's angry old man does not feel empathy and compassion for the less fortunate. Screw "Christian values" -- Fuck em! It's all about the sanctity of Senate procedures that only the Beltway media clutches their pearls over.

Heather at Crooksandliars.com nails it. McCain: Jobless Benefits, Minimum Wage 'Clever Strategy' of 'Anything But Obamacare':

If Sen. John McCain really wants to help the Republicans with their "messaging" on unemployment benefits and minimum wage, he might want to start by staying off the air.

Here's Grandpa McGrumpy telling CNN's Candy Crowley that the real problem is not their cruel stance on unemployment benefits or raising the minimum wage, it's that they haven't done enough carping about that mean old Harry Reid stopping them from being able to grind the Senate to a halt with poison pills and adding an unlimited number of amendments to bills so they never see the light of day.

Disappointing December jobs report, but 2013 a good year

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

OK, so I am a few days late -- I was busy. Get over it. The December jobs report came out last Friday, and it appears to be an outlier that will be adjusted in coming months as more data becomes available. Steve Benen reported, December job totals disappoint:

When it comes to U.S. job creation, the latter half of 2013 looked quite good, and there was ample reason to believe the year would end on a high note, giving the economy some momentum going into the new year.

That didn’t happen, at least according to initial estimates. The new report from Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the U.S. economy added only 74,000 jobs in December, far below economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.7% – its lowest point since October 2008 – but that appears largely to be the result of people dropping out of the workforce.

Indeed, though the drop in the jobless rate may appear encouraging, this is a pretty dreadful jobs report – 74,000 jobs for December is the lowest monthly total in two and a half years.

Note, however, that this is an initial estimate, which will be revised twice more, and may end up looking far less discouraging than it does right now. Indeed, the revisions from October and November showed an additional 38,000 U.S. jobs that had been previously unreported.

That said, December’s awful numbers are a reminder – to policy makers, to the Fed, to the public – that a robust economic recovery has still not arrived. For congressional Republicans to undermine the economy on purpose by cutting off extended unemployment benefits makes it that much more difficult for the job market to return to where it needs to be.

All told, so far in calendar year 2013, the economy added 2.18 million jobs, while the private sector alone created 2.21 million jobs.

Arizona and the repercussions of SB 1070

By Karl Reiner

Passed in 2010, SB 1070 was Arizona's attempt to have local police become more involved in enforcing immigration laws. Although it added a burden on the police, the law generated a great deal of publicity regarding the state of affairs along Arizona's border. It gave fearful people something to think about, taking their minds off of the devastating effects of the Great Recession. Regrettably for Arizona, most of the publicity was highly unfavorable. As the political leadership in Phoenix flaunted its idiosyncratic bizarreness, Arizona became known as a hothouse of intolerance and/or a place where elected officials were too inept to understand the difference between federal and state policing responsibilities.

Arizona's actions antagonized the neighboring Mexican state of Sonora at the same time it brought heaps of unflattering publicity upon itself. All this was occurring at a time when federal border enforcement was on the upswing, the number of illegal borders crossers was dropping and trade with Mexico was increasing. It appeared that Arizona's goal was to freeze trade, encourage tourists to stay away and push up the unemployment rate. The effort to implement SB 1070 soon ran into legal problems as large parts of the law were swiftly negated by the courts. The legal bills mounted as flinty state officials continued to push implementation. In retrospect, the spending on SB 1070 legal fees might have been put to better use supporting the investigation of child protection cases.

Scott Smith for Governor? Beware of "centrist" mayors.

I'm about to do a post that is similar to one I did on Democratic Diva a while back but since that site is down and Brahm Resnik of 12 News in Phoenix just tweeted that Mesa Mayor Scott Smith intends to announce his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nod in Arizona, I'm going to repeat my warning:

There was a guy by the name of Pat McCrory in North Carolina. He was the Mayor of Charlotte, a medium-sized city which had enjoyed a good bit of high tech development in recent years. McCrory was considered a centrist, and was the darling of the Chamber of Commerce and media establishment types in NC. When he ran for governor in 2012, McCrory styled himself as a keen-eyed, business focused pragmatist. At debates and endorsement interviews he swore up and down he wasn't going to indulge the tea party ideologues in the state legislature. He was all about jobs jobs jobs! When he was specifically asked about abortion at one forum, he gave a one word answer - "no" - to signing any bill involving abortion into law. 

The praised and disparaged North American Free Trade Agreement

By Karl Reiner

On January 1, 2014 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reached the age of 20. Still fairly controversial, NAFTA has turned out to be neither the economic marvel nor the calamity its supporters and critics claimed when the agreement went into force. NAFTA did do what trade agreements are supposed to do, it fostered a large increase in the level of trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In 1993, U.S. merchandise exports to Mexico were $41.5 billion, imports totaled $39.9 billion. Trade with Canada accounted for $100.4 billion in U.S. exports and imports valued at $111.2 billion.

In 2012, the last year for which full year data are available, U.S. merchandise exports to Mexico reached $215.9 billion and imports totaled $277.5 billion. Shipments to Canada totaled $292.5 billion while U.S. imports came to $323.9 billion. Although U.S. merchandise trade ran a deficit with Canada and Mexico in 2012, the services trade sector did better. The U.S. had a surplus of $31.5 billion with Canada and $12.2 billion with Mexico. Services include such items as licensing fees, royalties, freight, legal, engineering, consulting, etc.

Inequality Denialists

Posted by Bob Lord

By now, we're all familiar with the pseudo-science of climate change denial. Exxon Mobil, the Koch brothers, or someone of that ilk funds a think tank, which hires a dishonest "scientist" to concoct a "study" to tell us all the peer reviewed papers documenting climate change are wrong. 

Now, we have climate change denial's twin brother, inequality denial. The principle is the same: Find an intellectually dishonest "economist" to manipulate the data and claim that things really aren't that unequal. 

Paul Krugman recently took an inequality denialist to task in his blogpost, Disinformation on Inequality. The denialist, Bret Stephens, had engaged in rank intellectual dishonesty in a piece written for the Wall Street Journal. 

Among other things, Stephens used income figures that had not been adjusted for inflation in order to claim that incomes were up substantially for all Americans. In other words, if the cost of living had doubled and your income doubled, he'd say your income was up 100%, rather than saying it was unchanged. Wow! And the Journal was only too happy to publish Stephens' masterpiece.

Here's Krugman's conclusion:

We could have a debate about whether rising inequality is a problem, and whether measures intended to curb it would do more harm than good. But we can’t have that kind of debate if the anti-populist side won’t acknowledge basic facts – and it won’t. In his piece Stephens trashes Obama, accusing him of making a factual error when he did no such thing; then proceeds to commit just about every statistical sin you can imagine in an attempt to minimize the rise in inequality. In the process he leaves his readers more ignorant than they were before. When this is what passes for argument, how can we have any kind of rational discussion?

Expect to see a whole lot more inequality denial. America's economic royalists will pull every stunt possible to keep the masses under heel. 

You mean companies in other countries have trouble finding skilled employees?

by David Safier

Word to the wise: Take every company's complaint about how unskilled its workforce is with a grain of salt. Every boss wants workers who are highly skilled, motivated, obedient and willing to work for peanuts. When that doesn't happen, they blame it on someone else, usually the schools.

Today's NY Times has a story about high tech companies setting up in Ireland having trouble finding skilled workers, even though the unemployment rate is high. The story says they have to import workers from other countries to fill the positions.

Remember those recent international tests -- PISA -- where the U.S. ranked low, proving our workforce isn't educated enough for the 21st century? Well, Ireland scored 16 places above us, so they should have no problem finding skilled employees if it's all about how well students score on the tests. Apparently factors other than test scores are in play.

The article doesn't say what countries the imported workers come from, which leaves out an important part of the story. Either the reporter didn't do her job, or the companies complaining about a lack of skilled workers aren't saying where they went to find workers. Could many of them come from eastern Europe or other countries where the workers are used to low wages and poor working conditions? Could it be as much about what companies are willing to pay as the Irish workers' lack of skills?

Stock Markets set record closing highs

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

If President Barack Obama is a socialist/communist/marxist (pick one) he is really terrible at it. While long-term unemployment in the wake of the Great Recession has not been substantially reduced -- the Bureau of Labor Statistic's U-6 long-term unemployment measure declined from 13.9% in November 2012 to 13.2% in November 2013, thanks largely to the GOP budget sequester and austerity economics -- the investor class, i.e., The Predator Class, has not only recovered from the Great Recession but it was a Champagne year's end for Wall St as stocks set record closing highs:

Stocks closed 2013 at record highs on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 posting its largest annual jump in 16 years and the Dow its biggest gain in 18, after positive reports on consumer confidence and housing boosted sentiment on the final trading day of the year.

"It's been a great year, if you look at it from what the prevailing sentiment was at the beginning of the year, it has surpassed even the most bullish of predictions. It's the type of year you want to savor, there's been a nice wealth effect that has warmed people's portfolios," said Matthew Kaufler, portfolio manager at Federated Investors.

"Between the rise in the markets as well as the rebound in housing prices, this year went a long way in repairing consumer balance sheets," he added.

2014: Raise the minimum wage and share the wealth of increased productivity with workers

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In November 2006, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 202, the minimum wage initiative backed by organized labor. The initiative included a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in subsequent years on each January 1st.

On January 1, 2014, Arizona's minimum wage will increase to $7.80 7.90 per hour. While this is more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, it is still well below the earning power adjusted for inflation that the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with inflation since its peak earning power in 1968. That would require a minimum wage of $10.74 per hour today. Raise The Minimum Wage.

President Obama called for a $9 per hour minimum wage in his State of the Union Address last year. He has since increased that amount to $10.10 per hour, and Senate Democrats have introduced competing bills to raise the minimum wage.

The New York Times reports today, Democrats See Minimum Wage as Key to 2014 Strategy:

Democratic Party leaders have found an issue they believe can lift their fortunes both locally and nationally in 2014: an increase in the minimum wage.

The effort to take advantage of growing populism among voters in both parties is being coordinated by officials from the White House, labor unions and liberal advocacy groups.