Krugman: Reagan And His Advisers Were Prime Villains Behind The Financial Mess We’re In

“This bill is the most important legislation for financial institutions in the last 50 years. It provides a long-term solution for troubled thrift institutions. … All in all, I think we hit the jackpot.” So declared Ronald Reagan in 1982, as he signed the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act.
He was, as it happened, wrong about [...]

While Rome Burns

Krugman: How Can There Be Bipartisanship When GOP ‘Take Their Marching Orders From Rush Limbaugh?’»

Today on MSNBC, the Morning Joe team — many of whom have been having a tough time with the facts of the economic recovery plan — hosted Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman to discuss the bill. Krugman began by emphasizing the severity of the current economic crisis. “This is not your father’s recession,” Krugman said. [...]

Job losses mount; unemployment surges to 7.6%

The unemployment rate rose to a 16-year high 7.6% in January as employers slashed a seasonally adjusted 598,000 jobs, the most since 1974, the government said Friday in a report that showed the job market deteriorating at a rapid clip.
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GOP Governors Press Congress To Pass Stimulus Bill

Most Republican governors have broken with their GOP colleagues in Congress and are pushing for passage of President Barack Obama’s economic aid plan that would send billions to states for education, public works and health care.
Their state treasuries drained by the financial crisis, governors would welcome the money from Capitol Hill, where GOP lawmakers are [...]

Two Santa Clauses or How The Republican Party Has Conned America for Thirty Years

This weekend, House Republican leader John Boehner played out the role of Jude Wanniski on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”  Odds are you’ve never heard of Jude, but without him Reagan never would have become a “successful” president, Republicans never would have taken control of the House or Senate, Bill Clinton never would have been impeached, [...]

Bad Faith Economics: GOP Cheap Shots!

As the debate over President Obama’s economic stimulus plan gets under way, one thing is certain: many of the plan’s opponents aren’t arguing in good faith. Conservatives really, really don’t want to see a second New Deal, and they certainly don’t want to see government activism vindicated. So they are reaching for any stick they [...]

The United States economy sank into a recession December 2007

The United States economy officially sank into a recession last December, which means that the downturn is already longer than the average for all recessions since World War II, according to the committee of economists responsible for dating the nation’s business cycles.
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Obama intensifies focus with economy in free fall

With the economy in free fall, President-elect Barack Obama is stepping up efforts to let Americans know what he has planned to stabilize the nation’s financial system and calm the markets.
He announced a plan this weekend to save or create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011 and his transition team confirmed he will announce the [...]

Neil Cavuto Blasts McCain

On FBC’s Cavuto show, Neil Cavuto lambasted John McCain over his economic policies, or lack there of. It’s a searing commentary on McCain’s nonsensical approach and the shifting positions he has taken during his campaign. Cavuto: Frankly, neither of your numbers adds up. But Ive come to see a consistent pattern in Obama’s. For the [...]