Recovery Drag: The Age of Cheats
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 8th, 2012 11:08 pm by HL
Recovery Drag: The Age of Cheats
Rich Karlgaard, Forbes
One day in the 1980s my father called to share some exciting news. A shot-putter on his track team—Dad was a high school athletic director—was breaking all the state records. “This kid spent the whole winter in the gym, lifting weights. Real dedication. A testament to hard work.” Then Dad paused and added, “He has a terrible temper. The coaches don’t know what to do with him.”“That’s interesting,” I said. “Does he happen to have a lot of acne on his shoulders and…
Romney’s Dishonest “Welfare Queen” Attack
Ed Kilgore, New Republic
"Tough on Kids; Weak on Work." That was Bill Clinton's regular and emphatic judgment on the Republican attitude on welfare reform as he vetoed two congressional GOP bills before cutting the deal that became the landmark 1996 law.This was no mere rhetoric. As a welfare policy wonk in the 1990s I can attest to the fact that Republican interest in welfare reform was focused on everything other than work: punishing illegitimacy, creating absolute time limits for eligibility, devolving responsibility for the indigent to the states, and saving money for the federal…
Can Obama Fight to a Draw on Economy?
Greg Sargent, Washington Post
I continue to believe that the Obama campaign is angling to fight Mitt Romney to a draw on the economy. As I've noted before, Obama advisers would obviously like a win, but they many have to settle for a draw. Then the campaign might be winnable on other fronts: tax fairness, entitlements, vision for the future, personal attributes.Today's New York Times/CBS/Quinnipiac poll of three swing states sheds a bit more light on this. They suggest an interesting dynamic has taken hold. Swing voters continue to say Obama is more in touch with their problems than Romney; and they mostly see…
Mitt to Middle Class: Get Used to Being Poor
James Hoffa, Detroit News
Mitt Romney's “plan for a stronger middle class” reads like a manifesto in the war on workers — for the other side.It isn't even a plan, and it certainly won't strengthen the middle class. It's simply an outline of results that he wishes will happen: lower taxes for the wealthy, smaller government and weaker rights for workers.In other words, Romney wants to redistribute more income to the 1 percent. He would never say it out loud, of course.
