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The United States has a Massive, Crippling Spending Addiction…Or Not

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Government spending is at historical low levels despite hysterical insistence to the contrary

Last week Congress struck a deal on the fiscal cliff deal that staved off tax increases to the still-struggling middle class. It wasn’t exactly the deal most Democrats expected, but it did at least temporarily solve a self-inflicted crisis. But the fight over the fiscal cliff tax rates was only the beginning of the battle for America’s fiscal soul, and the lines are already being drawn via Republican puffery on the debt ceiling and the sequestration cuts that were put off for two months. The arguments on the Republican side are getting more and more ridiculous, and sounding more and more desperate.

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Some Factual Gun Statistics – Part 2 of A Cultural Comparison: Gun Violence In The US And Europe

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By Frank Thomas and John Lawrence

Continued from Part 1

In almost every measurable statistic whether it be gun ownership, gun homicide rate or total firearm-related deaths including suicides and accidents, the US leads the world in deadly gun violence. Although statistics show that a firearm in the household is more likely to be used on a family member than an intruder, the NRA promotes gun ownership as a means of self-protection and as a crime deterrent.

Britain has a much stricter gun control culture with relatively few guns in households.   [Read more…]

Grassroots Democracy Takes Patience at the Ocean Beach Planning Board

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The meeting room at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center was quickly filling up last Wednesday night, the 2nd of January, as the monthly meeting of the Board was about to begin. No “OB-time” here, as the Chair, Jane Gawronski, gaveled the meeting to order right at 6:00 pm. In the audience was a “who’s-who” of the community’s merchant establishment and friends, and it included the heads of the OB Town Council; the merchants’ group, the Mainstreet Association; the local non-profit OB Community Development Corporation.

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The Starting Line – Both California Senators Blocking Filibuster Reform

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Two of the leaders of the effort to reform Senate filibuster rules, Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tom Udall of New Mexico, are now saying that 48 senators have confirmed their support for making the filibuster a real, talking filibuster. Further, all 48 have committed to reforming the filibuster by using the “constitutional option”—that is, by changing the rules of the Senate with a simple majority of 50 votes plus the Vice President.

There are seven Democratic members of the Senate who have not yet committed to reforming the filibuster in this way: Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein of California, Carl Levin of Michigan, Max Baucus of Montana, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
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Inside.. The UT’s Gospels of Fear and Falsehoods, Gun Control Proposal, Nurses United and much more…   [Read more…]

Qualcomm Lobbies Government To Get Out of Paying Taxes

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Qualcomm Corporation headquartered in San Diego has been lobbying Congress for a “tax holiday” that would allow it to “repatriate” millions of dollars held offshore in tax free jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the New York State Common Retirement Fund, has sued Qualcomm over disclosure of use of stockholder funds for political purposes.

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Obama’s Fiscal Cliff “Victory”: Winning a Battle in the Midst of Losing the War?

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Grover Norquist is happy. After the fiscal cliff deal was passed in the House, he pointed out that Obama blinked on his $250,000 line in the sand on taxes and that, by locking in the Bush tax cuts for 98% of Americans, the Democrats’ ability to defend the legacy of the New Deal has been greatly diminished. He’s right.
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Holding the Debt Limit Hostage is Unconstitutional, So Why Not Mint a Trillion-Dollar Platinum Coin?

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By Joshua Holland / Alternet

It’s bizarre how people distinguish between serious and unserious proposals.

With another debt-ceiling show-down looming, talk of the ‘platinum coin option’ – declared deeply unserious in 2011 – is once again gaining some traction. Here’s Josh Barro over at Bloomberg:

I’m glad to see Representative Jerrold Nadler lending his support to the idea that President Barack Obama should avert a debt-limit crisis by issuing large-denomination platinum coins, as permitted by 31 USC § 5112.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Congressman Darrell Issa’s Loose Lips Helping to Sink the GOP’s Ship

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North San Diego’s Congressional Representative Darrell Issa’s making the news this week as his vote against the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (also known as the fiscal cliff bill) and his support of Speaker John Boehner’s decision to adjourn without taking up a disaster relief bill has come under fire.

The Washington-based Media Matters group cited Issa as an example of media malfeasance in reporting on the so-called ‘fiscal-cliff’ negotiations over the past week, noting that the Congressman was given ample air time to attack the pending deal without mentioning his personal financial interest…

Meanwhile, over at CNN this morning Rep. Peter King (R-NY) lashed out at Issa, for defending Speaker Boehner’s decision to adjourn Tuesday night before taking up the Sandy relief package. Issa also denounced the bill as being “packed” with pork.

(Yes, I’m back from vacation. Come on inside to read more GOP horror stories)   [Read more…]

Payback! Hundreds of Homeowners Associations Threaten Banks with Foreclosure

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By Laura Gottesdiener / Alternet

It’s payback time—literally. In Florida, hundreds of homeowner and neighborhood associations are foreclosing on banks that have failed to upkeep their repossessed properties, according to—of all things— a CNN Money report.

Florida is one of the states hardest hit by foreclosures, and there are nearly a half-million foreclosed houses now standing vacant and often slowly deteriorating. When a bank forecloses on a house, evicts the family and then repossesses the property, it also assumes responsibility for maintaining the home and yard and paying homeowner or condo association fees. Yet, some of the nation’s largest and richest banks have been unable or unwilling to upkeep their properties—prompting neighbors across Florida to declare enough is enough.

One Miami lawyer, Ben Solomon, has filed more than 1,000 liens against banks for failing to maintain their properties or pay their homeowner association fees. And when the recalcitrant banks don’t comply, Solomon slaps them with a foreclosure notice—131 thus far.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line(ish): New Year’s Eve Fiscal Cliff Edition

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Fiscal cliff talks go to the brink, as lawmakers are optimistic for a deal; yet Republicans lack any incentive to deal; Huntsman: “GOP devoid of a soul.”; Hillary Clinton hospitalized; Turner, Smith, dismissed from Chargers

Congress remained in session over the weekend as Republican and Democratic leaders met throughout in an effort to stave off the looming slip over the edge of the fiscal cliff (or curb or slope). If a deal is not struck by midnight tonight (New Year’s Eve), all of the Bush tax cuts will expire—not just for the top 2% of earners—and hundreds of billions in draconian budget cuts will be automatically enacted.

The current fiscal cliff deal is the result of negotiations a year ago between the White House and the Gang of 12 SuperCongress, a group made of six legislators from each party, and from both chambers of Congress. The sequestration deal (or fiscal cliff/curb/slope) was put into place as a sort of poison pill; an incentive for the SuperCongress to actually come to a deal.

It didn’t work. Republicans never had any intention of negotiating in good faith, and here we are today.   [Read more…]

The Ten Most Outrageous Economic Calamities of 2012

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By Les Leopold / Alternet

It was another year of Wall Street treachery. Those who took down our economy still have not been held accountable. Instead, Wall Street successfully lured the political establishment into a phony fiscal cliff/austerity debate. So instead of creating programs to put millions of Americans back to work, Washington is debating how much more to take away from the poor and the middleclass. Let’s take a closer look at the most disastrous economic events from 2012.

Here’s our countdown:   [Read more…]

The Starting Line(ish): Got Milk? Got $8 for a Gallon?

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Farm bill impasse in Congress could cause prices of dairy products to skyrocket; the do-nothingest Congress in history; San Diego poised to lose state funding for construction projects; Issa’s witch hunts to continue; Obama thriftiest president since Eisenhower

Prices for a gallon of milk stand to rise from a current average of around $3.65 to $6 to $8 per gallon, according to a report in the NY Times. That’s because of an impasse in Congress (of course) that is stalling the passage of a new farm bill. The Senate has already passed its version of the bill last July. The House has yet to bring its own version to the floor.

Without a new farm bill, according to the report, the government would be forced to follow a farm law enacted in 1949 that would require the federal government to purchase milk at prices that would be determined by production costs…..from 1949. Adjusted for inflation and other factors, that would amount to more than double the current price. Keep in mind that production costs 60 years ago were a lot higher because milk production was done almost exclusively by hand.

If Congress fails to act (which is likely…..more on that later), then dairy companies would be forced to look for alternative sources for their milk, such as importing it from New Zealand.   [Read more…]

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