For the record...

Hat tip to Robert.

Chart of the day.

Via GraphJam...



One way to cut budget deficits is to cut the justice deficit.

In case you haven't been keeping track…

…Steve Benen looked it up...

* American job creation is better now than when Bush left office.
* American economic growth is better now than when Bush left office.
* Al Qaeda is dramatically weaker now than when Bush left office.
* The American automotive industry is vastly stronger now than when Bush left office.
* The struggle for equality of the LGBT community is vastly better now than when Bush left office.
* The U.S. health care system is better and more accessible than when Bush left office.
* The federal budget deficit is better now than when Bush left office.
* The major Wall Street indexes and corporate profits are better now than when Bush left office.
* International respect for the United States is better now than when Bush left office.

Feel better now?

The Once and Future Speaker…

…speaks.

"Every day we are talking about debt we are not talking about jobs, and that's a victory for the other side."

In the minority, the most important job is to frame the debate in a way that brings you a majority. If the debate is between cutting taxes (for, well just for worse, the GOP deficit reduction plan) and creating jobs, jobs sound like a winner.

Truth…

…the whole truth and nothing but the truth, from the Once and Future Speaker...

"This isn't about deficit reduction, this is about dismantling the public sector."

Yes, it is.

Don't know much about history…

…don't know much about, well, anything, really. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA)...

"The only thing I know is the Cut, Cap and Balance plan."

At least he hasn't let the facts confuse him.

Survey says…

...we're right, they're wrong.

From the "Me neither" file.

Sir Charles...

People who believe it would be beneficial to raise the Social Security retirement age or eliminate Medicare as we know it or who think that Paul Ryan is a profile in courage or that deficits matter more than unemployment, really aren't the folks I want in charge of decision making.

Me neither. That's why I keep saying that...

You want the truth?

OK, then, via Robert Reich...

Here’s the truth: The only way America can reduce the long-term budget deficit, maintain vital services, protect Social Security and Medicare, invest more in education and infrastructure, and not raise taxes on the working middle class is by raising taxes on the super rich.

Anybody who talks about deficits without talking about revenue doesn't really care about deficits. Or you.

Worth repeating…

…everywhere, every day, to everyone. Jamelle Bouie at Tapped...

...we should remember that unemployment -- not the debt -- is the country's most pressing economic problem. With a stronger economy and more workers, most of the deficit takes care of itself.

People you know don't know that. Strike a blow for liberty. Tell them.

Chart of the day.

Via digby...

.

From the "Just the facts…" file.

In 2008, we lost an average of 317,250 private sector jobs per month. In 2010, we have gained an average of 95,888 private sector jobs per month. That's a difference of nearly five million jobs between Bush's last year in office and President Obama's second year.

In FY2009, which began on September 1, 2008 and represents the Bush Administration's final budget, the budget deficit was $1.416 trillion. In FY2010, the first budget of the Obama Administration, the budget deficit was $1.291 trillion, a decline of $125 billion. Yes, that means President Obama has cut the deficit -- there's a long way to go, but we're in better shape now than we were under Bush and the GOP,

On Bush's final day in office, the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 closed at 7,949, 1,440, and 805, respectively. Today, as of 10:15AM Pacific, they are at 11,108, 2,512, and 1,183. That means since President Obama took office, the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 have increased 40%, 74%, and 47%, respectively.

Elections have consequences.

Hat tip to Jed Lewison, who has source links and more.

Worth repeating.

A reminder from Allen W. Smith, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Eastern Illinois University...

Social Security has not contributed a dime to the budget deficits or the soaring national debt. Social Security is funded exclusively by payroll taxes (also known as FICA taxes), paid into the fund by working Americans.

Rinse, repeat, etc.

Hat tip to Stephen Suh.

Chart of the day.

Via Ron Chusid at Liberal Values...



We're gonna have Bush to kick around for years to come. Not much satisfaction in that, and no quick fix in sight, but there it is.

From the "…half of 'em are dumber than that" file.

Streak helps fill it up with some notes on a recent poll...

"Fifty-six percent of respondents said that they were not willing to pay more in taxes in order to reduce the deficit, and nearly as many said they were not willing for the government to provide fewer services in areas such as health care, education and defense spending."

Ok, then. 56% of 'em are dumber than that.

Chart of the day.

A little economic whodunnit via Matt Yglesias...

Heckuva job, Georgy.

'01 v '08, via First Read...

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001)
Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE

Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)
Now: 9,015 (close of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009)

BUSH FAVORABILITY RATING

Then: 50% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 31% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CHENEY FAVORABILITY RATING

Then: 49% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING

Then: 48% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION

Then: 45% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 26% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)

Then: 115.7 (Conference Board, January 2001)
Now: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conference Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY

Then: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE

Then: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

U.S. BUDGET

Then: +236.2 billion (2000, Congressional Budget Office)
Now: -$1.2 trillion (projected figure for 2009, Congressional Budget Office)

Epic fail.

Find the cost of "freedom"…

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, via Alterman...

"Because the administration actually cut taxes as we went to war, when we were already running huge deficits, this war has, effectively, been entirely financed by deficits. The national debt has increased by some $2.5 trillion since the beginning of the war, and of this, almost $1 trillion is due directly to the war itself ... By 2017, we estimate that the national debt will have increased, just because of the war, by some $2 trillion."

Finding freedom, of course, is another matter entirely.

Another fun fact…

…from the WaPo.

Interest on the debt next year will total $260 billion, about what will be spent by the departments of Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Justice combined.

Hat tip to The Carpetbagger Report.