UK's 'department for growth' has budget chopped, to lose 25% of staff

And there you have it. That pretty much sums up where things are going with the Tory government in the UK.

The government department that considers itself responsible for delivering growth across the economy is to become the first Whitehall operation to feel the pressure of the Treasury's job axe.

The 3,000 staff employed by Vince Cable's Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) will next week be told of a voluntary redundancy programme to cut part of the £38m of administrative costs as ordered by George Osborne.

Up to one in four staff in some BIS operations could be at risk, according to sources who say civil servants in Cable's department are readying themselves for savage cuts.

Officials insisted that rumours of 25% headcount reduction across the entire department were wide of the mark and pointed out that when the predecessor department, the Department for Trade and Industry, made cuts in 2005 some 8% of the workforce left. If that was replicated this time at least 240 jobs could be on the line.

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If you won $1 million for hard work, would you refuse to accept it?

You don't find someone like this very often.

Three months ago, a famously impoverished Russian mathematician named Grigori Perelman was awarded the prestigious $1 million Clay Mathematics Institute Millennium Prize for his groundbreaking work -- having solved a problem of three-dimensional geometry that had resisted scores of brilliant mathematicians since 1904.

Thursday, the institute announced that Perelman, known equally for his brilliance and his eccentricities, formally and finally turned down the award and the money. He didn't deserve it, he told a Russian news service, because he was following a mathematical path set by another.

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Pelosi forces vote on Deficit Commission recommendations

For those of you who may be laboring under the illusion that the whole entire political establishment is NOT going to savage Social Security under the protection of a Democratic president, Nancy Pelosi just proved you wrong.

On Thursday, the House took up the War Supplemental bill. Keep in mind that every vote in the House includes a vote on the Rule — this is the meta-bill that lays on top of the real bill and controls how debate is conducted — for example, how much time is allocated, what amendments are allowed — and also what happens if the underlying bill passes.

For example, if the Rule of a given bill says that if the underlying bill passes, each member of the House has to woof like a dog, there would be woofing after final approval. If the Rule says that if a given bill passes, any bill passed by the Senate for the next 12 days also passes the House automatically — well, we'd be living in a very different country after those 12 days were up.

You get the idea — the Rule, issued by the leadership-controlled Rules Committee — is itself a very powerful piece of legislation, and the source of a great deal of manipulation. The Rule is typically the first vote prior to debate on the underlying bill, for obvious reasons.

So here's what happened on Thursday: The House took up the War Supplemental bill, and embedded in the Rule for that bill is — well, I'll let David Dayen at FireDogLake tell it (my emphasis):

It turns out the House took up five different votes. The first was a vote on the rule, which ended up being self-executing. In other words, the House voted to set the terms for debate on the bill, and never had to vote on the underlying bill. Inside the rule, the bill was “deemed” passed after the rule passed. That was a heavy lift, with opposition from Blue Dogs opposed to the social spending and progressives opposed to the war. It squeaked by, 215-210, with 38 Democrats voting no.

The budget resolution was included in that self-executing rule, and while it’s not really a budget – it’s somewhat different because it doesn’t include the specific appropriations – it limits discretionary spending below the President’s budget blueprint, and (in a controversial move) “Commits the House to vote on any Senate-passed recommendations of the bipartisan Fiscal Commission and that net savings from any Commission recommendations will go to deficit reduction.”

There you have it — whatever the Pete Peterson–controlled Deficit Commission & Cat Food Industry Employment Club shoves through the Senate, that bill will automatically get a vote in the House. This means the "work till you're 70" recommendation, and the "don't ask for last year's benefits, 'cause Less is the new More" budget fix — already positioned as the "mildest" of the deficit fixes — is a near certainty.

Unless you're currently a senior (who always votes), you're had.

All thanks to Nancy Pelosi. So she's in it too. It takes a Democrat to kill Social Security, and that's what's going to happen.

My point? Don't be confused (recommendation no. 2 here). Social Security has no friends among people in power. None.

Primaries, folks. Primaries. Oh, and Nancy Pelosi's office number: 202-225-4965

Gaius

(By the way, for those of you who freak at the thought of deficits, consider this — you can "fix" the 2037-maybe Social Security crisis in an eye-blink. Just raise the salary cap on the amount taxed. Right now, wages over $106,800 are exempt from the FICA tax. Sweet deal for someone. Or . . . you could buy some time by spending that huge pile of cash Alan Greenspan put into the Trust Fund. Do you wonder why that's not on the table? See point 4 here.) Read More......

Gallup discovers that the Teabaggers are actually conservative Republicans

Wait, so all of those health care reform protests were actually partisan? From Gallup, via Digby:

There is significant overlap between Americans who identify as supporters of the Tea Party movement and those who identify as conservative Republicans. Their similar ideological makeup and views suggest that the Tea Party movement is more a rebranding of core Republicanism than a new or distinct entity on the American political scene.

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Thurgood Marshall, Jr. on putting his father on trial

Thurgood Marshall Jr. signed an op ed in today's Washington Post. It's pretty bad. The intent is good - to counter GOP criticism of Kagan becoming an "activist judge" because she worked for, and admires, Marshall. The problem is that the op ed itself is just a terribly weak piece of writing, especially coming from the son of a civil rights hero. It reads like someone in the Obama administration wrote it, frankly. Boring, safe, tame. Weakest graf?

A debate this week about judicial activism seems to have revealed only one thing: One person's activism is another's adherence to constitutional principle. And to my ear, a progressive jurist sounds far more desirable than a regressive one. But the Kagan hearing is not the proper forum to rehash my father's work.

That sounds awfully close to the old "agree to disagree" line. It's a terribly weak defense of a revered jurist.

I understand that the White House simply wants Kagan to get through, so they don't want to "fuel" the debate over Thurgood Marshall, and thus I'm fairly certain they asked for something milquetoast. But come on, guys. There is no debate over Thurgood Marshall. Why not boldly defend the man and shut the Republicans down, once and for all? This isn't just about Kagan. It's about the ongoing GOP effort to redefine everything good in America as bad (Marshall), and everything bad as good (McCarthy). If we keep putting this battle off, the bad guys are going to win. Read More......

Karl Rove promotes European-style economics

Now there's a first. After his team left a massive financial burden for Obama it's stunning to listen to this guy talk about anything that may or may not be good for the US or global economy. In addition, Rove somehow has come to the conclusion that the austerity programs in Europe are the right more. For some of the countries, perhaps but there is plenty of historical evidence that suggests the cuts will trigger a double dip recession. Remember Rove's words when the recession comes roaring back. He probably won't admit he was wrong then either, just as he can't admit his own key role in trashing the global economy. Read More......

Robert Kennedy Jr. on BP's strategic thinking

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made some news recently by announcing a RICO class action lawsuit against BP. In my opinion, his case will be a test of the judicial system — and not BP — as it moves forward.

But I want to focus on something else he said during his Thursday interview with Keith Olbermann.

In doing this, I'm setting something up, something I want to talk about later. Nevertheless, this information stands alone; it's worth considering on its own right.


The whole segment is good, very good in fact. But pay attention to this point (my emphasis):

BP has huge economic dis-incentives to actually deploying the kind of resources it ought to deploy to clean up the site.

Let's not forget that BP, like all inhuman corporate "persons," operates on only one principle — make more money now. I'll look at the BP–related implications of that later.

A second point while we're watching Keith — whom do the cops work for? (And whom do the Whack-a-Nut cops work for?)

You won't make sense of this unfolding story if you don't understand BP's incentives. This is just a newsy taste. Stay tuned.

GP Read More......

For Michael Steele

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Lindsey Graham says Tea Part will die out

From Sam Stein at Huff Post:

"The problem with the Tea Party, I think it's just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country. It will die out."

Oh, and he's totally not gay. Read More......

RNC chair Steele says Afghanistan is 'a war of Obama's choosing,' suggests we have no business there, forgets 9/11

That's just idiotic. Even for Steele.

RNC chair Michael Steele suggested history stands against the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan, a gaffe caught on camera during a fundraiser last night in CT.

"This was a war of Obama's choosing," Steele says in remarks captured on what appears to be a hidden camera. Steele blasted Obama for "demonizing Iraq while saying the battle really should be in Afghanistan."

"If he's such a student of history has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Because everyone who's tried, over a thousand years of history has failed," Steele says.

Student of history lesson 1: Bush got us into Afghanistan.

Student of history lesson 2: We didn't go in by our choosing. Al Qaeda planned the 9/11 attack from there, and then the Taliban protected them.

This is just bizarre.

The DNC is already pilling on:

RNC CHAIRMAN MICHAEL STEELE BETS AGAINST OUR TROOPS, ROOTS FOR FAILURE

Washington, D.C. – In response to comments last night from GOP leader Michael Steele that Afghanistan is an unwinnable war and that we should walk away from our fight there, DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“Here goes Michael Steele setting policy for the GOP again. The likes of John McCain and Lindsey Graham will be interested to hear that the Republican Party position is that we should walk away from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban without finishing the job. They'd also be interested to hear that the Chairman of the Republican Party thinks we have no business in Afghanistan notwithstanding the fact that we are there because we were attacked by terrorists on 9-11.

“And, the American people will be interested to hear that the leader of the Republican Party thinks recent events related to the war are 'comical' and that he is betting against our troops and rooting for failure in Afghanistan. It’s simply unconscionable that Michael Steele would undermine the morale of our troops when what they need is our support and encouragement. Michael Steele would do well to remember that we are not in Afghanistan by our own choosing, that we were attacked and that his words have consequences.”

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Oil spill volunteers sit idle while problem grows

This has to be frustrating for the people who want to help on the ground. It's tough to see how BP could have the skills necessary to run such a cleanup effort though it would be nice to hear the federal government doing more to tap into the volunteer workers. As annoying as it is to read about the idle workers, it's also easy enough to see how the government effort is learning as they go. When government programs are gutted and the plan is based on a hope-and-a-wish as the GOP preferred, having an effective plan is not easy.

Still, more than 2,000 boats have signed up for oil-spill duty under BP's Vessel of Opportunity program. The company pays boat captains and their crews a flat fee based on the size of the vessel, ranging from $1,200 to $3,000 a day, plus a $200 fee for each crew member who works an eight-hour day.

Rocky Ditcharo, a shrimp dock owner in Buras, La., said many fishermen hired by BP have told him that they often park their boats on the shore while they wait for word on where to go.

''They just wait because there's no direction,'' Ditcharo said. He said he believes BP has hired many boat captains ''to show numbers.''

''But they're really not doing anything,'' he added. He also said he suspects the company is hiring out-of-work fishermen to placate them with paychecks.

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Mary Landrieu wants more 'balance' in oil spill disaster commission

What? Objectivity? Did she really talk about objectivity? You mean calling 100% of the shots for creating the lousy system that currently exists wasn't enough? Landrieu somehow forgot that the system today is a wish list for Big Oil who assured everyone that self-regulation would be fine and that they knew how to properly address safety. Maybe someone would like to help her catch up on some recent history and explain how we ended up in this failure in the first place. But to be fair to the Senator from Louisiana, she's about the best lobbyist BP and Big Oil could ever have and you always have to remember who you work for.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted Wednesday to create a congressional bipartisan commission to investigate the spill, with Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and others saying a separate panel is needed because the White House commission has four environmental advocates -- three members and the executive staff director -- but no oil industry representation.

"Maybe the commission that the Congress sets up, in a more balanced fashion, with both very strong environmental views and very strong industry views, could actually come up with something that really might work for the dilemma and the challenge that this nation faces, which briefly is this: We use 20 million barrels of oil a day," Landrieu said. "That was true the day before the Deepwater Horizon blew up. It is true today. And we need to get that oil from somewhere."

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Unemployment drops to 9.5% . Net job loss, but 83,000 new private sector jobs

Net job loss is never good, but most of the losses were predicted:

The path to economic recovery remained a twisted one on Friday as the government reported a net loss of 125,000 jobs in the American economy last month, driven by the evaporation of temporary Census jobs, the Labor Department reported.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent in May.

The job loss was in line with expectations. And with the anticipated loss of hundreds of thousands of Census jobs — jobs that had accounted for almost all the growth in the labor market in May — economists were focused in particular on the change in private-sector hiring. There, the news was better but muted, with 83,000 new jobs created.

Pretty clear that the economic crisis still isn't over for millions of Americans. Instead of concerns about debt, members of Congress should be very worried about the huge number of unemployed:

The effects of the $787 billion stimulus package passed in February 2009, as well as other measures intended to prop up markets, like the home buyers’ tax credit initiative and cash for clunkers, have been petering out. Meanwhile, a bill to renew an extension of unemployment benefits has been languishing for the last month as legislators debate whether the country’s deficit can withstand additional stimulus spending.

The bigger question is whether we can withstand not having additional stimulus spending. And, instead of listening to the likes of Olympia Snowe, who cut billions and billions from the 2009 stimulus package, the Obama administration should have listened to Krugman and Stiglitz who said spend more. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

It's already the 4th of July weekend? How did that happen?

The best thing about holidays in DC is that the city clears out. The House and Senate are in recess until July 12th.

This morning, the latest unemployment numbers will be released. There seems to be a lot of pessimism. We'll know shortly. The President will be making remarks about the numbers once they're out.

The President and Vice President are heading to Charleston, West Virginia for the memorial service for Senator Robert Byrd.

And, on the Friday before a long holiday weekend, who knows what other news will break... Read More......

Kenyan MP's increase pay to $160,00 per year

That's quite an outrageously high figure considering the average farm worker makes around $38 per month and city workers around $75. Imagine what happens when the lobbyists are introduced. The Guardian:

After resisting calls to pay income tax for years, MPs finally agreed yesterday night to pay the tax, but only after giving themselves a sweetener of 240,000 shillings (£1,960) taking their monthly pay to 1,091,000 shillings (£8,920).

The news was greeted with anger in Kenya, where the minimum wage was last month raised to £50 a month for employees in cities and £25 for farm workers. Since 2003, when President Mwai Kibaki came to power, politicians have become notorious for regularly increasing their salaries. British MPs earn £5,478 a month, while a member of France's national assembly have a monthly salary of £4,260.

"Yet another drastic pay hike for MPs … is the most outrageous, insensitive, immoral and intolerant abuse and impunity by Kenya's officialdom the country has ever witnessed," said the Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations.

On Wednesday, MPs voted to adopt the report of former appeal court judge Akilano Akiwumi, who led a review of politicians' salaries in the wake of public dissatisfaction. MPs' exemption from tax on all but a fraction of their total pay – their effective tax rate is 5% – was a source of particular resentment.

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Mayor's pants drop during speech to school children

Politicians love being in the news though maybe not in these circumstances. I'm guessing he's going to go with at least a belt the next time or better still, buy some new clothes even though he's in the middle of a weight loss program.

Leicester's lord mayor has apologised after his trousers fell down during an educational event for schoolchildren.

Councillor Colin Hall was at Southfields library in the city to take part in a Global Education function.

When he stood to give a vote of thanks at Tuesday's event his trousers came loose and fell.

A spokesman for Mr Hall said: "The lord mayor has offered his deepest apologies to those attending the event for any offence caused by the accident."

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US accepts Gulf spill cleanup assistance from 12 countries

This is a positive development. AFP:

"The United States will accept 22 offers of assistance from 12 countries and international bodies, including two high speed skimmers and fire containment boom from Japan," a US State Department statement said.

"We are currently working out the particular modalities of delivering the offered assistance," it said, adding that details would be "forthcoming once these arrangements are complete."

Offers of boom to contain oil and collect it off the surface of the water have been accepted from Canada, Mexico, Norway and Japan, said a spokeswoman from the Unified Area Command, an entity headed by the US Coast Guard that is coordinating with BP on the oil spill response.

Skimmers have been accepted from Mexico, Norway, France and Japan and a sweeping arm system has been accepted from the Netherlands, spokeswoman Gina Ruoti told AFP.

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