House Dems Pass Only Middle Class Tax Cut Bill

Using a wily procedural maneuver to tie Republican hands, House Democrats managed to pass, by a vote of 234-188, legislation that will allow the Bush tax cuts benefiting only the wealthiest Americans to expire. From House Dems Pass Only Middle Class Tax Cut Bill Lets see what happens on the Senate side.

If Democrats are the big spenders, why do Republican states get the money?

states with the highest anti-spending sentiment appear to be the largest beneficiaries of government spending. Not only do red states swallow the lion’s share of government spending, but Richardson found a linear relationship between the extent of GOP support in a state—and, by implication, the fervor of its anti-government sentiment—and the amount of federal largesse… Continue reading If Democrats are the big spenders, why do Republican states get the money?

NASA discovers arsenic-born organisms, search for life gets broader parameters

Researchers in Mono Lake, California have discovered a microorganism (pictured) that uses aresnic instead of phosphorous to thrive and reproduce. The latter, as far as human life is concerned, is a buildng block of life along with carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur, integral to DNA and RNA. Arsenic, meanwhile, is generally considered toxic to… Continue reading NASA discovers arsenic-born organisms, search for life gets broader parameters

Our Fiscal Security

The following report puts forth a blueprint that invests in America and creates jobs now, while putting the federal budget on a long-term sustainable path. We document the hard choices that need to be made and suggest specific policies that will yield lower deficits and a sustainable debt while preserving essential initiatives and investments. From… Continue reading Our Fiscal Security

All we wanted was to be left alone to govern ourselves

the Sons of Confederate Veterans and some of its local chapters are preparing various television commercials that they hope to show next year. “All we wanted was to be left alone to govern ourselves,” says one ad from the group’s Georgia Division. From NYTimes.com Can we reduce the transfer of money from blue states to… Continue reading All we wanted was to be left alone to govern ourselves

Learned Helplessness

It’s true that if you bought completely into rational-expectations macroeconomics, the crisis in the economy should be causing a crisis in your faith — although as far as I can tell, the freshwater types remain smugly convinced of their rightness. But those of us who hadn’t forgotten Keynes, who paid attention to things like Japan’s… Continue reading Learned Helplessness