Federal Budget Deficit Falls to Smallest Level Since 2008

Federal Budget Deficit Falls to Smallest Level Since 2008

In nominal terms, that is the smallest deficit since 2008, and signals the end of a five-year stretch beginning with the onset of the recession when the country’s fiscal gap came in at more than $1 trillion each year. As a share of the nation’s economy, the budget deficit fell to about 4.1 percent, from a high of more than 10 percent during the depths of the Great Recession.

So can we talk about issues other than cutting social programs now? At what point can we start talking about policy that does’t involve cutting taxes for the wealthy and gutting programs for the poor?

Putin Declares War on Ukraine. The Why and What Next

Putin Declares War on Ukraine. The Why and What Next

The internal issues of former Soviet republics, you see, are not truly internal issues of sovereign nations. This is because, by Stalin’s very conscious design and very deliberate border drawing and population movement, most former Soviet republics are ethnic hodgepodges. So Ukraine has a sizable Russian population. Ditto Estonia, ditto Georgia, ditto Kazakhstan. And, according to Putin’s unspoken doctrine, anywhere Russian citizens are determined to be at risk, Mother Moscow can intercede with force on their behalf.

Worth a read. The current Ukraine crisis is crazy complex and TV reporting seem more focused on what Obama might do rather than what the facts on the ground are.

The nation’s budget wars have reduced the deficit by $3.3 trillion

The nation’s budget wars have reduced the deficit by $3.3 trillion

The endless rounds of deficit reduction in Washington in recent years have significantly improved the nation’s budget outlook, reducing projected borrowing by $3.3 trillion through 2024, according to new estimates by Senate Budget Committee chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.)…As this chart from Murray shows, the discretionary budget, which funds the Pentagon and other agencies, will absorb nearly half of the cuts, or $1.6 trillion…A quarter of the impact comes from the higher taxes on the wealthy that were adopted during the fiscal cliff fight. And another 20 percent comes from not borrowing as much and not having to pay more than $700 billion in interest that otherwise would have accrued. Mandatory programs, which include Social Security and Medicare, were barely nicked, meanwhile, accounting for just 7 percent of overall savings.

Was that 7% worth it? Were cuts to programs that help the people who need help the most really worth it? Considering how much more we can cut defense programs the pentagon doesn’t even want.

A Midwest Republican Senator Crusades Against the Corruption of Money in Politics

A Midwest Republican Senator Crusades Against the Corruption of Money in Politics

“I firmly believe that we are beginning in this country to look like a Russian-style oligarchy where a couple of dozen billionaires have basically bought the government,” Sen. Dale Schultz on why he is leaving politics.

He is leaving because of a primary challenge by a Koch brothers sponsored oligarchy friendly candidate.

What they seek is nothing short of a different definition of American citizenship granted only to highly religious people, and highly religious Christians in particular.

What they seek is nothing short of a different definition of American citizenship granted only to highly religious people, and highly religious Christians in particular.

they have made a rather spectacular claim, though not explicitly. What they seek is nothing short of a different definition of American citizenship granted only to highly religious people, and highly religious Christians in particular. They are demanding that our laws stake out for them a kind of Citizenship Platinum, allowing them an exemption from any law or obligation they’d prefer to disregard. They would refashion the First Amendment in their image.

Radical Christians are making America safe for Sharia law by creating legal precedent of religious views being imposed on others by force.

Bitcoin Schadenfreude

Bitcoin Schadenfreude

Just think about it: billions in value in bitcoins just waiting to be stolen by anybody. Russia and China (and other nations) have huge digital warfare operations that could target those bitcoins, either officially or extracurricularly. No matter how cryptographically safe, systems can be penetrated through hardware or personnel. And no government guarantees! I wonder who will write them insurance knowing this?

Dunning-Krugerrands. Bitcoin looks like a good idea if you know literally nothing about the history of financial regulations. Why those regulations exist and what problems they solved.

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View my latest photo on Flickr: http://flic.kr/u/RhFpf/aHsjTbz4ND water fall in prospect park

Libertarians who don’t understand liberty

Libertarians who don’t understand liberty

Suppose a gay wedding party goes into a restaurant, sits down, and prepares to order. The restaurant manager comes over and tells them that they must leave because they are gay. Angered by this bigotry, the patrons refuse to leave. Now ask yourself: What happens next? In Carney’s world, what happens is the manager calls the state on the phone and requests that they send some enforcers to the restaurant to physically restrain these people, put them in police cars and then dump them into cages we call jail cells. This is the world of liberty in which the state stays out of things, according to Carney.

The idea that property owners have a right to discriminate is pretty common among Libertarians. I’ve always thought the idea was kind of nuts. No Libertarian I know would admit to supporting a landlords right to prima-nocta on property rights grounds but almost all support the idea of store owners being able to expel people based on the owner’s bigotry.

Can we just start calling them propertarians? It is way more accurate.