January 6, 2012
Today's Theme: Economic Mobility
	Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs - "Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe. The mobility gap has been widely discussed in academic circles, but a sour season of mass unemployment and street protests has moved the discussion toward center stage."
	Mobility and Inequality and More Mobility Pictures and Words - "... we hear a lot of conservatives – Rep Paul Ryan, for example – arguing that we shouldn’t worry so much about inequality, because mobility will offset it. First, that’s wrong in ways I note in the link above (we need increased mobility to offset increased inequality, and we don’t see that). Second ... we actually have less mobility than other advanced economies. And third, most importantly in my view, increasing inequality itself makes it harder to achieve greater mobility, due both to diminished access to mobility-enhancing opportunities and to the distance problem shown in the figure above."
	Do We Care About Social Mobility? Should We? - "... it turns out that America is unusually unequal and has unusually low mobility. The gaps between the rungs on the American economic ladder are unusually far apart, so it's unusually hard to climb the ladder ... conservatives should be pushed to explain how (or whether) their various policy ideas will actually raise incomes at the bottom or the middle and not just vaguely gesture in the direction of "growth." The lesson of the three decades before the recession is that growth can be extremely unequal in its benefits, creating neither rising wages at the middle nor real increases in social mobility."

January 5, 2012
	Today's Theme: Economic Inequality
	How the Rich Get Richer - "... here are some new income inequality charts for you to munch on ... For 80% of us, the answer is: almost all of it comes from ordinary wages and salaries. We get a grand total of 0.7% of our income from dividends and capital gains. For the top 0.1%, it's flipped around. They get less than 20% of their income from ordinary wages and more than half from dividends and capital gains. So when Republicans eagerly insist on reducing or eliminating taxes on dividends and capital gains, this chart shows you who benefits. Most of us get nada, but the very rich benefit handsomely.
	Another Excellent Inequality Study - "Like the earlier CBO report, the CRS also finds that the tax system grew less effective at reducing income inequality over this period, i.e., it become less progressive ... I think a lot of people sense that there’s something unsettling about this shift from labor income to capital incomes. It seems endemic of a society that devalues work while providing outsized rewards for speculation and asset accumulation. The CRS findings place that sensibility in the context of hard data."
	What increased income inequality the most, 1996-2006: Capital gains? Bush tax cuts? Wages? - "The Congressional Research Service has released a report on income inequality between 1996 and 2006. While the middle 20 percent of people saw their average after-tax income grow from $35,255 to $39,301, the bottom 20 percent lost ground, going from an average of $9,016 to $8,461. The top 0.1 percent, meanwhile? Their average income nearly doubled, from $2,876,482 to $5,651,740. But more interesting than the growth of inequality are the causes ..."

December 30, 2011
	Happy New Year From Oregon Health Plan - We Are Cutting Your Benefits - "Beginning January 1, 2012, OHP will only cover the first 498 lines on the list. Treatment for the conditions listed below will no longer be covered." It's okay, though, because none of the medical conditions that are being dropped from coverage are "life threatening" -- for example, "inflamed or infected corneas" and "fractures of the vertebral column" that "has not injured the spinal cord".
	Perrspectives: There's No Mystery to Romney's Taxes and Tax Plan - Do you wonder why Mitt Romney, unlike most presidential candidates, refuses to release his tax returns? Jon Perr has the answer, and it isn't pretty.
	The Best of CBPP Graphs: Guideposts on the Road Back to Factville - Real facts to counter the bumper-sticker arguments of your Republican friends. "Arm yourselves with the knowledge herein, and you’ll be immune to the fact-free hand-waving that too often passes for debate these daze.  Think of them not as wonky graphs, but as guideposts on the road back to the land where facts matter."
	The Best Pootie, Woozle, and Hooman Protest Signs of Occupy Wall Street in 2011 - An amusing sampling of signs from the Occupy Movement.

December 21, 2011
	Peter DeFazio (D-OR): Job Creator - "In my mind, Rep. DeFazio is performing just as a Congressional representative should. He is supporting investment in infrastructure. He is promoting local, unionized employers and their employees. He is helping to reinvigorate American manufacturing. And he is pushing transportation projects that will reduce our dependence on imported petroleum. We should have 434 more like him."
	Deepak Chopra: It's Time to Change Kleptocracy to Democracy - "We consider ourselves a democracy, but several long-standing trends indicate that American democracy has been bought and sold. Financial elites have a virtual monopoly on influence and power."
	The Corporations That Occupy Congress - Many corporations that spend big money on lobbyists end up paying little or no taxes. It this a coincidence? "Combine all this and you have a powerful formula for making rules that favor corporate interests over human interests, something that the framers of the U.S. Constitution understood more than two centuries ago."
	PolitiFact Ought to be Ashamed of Itself - The PolitiFact "Lie of the Year" award should be the awarded the lie of the year award.

December 15, 2011
	Senator Ron Wyden Proposes a Major Medicare Overhaul - Senator Wyden's plan would restructure the Medicare by implementing a subsidized voucher system with a choice of private insurance plans and a public option.
	White House Rejects Ryan-Wyden: "This plan would end Medicare as we know it" - Senator Wyden's Medicare plan lands with a thud at the White House and draws fire from both Republicans and Democrats.
	Ron Wyden Fires Back at White House and Other Critics of Medicare Plan - "Wyden spokeswoman Jennifer Hoelzer said in a statement that, 'It would appear that our critics did not read the Wyden-Ryan white paper before choosing to attack it.' She said seniors would be able to continue with the current Medicare program and that Wyden and Ryan are only proposing that private insurance plans be allowed to try to provide better coverage."

December 13, 2011
	CHART OF THE DAY: Unambiguously Good News On Jobs - "It didn't get much attention, but this morning the latest NFIB small business optimism survey came in stronger than expected, as more and more corporations see good sales and decent business conditions on the way."
	Ford, GM and Chrysler Gain Market Share For First Time Since 1988 - The Republicans didn't want this to happen ... like Mitt Romney, for example.
	Facts Are Stubborn Things ... Unless You're Making Infographics For Fox News - Friends don't let friends watch Fox News, No. 5,289.
	And now for something completely different ... Bad Lip Reading: Rick Perry's "Strong" ad and "NEWT GINGRICH" — a Bad Lip Reading Soundbite.

December 12, 2011
	Depression and Democracy - "On the political as on the economic front it’s important not to fall into the 'not as bad as' trap. High unemployment isn’t O.K. just because it hasn't hit 1933 levels; ominous political trends shouldn’t be dismissed just because there’s no Hiller in sight."
	GOP Debate Audience Cheers Child Labor - What happened to the Republican party? Seriously.
	Those Who Say Romney's Leadership Up Close - Mitt Romney was a very unpopular one-term governor who left office with a 36 percent approval rating. Normally that would be the end of a political career. Now he wants to be president.
	What Real Education Reform Looks Like - It's not so much that American schools are broken, it's that American society is broken. "Instead, America’s youth need the painfully obvious: a national commitment to combating poverty and more funds spent on schools in the poorest areas than on schools in the richest areas — not the other way around."

December 10, 2011
	The Epic Failure of Republican Trickle Down Economics - In a tour-de-force article Oregon business consultant Jon Perr debunks just about every Republican myth about taxes and the economy. Did you know that the economy always does better under Democrats? A lot better.
	No, the Payroll Tax Cut Doesn't Hurt the Trust Fund - The Republicans claim that the payroll tax cut will reduce the Social Security trust fund. As usual, they're wrong.

December 7, 2011
	Corporate America Is Sitting On The Solution To The Jobs Crisis: Report - "If America's largest banks and non-financial companies would just loosen their death-grip on a chunk of the $3.6 trillion in cash they're hoarding and move it into productive investments instead, the report estimates that about 19 million jobs would be created in the next three years, lowering the unemployment rate to under 5 percent." But the Republicans want to give them more tax breaks.
	Major Corporations, Including Intel, Pay No State Income Taxes - "Many of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies — including Intel, Oregon’s largest private employer — have paid little or no state income taxes in recent years despite reporting large profits to their shareholders, according to a report released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ)." Therefore, according to the Republicans, they need more tax breaks.

December 5, 2011
	Occupy Wall Street Movement - Financial planner Rick Epple provides one of the better accounts of the issues motivating the #Occupy movement. Read about regulatory failure, lack of economic mobility, and the disproportionate size and influence of the financial sector in the American economy.
	Oregon's Next Legislature - Here's a breakdown of the Oregon legislature based on the new redistricting maps. It looks promising for Democrats. "Taken together, these maps give Democrats a better chance of achieving majorities in each house of the state legislature than Republicans."
	The Political Poison Pill That Is Killing the Postal Service - The Republican plan to destroy the Post Office is working. Find out how a bill passed by the Republican lame duck congress in 2006 doomed the Post Office. It's another cynical act by the Republicans to turn a successful government function into a profit center for their wealthy corporate patrons.
	Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - December 4, 2011 - Once again Republican guests display their lack of knowledge of basic economics to justify failed Republican policies.

December 4, 2011
	A Closer Look At Mitt Romney's Job Creation Record - Mitt Romney claims that he learned how to create jobs when he managed Bain Capital, a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. During his 15 years running Bain what he actually learned was how to "create wealth" for his wealthy investors -- and himself, of course -- often by destroying jobs. "Four of the 10 companies Bain acquired declared bankruptcy within a few years, shedding thousands of jobs. The prospectus shows that Bain investors profited in eight of the 10 deals, including three of the four that ended in bankruptcy."
	We Can't Wait: President Obama Announces Nearly $4 Billion Investment in Energy Upgrades to Public and Private Buildings - The "block everything" Republicans in Congress can't stop it.

December 3, 2011
	Ron Wyden, bipartisan Group Proposes Alternative To Internet Censorship Bill - "Wyden envisions this discussion draft being the basis for entirely rewritten legislation, which would involve “[m]uch more discussion between folks on the content side and technology companies" to 'strike a better balance.'"
	Millionaire Nick Hanauer Shoots Down Neil Cavuto's Straw Men as He Explains Why His Taxes Should be Raised - "It seems millionaire Nick Hanauer's recent op-ed on why we need to be taxing the rich in America has, as Steve Benen explained, 'caused a stir, and with good reason.'"
	What Did Teddy Roosevelt Have To Say About Money In Politics? - Theodore Roosevelt understood that America is a nation of, by, and for the people, not the corporations.

December 2, 2011
	Meet the new Social Darwinists - Most Republicans don't believe in evolution, but they have an almost religious devotion to social Darwinism.
	Pushing to End the War in Afghanistan - Jeff Merkley takes a leading role in the Senate urging an expeditious end the war in Afghanistan -- with video of Senator Merkley speaking on the Senate floor.
	GOP Plan: Protect Millionaires, Raise Taxes on 160 Million Working Americans - "Last night, every single Republican senator except Susan Collins (ME) voted to protect the top 0.2 percent of taxpayers — just 345,532 millionaires– from paying a small surtax on their income over $ 1 MILLION in order to extend and expand the payroll tax cut for 160 MILLION working Americans."

December 1, 2011
	Radiation Covers 8% of Japan - This link in honor Art Robinson who says nuclear power is "inexpensive, clean, and safe."
	The Occupy Movement Stats & Figures (video) - "This video helps explain some of the statistics behind the protests. In 2007, unemployment was 4.5%. In 2010, it was 9.7%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Include those who are underemployed or stopped looking? 18%"
	Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators - Multi-zillionaire venture capitalist Nick Hanauer says that to save the economy we should raise taxes on "job creators" like himself. This is a must-read article. Share it with your Republican friends and observe the resulting cognitive dissonance.

November 29, 2011
	CHART OF THE DAY: Guess Which Country Has The Highest Percentage Of Workers Employed By The Government - Hint: It's not the United States -- not even close.
	GOP Derails Super Committee To Protect Millionaires & Billionaires - Of course.
	Mitt Romney Brazenly Lies and the Media Lets Him Slide - Of course.
	Jared Bernstein on Inequality in America - "This picture from recent CBO data, which are among the best for understanding the trend in income inequality over the past few decades, is quite revealing of where the Occupy folks are coming from with the 99/1 framing."
	We can't wait for Wall Street or Washington DC to fix themselves. Here's what Oregon is doing by Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler - Six things we can do in Oregon to help Oregon ... but he left out establishing a state bank of Oregon and moving our money from Wall Street magabanks to local Oregon financial institutions.

November 28, 2011
	Wyden Will Filibuster The Destruction Of The Internet - And Read Your Name From Senate Floor - Corporate forces want to take over the Internet. Help Senator Wyden stop them -- sign his petition HERE. Also, Congress Is Close To Destroying The Internet (No Hyperbole) - "This bill would've been rushed through with no debate through both chambers had it not been for the singular efforts of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a true hero of grassroots media and the social web."
	Secret Fed Loans Helped Banks Net $13B - This is the reason for the #Occupy movement: "Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year." And now the Republicans want the middle class and poor to sacrifice. Also, Mission Not Accomplished - "... the real scandal isn’t so much that those banks got rescued as that the rest of the population didn’t."
	Right-Wing Media Continue To Mislead On Nonexistent Light Bulb "Ban" - Your Republican friends are outraged that the Federal Government is forcing them to buy funny looking compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of those good old American incandescent light bulbs invented by Thomas Edison in 1879. As usual, they're wrong.
	And now for something completely different ... Hilarious Amazon Pepper Spray Reviews

November 27, 2011
	Professor Warren Debunks A Few Healthcare Myths (video) - Elizabeth Warren doesn't mince words about how our private for-profit health insurance system fails to meet the needs of the American people either in terms of performance or cost. "There are some really embarrassing data about how much better Canadians do, how much better Europeans do, how much better the Japanese do in certain kinds of health outcomes -- in part because they are not using a private fee for services system of delivering their healthcare. The fact that we're going broke to pay for our healthcare does not mean that we're getting the best healthcare."
	The Conservative Healthcare Disconnect - "As election campaigning heats up I want my president to have a 'gloves off' approach. I want him to speak the truth ... tell conservatives that the death panels tea partiers ranted about are alive and well in this United States. Insurance companies make decisions every day that affect whether a patient gets the coverage they need to survive or go home to die."
	The Obama Spending Non-Surge - Your Republican friends think Federal Government spending is out of control under President Obama. As usual, they're wrong.

November 26, 2011

The Poor, the Near Poor and You - "But everyone needs to recognize a chilling reality: One in three Americans — 100 million people — is either poor or perilously close to it... Conservative politicians and analysts are spouting their usual denial. Gov. Rick Perry and Representative Michele Bachmann have called for taxing the poor and near poor more heavily, on the false grounds that they have been getting a free ride. In fact, low-income workers do pay up, if not in federal income taxes, then in payroll taxes and state and local taxes."

November 25, 2011
	CBO Gives Thanks to the Stimulus - Your Republican friends think the stimulus failed because that's what Fox news told them to think. The Congressional Budget Office disagrees.
	Lawrence O'Donnell Rewrites Mitt Romney's Dishonest Campaign Ad - Why does the mainstream media never use the "L" word? MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell calls out the lying liars who lie and the national media the enables them. No wonder voters are so cynical about politics.

November 24, 2011
	TED Talk - Chuck Collins -Taxing the Wealthy (video) - No millionaire is an island. In this talk, Chuck Collins, Oscar Meyer heir and senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, discusses an economic and moral rationale for increasing taxes on the wealthy.
	Are U.S. Corporations Good Citizens? - Should corporations be able to destroy the economy, despoil the environment, and subvert human rights in the name of profit?
	Taking On The Myth That Democrats Caved - And yet the wails of "Obama caved" coming from the left were already well underway. Nevermind that time was of the essence and Democrats (who had 57 Senators at the time) had to negotiate with the likes of Lieberman, Snowe, and Specter (who was still a Republican back then) in order to get something passed. The myth was born.
	Debunking The Conservative Argument About The Rich And Taxes, In Three Easy Charts - "It’s one of the most frequently trotted out arguments against raising taxes on the rich: Over time, the share of the tax burden borne by the rich has grown, so it’s not fair to increase it more."

November 22, 2011
	Senator Wyden Threatens Filibuster; Will Read Thousands Of Petition Names On The Senate Floor - Join Senator Wyden -- sign the petition to block a bill that could destroy the Internet as we know it. "Just how bad is this bill? It would probably kill Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, eBay, and YouTube - and possibly Google, too."
	Romney Ad Misleads Lies Its Way To Desired Result - We changed the headline to read "Lie" because that's what it is. As with many (most?) Republicans, facts mean nothing to Mitt Romney. Also, Obama Campaign Blasts Romney's First TV Ad As 'Deceitful' and ThinkProgress uses Romeny's standard for truthfulness against him in Romney Says ‘Let Us Just Raise Your Taxes Some More’
	Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News: Study - Friends don't let friends watch Fox News.
	Republicans Destroy Free Markets - "I am a free market conservative. I voted republican in every presidential election since 1968, except one. It is obvious that our government must live within its means and do so in a manner as not to interfere with a functioning free market economy. If we desire to take control of government, we must demand government carry out one of its primary functions; protecting free markets from tyranny, both public and private. We are vocal about defending it from public tyranny, but silent when it comes to tyranny in the private sector."
	Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - November 20, 2011 - It's all about the failed Super Committee. Republicans kill the the Super Committee by refusing to agree to any tax increase and fall back on standard Republican lies to justify their actions.

November 21, 2011
	Child Poverty Increased In 2010; More Than 1 In 5 Children Are Poor - A problem that the Republicans think can be solved by more tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.
	Older, Suburban and Struggling, ‘Near Poor’ Startle the Census - The Census Bureau, which published the poverty data two weeks ago, produced the analysis of those with somewhat higher income at the request of The New York Times. The size of the near-poor population took even the bureau’s number crunchers by surprise.
	The New Progressive Movement - "OCCUPY WALL STREET and its allied movements around the country are more than a walk in the park. They are most likely the start of a new era in America. Historians have noted that American politics moves in long swings. We are at the end of the 30-year Reagan era, a period that has culminated in soaring income for the top 1 percent and crushing unemployment or income stagnation for much of the rest. The overarching challenge of the coming years is to restore prosperity and power for the 99 percent."

November 19, 2011
	Millionaires Tell Congress To Raise Their Taxes In Super Committee Deal - Even a majority of Republicans support higher taxes for the rich -- just none of them happen to be in Congress.
	455 Million Reasons to Say "Thank You" to Voters - "Measure 66, the personal income tax measure, is now expected to bring in $215 million this biennium, and Measure 67, the corporate income tax measure, is now expected to bring in $240 million. In other words, thanks to Oregon voters we have $455 million in revenue that we otherwise would not have — $455 million to support schools, public safety and health and human services that Oregonians count upon each day."
	Food Stamps: Oregon Leads the Nation in Food Assistance - Just another problem that Republicans think can be solved by giving more tax beaks to corporatons and the wealthy.
	The Guardian 99% v 1% the Data Behind the Occupy Movement (video) - "It has been the rallying cry of the Occupy movement for the past two months - but is the US really split 99% v 1%? As poverty and inequality reach record levels, how much richer have the rich got? This animation explains what the key data says about the state of America today."

November 17, 2011
	Wall Street Speculators Tax Petition - Sign Congressman DeFazio's Wall Street Speculators Tax Petition. It's time for Wall Street to pay its fair share toward getting the economy back on track, putting our fiscal house back in order, and creating jobs for middle class Americans. Congressman DeFazio's bill will impose a 0.03% tax on trades and speculation targeting billionaire Wall Street speculators who use supercomputers to flip a stock a thousand times a minute. That's only $3.00 for every $10,000 traded, but it would raise an estimated $352 billion to help balance the budget and stimulate the economy.
	Chart of the Day: How Not to Create Jobs - How to create jobs: Give money to people who need it and will spend it, not to the wealthy and corporations who don't need it and won't spend it. Why is this so hard for Republicans to understand?
	Companies Shun Investment, Hoard Cash - More tax cuts for the wealthy won't help anyone but the wealthy. The Republicans want to give corporations and the wealthy more money in the form of tax breaks so that that they'll spend it creating jobs. But they're already hoarding $2 trillion(!) is cash, so what's stopping them from creating jobs now? Answer: Not enough demand for their products.

November 15, 2011
	CHART OF THE DAY: Proof that Fannie and Freddie Didn't Cause the Housing Bubble - The Republicans insist that Federal Government policies caused the housing bubble that precipitated the Great Recession. Specifically, they blame Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for the surge in sub-prime lending that led to the derivatives and credit default swaps that crashed Wall Street. This can easily be disproved using real facts, but that never stops the Republicans from pushing their talking points. Here's still more proof that Fannie and Freddie are innocent victims of private sector speculation. Specifically, the housing bubble was a world-wide phenomenon, which rules out Fannie and Freddie as the cause, but not Wall Street speculators with their international connections.
	A Police Raid Suffused With Symbolism - The police crackdown on the Occupy Wall Street protesters becomes the perfect metaphor the 1 percent's exploitation of the 99 percent.
	Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - November 13, 2011 - The Republican talking heads don't let facts get in the way of their talking points.

November 14, 2011
	Obama on Gay Rights (video) - Words you will never hear from a Republican ...
	Does government regulation really kill jobs? - Republicans "know" that government regulation kills jobs. As usual, they're wrong. "Economists who have studied the matter say that there is little evidence that regulations cause massive job loss in the economy, and that rolling them back would not lead to a boom in job creation."
	It's Just a Poster (video) - The most powerful poster in history will destroy America! ... according to anti-labor fear mongers.
	Mental Monetary Disorders - The national economy is not like your household budget, No. 21,583. "The best cure I know for the notion that a money-led expansion can’t be real is still the story of the baby-sitting co-op. You don’t want to get bogged down in the details, which is what some of my usual harassers have been doing. Instead, you want to absorb the key lesson: when the co-op was depressed, it was depressed because of inadequate demand, and this inadequacy could be cured by issuing more scrip — money that was created by fiat."
	Over 45 90 Thousand Americans Sign On To Merkley's Constitutional Amendment Drive - You should do it too. Click HERE for more information.

November 13, 2011
	Dealing With the Budget Deficit: Does the Middle Class Have to Take the Hit? - The middle class has already taken the hit for an economy that benefits the wealthy and leaves ordinary Americans behind. Now how about making corporations and the wealthy bear the cost of fixing the mess that they created?
	Ten Ways the Occupy Movement Changes Everything - The mainstream media and the Republican political establishment pretend not to understand what the #Occupy movement is all about. They want to talk about more tax cuts for the 1%, not economic justice for the 99%. That's changing whether they like it or not.
	Obama Delivers Huge Defeat To Big Oil By Halting Keystone XL Canadian Tarsands Oil Export Pipeline - Oregon Democrats played a key roll in stopping the Keystone XL Canada-U.S. tarsand oil pipeline. "Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senator Ron Wyden wrote the White House in objection to the conflict of interest in the permit process. Senator Wyden has also called for the investigation of the evidence of gasoline price-fixing by Big Oil to manipulate the Midwest fuel markets and went on to call the Keystone XL a good deal only for oil producers."
	Supply-Side Solutions? Beware - To supply-siders every economic problem is a supply side problem requiring more tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.

November 11, 2011
	The Story of Broke (2011) (video) - American isn't broke, but it is broken. Were the richest nation on earth, and the richest 1% of us are doing exceptionally well ... at the expense of the other 99%.
	Over 45 Thousand Americans Sign On To Merkley's Constitutional Amendment Drive - You should do it too. Corporations are NOT people, "my friend". Click HERE for more information.

November 10, 2011
	Sabotage? - Who said "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president"? Click the link to find out ...
	Want more evidence conservatives are TRYING to crash the economy? - For the Republicans in Congress ideology trumps reality.
	Police Violence at Occupy Cal (video) - Most Americans believe that the First Amendment grantees the right of free speech and assembly. The Berkeley police apparently disagree. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
	The Republicans are constantly complaining about how taxes and regulation makes U.S. businesses uncompetitive in the world market. As usual, they're wrong. A new report from the International Finance Corporation World Bank Group, provides "objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 183 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level." It ranks the U.S. as the forth easiest nation in the world in which to do business.

November 9, 2011
	Progressives Win Big In Ballot Measures Nationwide - If we work together, we win! "Tuesday's elections saw big wins for progressives around the country, who blocked right-wing measures on issues of voting, labor, immigrant and women's rights."
	A Graphic View of Poverty in Oregon - Oregon Center for Public Policy - Poverty in Oregon is increasing, and it's a problem that won't be improved by giving corporations and the wealthy more tax breaks.
	How the Rich Rig the System - "A growing number of Americans suspect that the American economic system is rigged in favor of the rich and merely affluent. That growing number of Americans is right."

November 8, 2011
	The Rising Age Gap in Economic Well-Being - Today's economy is a disaster for young people. "In 2009, the median net worth (all assets minus all debts) of households headed by an adult ages 65 or older was 42% more than that of their same-aged counterparts in 1984. By contrast, the net worth of a typical household headed by an adult under the age of 35 in 2009 was 68% less than that of their same-aged counterparts in 1984." It's no wonder that only 10% of Tea Partiers are under the age of 34 compared to 64% for #Occupy demonstrators.
	Understanding Occupy Wall Street -or- Why the American People Are Angry - Read this to find out what's driving the Occupy Wall Street movement and why are the American People are becoming so Angry.
	Diminished Income Mobility: A Warning - The Republicans argue that increasing income and wealth inequality doesn't matter because economic mobility is also increasing. As usual, they're wrong.

November 6, 2011
	Support is Growing for Peter DeFazio's Financial Transaction Tax - "Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act" that would impose a 0.03% tax on financial transactions -- that's a tax of only $3 out of $10,000! Lets see how loud the Republicans scream about punishing the job creators and class warfare.
	Mitt Romney Promises to Raise Retirement Age, Privatize Medicare and Slash Government Jobs at Koch Brothers Event - Mitt Romney ... just another Koch brothers lackey.
	Mitt Romney Gets it Wrong About Federal Employee Pay - As part of their campaign to discredit government Republicans like Mitt Romney claim federal employees are overpaid compared to workers in the private sector. The are wrong as documented yet again in a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

November 4, 2011
	Why ‘supermajority’ no longer works in the Senate - Read Senator Jeff Merkley's op-ed in the New York Times and find out why Congress can't get anything done. Hint: it's NOT because Democrats and Republicans can't agree on anything, it's because the Republicans can block EVERYTHING.
	OR-Sen: Merkley at the halfway point - Karla Axtman of Blue Oregon talks with Senator Jeff Merkley at the mid point of his first term: ""Merkley said that one of the main things he's learned is how important it is to reform the U.S. Senate. He says that the body is in paralysis with everything they attempt to do under a 60-vote barrier. Merkley says that if this threshold is allowed to become the new senate normal, that the Senate will be constantly forced to go in the direction of the minority, which he says is completely outside the way that it was designed under the US Constitution."

November 3, 2011
	How the rich created the Social Security “crisis” - "The 'have-mores' have made off with grandma’s money fair and square. They have no intention of paying it back."

November 2, 2011
	Kate Brown says state is getting huge return on audit spending - Secretary of State Kate Brown impresses PolitiFacts Oregon by saving big money for the state.
	GOP cunningly defeats our plan to ban God from national motto - Thank God the Republicans in Congress spent their time saving the national motto from the vast left-wing conspiracy to ban religion from American society rather than trying to create jobs for millions of unemployed Americans.

November 1, 2011
	Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - October 30, 2011 - Facts are unimportant to the Republican presidential candidates.
	Congressman Peter DeFazio Addresses Occupy Portland (video) - "We're here in solidarity with the folks from Occupy Portland, and in Eugene and in Bend and in Ashland, and all across American cities ..."

October 31, 2011
	Republicans No Longer "Pre-Occupied" with Deficits - "Given that Ronald Reagan tripled the national debt and George W. Bush doubled it again, the GOP's born-again debt crusade seemed more than a little hypocritical. After all, as Dick Cheney declared in 2002, 'Reagan proved deficits don't matter.' Not, that is, if a Republican is in the White House. Now, after a year of successfully pinning the GOP's debt orgy on a Democratic president, the tables are turning on the GOP."
	Bill Gates In Favor Of The Rich Paying More In Taxes - Bill Gates: “I just can’t imagine these millionaires and billionaires going down and barricading the streets because they are going to have to pay 4 or 5 percent more in taxes."

October 29, 2011
	The Republicans Find a Spending Cut The Don't Like -  The Republicans will cut funding for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education, the environment, public health, infrastructure ... but there's one thing they won't cut: America's war machine. This in spite of the fact that the United States spends almost as much on defense as the rest of the world combined.

October 27, 2011
	Millionaires Support Warren Buffett’s Tax on the Rich - Millionaires wage class warfare ... against themselves.
	The Swiming Pool Analogy Doesn't Hold Water - "Critics like those at Heritage have used the analogy that stimulus spending is like taking water from one end of the swimming pool and putting in the other end. A dollar that the government spends on stimulus is a dollar someone else won’t be spending, so there’s no net gain... the swimming pool analogy doesn’t work because it’s static — it ignores the dynamics…the actual moving parts in a real economy."
	Survey Says: The Public Supports the 99% Movement - "As the Occupy Wall Street protest and growing 99 Percent Movement enters its second month, poll after poll shows public support for the movement."
	Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - October 23, 2011 - Republicans criticize President Obama for his foreign policy successes.

October 26, 2011
	Rick Perry: The Ultra Rich Are Too Big to Tax - Republicans like Rick Perry want to eliminate the federal capital gains tax. That would mean the ultra wealthy would pay virtually no federal income tax. "... actual rate paid (orange line) by the wealthiest IS essentially the capital gains rate. Why? Because the wealthiest make money from money, not from work."
	Making Inequality Worse - "Nobody argues that the tax system should completely offset the dispersion of market outcomes, and many would probably argue that it’s not the purview of the tax code to redistribute much at all. But neither would most people argue that the tax code should make the post-tax distribution more unequal. Yet, that’s precisely what the Cain and Perry tax plans would do."
	GOP Candidates Double Down on Record Income Inequality - "... Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul would all slash the top income tax rate starting in 2013. Each would reduce corporate taxes, already down to their lowest percentage share of federal revenue since 1950, from 35% to as little as 9%. All would eliminate the estate tax, a $25 billion a year windfall to the richest families in America, only a quarter of one percent of whom now pay it. All but Romney would completely zero out the capital gains tax."

October 25, 2011
	Is Regulatory Uncertainty a Major Impediment to Job Growth? - Republicans cite "regulatory uncertainty" as the major impediment to business investment that would support job creation and economic growth, but ... "Bruce Bartlett, a senior advisor in both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, said that 'no hard evidence' has been offered for claims that regulation is the 'principal factor holding back employment.' And in a recent Wall Street Journal survey of economists, 65 percent of respondents concluded that a lack of demand, not government policy, was the main impediment to increased hiring."
	Should Some Bankers Be Prosecuted? - "Yet thus far, federal agencies have launched few serious lawsuits against the major financial firms that participated in the collapse, and not a single criminal charge has been filed against anyone at a major bank. The federal government has been far more active in rescuing bankers than prosecuting them."
	The Second Worst Campaign Commercial Ever By a Major Candidate? (video) - Don't miss the surprise at the end. (This one was even worse.)
	The Shocking, Graphic Data That Shows Exactly What Motivates the Occupy Movement - "Now is not the time for wonky policy solutions, as the media meatheads are calling for. Rather, it’s time to air our grievances as loudly as possible, which is precisely what Wall Street and its minions fear the most. Here’s a brief list of why we should be angry and the charts to back it up."

October 24, 2011
	Vatican Calls For Economic Equality, Sweeping Reform Of Global Financial System - Economic justice is a moral imperative. "... the Vatican stands with the Occupy Wall Street protesters and others struggling to return ethics and good governance to a financial sector grown out of control after 30 years of deregulation."
	Jobs Plan Stalled, Obama to Try New Economic Drive - Here's what the New York Times -- and most of the mainstream media -- are reluctant to come out and say: The congressional Republicans' scorched earth policy has blocked any possibility of passing legislation to address the stalled economy and jobs crisis. They want to see the economy fail and millions of Americans remain unemployed so that they can blame President Obama and Democrats during the next election campaign. It's as simple at that. But the mainstream media won't come right out and say it.
	The 99 Percent Are Winning - In barely a month the 99% Movement has change the national dialog from an austerity agenda focused on a balanced budget and tax breaks for the wealthy to job creation and economic justice.
	Obama succeeds -- when Republicans let him - In a break from traditional "horse race" coverage of national politics, an Los Angeles Times editorial places the blame for dysfunctional government where it belongs -- on congressional Republicans: "... domestically the problem is that Obama's opponents have turned criticism into obstructionism. Unlike his foreign policies, Obama's efforts to fix the economy have been thwarted at every turn by Republicans."
	"Cookie Monster" Offers Best Explanation Yet for Occupy Wall Street - "It system that reward hard work and fair play, and everyone do fair share and everyone benefit. Rich get richer, poor get richer, everyone happy. It great system. Then after Reagan, Republicans decide to make number one priority destroying that system."

October 23, 2011
	World Survives Doomsday (Again) - Getting depressed about Republican efforts to destroy Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, let alone the whole environment by denying global warming and abolishing the EPA? Look on the bright side of life. The world didn't come to an end last week.
	World Becoming Less Violent: Despite Global Conflict, Statistics Show Violence In Steady Decline - News about the bad economy and dysfunctional government getting you down? Things are not so bad. In fact, a lot of things are getting better.

October 22, 2011
	Ron Wyden, Senator From Planet Where Congress Works - Senator Ron Wyden is noted for his attempts to find bipartisan solutions to important problems like health care and the budget deficit, but the Republicans won't cooperate. His Republican co-sponsors often end up opposing their own bills.
	Stealing Your Pension: The Daily Show Looks At The 1% Reverse Robin Hood - You want class warfare? Here's class warfare!
	Global Warming Skeptics Confirm Temperature Rise (video) - One of global warming deniers' favorite skeptics isn't such a favorite anymore. It seems that his Koch brothers' funded study confirmed what climate scientists have been saying all along.
	And now for something completely different (video) - "I will force spiders and bagers on the enemy and get them all to shut up."

October 20, 2011
	First look at US pay data, it’s awful - The great recession had ended for everyone except 99% of the American people ... part 1.
	A Long, Steep Drop for Americans' Standard of Living - The great recession had ended for everyone except 99% of the American people ... part 2.
	U.S. Median Incomes Fall As Number Of Millionaires Grow - The great recession had ended for everyone except 99% of the American people ... part 3.
	What Have Oregon Democrats Been Up To Lately?
	The Romney Rule - Mitt Romney thinks millionaires like him who make money off their wealth are entitled to pay a lower tax rate than middle class Americans who earn their money from wages.

October 19, 2011
	Let's meet in Port Orford, OR - The next Occupy Port Orford demonstration on Saturday, October 22: "Once again, we will meet in front of the chain link fence located in front of the playground of Driftwood Elementary School. We will be there from 11:00am until 3:30pm to allow for a more flexible time for all to attend."
	Conservatives Want to Distroy America’s Fastest Growing Industry - "... the industry in question is the solar industry. And because this industry involves clean energy rather than, I dunno, tractor parts, it has been sucked into conservatives' endless culture war. Rather than lining up to support the recession's rare economic success story, Republicans are trying to use the failure of a single company -- Solyndra -- as a wedge to crush support for the whole industry."
	CHART: Thanks To The 99 Percent Movement, Media Finally Covering Jobs Crisis And Marginalizing Deficit Hysteria - Even though the media accused the #Occupy movement of having no clear message it seems that it has gotten the message.
	The First Occupy Wall Street TV Commercial (video)

October 18, 2011
	9-9-9: The Most Massively Regressive Redistribution of Taxes Ever Seriously Considered and 9-9-9 in One (Really Long) Graph - A tax proposal a conservative can love.
	If #OWS Has No Coherent Message, How Come Eric Cantor Is Suddenly Talking About 'Income Disparity'? - The message is sinking in.
	Republicans and Foreign Policy - New Your Times editorial: "Certainly, the Republican hopefuls have put to rest any lingering notion that their party is the one to trust with the nation’s security."

October 17, 2011
	Chart of the Day: The Press Hates Barack Obama - "You'd hardly know it from listening to the endless complaints about the lamestream media from movement conservatives, but guess which presidential candidate has gotten the worst press coverage over the past five months? The Pew Research Center took a look at all the Republicans running for president, and the answer is: none of them."
	Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - October 16, 2011 - Protect the wealthy and blame Democrats for everything.

October 15, 2011
	The Rise of the Regressive Right and the Reawakening of America - "A fundamental war has been waged in this nation since its founding, between progressive forces pushing us forward and regressive forces pulling us backward. We are going to battle once again."
	What May be the Most Commonly Misunderstood Fact About the Job Market - No matter what politicians say, it's large businesses -- not small businesses -- that create the most jobs: "... small businesses, say those with 100 workers or less, account for a minority of both workers and payrolls, and are not the primary engine of job growth."
	Republican Jobs Plan? Same As It Ever Was - There's nothing new under the Republican sun: "... John McCain's new "Jobs Through Growth Act" like John Boehner's "House Republican Plan for America's Job Creators" is just a cynical rehash of the same tried and untrue policies the GOP has been pushing for years."

October 14, 2011
	Chronicles of False Equivalence, Chapter 2,817 - Why voters are uninformed. Again.
	Open Letter to that 53% Guy - Read this ... just read it.
	'Occupy Wall Street' -- It's Not What They're for, But What They're Against - From Fox News, no less: "Critics of the growing Occupy Wall Street movement complain that the protesters don’t have a policy agenda and, therefore, don’t stand for anything. They're wrong. The key isn’t what protesters are for but rather what they’re against -- the gaping inequality that has poisoned our economy, our politics and our nation."

October 13, 2011
	CHARTS: Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About... - Need some facts* about wealth and income inequality in America to use on your Tea Party friends. Here they are. And don't mis our own handy guide, American Pie: Wealth and Income Inequality in America.

October 10, 2011
	The Myth of Voter Fraud - If you still think today's Republican Party believes in the principles if American democracy, read this.

October 9, 2011
	Protesters Against Wall Street - Unlike most of the mainstream media, The New York Times isn't playing dumb about the Occupy Wall Street movement: "... the chattering classes keep complaining that the marchers lack a clear message and specific policy prescriptions. The message — and the solutions — should be obvious to anyone who has been paying attention since the economy went into a recession that continues to sock the middle class while the rich have recovered and prospered. The problem is that no one in Washington has been listening."
	Financial crisis and stimulus: Could this time be different? - This long article from the Washington Post on the history of the Great Recession is getting a lot of attention today ... as well it should.
	Jesse LaGreca (Ministry of Truth) on ABC’s “This Week” (video) - Remember Jesse LaGreca, the Occupy Wall Street protester who gave the Fox News reporter a hard time a couple of days ago? He was on ABC’s “This Week” today. This guy is good. Watch how he deflects George Will's "gotcha" question about the protesters wanting more big government at 6:20 into the clip.

October 8, 2011
	Les Schwab attempts to block Ballot Initiative Drive - Les Shwab wants Oregon tax payers to subsidize studded tire sales.
	Jesse LaGreca (aka, the guy who schooled the FOX news reporter) (video) - Remember the Occupy Wall Street protester that gave the Fox News reporter a hard time? Here he is again.

October 7, 2011
	Mayor Sam Adams discusses Occupy Portland event (video) - Portland mayor Sam Adams shows how it's done. NYC should take lessons from Portland.
	Occupy Portland March Draws 5000 Protestors - The movement grows ...
	Adopt A Job Creator (video) - Every 10 seconds an executive is denied his bonus. Will you open your heart for the over endowed?

October 6, 2011
	Occupy Wall Street Highlights Tea Party's Bogus Populism - Comparing the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea party: "And after pocketing millions of dollars in funding from the usual right-wing sugar daddies, the Tea Party's Republicans in Republicans' clothing duly voted Republican in the 2010 midterm elections."
	Think Occupy Wall St. is a phase? You don't get it - "Anyone who says he has no idea what these folks are protesting is not being truthful. Whether we agree with them or not, we all know what they are upset about, and we all know that there are investment bankers working on Wall Street getting richer while things for most of the rest of us are getting tougher."
	"So, How'd That Trickle-Down Thing Work Out?" - "I prefer trickle-up policies. Give working class households more money -- tax cuts, helicopter drops, whatever -- and then let the rich compete for it by offering quality, innovative products at a decent price."

October 5, 2011
	Remember This Picture - "... one of the main issues that must be at the heart of the forthcoming economic debate leading up to the election will be the impact of the supply-side, trickle-down, deregulatory agenda that we continue to hear from conservatives. This picture should be emblazoned on the mind of every parent evaluating that debate." It's not a pretty picture.
	Dems rally behind ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protest movement
	The origins of Occupy Wall Street explained - How the Occupy Wall Street movement began and where it's going.

October 4, 2011
	Message to the mainstream media: If you don't understand what the Occupy Wall Street protests are all about, read this: American Pie: Wealth and Income Inequality in America
	“Occupy Wall Street” protesters sue New York City - Zero arrested for bankrupting the country. 700 arrested for walking on a bridge.
	Blocking the Exit: Currency Management and Senators court 2012 voters with China currency bill - Does China keep the value of its currency artifically low to make its products more competitive (cheaper) in the world market, or is the Senate China currency bill political grandstanding to get votes in 2012? Answer: Both.

October 3, 2011
	GOP Mega-Donor Koch Brothers' Company Tied To Global Criminal Misdeeds In Bombshell Article - Koch Industries, a company controlled by Republican mega-donors Charles and David Koch, implicated in dozens of criminal acts around the globe over the past three decades.
	#OccupyWallStreet Protester Lets Fox News Have It - Here's an interview that Fox News won't put on the air.
	Tainted water flows from taps of rural California Valley home - Life in Third World America ... the little people drink contaminated water so that the corporations and the wealthy can get their tax breaks.
	A self-induced recession - "YOU know, if it weren't for the politicians, the economy would have a fighting chance."

October 2, 2011
	Markets Can Be Very, Very Wrong - "Today’s American right doesn’t believe in externalities, or correcting market failures; it believes that there are no market failures, that capitalism unregulated is always right. Faced with evidence that market prices are in fact wrong, they simply attack the science."
	And now for something completely different(video) ... More here.

October 1, 2011
	Latest Attack On Michelle Obama: She Went To Target - Michelle Obama goes shopping at Target. OH, THE HUMANITY!!
	Nobody could've predicted that slashing budgets crashes economies - The economy is starving and the Republicans want to put it on a diet.
	Obama vs. Bush: Who’s the Bigger Tax Cutter? - Ask your conservative friends who cut taxes more: Obama or Bush. Then tell them that they're wrong and observe the reaction. Hint: they won't believe you.
	We Are the 99 Percent - Tax breaks for the wealthy, tough breaks for everyone else.

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Corp Profs At All Time High