Why?
Because wages are going down, down, down…

Basically, people won’t be spending more if they’re earning less.
So don’t worry about inflation…yet.
(h/t: NY Times)

“We always knew we were not going to get all that much fiscal impact during the first five to six months. The big impact starts to hit from about now onwards.”
- Obama economic adviser Christina Romer on when the economy will pick back up
And this is true. From the CBO’s projections back in January, the [...]

Something has to give, and it isn’t going to be the CBO’s numbers.
From Politico:
“They are shaking people down, and it’s fair to say that includes a broad range of health care stakeholders,” said a health care industry insider, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly without fear of retribution. “They’re playing hardball, and they’re serious [...]

They’re seeing red in the Golden state.
From Reuters:
California’s controller said on Wednesday that he would have to issue IOUs in a week if lawmakers can’t quickly solve a $24 billion budget deficit, and the state’s treasurer plans to tap a reserve fund to meet debt service costs.
The measures came as a budget crisis deepened in [...]

First, the numbers…
. Last year, after the recession had begun, the number of applications rose by 12 percent to more than 16 million, according to the Education Department. Detailed estimates are not yet available for last year, but of all full-time college undergraduates in 2007, 58 percent applied for aid, and 47 percent received it.
Still, [...]

Congressional Republicans have been telling voters that the cap and trade energy policy that’s set for a vote on Friday will cost each household about $3,100.
CBO puts the lie to those numbers and shows that they’re nearly 20 times the actual costs…in 2020.
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Climate change legislation pending in Congress would cost U.S. [...]

Even though he’s only been in office for 5 months, this has still be a long time coming.
And there are some important measures being introduced for home loans and consumer protection.
From Wash Post:
Many of the specific proposals will require legislation, and today’s announcement will drop the plan into an already heated debate on Capitol Hill [...]

This nifty little video provides a good breakdown of what went down and why.

Basically, it boils down to what we all suspected: grossly irresponsible lending brought about by deregulation.
It seems so obvious in retrospect.
(h/t: The Crisis of Credit)

Because we overreached so much during the past eight years, the practice of stop-loss was an unfortunate and common reality for many soldiers who would have otherwise left the military.
Now we’re honoring their forced service with more than a pat on the back.
From AP:
WASHINGTON -The House and Senate reached a compromise Thursday to give a [...]

A couple of days ago, I read a piece in Politico about the Republican’s strategy in 2010. Long story short, it’s all about blaming Obama for the current deficits.
In fact, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas actually said this (I’m presuming with a straight face) …
“This was not an inherited situation. This was a matter entirely [...]

Looks like the Dems are going to have to fight the largest physician’s organization in the world.
Yikes.
From NY Times:
[...] in comments submitted to the Senate Finance Committee, the American Medical Association said: “The A.M.A. does not believe that creating a public health insurance option for non-disabled individuals under age 65 is the best way to [...]

Even after reading this article I think it’s an open question, but I wasn’t aware that we were paid dividends on the preferred shares.
From McClatchy:
In addition to returning the $68 billion, the 10 banks paid the government $1.8 billion in dividends on the preferred shares of stock the government owned. That translates to an [...]

That’s out of the nearly $230B given out over the past 9 months.
In other words, nearly 30% of the money that we would NEVER see again is being paid back. And the government could actually make a profit if they choose to exercise stock options, but there’s word they won’t do that.
Here’s more from Wash [...]

So let’s get this straight…
$87 billion of the $787 billion has already been spent in the past 3.5 months, and the monthly unemployment claims were cut in half last month (when compared to the previous 6 months) and the stimulus isn’t working?
This is in response to Republican lawmakers, specifically Sarah Palin, continuing to push the [...]

Today, Congress sent President Obama the much talked-about bill setting in place new rules for the credit card industry.
The new restrictions will protect debt-ridden consumers from many of the surprise charges common in the industry, like over-the-limit fees and a charge to pay the bill by phone. People under 21 also will find it difficult [...]

I shared news about the increasingly irrelevant Steele a couple weeks ago and it looks like he’s fighting back.
And hey, good for him for fighting back, but my guess is that many want him out because they think he’s too moderate and too mouthy.
I mean, when you say that Romney’s mormonism was one of [...]

This is pretty significant because the one thing that has always gotten in the way of universal health care is the massive cost. But if the health insurance providers are willing to look for ways to tighten their belts, it’ll make it much more fiscally realistic.
From USA Today:
WASHINGTON — President Obama will announce today that [...]

With health care reform coming down the tracks, the private sector is left with two choices. Fight back against change or “join in” with the government’s efforts in an attempt to mitigate the damage. As of now, the private sector seems ready to play along.
President Obama will announce Monday that he has secured the [...]

I don’t think think this comes as a huge surprise, and it’s certainly disheartening.
From Wash Post:
The government signaled yesterday that its financial rescue efforts may have reached their high-water mark, announcing that the much-anticipated “stress tests” of 19 large banks showed that only one, GMAC, was likely to need additional taxpayer aid and that it [...]

This comes as no surprise to those of us who’ve been following the floundering Steele, and it speaks to just how rudderless the GOP is right now.
From Washington Times:
Capitulating to critics on the Republican National Committee, embattled Republican Party Chairman Michael S. Steele has signed a secret pact agreeing to controls and restraints on how [...]