Clipmarks | masbury's 'economy' clips

McCain aide: If we talk economy, we lose

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:20:56 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: He wants us to put him in charge of it, but his ideas aren't good enough to sell his candidacy?

Clip Source: sage

As a result, the McCain campaign has issued a new strategy: just don’t talk about the economy and instead attack Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) character — as a top McCain aide explained to the New York Daily News:

“It’s a dangerous road, but we have no choice,” a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. “If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose.”

Indeed, on Saturday, the Washington Post quoted another top McCain adviser acknowledging that McCain needs to shift away from the economy:

“We are looking for a very aggressive last 30 days,” said Greg Strimple, one of McCain’s top advisers. “We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama

Even McCain’s top surrogate Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) last week noted that talking about the economy is bad for McCain, saying that passing the bailout package “will be good for John McCain”

Tags: mccain, economy

Obama to McCain: Tell us about economy

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:09:48 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: McCain attempts to change the subject away from America's most pressing crisis back to smear, knowing his economic views are not selling

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Barack Obama said Monday that John McCain is trying to shift attention from the troubled economy because the issue is bad for the Republican presidential nominee's campaign.

The Democratic presidential candidate told reporters in Asheville, N.C., that he "cannot imagine anything more important to talk about" than Americans' losing their jobs, health care and homes.

In published reports, an aide to McCain recently said his campaign would like to shift the presidential race's focus away from the economy, which has been a better issue for Democrats than Republicans

Obama, referring to economic turmoil, said: "The notion that we would want to brush that aside and engage in the usual political shenanigans and smear tactics that have come to characterize too many political campaigns is not what the American people are looking for."

Obama renewed his call for extending unemployment insurance and for

a second stimulus package that would include tax cuts for millions of Americans

Tags: mccain, obama, economy

Pollster: 29 days to go and a transformed election

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:00:45 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: The economic situation has virtually ended John McCain's presidential aspirations and no amount of tactical maneuvering in the final 29 days is likely to change that equation

Clip Source: www.pollster.com

29 Days to Go and a Transformed Election

The past 14 days have transformed this election. The financial crisis has catapulted Obama into the lead both nationally and in key states. We have been saying for six months that the political environment has favored the Democrats significantly, but it took a near global financial meltdown for things to finally reach the tipping point. The economic situation has virtually ended John McCain's presidential aspirations and no amount of tactical maneuvering in the final 29 days is likely to change that equation.

Here is our up-to-the-minute take on the campaign:

The economy is going to get worse before it gets better, and that will drive the election dynamic for at least another 7-10 days.

September 15th will be seen as the day Obama won (or perhaps the day McCain lost

McCain said "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."

the beginning of the end

The window for challenging Obama's character may have closed

in light of the serious

issues

seems desperate

Tags: mccain, election, obama

Desperate, McCain plans fierce smear campaign

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:28:33 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Desperate to turn discussion away from the economy, McCain will try to blackball Obama over BS issues

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

McCain plans fiercer strategy against Obama

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain's team has decided that its emphasis on the senator's biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan's campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.

Tags: mccain, lies

Ehrenreich: The Communist Manifesto Hits 160

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:39:37 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Marx's solution was wrong, but his diagnosis sounds like recent news. Excellent writing!

Clip Source: ehrenreich.blogs.com

This year marks the 160th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto and capitalism, aka “free enterprise,” seems willing to observe the occasion by dropping dead. On Monday night, some pundits were warning that the ATMs might run dry and hinting that the only safe investment left is canned beans

The Manifesto makes for quaint reading today. All that talk about “production,” for example:

Did the proletariat really slave away in factories instead of call centers? But on one point Marx and Engels proved right: Within capitalist societies, or at least the kind of wildly unregulated capitalism America has had, the rich got richer, the workers got poorer, and the erstwhile middle class has been sliding toward ruin

American workers have sweetly acquiesced to declining wages, rising prices, speed-ups at work, disappearing pensions, and increasingly threadbare health insurance. While CEO pay escalated to the 8-figure range

ordinary Americans took on second jobs

Tags: economy

McCain sags in FL; Repub leaders meet

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:50:37 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Aggregate polls suggest FL trending toward Obama.

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

Florida Republicans Hold Secret Meeting

RealClearPolitics’ aggregate polling data show Florida trending Obama’s way.

Florida Republican leaders hastily convened a top secret meeting this week to grapple with Sen. John McCain’s sagging performance in this must-win state.

Their fears were confirmed Wednesday when four new polls showed Sen. Barack Obama leading, a reversal from just a few weeks ago when McCain was opening up an advantage.

The polls come amid a cascade of bad news about the economy, an issue that McCain has struggled with in recent days.

Tags: mccain, obama

AP: Only 25% of voters believe Palin qualified

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:42:29 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "Nine straight months of job loss," Obama said. "Yet ... John McCain said the fundamentals of the economy are strong"

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

She'll have a lot of convincing to do. An AP-Gfk poll released Wednesday found that just 25 percent of likely voters believe Palin has the right experience to be president. That's down from 41 percent just after the Republican convention. McCain's recent slide behind Democratic rival Barack Obama in the polls also has been partly attributed to voters' doubts over Palin's readiness.

"Nine straight months of job loss," Obama said. "Yet, just the other week, John McCain said the fundamentals of the economy are strong. Well, I don't know what yardstick Sen. McCain uses, but where I come from, there's nothing more fundamental than a job."

In bad news for McCain, a Quinnipiac University survey released on Wednesday showed Obama's support had jumped to 50 percent or above in the key states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Since 1960, no president has been elected without winning two of those three states.

Tags: obama, palin

Jobless claims at 7-year high

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:34:31 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: How could anyone vote for 4 more years of it? Republican policies get thousands of our soldiers killed, push jobs overseas, devalue US international influence, prevent millions of us from getting medical treatment, devastate our economy - and half our voters limp to the polls to beg for more.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Jobless claims remain at a seven-year high

Hurricanes Ike, Gustav, slowing economy weigh on labor market

The department reported that initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 497,000. That’s significantly above analysts’ estimate of 475,000. The total is the highest since just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks seven years ago.

U.S. stock futures declined on the report. Dow Jones industrial average futures dropped 102 to the 10,785 level, pointing to a lower opening for shares.

The number of people continuing to receive benefits increased to 3.59 million, up 48,000 and higher than analysts’ estimates. That’s the highest total in five years.

Jobless claims are at elevated levels even excluding the hurricanes. Weekly claims have now topped 400,000 for 11 straight weeks, a level economists consider a sign of recession. A year ago, claims stood at 324,000.

Tags: economy

TheOnion: What is the $700B being spent on?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:17:26 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Now you've got the real story; you become AREA MAN.

Clip Source: www.theonion.com

Tags: humor, bailout, economy, immigration

FactCheck: Who's really responsible for crisis?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:44:45 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "Screwing [the economy] up takes a great deal of cooperation." D's blame R's and R's blame D's - but those accusations (and I have made them, too, sorry to say) are far too simplistic to help us fix the problem. Here's a list of contributors to the perfect storm.

Clip Source: www.factcheck.org

So who is to blame?

The Federal Reserve, which slashed interest rates after the dot-com bubble burst, making credit cheap

Home buyers, who took advantage of easy credit to bid up the prices of homes

Congress, which continues to support a mortgage tax deduction that gives consumers a tax incentive to buy more expensive houses

Real estate agents, most of whom work for the sellers rather than the buyers and who earned higher commissions from selling more expensive homes

The Clinton administration, which pushed for less stringent credit and downpayment requirements

Mortgage brokers, who offered less-credit-worthy home buyers subprime, adjustable rate loans with low initial payments, but exploding interest rates

Wall Street firms, who paid too little attention to the quality of the risky loans that they bundled

The Bush administration, which failed to provide needed government oversight

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan

Collective delusion

home prices would keep rising forever

Tags: economy, bailout

FDR: An end to speculation with other people's money

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:55:49 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: And the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - in contrast to the current rush to action.

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT: First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror, which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. […]

Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men. […]

There must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments. There must be an end to speculation with other people’s money. And there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.

These, my friends, are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the forty-eight states.

Tags: fdr, economy

NYT: US aid spending/GNP worst of developed nations

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:04:35 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "aggregate aid budget of the most developed nations amounts to 0.28 percent of their gross national income … The United States, shamefully, is at the bottom of the list, spending 0.16 percent of its income on development assistance"

Clip Source: www.sojo.net

The threat to the entire global economy has created alarm and fear that those in poverty, both in the U.S. and around the world, will be left behind and forgotten

On today’s U.N. agenda is a review of the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. This ambitious agenda includes cutting global poverty in half, reducing infant mortality, reducing the ratio of women dying in childbirth, ensuring primary education, promoting gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS and malaria, and a setting of benchmarks for environmental sustainability and development

The goal of developed countries spending 0.7 percent of their GNP on aid has not been met by most countries. The New York Times noted this week that

The aggregate aid budget of the most developed nations amounts to 0.28 percent of their gross national income … The United States, shamefully, is at the bottom of the list, spending 0.16 percent of its income on development assistance.

Tags: foreign policy, economy

One-third of all the world's wealth is in the USA

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:32:29 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Although North America has only 6% of the world adult population, it accounts for 34% of household wealth. Read the text below the graph for details.

Clip Source: www.gizmag.com

How the world's wealth is distributed

The most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken

The UNU-WIDER study is the first of its kind to cover all countries in the world and all major components of household wealth, including financial assets and debts, land, buildings and other tangible property.

Wealth is heavily concentrated in North America, Europe, and high income Asia-Pacific countries. People in these countries collectively hold almost 90% of total world wealth. (Figure 2: Regional Wealth Shares) Although North America has only 6% of the world adult population, it accounts for 34% of household wealth. Europe and high income Asia-Pacific countries also own disproportionate amounts of wealth. In contrast, the overall share of wealth owned by people in Africa, China, India, and other lower income countries in Asia is considerably less than their population share, sometimes by a factor of more than ten.

Tags: wealth, economy

Campaign credits McCain for bailout bill; bill fails!

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:27:09 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Laudatory comments from four surrogates prior to the vote; McCain fails to deliver Republican votes. Promised he wouldn't go to debate unless it was settled; Obama called his bluff.

Clip Source: sage

"[T]his bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain.

a bipartisan success. And if people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain." —

Mitt Romney, 9/29/08

"Earlier in the week, when Senator McCain came back to Washington, there had been no deal reached. ... What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all the parties to the table, including the House Republicans." — Senior adviser Steve Schmidt, 9/28/08

"But here are the facts, and I’m not overselling anything

John didn’t phone this one in. He came and actually did something.

Thank God John came back." — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 9/28/08

"Before John McCain suspended his campaign yesterday, the situation that we’re looking at today looked very different then. After he showed leadership and called for bipartisanship, for us to partisanship aside and tackle this solution head on, here we are." — Spokesman Tucker Bounds, 9/25/08

Tags: mccain, bailout, economy

USAToday/Gallup on Financial Crisis

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:33:59 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Only Obama squeaks by with a positive rating

Clip Source: www.pollster.com

US: USA Today/Gallup on Financial Crisis

If you haven't seen it yet, this Gallup analysis of the latest USA Today/Gallup poll on the Wall Street crisis, conducted over the weekend, is a must-read. The poll...:

finds more Americans disapproving than approving of how most of the major national political players have handled the recent problems on Wall Street. Only Barack Obama squeaks by with more Americans approving than disapproving of his performance on the issue, 46% to 43%."

Tags: polls, economy