Tag Archives: Great Depression

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Get Over It


By

Republicans Are Mad That Other Republicans Are Debunking Benghazi

The right-wing Benghazi conspiracy has been thoroughly debunked numerous times, but now it is back in the news because Republicans are the ones that are debunking it.

Six different investigations in the past two years have found that, while the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were tragic and reprehensible, there was no evidence for any kind of cover-up by President Obama and his administration. There was also no evidence that the Obama administration stopped attempted rescues from the diplomatic compound or that it intentionally misinformed Congress or the American people. Despite the myriad conspiracy theories, these notions have been disproven time and time again.

Well, none of that changed with the release of the House Intelligence Committee’s latest report, the seventh of the genre, on what happened that night in Benghazi. According to the Associated Press, this Republican-led, bipartisan committee reported the following:

Debunking a series of persistent allegations hinting at dark conspiracies, the investigation of the politically charged incident determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria.

While an investigation into the deaths at Benghazi was appropriate, conservative media, irresponsible right-wing politicians and pundits, and their enablers in Congress refuse to accept that these investigations have already concluded that there’s no controversy behind the tragic attack. Republicans have used this as a distraction for 2016 instead of treating the violence with the seriousness it has deserved.

Some Republicans are asking the GOP to move on from trying to prove something that does not exist. However, that has not stopped leading Benghazi conspiracy theorist Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., from calling the report inaccurate, “full of crap” and “a complete bunch of garbage.” Nor has this report stopped Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. from continuing his $3.3 million investigation into Benghazi, with House Republicans choosing to spend more on an eighth investigation than on the committees for Ethics, Veterans’ Affairs, the budget, or science.

BOTTOM LINE: The latest Benghazi investigation – this one led by House Republicans – found more of the same, namely that there was no conspiracy. But amazingly, that hasn’t stopped some GOPers from continuing to push this non-story. And conservatives wonder why the Obama administration continues its work on moving the country forward through executive action with such unreasonable and hostile opposition in Congress?

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Inequality hurts everyone NOT some …


| By

An Important New Report Argues Inequality Is Hurting U.S. Economic Growth, And It Isn’t The First

There are two refrains that we often repeat when describing our philosophy for economic growth: we need an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few; and we need an economy that grows from the middle-out, not the top down. At the heart of both of those beliefs is the demand that our leaders address the growing economic inequality in this country that leaves the richest with an ever-growing share of our nation’s wealth, while squeezing the vast middle class. This inequality doesn’t actually hurt some while helping others — it weakens our overall economy and as a result hurts everyone.

A new report issued by economists at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services agrees with these dire impacts of inequality. The report, entitled “How Increasing Inequality is Dampening U.S. Economic Growth, and Possible Ways to Change the Tide,” concludes that the widening gap between the wealthiest and everyone else is a key reason why our economic recovery is the weakest in the last 50 years. Pushing back against the oft-repeated and dead-wrong trickle-down argument on the right that a rising tide lifts all boats, S&P responds, “A lifeboat carrying a few, surrounded by many treading water, risks capsizing.”

This report is important because it comes from the business forecasting community, focused not on advancing new academic theories but on predicting for clients how the economy is working. It is far from the only voice, however, making the argument that income inequality is hurting economic growth. Here are a few other recent examples:

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF): In a report issued this February, IMF economists make the argument that continuing to ignore income inequality will harm economic growth. “Lower net inequality is robustly correlated with faster and more durable growth,” they write. It is “a mistake to focus on growth and let inequality take care of itself.”
  • Billionaire Entrepreneur Nick Hanauer: Hanauer, who was the first nonfamily investor in Amazon.com, wrote the most popular article in Politico Magazine history, called “The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats.” In the piece, he points out inequality doesn’t just hurt the economy, it creates political instability as well: “There is no example in human history where wealth accumulated like this and the pitchforks didn’t eventually come out,” writes Hanauer. “You show me a highly unequal society, and I will show you a police state. Or an uprising. There are no counterexamples. None.”
  • Nobel-Prize Winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz: Stiglitz wrote a whole book on this topic, aptly named “The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future.” One of several reasons he gives for why increasing inequality hurts growth is that it reduces people’s trust in the system. “People are not machines,” Stiglitz writes. “If they feel that they are being treated unfairly, it can be difficult to motivate them.”
  • Economist and Best-Selling Author Thomas Piketty: In his 2014 best-seller Capital in the 21st Century, Piketty explains that wealth concentrating in the hands of a few at the top is not an accident in capitalism, but a feature. Governments need to intervene in order to prevent that concentration from weakening the economy and causing political instability.
  • The Federal Reserve Bank. Sarah Bloom Raskin, who resigned from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in March to become Deputy Treasury Secretary, believes inequality was the cause of the crisis and the source of the slow recovery: “because of how hard these lower- and middle-income households were hit, the recession was worse and the recovery has been weaker.”

BOTTOM LINE: The new S&P report that argues income inequality is hurting U.S. economic growth is an important reminder that we need economic policies that make sure everyone pays their fair share to help the economy grow from the middle-out. And it’s far from the only source to make that case: A stronger middle class means more workers, more consumers, and a better economic climate for everyone.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Jess McIntosh, EMILY’s List


A vast majority of women serving in Congress today are there because they won tough open primaries. So, when an elected official retires or moves up to higher office, EMILY’s List jumps on the opportunity to get a pro-choice Democratic woman to run for that seat.

So you’ve read all the news stories about the waves of House retirements, right? Well so have we. Watch our behind-the-scenes strategy briefing about some EMILY’s List women currently trying to fill those seats by competing in open primary races:

Thanks for watching,

Jess McIntosh
Communications Director, EMILY’s List

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Dan Pfeiffer, The White House


whitehousebannerIt’s not exactly a secret that Washington hasn’t worked as well as it should. Between the constant gridlock and partisanship, most people just tune this town out. That was especially true this year when the government literally shut down.

Yet, even in spite of all that, thanks to the grit of the American people, this country continues to move forward. After the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, folks are getting back to work and the economy is getting stronger.

And late this year, Washington took a cue — and managed to make some progress itself.

While it’s too early to declare a new era of bipartisanship, what we’ve seen recently is that Washington is capable of getting things done when it wants to. And there’s an opportunity next year for this town to do its job and make real progress.

Here are just a couple areas where there’s been progress made recently — check them out, and then take a look at our full 2013 year-in-review.

For the first time in years, both parties in Congress came together and passed a budget. This budget doesn’t include everything that everyone wanted — but our economy will grow a little faster, be a little fairer for middle-class families, and create more jobs because of it.

Our businesses created 2 million jobs in 2013. That’s more than 8 million private-sector jobs in just over 45 months.

The economy is growing. Just last week we learned that, over the summer, our economy grew at 4.1% — its strongest pace in almost two years.

We’ve cut the deficit in half since 2009. That’s four years of the fastest deficit reduction since the end of World War II — and it means we’re improving our nation’s long-term fiscal position while strengthening our economy.

We produce more oil in the U.S. than we import from abroad. Thanks to an all-of-the-above strategy, we’re reducing our reliance on foreign oil — and that means lower energy costs for consumers.

The American auto industry is thriving. Last month, the auto industry added more than fifteen thousand jobs. And just a few weeks ago, the United States sold its final stake in General Motors.

Americans are getting better health coverage. Since October 1st, more than 1 million Americans have selected new health insurance plans through the federal and state marketplaces. And millions more are getting better health care thanks to increased protections and benefits.

There’s a little less gridlock in Congress. Leaders in Congress took action so that executive and judicial nominees (except to the Supreme Court) can be confirmed with a simple majority vote. Now we’re filling critical vacancies, and the government will work better for Americans because of it.

So while the politics in Washington can be frustrating and change takes time, that’s no excuse for inaction. In the New Year, we need to help American businesses continue creating jobs, make sure Americans are ready for those jobs, and make sure those jobs offer the wages and benefits that give families a fair shot at financial security.

We also need to look out for those who are searching for a job. Congress needs to extend unemployment insurance, something we’ll be making a priority when members come back to work.

There’s a lot of unfinished business, but there are also things we can build on. If you saw some things in this list that you think more people should know about, then pass them on.

Thanks, and happy holidays.

Dan

Dan Pfeiffer Senior Advisor The White House @Pfeiffer44

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from David Simas


The White House, Washington

Hello, everyone —

In the early hours of September 15, 2008, five years ago last Sunday, Lehman Brothers announced it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Lehman was a giant of the financial system — the fourth-largest investment bank in the US, a firm that employed thousands of brokers and analysts, with billions in assets that were suddenly worthless — and its collapse sent shock waves through the global economy.

Suddenly, it was obvious that the next president of the United States would inherit a staggering economic crisis. But the challenge that President Obama was forced to confront didn’t just begin in 2008. Even before Lehman Brothers, middle-class security had been slowly eroding for decades as jobs became obsolete or were shipped overseas.

So as we mark this anniversary, we’ve asked senior staff from across the Obama administration to sit down and talk about the moment when key decisions were made — the factors they weighed, the results of the actions that President Obama took. What we’ve put together is a behind-the-scenes look of the decision-making process that you won’t find anywhere else.

Check out the story of America’s recovery, then share it with your friends.

By the end of 2008, the economy was shrinking by an annual rate of more than 8 percent, our businesses were shedding 800,000 jobs a month, and credit was frozen for families and small businesses. We were in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. On the day that I first began working in the White House in 2009, the auto industry was on the brink of collapse and the President was wrestling with how to help the millions of families in thousands of communities who would have been devastated if the motor companies died.

That’s the lens through which President Obama saw his responsibilities, and it’s a consistent theme in all the stories we’ve collected. Every decision he made was meant to stop the economy from spiraling out of control, put people back to work, and reverse the trends that had buffeted middle class for decades. The task was nothing short of monumental — to clear away the rubble of the crisis and lay down a new foundation for sustained economic growth in the United States.

There’s no diminishing the severity of the challenge we’ve overcome together, and we’ve got a lot more work to do to rebuild an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead. But five years after Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, we want to help everyone get the context and see the full picture.

Take a minute to learn more about where we are five years after the start of the financial crisis:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/five-years-later

Thanks!

David

David Simas Deputy Senior Advisor The White House @Simas44