29 Mar
Archive for the 'Economy' Category
20 Dec
Let’s Talk About Budget Cuts…
A random van that was wandering New Hampshire to educate the populace on the way the US budget is divided. via
09 Dec
Average Tax Cuts: Dem, Repub & Obama Plans Compared
Yeah, as Ezra Kelin puts it, this is “Why liberals don’t like the tax cut deal.” Damn straight.
07 Nov
Joblessness Rant
I’m so fucking tired of hearing middle class and upper-middle class people disparage the poor and jobless by claiming the unemployment situation isn’t that bad. If I hear someone say, “there are plenty of jobs out there, people just need to get off their asses and go get one of them,” one more time, I might decide to stop being a pacifist. They argue that Craigslist is full of job openings. True, but a huge majority of the folks hit hardest by this recession are not looking for the kind of jobs typically posted on Craigslist. It’s important to keep in mind that the national unemployment rate is an average. But that doesn’t mean it’s the same for all income groups. In fact for me and my fellow middle-to-upper-middle class white workers, the unemployment rate is still fairly moderate (5-6%). But those in the lower income brackets are facing unemployment rates of 15%, 20%, and even 30%. What’s more, African Americans and Hispanics experience much higher rates of unemployment than whites (16% and 12% versus 8% respectively). Just because you see a bunch of 50K and 70K jobs being posted on Craigslist doesn’t mean that jobs are being created for those who are highly unemployed in the lower income brackets. It’s important to think outside our little (albeit shrinking) bubble of upper middle class ignorance and bliss. There are real people who can’t find work because jobs aren’t being created for them to fill. And the chances are that you probably don’t know many of these people. They’re not likely to be the friends you’re going out to sushi with on a Friday night or hitting the bars/clubs with on Saturday night. Like attracts like when it comes to income and class. So just for a second let your mind venture outside of its comfort zone to understand that there are people suffering and struggling to find jobs to feed themselves and their families. This is some serious economic shit we’re facing, and people who you probably don’t know personally (or even associate with) are taking the brunt of it. And they much worse off than you and your yuppie friends could even imagine being. Just sayin…
/rant
Some charts on unemployment disparity across income levels after the jump
20 Sep
Visualizing the Extension of the Bush Tax Cuts
I contacted my buddy Marc a few weeks ago about creating a visualization or infographic regarding who gets what from the Bush tax cuts. He was busy and then I was busy and then… well, we didn’t get around to it. Luckily Bill Marsh at the New York Times had the same idea. What’s more, he probably had much better data to pull from. To put it mildly, his chart pretty much rocked my world. Check it out:
Your Coming Tax Cut (or Not)
The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are set to expire at the end of this year, and the fight is on to renew some or all of them. Many Democrats want to scrap future cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers — individuals whose income after deductions is more than $200,000 and couples at $250,000 or more. The Republican leaders insist that all taxpayers should get relief, even those in the highest income strata. Wealthy Americans, they say, can use their tax savings to create jobs.
In either case, the extensions would be expensive: perhaps $2.7 trillion less for the Treasury through 2020. Here is a guide to who will get what if the cuts are extended, and who got what from the last seven years of cuts, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization. — BILL MARSH
05 Sep
Labor Day Weekend Links
Here’s some of the stuff I’m reading this weekend:
Health Law Myths: Outside The Realm Of Reality via NPR
National Debt For Beginners via NPR
The Current Flat-Tax Rate: 40% via MSN Money
Making Social Security Less Generous Isn’t The Answer via Washington Post
