Jeff Carlson shared The Party of Scrooge - History of American Politicss photo. 1 min A LOOK AT WHAT WAS AND GOING FORWARD TO 2015 As 2015 commences, America is moving steadily toward full employment for the first time since a Democrat last occupied the White House, during the Clinton presidency. The past 12 months marked the single strongest year of job increases since 1999, with unemployment down from 7 percent to 5.8 percent. The national economy is currently growing at an annual rate well above 4 percent, the Dow Jones average has surged above 18,000, and consumer confidence has reached its highest level since 2007 – before the onset of the Great Recession. Although too many Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, and wages have not yet begun to reap the share of productivity that workers deserve, the economic news is nevertheless encouraging – except to the right-wing politicians and pundits whose predictions of recession, joblessness, and generalized doom have been proved entirely wrong. For years now, the most prominent figures on the American right – from John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to Rush Limbaugh, George Will, and Sean Hannity, along with every right-wing think tank and media outlet – have warned the public that the tax, health care, and spending policies of the Obama administration were killing jobs and wrecking the economy. Meanwhile, their own agenda of political obstruction and austerity policies did much to harm the economy and employment, especially when they drove debate over the budget and debt ceiling toward the brink of default – and insisted on enormous cuts in spending by the federal, state, and local governments. As recently as last spring, the Republican line recited by Will and Limbaugh — and parroted by Boehner and McConnell — was that Obamacare would surely destroy at least 2 million jobs. Last February, Boehner’s office tweeted that the Affordable Care Act is “expected to destroy 2.3 million jobs.” On the radio, Limbaugh barked that the implementation of health care reform would cost “2.5 million jobs, minimum,” which he called “a literal tragedy for the country.” In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal agreed that Obamacare is “a job destroyer.” And on Fox News, Charles Krauthammer gloated that this White House unemployment debacle would be “emblazoned on the tombstone of liberalism.” Overblown rhetoric aside, the 2 million-plus figure came from a Congressional Budget Office report, which the Republicans then distorted beyond recognition to scare and depress the public. But that episode was only one example among many of partisan trash-talking about the economy — a tactic that dates back at least to the first Clinton budget in 1993, when congressional Republicans predicted a severe recession or worse. (They were totally wrong then, too.) In fact, the deep thinkers at the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute made similarly frightening predictions when President Obama and the Democrats in Congress insisted on letting the Bush tax cuts expire and limiting deductions for the wealthiest taxpayers Link to Article: nationalmemo/sharp-2014-growth-proves-right-wing-predictions-flat-wrong/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=MM_frequency_six&utm_campaign=Morning%20Memo%20-%202015-01-03 Here is another Article to check out: 5 Keys To The U.S. Economy To Watch In 2015 WASHINGTON — Ask five economists what they expect for 2015 and you’re likely to get scores of answers. Don’t fret: We’ve narrowed it down to five pivotal issues that will decide just how strong the U.S. economy grows this year. Link to this Article: nationalmemo/5-keys-u-s-economy-watch-2015/ Here is another Article to check out: OBAMA MAY NOT BE THE PRESIDENT PROGRESSIVES HOPE FOR, BUT HE’S STILL GETTING LOTS DONE. alternet.org/election-2014/obama-may-not-be-president-progressives-hoped-hes-still-getting-lots-done?akid=12648.312752.3wemhB&rd=1&src=newsletter1029671&t=2 FORBES: forbes/sites/adamhartung/2014/09/05/obama-outperforms-reagan-on-jobs-growth-and-investing/ Bernie Sanders on income inequality sanders.senate.gov/vermont/income-inequality-moral-issue Jeff 2015 Please Like and SHARE this The Party of Scrooge - History of American Politics A LOOK AT WHAT WAS AND GOING FORWARD TO 2015 As 2015 commences, America is moving steadily toward full employment for the first time since a Democrat last occupied the White House, during the Clinton presidency. The past 12 months marked the single strongest year of job increases since 1999, with unemployment down from 7 percent to 5.8 percent. The national economy is currently growing at an annual rate well above 4 percent, the Dow Jones average has surged above 18,000, and consumer confidence has reached its highest level since 2007 – before the onset of the Great Recession. Although too many Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, and wages have not yet begun to reap the share of productivity that workers deserve, the economic news is nevertheless encouraging – except to the right-wing politicians and pundits whose predictions of recession, joblessness, and generalized doom have been proved entirely wrong. For years now, the most prominent figures on the American right – from John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to Rush Limbaugh, George Will, and Sean Hannity, along with every right-wing think tank and media outlet – have warned the public that the tax, health care, and spending policies of the Obama administration were killing jobs and wrecking the economy. Meanwhile, their own agenda of political obstruction and austerity policies did much to harm the economy and employment, especially when they drove debate over the budget and debt ceiling toward the brink of default – and insisted on enormous cuts in spending by the federal, state, and local governments. As recently as last spring, the Republican line recited by Will and Limbaugh — and parroted by Boehner and McConnell — was that Obamacare would surely destroy at least 2 million jobs. Last February, Boehner’s office tweeted that the Affordable Care Act is “expected to destroy 2.3 million jobs.” On the radio, Limbaugh barked that the implementation of health care reform would cost “2.5 million jobs, minimum,” which he called “a literal tragedy for the country.” In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal agreed that Obamacare is “a job destroyer.” And on Fox News, Charles Krauthammer gloated that this White House unemployment debacle would be “emblazoned on the tombstone of liberalism.” Overblown rhetoric aside, the 2 million-plus figure came from a Congressional Budget Office report, which the Republicans then distorted beyond recognition to scare and depress the public. But that episode was only one example among many of partisan trash-talking about the economy — a tactic that dates back at least to the first Clinton budget in 1993, when congressional Republicans predicted a severe recession or worse. (They were totally wrong then, too.) In fact, the deep thinkers at the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute made similarly frightening predictions when President Obama and the Democrats in Congress insisted on letting the Bush tax cuts expire and limiting deductions for the wealthiest taxpayers Link to Article: nationalmemo/sharp-2014-growth-proves-righ…/… Here is another Article to check out: 5 Keys To The U.S. Economy To Watch In 2015 WASHINGTON — Ask five economists what they expect for 2015 and you’re likely to get scores of answers. Don’t fret: We’ve narrowed it down to five pivotal issues that will decide just how strong the U.S. economy grows this year. Link to this Article: nationalmemo/5-keys-u-s-economy-watch-2015/ Here is another Article to check out: OBAMA MAY NOT BE THE PRESIDENT PROGRESSIVES HOPE FOR, BUT HE’S STILL GETTING LOTS DONE. alternet.org/…/obama-may-not-be-president-progre… FORBES: forbes/…/obama-outperforms-reagan-on-jobs-g…/ Bernie Sanders on income inequality sanders.senate.gov/…/income-inequality-moral-iss… Jeff 2015 Please Like and SHARE this
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:20:51 +0000
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