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| H2 tags : Of Americans describe the U.S. economy as being in a recession or depression, even as the Federal Reserve reports that “the economic recovery is proceeding at a moderate pace,” according to a new Gallup Poll. Another 16% of Americans say the economy is “slowing down,” and 27% believe it is growing.; Of Americans now have an unfavorable image of the Tea Party movement, the highest since it emerged on the national scene, according to Gallup. While 60% of Republicans view the Tea Party favorably, 24% have an unfavorable opinion.; Someone posts something about the royal wedding on a social network — that’s 9,000 mentions per day.; — Mark Halperin, writing in Time magazine.; — Garrett Epps, writing in the Atlantic, making the case that the debt limit set by Congress violates the 14th Amendment, which directs that “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.“; — Karl Rove, arguing that President Obama is running a negative reelection campaign in his weekly WSJ column.; — Jonathan Chait, writing in the New Republic.; Pres. Obama is blamed for “dictating” that Americans must use compact fluorescent light bulbs but a) Obama is not to blame, and b) no one is dictating any such thing.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law by Pres. George W. Bush
Nothing in the act bans the use of incandescent bulbs or requires they be replaced with compact fluorescents. The act does increase efficiency standards on all bulbs.
The U.S. Energy Department projects higher standards will save money for both families and businesses
Independent observers have seen no evidence of constituents lobbying members of Congress to “save incandescent bulbs”; Nationwide, Republicans and tea party members echo the cry that because tax revenues are down, programs they have long targeted must be cut. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R/Tea) is using the message to cut education funding and gut environmental and consumer protection laws.
But in this case, and so many others, Republicans are simply making stuff up to bolster their flimsy logic.
The Florida Prepaid Tuition program has $10 billion in assets and $9.5 billion in liabilities
For those able to do math, this means the program is running with a $500 million surplus
Two years ago, Sen. Lynn herself floated the idea of raiding the Florida Prepaid plan to fund other initiatives; “The U.S. government is not broke,” said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York. “There’s no evidence that the market is treating the U.S. government like it’s broke.”
The U.S. is able to borrow at historically low interest rates, paying 0.68 percent on a two-year note that it had to offer at 5.1 percent before the financial crisis began in 2007.
Financial products that pay off if Uncle Sam defaults aren’t attracting unusual investor demand.
Tax revenue as a percentage of the economy is at a 60-year low, meaning if the government needs to raise cash and can summon the political will, it could do so.
The U.S. does face long-term fiscal dangers — since 2009, federal debt measured against total economic output has increased by more than 50 percent and the White House projects annual budget deficits continuing indefinitely. But as long as we are paying our bills, we ain’t broke, Mr. Boehner. |
