ThinkFast: March 26, 2007
ThinkFast: March 26, 2007
Bob Novak writes, “With nearly two years remaining in his presidency, George W. Bush is alone. In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress. … The saving grace that some Republicans find in the dispute over U.S. attorneys is that, at least temporarily, it draws attention away from debate over an unpopular war.”
Despite Bush’s recent change in rhetoric, top White House economic officials stilll don’t consider today’s income inequality “an inherently bad thing. … The administration hasn’t yet offered any sweeping proposals to resist the market forces producing inequality — and probably won’t.”
Five U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday in roadside bombings, four of them in the Diyala province east of the capital — a religiously-mixed area where insurgents fleeing the Baghdad crackdown are believed to have sought refuge. Diyala has seen “fierce fighting in recent months.”
Lawyers for New York City are rejecting calls to release police records of spying activities conducted on progressive activist groups in the lead-up to the 2004 Republican National Convention. The lawyers say “the documents should remain secret because the news media will ‘fixate upon and sensationalize them.’”
Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) said last night during an interview on 60 Minutes, “There’s not a single person in America that should vote for me because Elizabeth has cancer… Do not vote for us because you feel some sympathy or compassion for us. That would be an enormous mistake.”
“Is CNN building bridges to the longtime Fox News-friendly Bush administration? That’s the message one could take from CNN’s guests at the Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton this Wednesday. CNN is hosting top Bush adviser Karl Rove, as well as Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
The LA Times writes, “[N]early all the major 2008 presidential candidates — both announced and presumed — are wrestling with the technology that has made such successes of MySpace, Facebook, MeetUp and other social networking sites.” To see which tools the candidates are using and how they stack up to one another, check out NetTrends ‘08.
“The senior American envoy in Iraq, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, held talks last year with men he believed represented major insurgent groups in a drive to bring militant Sunni Arabs into politics,” the NYT repots. “He is the first American official to publicly acknowledge holding such talks.”
And finally: Get your tickets early. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) “is getting into the documentary filmmaking business and he’s out to tell ”the other side of the story.” Santorum said last week “that he is planning two film projects in part to counter what he characterized as the stream of left-wing documentaries coming from Hollywood and independent filmmakers.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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No end to the Bush Regime madness and we all suffer for it!
March 26th, 2007 at 9:13 amI for one am very interested in how web technology is going to effect the 08 race. The "apple" ad being a case in point.
Grokin' in the hood...
March 26th, 2007 at 9:17 amDespite Bush’s recent change in rhetoric, top White House economic officials stilll don’t consider today’s income inequality “an inherently bad thing.
Who can forget this gem:
“This is an impressive crowd: the Have's and Have-more's. Some people call you the elites. I call you my base.†G.W. Bush
And what is with TP's obsession with presidential candidates and the technology they use? Is it really that important to have a daily section on it and place it in ThinkFast?
March 26th, 2007 at 9:23 amWhat I don't understand about the Edwards issue; is if Sen. Edwards is going to run anyway, why make an issue of the recurrence of the cancer?
March 26th, 2007 at 9:24 amThe news media should "fixate upon and sensationalize them" because what New York City did was anti-American, immoral and illegal. Seems to be getting worse that when governments do something wrong, their first reaction is to sweep it under the rug. Where's the sunshine?
March 26th, 2007 at 9:26 amboy, the NYPD is sounding more like the Bush administration every day... shame on the blue state's boys in blue!
March 26th, 2007 at 9:29 amwhy make an issue of the recurrence of the cancer?
Comment by Dale
I don't know. Why are you making an issue out of it?
March 26th, 2007 at 9:30 amWelcome to 1984.
Lawyers for New York City are rejecting calls to release police records of spying activities conducted on progressive activist groups in the lead-up to the 2004 Republican National Convention. The lawyers say “the documents should remain secret because the news media will ‘fixate upon and sensationalize them.’â€
That's a novel legal theory; keep Government documents secret, because they're news.
Even more troubling is the desire to keep the documents secret even though "City lawyers have described the intelligence documents as central to the city’s defense."
Sounds a lot like the classified evidence Bush gets to use in his Military Commissions.
Then there was this nice bit of Government intimidation:
the intelligence showed the city was justified in applying intensive scrutiny to the 1,806 people arrested during the convention, including fingerprinting more than a thousand people who faced charges no more serious than traffic tickets. Some were detained as long as two days for minor offenses.
The city was justified in fingerprinting people for traffic tickets? What message does that send? Only one:
March 26th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Anyone else find all the similarities between Nixon and Bush fascinating?
From common advisers, such as Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. to these two being two of the most secretive Presidents in history, to expansion of Presidential powers, to . . .
Hopefully, the end result will be the same.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:34 amHopefully, the end result will be the same.
Comment by Dogjudge
Hopefully there will be one difference and this time there will be no pardons.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:38 amBob Novak writes, “With nearly two years remaining in his presidency, George W. Bush is alone."
As Bob Novak should be. Now that we know Plame was, indeed, NOC (Undercover), he should be tried on treason for outing a CIA operative, along with Rove, Cheney, & the whole damn bunch.
Novak wants to have it both ways; outing a CIA agent, while pretending to be neutral. Novak's not a journalist; he's a right wingnut mouthpiece, in shit up to his big ears.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:40 amNew York City police aren't the only ones doing that... its happening in every major city. Its happening here in Colorado... I know for a fact that Colorado Springs police did something similar to protesters there - going so far as to record the license plates of all the protesters cars, infiltrating peace activist groups with undercover officers, video taping them secretly, etc. Treating PEACE ACTIVISTS as if they were the enemy!
WTF is going on!?? This is NOT the America I grew up in!!!
March 26th, 2007 at 9:45 amThe lawyers say “the documents should remain secret because the news media will ‘fixate upon and sensationalize them.
This is what the news media does. By this logic, nothing the government does should be made public.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:50 amre: edwards on 60 minutes...
callers to sam's show are pissed off at katies attitude: shouldn't you stay at home with your wife?...
another caller reminds us that when katies husband was battling colon cancer she stayed on the today show...
that ol' double standard...
might want to ask katie couric about that...
March 26th, 2007 at 9:50 amhttp://www.cbsnews.com/sections/eveningnews/main3420.shtml
why make an issue of the recurrence of the cancer?
Comment by Dale
One possibility is that some of you (particularly the reichwingers) might make an issue out of Elizabeth's inevitable absences on the campaign trail.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:51 amThe Republican party are definitely rats...and they are stepping on each other to fell the sinking ship. I said two yeas ago that the sad thing is not if Bush wins re-election, but how fast his own party would turn on him. This is a party that is extremely dangerous for America. Not because they seem to encourage and breed incompetance and corruption, but because they will do anything to convince the American people that the reality isn't what it appears. Then after lying, manipulating, and deceiving the American people who elect them, they turn and eat their own. After all, they did their job, they maintained power but now that Bush can't get re-elected they gain NOTHING from contuing to support him either genuinely or through lies and hackery.
That to me is the most dangerous thing about the REpublican party. I have no doubt in my mind that if someone exactly like BUsh came along, this whole thing would repeat itself. A party that is willing to trip over itself to protect the corruption, lies, and criminal behaviour of the President by doing the same themselves should be ashamed of themselves for decades to come.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:52 amIncome inequality is NOT a product of market forces. It is a product of a combination of market forces perverted and distorted by cronyism and political/govenmental policies. Theoretically, the market is supposed to funnel resources to the most efficient producer, but, in an environment steeped in FEAR, it funnels resources to the wealthy and politically powerful. In an environment of FEAR, you can make no assumption of rationality on the part of the myriad of economic actors which make up the "market". The is why the "long war" is such a boon for Bush and his cronies.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:52 amFrom BushCo to BushCronies to Bush & Barney to the bottle.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:56 am#14 katy
March 26th, 2007 at 9:57 amCouric's voice was gentle last night but her questions went for the jugular. She was constantly using the old FOX-TV method of interrogation: "some people would say..."
She was simply terrible.
She should have stayed with the morning fluff on NBC. This was a horrible move for CBS, and for 60 Minutes.
This was originally posted yesterday by ace. It definitely deserves a repost:
Barring extraordinary circumstances, this is a done deal.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:59 amfrom sam's site:
Last night on 60 Minutes, Katie Couric challenged John and Elizabeth Edwards and helped advance the right wing notion that Edwards is wrong to continue his campaign in spite of his wife's cancer. E-mail Katie Couric to ask her why it's anyone else's business. And while you're at it, ask her why she kept working when HER husband got cancer.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:00 amcouricandco@cbs.com
As for the public "fixating" on NYPD'd involvement in the partisan spying on unindicted, lawbiding Americans: Causing the public to "fixate" on corruption in government is part of the media's job - no?
To rephrase the NYPD's comment: "We're protecting the public by not letting them get upset over the crimes we have committed. We're doing this for the good of the public".
Sheeesh.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:08 amTMM ~ Did you check out the sources for that report.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:09 amLooked to me like two releases from the same source.
Have you seen any corroboration? I remember the report that the Pentangle was working up the logistics, but this looks a little shaky to me.
Anyone else find all the similarities between Nixon and Bush fascinating?
From common advisers, such as Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. to these two being two of the most secretive Presidents in history, to expansion of Presidential powers, to . . .
Hopefully, the end result will be the same.
Comment by Dogjudge
I, too, have long noticed the similarities. Being riginally from Calfiornia, where one usually either hates or adores Nixon, I never thought I would despise a president more than Tricky Dicky, but here he is.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:10 amThe big differences with Bush are that Nixon, for all his faults, was actually intelligent, had no rich Daddy connections, and for his time was fairly good about environmental matters. Dumbya is even trying to do away with the environmental regulations instituted by Nixon over 30 years ago!
Katie Couric should really go back to the shallow "news" reporting of The Today Show. When I see her on 60 Minutes, I skip ahead (thank you, Tivo).
March 26th, 2007 at 10:11 am#4 He has to come out early and make a strong statement - not only because it is correct, but also because if he didn't the right-wing "news" pundits would target him for it and say that he wanted sympathy, and actually use it against him.
IE: He said what he said because there are too many idiots on TV.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:13 amLoved this blurb:
March 26th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Similarities between Nixon and bush are noting compared to the similarities between George W. Bush and Benito Mussolini.
I'm serious - Google Mussolini and see if the two don't track identically.
Whatever beacme of ol' Il Duce, anyway?
Hmmmm....
March 26th, 2007 at 10:16 amRUCerious sez:
I've done some research, and found some more references to "Operation Bite"...but the sites I find are either in Russian or German. :(
I'll let you kno was soon as I find some corroboration in English.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:17 amThanks TMM. You da man.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:26 amNot that I doubt for a second that the chymp is getting desperate enough to pull something like this,...
#29, so a Russian journalist, citing Russion military sources, says that we're going to nuke Iran on April 6th at 4am? And you believe him?
March 26th, 2007 at 10:29 amMy mistake, he's not a Russian journalist, just Russian sources.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:34 amso a Russian journalist, citing Russion military sources, says that we’re going to nuke Iran on April 6th at 4am? And you believe him?
Comment by Dale
An American journalist (Judith Miller) cited US military sources (DIA) saying Iraq had WMDs. Weren't they trustworthy?
March 26th, 2007 at 10:36 amThe Bush adminstration has grown quiet recently about Iran. I have been wondering what it means. Has action been tabled for now because of the political crises brewing at home? Or are they still on schedule, and now is just the quiet before the storm?
March 26th, 2007 at 10:40 amDale, don't you support invading Iran?
March 26th, 2007 at 10:40 am# 20 TMM
if you give me the links to the german sites I can translate for you.
# 4 Dale:
Imagine the Edwards family had kept mum about Mrs Edwards' health. J. Edwards would be nominated. This would have been a wonderful day guys like Mr Rove. They'd immediately publicly mourn the fact that Mr Edwards was unfit as a president because of the unfortunate fate of his wife. And the Republicans would repeat it and repeat it and repeat it... and it would stick.
I am not a John Edwards fan, For me the best President would be Mr Gore, but Mr and Mrs Edwards did the right thing to go public and a very courageous thing, too.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:42 am#35, no, I don't support invading Iran.
#36, good point, maybe it is best that they mentioned the health problems. I am glad to see that he said he specifically doesn't want any sympathy votes.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:46 am"Anyone else find all the similarities between Nixon and Bush fascinating?"
Yes, except that the main and most glaring difference is that Nixon actually did some good in his presidency (improving Sino-American relations), whereas Bush has done nothing but alienate the US from the entire world.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:48 amThe Bush adminstration has grown quiet recently about Iran. I have been wondering what it means. Has action been tabled for now because of the political crises brewing at home? Or are they still on schedule, and now is just the quiet before the storm?
Comment by VerbalKint — March 26, 2007 @ 10:40 am
i can't help but wonder if they might appreciate this crisis as another distraction, enabling the plans for iran to proceed under radar...
March 26th, 2007 at 10:48 amcan never trust them...
So, the NYC lawyers won't release evidence because it will become a media event?
Oh, I see, I guess spying on Americans is suppose to be something we're not suppose to know about. Gee, I guess I should just apply for my National ID Card now and sit in front of the TV until I'm told what to do next and God forbid I should take action against anything that I think might be improper that might be something our government is doing illegal. After all this is our government, they won't do anything wrong. Not them ...
And they didn't want us to know who meet with cheney to set our energy policy. And they didn't want 9/11 investigated. And they didn't investigate Plame. And who forged the documents and why? And who needs to investigate the attorney firing?
Just be good little Americans and STFU!!! Or we'll investigate YOU.
March 26th, 2007 at 10:50 amTell you one thing Iran aint scared of Battle with America ....They have something BIG up their sleeve and we should all worry
March 26th, 2007 at 10:56 amThe MAINSTREAM MEDIA is STILL by far the MOST DANGEROUS enemy...
...the people face...
...NOTE whom they STILL employ...
...TRAITORS like BOB NOVAK who should be imprisoned (if not executed)...
...for his role in outing an actively covert CIA agent during a so-called...
...time of war...
...This NEW web magazine "POLITICOS" is getting entirely too much play from the electronic (television) media...
...notice that they are staffed by right wing Bushite cultists like Mike Allen and staffers formerly from the right wing rag "Weekly Standard"...
...the MEDIA creates our presidential candidates (like they did Bushiva in '00)...
...and like they DESTROYED Howard Dean and John Kerry...
...The MSM must be OVERHAULED and taken out of the hands of the few right wing corporate despots...
...ONLY then can America trust it...
March 26th, 2007 at 11:00 amVerbalKint and katy,
One thing is certain...
...with the capture of those Brits...
...Iran has JUST called their bluff...
March 26th, 2007 at 11:01 amwith the capture of those Brits…
…Iran has JUST called their bluff…
Comment by big papa
IT ought about the reasoning behind it and then I rememebered the US capturing and detaining Iranian "diplomats" and their material that were in Iraq. Now they have foreign military hostages after they were warned by the Russians that the US is soon to attack. Dangerous game that is being played by both sides.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:12 amThat's right Mr. Decider.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:12 amEven your greedy friends are chumpin' ya.
“Anyone else find all the similarities between Nixon and Bush fascinating?â€
I think bush and cheney make nixon and agnew look like Fred and Ethyl.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:13 ambig papa @ No. 42, I agree.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:14 ambig papa - that FAIRNESS DOCTRINE that reagan trashed, and clinton finished off, definitely needs to be brought back to life... SOON...
March 26th, 2007 at 11:17 amOh, I see, I guess spying on Americans is suppose to be something we’re not suppose to know about. Gee, I guess I should just apply for my National ID Card now and sit in front of the TV until I’m told what to do next and God forbid I should take action against anything that I think might be improper that might be something our government is doing illegal.
Comment by Com-n-sense #40
NOW you're getting the message...
...question is...
...what do we do about the TRAITORS who live among us...
...who BELIEVE in what you wrote Com-n?
...the ones who say...
..."who cares if the government listens to our phone calls or opens our mails. If you've got nothing to hide, why whine?"
...THESE are the 30% deadenders who keep this Bushite machine running...
...What do we do about THEM?
March 26th, 2007 at 11:18 amFormer Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) “is getting into the documentary filmmaking business and he’s out to tell â€the other side of the story.â€
Coming soon in IMAX: Man on dog. Don't forget to bring the kids, even if they are in a jar on your mantle.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:21 amLawyers for New York City are rejecting calls to release police records of spying activities conducted on progressive activist groups in the lead-up to the 2004 Republican National Convention. The lawyers say “the documents should remain secret because the news media will ‘fixate upon and sensationalize them.’â€
That's just not gonna fly NYC. I know it's hard to recognize these days, but this is still America. Cough up the docs...
March 26th, 2007 at 11:24 am#42: My mantra is MEDIA and VOTING, MEDIA and VOTING, MEDIA and VOTING. Whoever controls the MEDIA and VOTING controls the country. The Dems need to use their brief period of control to break up the Republican control of the MEDIA and VOTING.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:37 amCAPTION:
............Nah,I got nothing other than the fact that I loath and despise that son of a bitch.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:42 am# 44 dlet
Didn't Zbigniew Brzeszinski predict such an event?
I still do not believe, that Mr Bush will order an attack on Iran just now. I guess right after the elections is more likely, but with irrational people like the Bush administration you never know.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:44 amDonna Lieberman, Executive Director, NYCLU
on sam's show just now... more info at
http://www.nyclu.org/
March 26th, 2007 at 11:55 amThe saving grace that some Republicans find in the dispute over U.S. attorneys is that, at least temporarily, it draws attention away from debate over an unpopular war.â€
Things must be pretty bad if they are appreciating a scandle which serves as a distraction from a debacle.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:57 amMan, Edwards is practically helping the Rush Limbaughs of the world with that quote. Can't he see how it'll be twisted into:
POW! Drudge will have it by 8:15 AM.
March 26th, 2007 at 12:12 pm---
Note to other posters: If your post is all bold, I scroll right by.
Income Inequality is a myth. Excerpts from a 9/7/2006 column:
over the past 25 years the share of working-age adults in households making over $100,000 has risen by 13 percent while the share of households making less than $75,000 has dropped by 14 percent — after adjusting for inflation. The median household income of people in their prime working years (25-59) is $63,000. More than half of Americans have no credit card debt, and half of those who do owe less than $2,200.
Workers continue to see their wages rise as they age. The typical male worker with some college but no degree has seen his income rise from $34,000 in 2000 to about $40,000 today.
March 26th, 2007 at 12:14 pmThings must be pretty bad if they are appreciating a scandle which serves as a distraction from a debacle.
Comment by brandX — March 26, 2007 @ 11:57 am
yes... things are pretty bad... ... well put...
March 26th, 2007 at 12:15 pmNote to other posters: If your post is all bold, I scroll right by.
Comment by jeb — March 26, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
YOU LOSE.
March 26th, 2007 at 12:16 pmJay Randal,
"No end to the Bush Regime madness and we all suffer for it!"
Jay,
It could be worse, I've lived with his fascist policies for twelve years so far here in Texas. I'm disgustipated to the point insanity.
What's even more objectionable than his policies and priorities is the efficiency of the extreme rights misinformation campaign. I'm a lone liberal in a sea of good ole' boy's that see Dubya as a righteous Christian, never bothering of course to really look at his policies and question the wisdom of them. Most Americans are too lazy to really inform themselves, hence the genius of the far rights misinformation campign. Their talking points and hot button terms are extremely efficient at marginalizing moderates and progressives, many of them true Christians that give the tenets of Christianity more than lip-service.
I can't wait to retire to a more enlightened country because this one is headed to the dung heap of history.
Peace out
March 26th, 2007 at 12:21 pmOh noes,
Bush supports a Free market economy. MY OH MY!!!
March 26th, 2007 at 12:21 pmmuckdog
March 26th, 2007 at 12:24 pmApparently my last post is partially floating in cyber space.
What I asked was:
muckdog,
Where did you get your statistics?
March 26th, 2007 at 12:31 pmLawyers for New York City are rejecting calls to release police records of spying activities conducted on progressive activist groups in the lead-up to the 2004 Republican National Convention. The lawyers say “the documents should remain secret because the news media will ‘fixate upon and sensationalize them.’â€
Does anyone know if Rudy was mayor during this time...talk about de-railing a campaign.. I'm sure that NYC police do not have the same protections under the Patriot Act as do the FBI (i.e no warrants) . It will be interesting to find out whose orders they we acting on and what authority was "given" them to conduct intelligence gathering operations overseas
March 26th, 2007 at 12:35 pmThe lawyers say “the documents should remain secret because the news media will ‘fixate upon and sensationalize them.’â€
Well, you know Tony Snow said the real danger is the temptation to wave a piece of paper...
God forbid we should know what's going on.
March 26th, 2007 at 12:43 pmMost Americans are too lazy to really inform themselves, hence the genius of the far rights misinformation campign.
Comment by Rocks911 — March 26, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
And heres proof.
http://www.shoutfile.com/v/gSfSsCpR/Why_People_Believe_Americans_Are_Stupid?rp=2
March 26th, 2007 at 12:45 pmMuckdog, your "inequality is a myth" article was written by David Brooks. That article has been debunked all throughout economic circles. The distortion in Brooks's article is astounding. The following, from the American Prospect, is one of the many problems people have with that article:
"Brooks tells us that the wage for typical male worker with some college rose from $34,000 in 2000 to $40,000 today. This refers to nominal wages, serious people adjust wages for inflation. According to the State of Working America, the average hourly wage for men with some college fell from $17.95 in 2000 to $17.76 in 2005 (in 2005 dollars)."
March 26th, 2007 at 1:35 pmThanks Bluedog,
Don't ya just love statistics.
I use the "if it walks" yard stick to determine what impact national policy has on me personally, as in if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck...
I live on a pretty fixed income and I gotta say that between the cost of gasoline, electricity, and natural gas I pay a lot more than I ever have. The Republican's pet of deregulation has driven up the cost of all of these in Texas specifically and around the country to a greater or lesser degree. Also toll roads are eating my lunch, and interest rate hikes because of inflationary pressures brought on by the price of energy which must be passed on to the consumer.
All of which is to say, statistics aside, particularly partisan statistics, the "if it walks" indicator is telling me that the middle and lower class is treading water at best, and losing ground.
March 26th, 2007 at 1:49 pmAlso, Muckdog, here's data directly from the Census bureau:
Median income
Number Current 2005
year (thous.) dollars dollars
...Bachelor's Degree or More
2005 31,153 $77,179 $77,179
2004 35/ 30,640 74,303 76,788
2003 30,149 73,446 77,942
2002 29,484 73,600 79,895
2001 28,552 72,284 79,714
2000 30/ 27,591 71,842 81,438...
As you can see, Paul Krugman is correct about income trends - they're going down, and somehow, David Brooks is confused or purposely distorting the facts. Remember, David Brooks was the editor of the Weekly Standard during the 90's. They were the respected publication which pushed Clinton murder conspiracies.
This brings up a challenge we have today in America. Conservative "journalists" and "opinion people" are often more like operatives for the Repub party than honest practitioners of information. Brooks has written a misleading article using distorted figures and outright lies and conservatives like Muckdog rush to their keyboards to say there is no real income inequality problem going on here.
March 26th, 2007 at 1:50 pmtreading water at best, and losing ground.
Sorry for the mixed metaphor
March 26th, 2007 at 1:52 pmLOL, bluedog, as you follow up by quoting American Prospect. Who can believe anything they put up?
Your numbers are right on hourly wage, but that really doesn't tell the whole story.
Lets link to Cato, shall we? More brains over there than at the American Prospect.
There are frequent complaints that U.S. income inequality has increased in recent decades. Estimates of rising inequality that are widely cited in the media are often based on federal income tax return data. Those data appear to show that the share of U.S. income going to the top 1 percent (those people with the highest incomes) has increased substantially since the 1970s.
However, there have been large changes in U.S. tax rules over time that have made a dramatic difference on what is reported as income on individual tax returns. Tax changes induced thousands of businesses to switch from filing under the corporate tax system to filing under the individual tax system. Corporate executives switched from accepting stock options taxed as capital gains to nonqualified stock options taxed as salaries. The huge growth in tax-favored savings plans, such as 401(k)s, has resulted in billions of dollars of investment income disappearing from tax returns. Meanwhile, studies of inequality that are based on tax return data usually exclude transfer payments, which results in exaggerating the shares of income received by those at the top by ignoring growing amounts of income at the bottom.
Measurements of inequality have also been affected by large reductions in income tax rates, particularly in 1986. Estimates by many economists indicate that the reported income of highincome taxpayers is very responsive to tax rates. When top tax rates on wages or capital gains fall, reported incomes rise, and a larger fraction of the incomes of those at the top show up on tax returns. International comparisons show that reported income shares of those at the top have risen the most where top tax rates have been cut the most (the United States, the United Kingdom, and India) and have risen the least where top tax rates have remained very high (France and Japan).
In sum, studies based on tax return data provide highly misleading comparisons of changes to the U.S. income distribution because of dramatic changes in tax rules and tax reporting in recent decades. Aside from stock option windfalls during the late-1990s stock-market boom, there is little evidence of a significant or sustained increase in the inequality of U.S. incomes, wages, consumption, or wealth over the past 20 years.
And here's a google search for you asking if so-called income inequality is really an issue. Probably an eye opener for the brain-washed here.
March 26th, 2007 at 1:56 pmWell, you know what they say, the early bird gathers no moss and it's an ill wind that paves the way to, ah.... oh, never mind.
March 26th, 2007 at 1:57 pmMuckdog, the CATO institute doesn't even believe in democracy, so I'm not sure why anyone would trust anything that comes out of there. When Tom Hartman asked the director of the CATO Institute why it would be a bad thing if the majority of Americans voted for universal healthcare, he said "that's what we don't like about democracy."
The numbers from the Census Bureau are the numbers. You want us to believe doctrinaire libertarians rather than the data???!!! Please. Get serious. The specific numbers I showed from the government's own data show people with college degrees have seen their wages decline.
March 26th, 2007 at 2:01 pmIt's okay with me if you're misinformed, Bluedog. Not my problem. Liberals like to pick and choose little snippets of incomplete data or opinions to back their views. I've given the big picture; it's up to you whether you want to move on or be comfortable with misinformed liberal thinking.
March 26th, 2007 at 2:17 pmmuckdog,
paaaalease! You're kidding right? Pick and choose information, give me a brake, the f*cking republithugs wrote the book on distorting data with non-qualified political operatives overseeing and distorting the work of highly educated scientists and you want to come off all self-righteous!
To h*ll with statistics, as Bill Clinton asked prior to being voted into office, "Are you any better off than you were (in that case four years ago) six years ago, well for the majority of Americans that's a decisive H*LL NO! The fascists are picking my pocket whatever rediculous statistics you want to offer.
March 26th, 2007 at 2:46 pmAccording to the Borgen Project, in reality only .16% of our federal budget is spent on poverty reduction, the least among wealthy nations compared to the 50% we spend on defense. We should let our representatives know that we care about global poverty.
March 26th, 2007 at 2:52 pm"I'm a poor little LONE CHIMPya who has lost his way,
Baa! Baa! Baa!
We're little Bush-ANUS-KISSERS who have gone astray,
Baa----aa----aa!
repugnant-repubs out on the spree
Damned from here to Eternity,
God'll NEVER HAVE MERCY on such as we,
Baa! Yah! Bah!"
(with Apologies to Rudyard Kipling)
BY THE WAY, TO USE A DR. WHO GEAS-CURSE, "CHIMPya DOESN'T LOOK AT ALL WELL..." Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh!!!!!
"Income inequality" a BAD thing? Christ, to CHIMPya and Bushland Uber Allies IT'S THE CAT'S MEOW!!!!!
Diyala is going into "Kidney Failure" and will need Diyala-Assist(Dialysis) SOON!
Who do these so-called "lawyers" aka SHYSTERS, WORK FOR? The repugnant-repubs, OF COURSE!!!!! THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO TO LET THE TRUTH ABOUT ILLEGAL SPYING COME OUT, IT MIGHT BLOW UP IN THEIR FACES AND LEAD RIGHT TO FAT-F*CK Rove, CHIMPya, FRANKENCheney, and the REST of Bushland Uber Allies!!!!!
THAT WAS A BRAVE THING FOR John Edwards TO SAY, NOT TO GIVE THEM A SYMPATHY/COMPASSION VOTE-----DUMB, BUT BRAVE NONETHELESS!!!!!
I KNEW CNN WAS SIDLING TOWARDS Bushland Uber Allies WHEN THEY ADDED IDIOT DUNG-dits(Pundits full of SHIT) LIKE Glenn Beck, TOADYS TO CHIMPya and Co.----LAPDOGS OF THE MEDIA, ROLL OVER FOR MONKEY BOY CHIMPya----LOATHESOME COWARDS AND SELLOUTS!!!!!
And in SOME cases, the technology is POUNDING THE CRAP OUT OF THOSE WHO DESERVE TO HAVE THE CRAP KICKED OUT OF THEM, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!!!!!!
Khalilzad may also be the LAST American official to do so WHEN HE IS BLOWN INTO SMITHEREENS BY MILITANT SHIITE ARABS WHO DETEST MILITANT SUNNI ARABS WHO Khalilzad IS EMBRACING!!!!!
Ah Yes, "Tricky Ricky" Santorum, ANOTHER repugnant-repub TOTAL F*CK-UP WHO STILL BELIEVES HE HAS RELEVANCE ON THE SCENE, LIKE THE OTHER Lamprey/Hagfish Creep Tom DeLay----WHEN WILL THESE F*CKING IDIOT repugnant-repubs GET THE MESSAGE AND CRAWL BACK UNDER THE ROCKS THEY CREPT OUT FROM LIKE THE VERMIN THEY ARE, YOU BOMBASTIC IMBECILES Santorum and DeLay?????
March 26th, 2007 at 4:25 pmAre you any better off than you were (in that case four years ago) six years ago, well for the majority of Americans that’s a decisive H*LL NO!
I'm doing better. As a matter of fact, when polled most Americans say that they themselves are doing better but believe "other people" are doing worse.
Nobody seems to be able to identify the "other people." But the liberals seem to be winning that misinformation campaign.
March 26th, 2007 at 4:35 pmMarch 30, 2006--Fifty-five percent (55%) of Americans say they are better off today than they were four years ago. A Rasmussen Reports national opinion poll of 5,000 adults found that 36% disagree and say they are not better off.
The sense of progress is found across most demographic groups. Fifty-six percent (56%) of men and 54% of women say they are better off today. That view is shared by 55% of white Americans, 52% of black Americans, and 58% of all other Americans.
There are some difference--retired Americans are less likely than working age Americans to say they are better off.
And, as you would expect, there are partisan differences. However, the partisan differences are less significant than found on many issues. Seventy-two percent (72%) of Republicans say they are better off than four years ago. That same answer is given by 40% of Democrats and 51% of those not affiliated with either major party.
This sense of progress comes at a time when only one-third of Americans rate the U.S. economy as good or excellent.
Link as of 2006.
So most folks are doing really well, but not satisfied with the economy. Er, ok.
March 26th, 2007 at 4:42 pmMuckdog, you're a Cato Institute libertarian kind of guy. I can waste my time finding you polls which show people worry about their declining spending power and wages, etc. But, if you don't see what's ironic about a libertarian citing an opinion poll, you've got a lot to learn about your own philosophy.
March 26th, 2007 at 5:15 pmSo most folks are doing really well, but not satisfied with the economy. Er, ok.
Comment by muckdog — March 26, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
Unfortunately, I can only put stock in that last sentence, that only 1/3 of Americans feel the economy is doing well. We're all in this together, as a country. If the bottom falls out, the rich will come with it right behind the middle and the poor.
And I don't need statistics to know that people are NOT doing better these days. I come from a blue collar midwestern town and live in a blue-collar southwestern town. I'm pretty well traveled. Iv'e got friends and colleauges all over the states. In geenral, I'm hearing that people are struggling just to maintain, working harder than ever before.
That does not constitute this nubulous idea of 'doing well'. Just because you are doesn't mean everyone else is.
March 26th, 2007 at 5:51 pmSorry, bluedog. Not a libertarian, republican or democrat. None of the above. I think parties exist to the benefit of the party, and not to the benefit of the individual.
But I gave you some data. You haven't really addressed it other than to try to deflect it by attacking the source. Again, not my problem.
People are doing well. That's the bottom line. They may not like Bush or Hillary or whoever. They may wish they had a 62-inch plasma instead of a 52-inch plasma, or wish they got the stamped concrete with the pool instead of the salted finish. But are those really huge gripes?
March 26th, 2007 at 6:18 pmThat does not constitute this nubulous idea of ‘doing well’. Just because you are doesn’t mean everyone else is.
The middle and upper middle class are doing well. The rich are doing well.
I guess the poor aren't doing well, but that's probably because they're poor.
March 26th, 2007 at 6:20 pmmuckdog = assh*le
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