Obama Could Learn From Ronald Reagan by Michael Reagan If President Obama really wants to get the U.S. economy going again, he could do worse than to study the results of my Dad’s 1981 Economic Recovery Act, which boosted the economy by leaps and bounds. Take the matter of jobs, for example. Thanks to the 1981 act, an astounding 20 million new jobs were created. Moreover, inflation dropped from 13.5 percent...

Rolling Stone reports on claims from an SEC whistleblower that suggest that for almost 20 years the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been deep-sixing public records. Darcy Flynn, a 13-year veteran SEC attorney responsible for records management, has presented evidence to the SEC inspector general and three congressional committees. Under a deal the SEC worked out with the National Archives and Records...

Is it time for a full-throated reform of our ‘current economic model’? This editorial from Mexico’s La Jornada expresses just as much derision for America’s current economic policies as any Tea Party member – but comes to dramatically different conclusions. The La Jornada editorial says in part: In the best case, warnings by economic specialists about the beginning of a deceleration...

Why the US is Not Greece by Steve Suranovic For over a year now we have been hearing about the government debt problems in Europe; especially in Greece, but also in the larger economies of Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and even France. Greece’s outstanding public debt is now about 150% of its annual GDP. In Italy it is over 120%, in Ireland about 95%, France 85%, Portugal 82% and Spain 65%. These worries...

John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

President Barack Obama has over the past two days gotten a double dose of bad polling news from Gallup: only 26% approve of the way he is handling the economy and only 11% of Americans are satisfied with national conditions. On the economy Obama hits a new polling low: A new low of 26% of Americans approve of President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy, down 11 percentage points since Gallup last...

If there were a color-coded warning system for the national mood, it would be turning deep grey, verging on black. Approval ratings for Congress and the President hit long-time lows. Karl Rove publicly prays for new GOP candidates to emerge as Rick Perry revs up a hoof-in-mouth campaign that Bill Clinton calls “crazy” but nonetheless jumps ahead in a poll of Republican preferences. And a respected economist,...

Have the United States and the West hit such a dead end in terms of economic policy that war, as a way of economic recovery, is inevitable? Columnist K. Selim of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran warns his readers that given the dire economic state of the world and America’s huge military, it is time to prepare for a new world war. For the Le Quotidien d’Oran, K. Selim writes in part: The colossal...

Which is worse: the debt crisis and partisan bickering in the United States, or the debt crisis and dysfunctional confluence of national political systems in Europe? This editorial from Brazil’s O Globo asserts that despite the dark clouds over America, Europe lacks the historic dynamism and resilience repeatedly demonstrated by America. The O Globo editorial says in part: Although the wrestling match...

Fiscal Blindness by Robert A. Levine. M.D. Washington legislators have been afflicted with a new and terrible disease, fiscal blindness, which has spread throughout the city in epidemic proportions. In addition, Senators and members of Congress are disseminating the illness around the United States when they hold meetings in their home districts. Ideologic rigidity is a predisposing factor for the disease....

The overthrow of despotic Middle East governments is followed by an insurrection in the U.S., not against decades of tyranny but to destroy centuries of democracy that have served the national well. Today’s “hyper-connected world” cuts both ways, empowering both the oppressed in the Arab world and the over-entitled and ignorant here. As Barack Obama’s approval ratings fall to a new low, the GOP gives...

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — By most measures, Las Vegas looks the same. You drive into town and see glitzy billboards announcing shows such as Celine Dion at Caesar’s Palace. But it’s a time of stress and change here, as it is in America’s economy — and on our political scene. Like everywhere, Vegas grapples with the dream-killing recession. Less spending means less gambling and fewer big bucks. At an apartment...

Anna Hazare, 73, is no ordinary social activist. Hazare has emerged as a sort of national hero battling against the government that has been reeling under mind-boggling corruption scandals. An Indian government attempt to head off a political crisis by arresting him appeared to backfire Tuesday when parliament’s opposition members walked out and demonstrations broke out across the country. See here… (UPDATE:...

THE PRESIDENT AT A TOWN HALL MEETING IN MINNESOTA As I noted here, the Republicans who show up at Iowa’s quadrennial straw polls and caucuses are about as representative of American voters in general as two-headed cows are representative of cows in general. Furthermore, only two of the six candidates who have won the straw poll in the last 20 years have become the Republican nominee, and the record of...

When it comes to social media, are officials in the United States once again following a policy of ‘do as we say, not as we do’? La Stampa columnist Juan Carlos De Martin warns U.S. and British officials that shutting down cell phone service and social media to prevent protest is precisely what the Chinas and Irans of the world are hoping for. For Italy’s La Stampa, Juan Carlos De Martin writes...

Why Excessive Debt is the Real Problem – Part II by Steve Suranovic One of the main reasons for the unemployment problem around the world is excessive debt. Only when we eliminate the underlying source of our problems will we be able to sustainably reduce the unemployment rate. In my last post about debt I talked about mortgage debt. This post is about government debt. Consider the Greek debt problem. Examples...

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

WASHINGTON — For President Obama, these are the days of never hearing an encouraging word. Not since his own supporters were losing faith in his presidential campaign in the summer of 2007 has Obama confronted so many bad reviews and such widespread frustration and angry criticism from his own side. Now, the censure is reinforced by terrible tidings from the outside in the form of wildly swinging...

I’ll begin this essay by declaring that it is my view that President Obama has not been the major disappointment that has left many liberals and blacks shaking their heads. I’ll also note that given the watershed 2008 election and the eight dark years before it, our expectations for the next four were bound to be much too high. Yet I share some of that sense of disappointment. While acknowledging...

On the economy the White House Considers Doing Little Or Nothing.  The reality is there is nothing they can do.  A second look at this from John’s post is worthwhile.  And watch the whole thing, you owe it to yourself. Doctor Doom is Doctor Doom but he has also been right. The reality is there is very little anyone can do because this is not a US problem it is a worldwide financial problem...

What will become of Iraq when U.S. forces leave at the end of this year? Is the current Iraqi government capable of dealing with life on its own? And if not, what should Iraqis do about it? Columnist Atheer Al Katib of Iraq’s Kitabat newspaper admonishes his readers to begin a great debate about what kind of government – and what kind of country – they want. For Iraq’s Kitabat, Atheer...

A weekend New York Times column on the depressing—and depressed— fiscal condition our nation finds itself in begins as follows: The boasts of Congressional Republicans about their cost-cutting victories are ringing hollow to some well-known economists, financial analysts and corporate leaders, including some Republicans, who are expressing increasing alarm over Washington’s new austerity and...

S&P Comments Blame Administration more than Tea Party by Steve Suranovic A Politco story released this week regarding comments by S&P senior director Joydeep Mukherji is being used to suggest that Tea party intransigence is the root cause of the debt downgrade. However, I think the finger is really pointing at the Administration instead. Joydeep Mukherji said the stability and effectiveness of American...

In his weekly address President Barack Obama asks Americans that want to put country ahead of party let their members of Congress know during this Congressional recess period:

Without mentioning them by name S&P made it clear the Tea Party was responsible for the downgrade in the US credit rating. A Standard & Poor’s director said for the first time Thursday that one reason the United States lost its triple-A credit rating was that several lawmakers expressed skepticism about the serious consequences of a credit default — a position put forth by some Republicans. Without...