Welfare-Warfare State

The Fiscal Cliff’s Structural Endgame

"This Grand Bargain is coming apart as the promises made to everyone cannot possibly be met. Claims on welfare and disability programs are skyrocketing at the same time that the demographics of an aging populace are causing 10,000 people a day to enter Social Security and Medicare, the two costliest government programs. Meanwhile, the upper middle class that pays most of the taxes has been slammed with lower income and a devastating drop in their housing-based net worth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fiscal Cliff’s Structural Endgame

Social Security Ran $47.8B Deficit in FY 2012; Disabled Workers Hit New Record in December: 8,827,795

"The Social Security program ran a $47.8 billion deficit in fiscal 2012 as the program brought in $725.429 billion in cash and paid $773.247 for benefits and overhead expenses. The Social Security Administration also released new data revealing that the number of workers collecting disability benefits hit a record 8,827,795 in December--up from 8,805,353 in November. The overall number of Social Security program beneficiaries also hit a record in December, climbing from 56,658,978 in November to 56,758,185 in December." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSocial Security Ran $47.8B Deficit in FY 2012; Disabled Workers Hit New Record in December: 8,827,795

Paula Was Not the Only One in Bed With Petraeus

"Petraeus got what he wanted from the relationship with the Kagans as well. Each time Petraeus descended on Capitol Hill he was treated like a god by lawmakers. That was the Kagans' doing. They rushed home from their extended stints 'running' the war in Afghanistan to pen saccharine pieces on the glories of Patraeus, just the kind of hero the pro-war faction in Congress (as in the entire Congress minus a handful) needed. This, in a nutshell, is why the desperate race to solve the 'fiscal cliff' is in reality a desperate race by Congress and the president to avoid any cuts in the military budget. Otherwise the Fred Kagans of the world will sic their think tank brigades on you." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaula Was Not the Only One in Bed With Petraeus

Democrat Kathy Hochul Plumps for Drones at Niagara Falls Air Base

"What's wrong with America? One thing for sure: its government. Here's one example. There's an air base in Niagara Falls. It's a U.S. Air Force base called the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. It's run out of mission. It never had a good mission to begin with but that unproductive mission has run out. So now a local member of Congress has worked to get it a new mission, which would be DRONES. This will be approved today in the Defense Authorization Bill being voted in Congress. Drones and the military in general are one big pork barrel. This is what the U.S. Constitution has wrought by centralizing defense in the federal government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemocrat Kathy Hochul Plumps for Drones at Niagara Falls Air Base

Keep Families Together: An Anarchist Christmas Message

"Mass incarceration and mass deportation are not separate policies that both happen to destroy families. Rather, they are two different facets of the prison industrial complex. The same corporations that operate prisons for profit also profit by running immigration detention centers. These companies back politicians that support authoritarian laws on both immigration and criminal justice issues. When people of color have their families violently broken apart by the state, the prison industrial complex profits. This Christmas, I urge you to organize against the prison industrial complex and the state apparatus that have broken so many families apart." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKeep Families Together: An Anarchist Christmas Message

Housing Up, Home Ownership Down: The Mysterious New Housing Bubble

"If the number of people who actually bought a home and moved in dropped by 175,000, then what we’re seeing is industrial-scale investment by Wall Street speculators who are getting lavish financing perks from the banks to buy distressed properties that, if they had been sold on the MLS or via bank auctions, would have driven prices down even further pushing bank balance sheets deeper into the red. In other words, the Obama administration, the banks, the Fed and the behemoth private equity firms are all in bed together to reward the people who blew up the financial system with another backdoor bailout." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHousing Up, Home Ownership Down: The Mysterious New Housing Bubble

Chained CPI: Diet COLA for Social Security

"Before we discuss the nuances of the different measures of the CPI, it is important to keep in mind that millions of Americans rely on Social Security benefits for income protection. In fact, 65% of all beneficiaries rely on Social Security to provide 50% or more of their incomes, while 36% rely on benefits for 90% or more of their incomes. For non-married beneficiaries, including widows, the reliance is higher with 74% relying on benefits for 50% or more of their incomes and 46% relying for 90% or more of their incomes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChained CPI: Diet COLA for Social Security

While Much of America Suffers with Stagnation, Washington’s Political Class Is Having a Very Merry Christmas

"In the town that launched the War on Poverty 48 years ago, the poor are getting poorer despite the government’s help. And the rich are getting richer because of it. The top 5 percent of households in Washington, D.C., made more than $500,000 on average last year, while the bottom 20 percent earned less than $9,500 – a ratio of 54 to 1. That gap is up from 39 to 1 two decades ago. It’s wider than in any of the 50 states and all but two major cities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhile Much of America Suffers with Stagnation, Washington’s Political Class Is Having a Very Merry Christmas

Why You Might Only Be Able to Get Part-Time Work in 2013

"Here is what I am doing for the rest of the year -- working with every manager in my company so that as of January 1, 2013, none of our employees are working more than 28 hours a week. We have got to get our company under 50 full time employees or else I am facing a bill from Obamacare in 2014 that will be several times larger than my annual profit. I love my workers. They make me a success. But most of my competitors are small businesses that are exempt from the Obamacare hammer. To compete, I must make sure my company is exempt as well. This means that our 400+ full time employees will have to be less than 50 in 2013." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy You Might Only Be Able to Get Part-Time Work in 2013

New Taxes to Take Effect to Fund Health Care Law

"Among the most affluent fifth of households, those affected will see tax increases averaging $6,000 next year, economists estimate. The law does not provide for the money to be deposited in a specific trust fund. It is added to the government’s general tax revenues and can be used for education, law enforcement, farm subsidies or other purposes. Under another provision of the health care law, consumers may find it more difficult to obtain a tax break for unreimbursed medical expenses. In addition, workers face a new $2,500 limit on the amount they can contribute to flexible spending accounts used to pay medical expenses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Taxes to Take Effect to Fund Health Care Law