Rock on.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Shocking
Or, you know, not.
The newspaper says its undercover reporters went to 13 meetings organised by exam boards used by English schools.
It alleges that teachers, who paid up to £200 a day to attend, were "routinely" given information about future exams, including questions, syllabus areas to focus on and even the specific words or facts students must use to win marks.
Uh, No
First, you're a tremendous whiny asshole whose business would have been destroyed if the free money bazooka wasn't pointed at you.
Second, no your top marginal tax rate is not 39.6%. It 35%. Ok, add a bit for Medicare, which still doesn't get you all the way to 39.6%, which was the rate pre-Bush tax cuts.
Third could somebody at the AP have pointed out the error?
Fourth, a big chunk of your income is (presumably) not wage income, so you're paying less.
"Most of us wage earners are paying 39.6 percent in taxes and add in another 12 percent in New York state and city taxes and we're paying 50 percent of our income in taxes," Dimon said in defense of his fellow Wall Street bankers.
Second, no your top marginal tax rate is not 39.6%. It 35%. Ok, add a bit for Medicare, which still doesn't get you all the way to 39.6%, which was the rate pre-Bush tax cuts.
Third could somebody at the AP have pointed out the error?
Fourth, a big chunk of your income is (presumably) not wage income, so you're paying less.
Random Tom Friedman Bashing
He is the world's most serious person.
If this blog has made one contribution to the world, it was (thanks to tip from a commenter) making it aware of the "Suck On This" rationale for the Iraq war.
If this blog has made one contribution to the world, it was (thanks to tip from a commenter) making it aware of the "Suck On This" rationale for the Iraq war.
Hurray, More Abortions!
from nytimes.com:
BREAKING NEWS12:42 PM ET
U.S. Keeps Restrictions on Sale of Morning-After Pill
A Bank Next To Every Starbucks
While the decline of bank branches has been predicted forever, it never really happened. It's why I don't buy claims that banks don't care about small depositors, people who deposit their paychecks every month and spend them. They do care. They might care, in part, because they try to soak them with fees. But even without the fees they care. There aren't all that many large depositors, after all. There aren't that many in the 1%.
Crazy Ideas That Are Of Course Completely Sensible And Should Happen
Medicare eligibility at 62, Medicare buy in at 55, temporary lowering of full benefits Social Security eligibility to 62.
These things won't happen, but, hey, it's campaign season. Proposals are free!
These things won't happen, but, hey, it's campaign season. Proposals are free!
The Obvious Thing To Do
Oh, you know.
The UK's industrial output fell 0.7% in October, its fastest fall for six months, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
Compared with the same month in 2010, output was 1.7% lower, the biggest annual fall since April.
"Liquidity"
I'm sure many of us could use some free "dollar liquidity."
The idea is to provide dollars to European banks, who have been struggling to get hold of them. The market has seized up given fears over European banks' future.
Anyway, banks asked for $50.7bn in three-month dollar funds. This was their first opportunity to use the facility.
To put the $50bn into some context, money market traders were expecting banks to take about $10bn, according to Reuters.
We've Heard It All Before
What amuses me about this kind of thing is that right wingers tend to assume that liberals are unaware of Rush's talking points of the day, and that they can be presented as some sort of very serious, thoughtful, argument that has never been made in such detail or with such care.
Just roll our eyes and try to move on.
Just roll our eyes and try to move on.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
So Weird
The content producers will always get all the streaming money, whoever actually handles the distribution. Netflix has a near-monopoly on having a giant DVD library that will show up on your doorstep in 24 hours or so. The latter business might fade, but they'll never make any money on the former.
Mysteries
As Digby suggests, very few of the Villager wannabees will become actual top dogs, with enough "fuck you" money to weather any storm, to not worry about their medical bills, or those of their parents or kids.
Parson Meacham
Along with other things, a great thing about Pierce is his lack of interest in DC holiday party invites.
Priorities
Cracking down on thieving retailers is of course a good idea, but, really? Going after SNAP beneficiaries who try to convert their meager benefits to an even more meager amount of cash? I imagine some people who do this are using the money for Things We Officially Frown Upon, but some are probably trying to pay their damn bills.
Remember The Good Old Days
When kids just sat there, lonely, in front of their radios and TVs sheltered from all potential human interaction.
No, it isn't quite what he's saying, but jeebus there really is nothing worse than the clueless get off my lawn genre. I know there's an audience for it, but if I had the editor hat on anyone who submitted one of those columns to me would be fired. At least if I was an editor who was a wee bit concerned that the average age of my subscribers was increasing by precisely one year per year.
No, it isn't quite what he's saying, but jeebus there really is nothing worse than the clueless get off my lawn genre. I know there's an audience for it, but if I had the editor hat on anyone who submitted one of those columns to me would be fired. At least if I was an editor who was a wee bit concerned that the average age of my subscribers was increasing by precisely one year per year.
Contradictions
From BoBo (not chunky):
There are no vulcans, just people who pretend they are and stupid pundits who are stupid.
This office, under Sunstein, is incredibly wonky. It is composed of career number-crunchers of no known ideological bent who try to measure the trade-offs inherent in regulatory action. Deciding among these trade-offs involves relying on both values and data. This office has tried to elevate the role of data so that every close call is not just a matter of pleasing the right ideological army.I'm quite sure they see themselves this way. They're nonideological in their value judgments! As if that makes any fucking sense.
There are no vulcans, just people who pretend they are and stupid pundits who are stupid.
They Hired Louis Freeh
His job is not what they claim his job is.
All of our leaders are singing from the same hymnal these days.
Three weeks later, there’s little show of that promise.
The university contracted former FBI Director Louis Freeh to do an internal investigation, but won’t say how much it’s paying the firm. The university is also keeping secret how how much it is paying public relations firm Ketchum, which it hired in the wake of the scandal that ousted President Graham Spanier, head football coach Joe Paterno and two top university officials.
All of our leaders are singing from the same hymnal these days.
When they were asked about the firing of Joe Paterno, Erickson replied that it is time to look forward.
Ruh Roh
Troubles in the (Chris) Matthews family.
After an 18-month grand jury investigation, Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Matthews has been arrested on charges of perjury, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.
It's The Economy, Stupid
It is, in fact, fucked up and bullshit. Fix it, or at least do a convincing job of pretending you're trying to.
Just Nonideological Technocrats
Who think that the people must feed all of their money into the gaping maws of the banksters.
The Post-Asshole Era
No, we're not entering it, but to a great degree corporate execs oppose and fight labor because that's what their DNA was programmed with in the cloning vats. If they were concerned with saving money and maximizing shareholder value they'd cut their salaries and expense accounts and corporate jets. They're not. They're concerned with being assholes and beating people down. Making peace with labor is largely about a few people deciding that maybe we shouldn't spend all of our time being giant assholes in a counterproductive way.
That's something.
That's something.
Weird People
On what planet is Chris Christie a libertarian?
They're all about taking money and giving it to their friends.
They're all about taking money and giving it to their friends.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Stitch
I have nothing to do with the Occupy movement, don't claim to know them or speak for them, have only just walked by one manifestation of them. Hopefully it has done and will do, in a different space, what weirdo blogs did (somewhat successfully, still, I think), which was knit together a fragmented social justice movement. Need a rallying cry, need some glue.
Jon Meacham Trolls The Internet
"The Myth of the Stature Gap: Could Newt Be the Next FDR?"
If you're looking for his argument which has never before been made in such detail or with such care, you can find it yourself.
If you're looking for his argument which has never before been made in such detail or with such care, you can find it yourself.
If You Like To Drink
Please move to a place where "driving" isn't a necessary (away from home) part of that.
Our Hereditary Monarchy
Contra the first commenter at this post, the issue isn't that anyone is surprised that the kids of former presidents get a few extra breaks in lives, it's that news organizations, who like to marvel at their Standards and Dignitude and Professionalism and Importance To Democracy, shouldn't be surprised when people respond to such actions with: no, you just suck and serve no useful purpose.
The Lesson Here Is...
Foreign visitors to the US, please fork over the equivalent of a few bucks for some travel insurance.
I don't always do it when I travel as I know that out of pocket expenses in most places are unlikely to bankrupt me, and US travel insurance policies can be more trouble than they're worth in such circumstances. But if you're headed to the US...
I don't always do it when I travel as I know that out of pocket expenses in most places are unlikely to bankrupt me, and US travel insurance policies can be more trouble than they're worth in such circumstances. But if you're headed to the US...
More Cynical Me
I know nothing of Junker, but I take that comment to mean that (some) elites have a view of "the right thing" which is out of step with what is in the interests of the majority of the voting population. The noble politician who is prevented by voters from doing "the right thing" is a nice conceit, but I think it's usually bullshit. Democracy is the increasingly thin check on the oligarchy stealing it all, and there are plenty of politicians who have views of what "the right thing" is which are repugnant and unpopular...for good reason.
As for the specifics, it seems to me that what German and French politicians are doing is trying to thread the needle of bailing out German and French banks while convincing their voters that they're bailing out irresponsible Southern Europeans and maintaining just enough popular support for the actions.
As for the specifics, it seems to me that what German and French politicians are doing is trying to thread the needle of bailing out German and French banks while convincing their voters that they're bailing out irresponsible Southern Europeans and maintaining just enough popular support for the actions.
The Market's Up, It's All Good
The bulk of focus on the economy is whether world leaders can find increasingly strange ways to replace the piles of money that the banksters are lighting on fire at a fast enough clip. As long as "the markets" get a little goose, it's all good.
Justice
Black people sure do get all the breaks in this country.
The important and I think mostly missed point is that even tiny amounts of racial bias sprinkled throughout the structure of the system can lead to rather large impacts on life outcomes. Not that it's always tiny, of course.
A black Milwaukee driver is seven times as likely to be stopped by city police as a white resident driver, a Journal Sentinel analysis of nearly 46,000 traffic stops has found.
...
Police also searched black drivers at twice the rate of whites, but those searches didn't lead to higher rates of seized weapons, drugs or stolen property.
The important and I think mostly missed point is that even tiny amounts of racial bias sprinkled throughout the structure of the system can lead to rather large impacts on life outcomes. Not that it's always tiny, of course.
Festivus
The annual War On Christmas is mostly good fun, but occasionally I feel a little sympathy and wonder just what the hell is wrong with these people? Go enjoy your holiday, no one is stopping you.
Liquidation Sale
This will turn out well I'm sure.
Pennsylvania hired investment bank Greenhill & Co. to find ways to convert government assets and services into cash as states try to plug at least $40 billion in deficits next year by selling toll roads or turning lotteries over to contractors.
By hiring New York-based Greenhill, Republican Governor Tom Corbett is using a firm that employs his Democratic predecessor, Ed Rendell, as well as a banker who advised the state during Rendell’s unsuccessful effort to sell the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 2008.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Perhaps the US Fed Could Aid Debt Ridden Individuals?
hahahahahaha. Just funnin' here.
...unrelated, but oh jeebus just hand the economy over to the banksters. Who will destroy it
Legal tender is now a bank issued debit or credit card.
BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve, along with the 17 euro zone national central banks, may help provide the International Monetary Fund with funds that could be used to aid debt-ridden states, a German newspaper said.
...unrelated, but oh jeebus just hand the economy over to the banksters. Who will destroy it
As part of a crackdown on tax evasion, cash transactions of more than 1,000 euros will be banned, and there were also measures to liberalise business opening hours and open up pharmacies and the transport sector to more competition.
Legal tender is now a bank issued debit or credit card.
Everybody Hates US Treasuries, Too Many People Are Buying Them
This article is the bond market version of "nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"
Justice
Unsurprisingly African-Americans get screwed at all levels of our criminal justice system, including the point in the system which can rectify (slightly) past injustices.
And The "Paranoid" Fears Of Eurosceptics Are Realized
Funny.
Ah, central bank "independence"...
The Sunday Times also reported that the ECB is lining up €1 trillion to be used for a "colossal" intervention in European bond markets.
The cash injection will only be carried out if leaders can agree on handing over more fiscal control to the EU and for strict controls to be imposed on nations struggling to control their debts, the newspaper said.
Ah, central bank "independence"...
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has Ricky Santorum and Barney Frank.
Face the Nation has Gibbs and something called a Reince Priebus.
Meet the Press has Axelrod and Priebus.
The Santorum/Frank matchup might be amusing, otherwise stay in bed.
Face the Nation has Gibbs and something called a Reince Priebus.
Meet the Press has Axelrod and Priebus.
The Santorum/Frank matchup might be amusing, otherwise stay in bed.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Strange Preferences
If I had all the money in the world to spend on things like that, and car access was important, I'd just hire a full time driver.
Mr. Lolli-Ghetti has one of the world’s most expensive parking spaces, a costly talking point in a city where residents spend dearly to shelter their cars. His three-bedroom apartment at 200 11th Avenue — now on the market for $7 million — includes a 300-square-foot “en suite sky garage” that would be valued at more than $800,000 if priced at the same rate per square foot as the rest of the apartment.
It is not the parking spot in the sky attracting buyers to the new 19-story building at 24th Street, Mr. Lolli-Ghetti says, but the Hudson River panorama, the floor-to-ceiling windows and the thousands of square feet of space. Still, the sky garages in the building, which was designed by Annabelle Selldorf, are what has drawn the most attention.
“This is about as close to a suburban home that you can achieve in an urban area like New York,” he said. “You walk out your door and three steps later you’re in your garage.”
Clown Show
Not a new observation, but all of the Republicans are running joke campaigns. Yet one of them will win!
Lib Dem Dunces
No I don't know what motivates them. I'm not sure what motivates most of the people who rule the world these days. Some are probably simply evil, and some are simply stupid, and it isn't even clear if the distinction matters.
Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit
Exhibit 3 trillion.
The Security and Exchange Commission on Thursday launched guided warheads at the Marlins, requesting the team’s financial records, communications with MLB officials including commissioner Bud Selig, minutes of meetings with local government leaders and political campaign-contribution information, according to a report in the Miami Herald.
While the subpoenas issued by the SEC do not explicitly detail the purpose of the investigation, the feds’ motives are evident: They want to understand how, exactly, a group of county commissioners agreed to fund 80 percent of the Marlins new stadium, which cost more than $600 million, without ever seeing the team’s financial records – and whether bribes had anything to do with it.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Thread
'Cause the last one's too long. I got some online Advent calenders over at my place if you want some toys to play with.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
You Know What To Do
More austerity and, also, too, light a giant pile of money on fire to appease the banking gods.
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's tax revenues fell behind target by around half a billion euros in the 11 months to November, data showed on Friday, underlining the growing challenge facing the government as it seeks to shrink its budget deficit.
Reuters
Overall, Ireland's budget shortfall widened to 21.4 billion euros (18.4 billion pounds) to the end of November from 13.4 billion euros a year ago, largely due to capital injections into the country's lenders.
The Rural Poor
If you look at the poverty maps of just about any state, you'll see the highest rates of poverty in the main urban areas, the lowest rates in the suburbs of those urban areas, and then fairly high poverty rates everywhere else. The rural poor are largely invisible, though they exist and do use what little social safety net is provided for them. I've long thought some racial and urban resentment is due to the fact that the media focus on the urban poor suggests to rural poor people that they're the only ones anybody cares about. Urban areas do tend to have a greater availability social services, but it isn't as if it's free gold for everyone.
Anyway, the point I'm ambling towards is... if Democrats want to woo the rural white working class they should, you know, do something for them.
...related
Anyway, the point I'm ambling towards is... if Democrats want to woo the rural white working class they should, you know, do something for them.
...related
If I Were Your Benevolent Dictator
I'd send everyone with a Social Security number a shiny new $20,000 bill, fresh off the printing presses.
More Jobs
It is neither a great nor horrible report, but the big drop in the unemployment rate is, if anything, bad news, driven by a big drop in the number of people in the labor force. Probably it's just a bit of noise in the data.
...and here's the updated scariest chart, which is every so slightly less scary.
...and here's the updated scariest chart, which is every so slightly less scary.
Jobs
+120K.
Unemployment down to 8.6%. Will figure out why in a sec...
...labor force participation down from 64.2% to 64%...
BLS site is frozen.
Unemployment down to 8.6%. Will figure out why in a sec...
...labor force participation down from 64.2% to 64%...
BLS site is frozen.
Speaking Of Ideas
Capehart won't say it, so I will. We all know who lives in "really poor neighborhoods."
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Jobs
Monthly report out tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be awesome (USA! USA!) unless those Yurpeans have messed things up.
Sucking And Blowing
If I remember correctly, in my high school days, saying something sucks probably wouldn't have registered, and certainly not outside classroom discourse, while "blows" might have gotten a teacherly glare or tuttutting. Neither would have gotten you in trouble, unlike, say, "fuck."
Dirty Hippies Will Save The World
I don't understand why it's only dirty hippies who understand that the economy actually does need a well-functioning and trustworthy banking system, and not one built on a foundation of crime and fraud.
Please Don't Tell Me To Do The Maths
The CIA tells me Afghanistan 2010 GDP was $27.4 billion, 30% higher than in 2008. Not bad growth!
They also tell me the population is 28.9 million.
The Guardian tells me that the cost of paying for the 352,000 member (1.2% of population) Afghan national security force is $8 billion, or 30% of GDP.
No I don't know what any of this means except that shit is fucked up and bullshit.
They also tell me the population is 28.9 million.
The Guardian tells me that the cost of paying for the 352,000 member (1.2% of population) Afghan national security force is $8 billion, or 30% of GDP.
No I don't know what any of this means except that shit is fucked up and bullshit.
Operation Blame Yurp
No it isn't. It really isn't.
But behind the scenes, within both the administration and Mr Obama’s campaign team in Chicago, there is a morbid fear about a eurozone meltdown and its flow-on impact on the US economy and the presid
“The thing that matters the most in determining the health of the US economy and job creation is what happens in Europe,” says a senior administration official.
Game On
Good for her.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said she sued Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Ally Financial Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) for their allegedly “unlawful and deceptive conduct” in foreclosures.
All According To Plan
Deliberately make the poor and middle class poorer, the rich richer, and then not understand when there are riots.
An Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis predicted that average incomes, adjusted for inflation, will fall by 3% this year and further in 2012. The director of the IFS, Paul Johnson, said: "In the period 2009-10 to 2012-13, real median household incomes will drop by a whopping 7.4% – a record matched only by the falls seen between 1974 and 1977."
Hey, A Little Light
Kristof.
When the federal government goes all-out to rescue errant bankers, and stiffs homeowners, that’s not just bad economics. It’s also wrong.
How's That Austerity Working Out For You
Really well, apparently.
(Reuters) - Britain's manufacturing sector shrank for a second successive month in November and at its fastest pace since June 2009 as output and orders fell on weak global demand, a survey showed on Thursday, fuelling fears Britain faces another recession.
I Admit He Has A Point
No idea about the legal battle, but the government picked some winners and some losers.
Of course, most of us were treated like AIG. Perhaps we should join the suit.
Of course, most of us were treated like AIG. Perhaps we should join the suit.
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