Gary Crooks

On the anniversary of the passage of federal health care reform, polls show that Americans are split in their opinion about the law. Some opponents have seized on this to suggest that virtually half the country is on their side and so the whole thing ought to be tossed out. Hardly.

Obama vs. ??? in 2012

The March 21 week thread

Public education is sure taking a pounding. Kids today can’t read and write! Math instruction doesn’t add up! Where can American employers look for their future workers? An article that typifies the concerns starts this way:

Ex-S-R photographer runs for her life

Marijuana, medicine and politics

We’ve gotten a close-up view of Wisconsin politics and the universal labor issues at the center of that imbroglio, but I think it would help to pull back a few decades and look at the big picture. The leveling off in wages for the middle class worker began in the 1970s and it has turned into a fairly pronounced decline ever since. What’s more, private health care benefits and pensions have deteriorated or disappeared. At the same time, union membership has gone from about 36 percent of the non-agricultural work force in 1945 to about 12 percent today, though 36 percent of public employees belong to a union.

Gullible's Travels

March 7 week thread

It’s fascinating to watch the shift in emphasis on jobs and the economy in the past few months. During the fall campaigns, the narrative was a paucity of jobs and the disappointing performance of stimulus measures in creating more of them. Now the growing sentiment in the party that had a successful election is that the unemployed themselves are the problem and that the economy won’t rebound until they get off their duffs. The average Idahoan on unemployment benefits collects the equivalent of six bucks an hour, or about $240 a week. From this short stack of bills, they must pay for their housing, utilities, food, transportation and other necessities.

Feb. 28 week thread

We’ve heard plenty about how public employees are to blame for budget deficits around the nation. It’s as if the Great Recession never happened, and instead public employee unions suddenly began looting state treasuries at a pace that Bonnie and Clyde would find exhausting. Never mind the fact that they’ve been granting concessions that force members to pay more for their benefits and forgo previously approved raises. Never mind the hundreds of thousands of layoffs.

Ten Years After

Region's tax burden

State budgets/collective bargaining

The Feb. 21 week thread

Another day, another holler about Social Security. I’ve gotten some phone calls lately from readers who wonder why the media are characterizing Social Security as one of the big drivers of rising deficits. They have a point.

The Valentine's week thread

So the GOP campaign promise to enact $100 billion in federal budget cuts this year is now $61 billion. Meanwhile, the budget deficit is expected to grow to $1.5 trillion this year, thanks largely to the tax-cut extensions approved in December. Yes, U.S. House leaders are finding that it’s difficult to cut the deficit when the Big Three – Social Security, Medicare and defense – are off the table. What they should also know is that balancing the budget without touching taxes is practically impossible. Similarly, Democrats need to realize that tax increases have their limits, too.

The Feb. 7 week thread

Tag! You're it

Turmoil in Egypt

Jan. 31 open thread