To be sure, the new Census data on poverty and health care in America are grim. At 14.3%, the poverty rate in 2008 jumped to its highest level since 1994. Meanwhile, the number of uninsured catapulted to 50.7 million, as employers shed jobs and insurance benefits during the deep Bush recession. Ominously, median household income […]

In August, the New Republic, the New York Times and others warned that the 2010 campaign would feature a new Republican bogeyman. The Times announced, "There's a class war coming to the world of government pensions," while TNR's Jonathan Cohn explained the latest GOP hatefest in "Why Public Employees are the New Welfare Queens." Of […]

As promised, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) this week introduced legislation proposing to make the budget-busting 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts permanent. The so-called Tax Hike Prevention Act wouldn't merely drain $3.9 trillion from the U.S. Treasury over the next decade. At a time of record income inequality, the Republicans' $700 billion windfall […]

After months of pretending the Bush tax cuts paid for themselves and calling President Obama's opposition to another $700 billion windfall for the wealthy a "job killer" and "class warfare," House Minority Leader John Boehner on Sunday signaled his willingness to accept a compromise. But in the Senate, the Republican line remained as hard as […]

Back in April 2009, 74% of respondent in a CBS/New York Times poll said that letting the Bush tax cuts expire for those earning over $250,000 was a "good idea." Now 18 months later, even with President Obama's approval sliding and Congressional Democrats wavering in their commitment, the American public by large margins still supports […]

A $700 billion, 10-year windfall for the wealthiest Americans who need it least. With both parties generally supporting the continuation of middle class relief already on the books, that's the difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to making the expiring Bush tax cuts permanent. But just one day after his former budget director […]

The bad news just keeps coming for Democrats. A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll gives the GOP a record 9-point edge in the generic Congressional ballot for November. Meanwhile, an ABC News/Washington Post survey shows that as President Obama's approval ratings continue to slide, support for his management of the economy and the deficit are […]

In perhaps the greatest comic moment of the 2010 campaign to date, John McCain last month complained, "I know how popular it is for the Eastern press to paint me as having changed positions. That's not true." Of course, his flip-flops are now so numerous that he long ago earned nicknames like "Jukebox John" and […]

With Democrats proposing to set the top two income tax rates at 36% and 39.6% respectively, Republican leaders waged a ferocious battle on behalf of the wealthiest American taxpayers. Former House Majority Leader and current Tea Party moneyman Dick Armey warned, "This program will not give you deficit reduction." Ohio's John Kasich cautioned, "It's our […]

With his much-hyped call for the firing of President Obama's economic team, House Minority Leader John Boehner ensured his speech in Cleveland today would get a lot of attention. But sadly for the would-be House Speaker, the address also spotlighted his unique combination of political cowardice and fuzzy math. After all, while Boehner claimed to […]