Economic News Round-Up

Here's some of what I've been reading this morning...

Reuters—Anti-Wall Street activists look to block West Coast ports:

Anti-Wall Street protesters, hoping to briefly cripple a key supply chain of American commerce and re-energize their movement, plan to attempt to block major West Coast ports on Monday.

By marching on U.S. ports from California to Alaska, organizers look to call attention to economic inequalities in the country and a financial system they complain is unfairly tilted toward the wealthy.

The planned action comes after the Occupy movement that began in New York in September has seen its tent camps in most big West Coast cities dismantled in police raids, leaving the movement looking for new avenues to voice its discontent.

...Police in several cities were so far not disclosing their plans for handling the protesters or whether they aimed to confront them, risking clashes, or stand back.

The Port of Oakland has mounted a public relations campaign to dissuade protesters from joining the effort, while two of the largest labor unions involved have split -- with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union opposed to the blockade and Teamsters in favor.

But union workers were largely expected to stay on the job, and were contractually barred from joining such a strike. The protest will focus in part on truck drivers who earn low wages and cannot join unions because they are classified as independent truck drivers, and must provide their own trucks.

"It's a group that encapsulates basically everything that is wrong with society," [Mike King, a graduate student who acts as a media liaison for Occupy Oakland] said.

And reminding us why the Occupy Movement exists...

New York Times—With lobbying blitz, for-profit colleges diluted new rules:

Last year, the Obama administration vowed to stop for-profit colleges from luring students with false promises. In an opening volley that shook the $30 billion industry, officials proposed new restrictions to cut off the huge flow of federal aid to unfit programs.

But after a ferocious response that administration officials called one of the most intense they had seen, the Education Department produced a much-weakened final plan that almost certainly will have far less impact as it goes into effect next year.

The story of how the for-profit colleges survived the threat of a major federal crackdown offers a case study in Washington power brokering. Rattled by the administration's tough talk, the colleges spent more than $16 million on an all-star list of prominent figures, particularly Democrats with close ties to the White House, to plot strategy, mend their battered image and plead their case.

I highly recommend reading this whole article. In other reminders of why the Occupy Movement exists...

Bloomberg: Bank Credit Highest Since Before Lehman as US Growth Continues.

WaPo: Congress Edges Toward a Bipartisan Compromise on Spending.

CNN Money: Millions of Unemployed Americans to Lose Unemployment Benefits if Congress Doesn't Act.

Paul Krugman in the New York Times—Depression and Democracy: "It's time to start calling the current situation what it is: a depression. True, it's not a full replay of the Great Depression, but that's cold comfort."

Meanwhile, the Eurozone debt crisis is "far from over."

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Economic News Round-Up

Let's start in Europe, where the history comes from...

CNN Money—European leaders hash out crisis deal:

A majority of European leaders agreed early Friday on a new deal to try to resolve the continent's debt crisis, but some countries including Britain refused to back a broader treaty change.

The 17 members of the eurozone, which share the embattled single currency, reached a deal for a new intergovernmental treaty to deepen the integration of national budgets.

Six other EU nations supported the deal. "We're doing everything we can to save the euro," President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said at a news conference in Brussels following a marathon summit meeting of EU leaders.

As a result of the news, stocks are up. For now. The rollercoaster continues in the Eurozone.

Iain and I were talking about the European crisis for a long time last night, and we were both lamenting the push for austerity in Europe, which will be just as ineffectual as it will be in the US, because it's not an economic solution; it's a deflection of accountability. Austerity is just a fancy name for the strategy of making poor people pay for wealthy people's mistakes.

Speaking of which...

The Hill—Dems' payroll tax cut extension goes down again in Senate: "Senate Republicans blocked the latest installment of President Obama's jobs plan—a bill to extend the payroll tax cut—for the second week in a row on Thursday. The bill, titled the Middle Class Tax Cut Act, was shot down 50-48. It would have cut the payroll tax paid by employees to 3.1 percent from the current 4.2 percent while funding itself by imposing a surtax on millionaires."

Paul Krugman in the New York Times—All the GOP's Gekkos:

Almost a quarter of a century has passed since the release of the movie "Wall Street," and the film seems more relevant than ever. The self-righteous screeds of financial tycoons denouncing President Obama all read like variations on Gordon Gekko's famous "greed is good" speech, while the complaints of Occupy Wall Street sound just like what Gekko says in private: "I create nothing. I own," he declares at one point; at another, he asks his protégé, "Now you're not naïve enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you, buddy?"

...[T]he current orthodoxy among Republicans is that we mustn't even criticize the wealthy, let alone demand that they pay higher taxes, because they're "job creators." Yet the fact is that quite a few of today's wealthy got that way by destroying jobs rather than creating them.

The Hill—GOP seeks to cut unemployment benefits: "GOP leaders hope to build momentum for an end-of-year tax package with sweeping reforms to federal unemployment benefits. The Republican proposal is expected to reduce the total number of weeks unemployed workers are eligible for aid by as much as 40 weeks and tighten rules for eligibility."

Digby—Next step in our Randian dystopia: stigmatize the unemployed: "[J]ust as you can tell if someone looks like an '"illegal' you can tell if someone's likely to be a drug user. They're just looking for the 'bad people' who are stealing the money from hard working taxpayers."

And in Occupy news...

Greg Sargent: Winning the Argument.

CNN: Midnight deadline passes for Occupy Boston protesters to clear out.

WSJ: NYU to Offer Classes on Occupy Wall Street.

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Number of the Day

$2.2 trillion: The decrease in the the net worth of US households during the third quarter, "its biggest hit since the height of the 2008 financial meltdown during the third quarter. ... The decline comes to about $7,800 for every US resident."

Except, of course, the wealthy have lost more money on average, but less as a percentage of the net wealth. The poor, and particularly poor people of color, have lost less on average, but more as a percentage of their net wealth. If you've only got $300 in the bank, and then it's gone, that's quite obviously a much bigger deal than losing $300,000 of a multimillion dollar fortune.

Economic News Round-Up

Here's some of what I've been reading this morning [trigger warning for child abuse]...

The Hill—Senate Passes $662B Defense Bill After Deal on Detainee Language:

The Senate passed a $662 billion Defense bill Thursday evening after a long fight over how the U.S. military detains terror suspects.

The bill passed overwhelmingly 93-7, following an agreement reached late Thursday afternoon to add compromise language on the detention of U.S. citizens and terror suspects on U.S. soil.

Now the Defense bill goes to conference committee with the House, which had its own language on detaining terror suspects that must be reconciled with the Senate version.

It is not clear whether the change will satisfy the White House, which has threatened to veto the Defense bill over the detainee provisions.

The Obama administration expressed its opposition to the use of military detention within the United States, but also had concerns over the legislation tying the hands of federal law enforcement by mandating military custody and prosecution of al Qaeda members. The administration also opposes restrictions on transferring Guantanamo detainees.

For more on the detainee legislation, see Glenn Greenwald, whose piece underscores why this is an economic issue: War is big business for US corporations, especially as war is increasingly subcontracted to profit-making enterprises. Forever war is forever money, for them.

CNBC—Economy Creates 120,000 Jobs, Rate Tumbles to 8.6%: "Job creation remained weak in the U.S. during November, with just 120,000 new positions created, though the unemployment rate slid to 8.6 percent, a government report showed Friday. The rate fell from the previous month's 9.0 percent, a move which in part reflected a drop in those looking for jobs. The participation rate dropped to 64 percent, from 64.2 percent in October. The actual employment level increased by 278,000. The total amount of those without a job fell to 13.3 million." Emphasis mine. It's not good news when the unemployment rate drops only because people are giving up.

New York Times—For Jobless, Little Hope of Restoring Better Days: "Even though the Labor Department is expected to report on Friday that employers added more than 100,000 jobs in November, a new study...to be released Friday by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, [shows] just 7 percent of those who lost jobs after the financial crisis have returned to or exceeded their previous financial position and maintained their lifestyles. The vast majority say they have diminished lifestyles, and about 15 percent say the reduction in their incomes has been drastic and will probably be permanent."

Texas Tribune—Abuse Reports in Texas Increase as Economy Falters:

More children are living in poverty than ever in Texas. About 1.7 million Texas children — 26 percent of the total population — live below the federal poverty level, according to United States census data released this week. Experts speculate that a key factor in the increase in reports of child abuse and neglect is the struggling economy; the number of reported cases of abuse has gone up 6 percent in Texas since 2008, before the recession.

In Travis County, the number of new cases opened with Child Protective Services rose 36 percent from 2008 to 2011.

"In an economic downturn, when you're losing your job, it pushes you over the edge in terms of the resources you have both internally and externally to care for your kid," said Jane Burstain, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a liberal research group.

...Child Protective Services, like most state agencies, was hit with severe cuts during the 2011 legislative session.

Child abuse prevention financing was slashed by 44 percent. And because the Legislative Budget Board did not increase financing for caseload growth or to support family services or relative caregivers, the agency will continue to operate on a budget designed in 2009. Shelters and facilities that care for children and provide services like domestic violence prevention and protective parenting classes are struggling to find ways to serve more families with far fewer dollars.

Texas is, of course, not the only state in which this is happening.

CNN—Fannie Mae, Banks Halt Foreclosures for the Holidays: "Happy holidays struggling homeowners! Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and several large mortgage lenders have pledged not to foreclose on delinquent borrowers during the [holiday] season. For homeowners with loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the moratorium will run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2. During this time, legal and administrative proceedings for evictions may continue, but families will be allowed to stay in their homes, Fannie said in a statement. 'No family should have to give up their home during this holiday season,' said Terry Edwards, an executive vice president for Fannie Mae." Awwwwwwwww. God bless us, every one!

Nick Hanauer at Bloomberg—Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators: "It is unquestionably true that without entrepreneurs and investors, you can't have a dynamic and growing capitalist economy. But it's equally true that without consumers, you can't have entrepreneurs and investors. And the more we have happy customers with lots of disposable income, the better our businesses will do. That's why our current policies are so upside down. When the American middle class defends a tax system in which the lion's share of benefits accrues to the richest, all in the name of job creation, all that happens is that the rich get richer. And that's what has been happening in the U.S. for the last 30 years." This is just a great piece. A definite must-read.

Paul Krugman at the New York Times—Killing the Euro: "Can the euro be saved? Not long ago we were told that the worst possible outcome was a Greek default. Now a much wider disaster seems all too likely. even optimists now see Europe as headed for recession, while pessimists warn that the euro may become the epicenter of another global financial crisis. How did things go so wrong? The answer you hear all the time is that the euro crisis was caused by fiscal irresponsibility. Turn on your TV and you're very likely to find some pundit declaring that if America doesn't slash spending we'll end up like Greece. Greeeeeece! But the truth is nearly the opposite." Spoiler Alert! Austerity is disastrous. Whooooooooooops!

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Economic News Round-Up

Protesters march on November 30, 2011 in London, United Kingdom. More than 2 million public sector workers are staging a nationwide strike over cuts to their public sector pensions. The strike began at midnight leading to the closure of most state schools, disruption to rail and tunnel services, delays at border areas inside airports and ferry terminals and the postponement of thousands of non-emergency hospital operations. The TUC has said it is the biggest stoppage in more than 30 years, with hundreds of marches and rallies due to take place in cities and towns across the UK. [Getty Images]

Here's some of what I've been reading this morning...

Politicker NY—Mayor Bloomberg: 'I Have My Own Army': "In a speech at MIT last night to discuss the packed sweepstakes to build a tech campus in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg said he prefers City Hall to the White House. ... 'I have my own army in the NYPD, which is the seventh biggest army in the world. I have my own State Department, much to Foggy Bottom's annoyance. We have the United Nations in New York, and so we have an entree into the diplomatic world that Washington does not have,' Mayor Bloomberg said." Yikes.

On the other side of the country, Fox's local affiliate hits a new low as its reporter implies exiled Occupy LA protesters left behind jars of human waste and were keeping mysterious jars of white liquid—which Tina at Crooks & Liars notes is likely an antacid of some sort, which helps to neutralize the effects of pepper spray and teargas. Of course, not identifying what it is and ominously saying a protestor reportedly kicked a bottle of the white stuff at police is not only a great way to discredit the protesters, but also to imply that they're the violent ones, as opposed to the government representatives using chemical weaponry on them that necessitates the existence of the bottles of white stuff in the first place.

Nicholas Kristof speaks to a regretful banker for his latest column, and reports on the inherent unfairness that it was the irresponsible banks who were bailed out by the Federal Reserve to the tune of "$7.8 trillion, equivalent to more than $25,000 per American," instead of the people on whom those banks preyed to reap the rewards of high-risk mortgages.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the GOP will "support extending the payroll-tax cut," but only if it's "paid for." Funny how the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy never seem to generate such intense interest in budgeting.

Also in the Beltway: Congressional incumbents start attracting 'super PACs:' The Influence Industry.

Each of the top presidential candidates already has at least one super PAC raising unlimited funds to support his or her campaign. Now some members of Congress are getting in on the action, too.

Several new super PACs have sprung up in recent months with the explicit aim of helping a particular lawmaker... But the boldest proposal comes from Sen. Mike Lee (Utah), a freshman Republican who wants to add a super PAC component to his leadership PAC, the Constitutional Conservatives Fund. The Federal Election Commission is set to consider the request during a meeting Thursday.

The idea would allow Lee to raise unlimited funds from corporations and wealthy individuals as head of the super PAC, then spend the funds to help other Republicans. It would mark another step toward unraveling campaign-finance restrictions that generally require outside groups to act independently of candidates.

Perfect. If there's one thing that we needed in this country, it was a way to make it easier for corporations to own members of Congress. Democracy is so messy. This will be much easier for all of us.

I can't wait until Congressmembers get their matching jumpsuits and start attaching the sponsorship patches. Hey, if it's good enough for NASCAR, it's good enough for Congress! USA! USA! USA!

Economic News Round-Up

The password is: Shrinkage.

Businessweek—Ireland's Economic Growth Rate to Halve in 2012, ESRI Says: "Ireland's economic growth rate will more than halve next year as exports slow amid a deepening euro-region debt crisis, the Economic & Social Research Institute said. ... 'There has been a significant deterioration in the outlook for the world economy in recent months stemming from the uncertainty about the euro zone debt crisis,' the ESRI said."

Reuters—Brazil Poised for 3rd Rate Cut as Inflation Slows: "Brazil is seen likely to cut interest rates a third straight time on Wednesday, ramping up a bet that the euro zone debt crisis and a fragile world economy will brake inflation in Latin America's biggest country. ... A worsening debt crisis in Europe is clouding the global economy, inflation has begun to ease in Brazil, and recent indicators show the country's economy may have contracted in the third quarter."

AFP—China Eases Credit Controls Amid Slowing Growth: "China said Wednesday it will cut the bank reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points, as it seeks to boost lending and spur growth in the world's second largest economy. The move, which takes effect on December 5, is the strongest signal yet that the government wants to ease tight credit restrictions put in place to curb surging inflation and property prices."

Bloomberg—South Africa Economy Expands Less Than Forecast at 1.4% as Exports Slump: "South Africa's economy, the biggest in Africa, expanded at an annualized 1.4 percent in the third quarter, less than economists forecast, as manufacturing and mining output slumped. ... South Africa is struggling to meet employment and economic growth targets as the debt crisis in Europe, which buys about a third of South African manufactured goods, pushes that region close to recession."

Businessweek—Egypt's Rulers Face Unrest, Crumbling Economy as Vote Begins: "The unrest in Egypt has hurt the economy, as tourists have shunned the country and industrial production has been hit by strikes. Gross domestic product grew 1.8 percent in the fiscal year through June, the slowest in at least a decade. The country's long-term foreign sovereign credit rating was cut one level to B+, four levels below investment grade, at Standard & Poor's on Nov. 24."

Reuters—India's Economy Slows to Weakest Pace in More Than Two Years: "India's economy grew at its weakest pace in more than two years in the quarter that ended in September, revealing the heavy toll that stubborn inflation, rising interest rates and crisis-hit global capital markets are having on Asia's third-biggest economy. ... The economy has been hit by a confluence of factors. Inflation has been persistently high all year, policy inertia has hurt investment and industrial output and, now, capital outflows have pushed the rupee to new lows."

Bloomberg—Denmark's Economy Shrank More Than Estimated Last Quarter: "Denmark's economy contracted in the third quarter, after households spent less and the government cut expenditure, threatening to delay the nation's recovery as twin housing and bank crises persist."

Businessweek—German Economy to Shrink 0.2% in Fourth Quarter, Institute Says: "The German economy, Europe's biggest, may slide into a 'technical' recession at the end of the year as domestic and foreign orders drop, the DIW economic institute said. The economy will shrink 0.2 percent this quarter, led by a slump in industrial production, and may contract again in the first three months of 2012, the Berlin-based institute said today in an e-mailed statement. 'The euro crisis is affecting the German economy more and more,' DIW economist Ferdinand Fichtner said in the statement."

Bloomberg—Slovenian Economy Unexpectedly Contracted in the Third Quarter: "Slovenia's economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter from a year earlier as industrial output and export growth lost pace."

Etc. Shockingly, European confidence in the economic outlook has fallen to a two-year low. Huh. Go figure.

In good news, Poland, Canada, and Sweden have done slightly better than expected. And USians are inexplicably more confident about their economy, up 15 points to 56.0 from October's low of 40.9. Well aren't we the eternal optimists!

In other economic news...

CNN Money—Fed, ECB Offer Aid for Global Financial System: "The Federal Reserve, acting with five other central banks, took further steps Wednesday to make it cheaper for banks around the world to trade in U.S. dollars. The Fed—along with central banks of the eurozone, England, Japan, Switzerland and Canada—announced a coordinated plan to lower prices on dollar liquidity swaps beginning on December 5, and extending these swap arrangements to February 1, 2013. The effort is meant to 'ease strains in financial markets and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses and so help foster economic activity,' the Federal Reserve said in a press release."

The Guardian—World Central Banks Launch Co-Ordinated Action to Fight Financial Crisis: "Federal Reserve, ECB, Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss Central Bank act to prevent liquidity drying up in the financial system." Live coverage will continue throughout the day at the link.

CNN—Study: Cyber Monday Was Biggest Online Shopping Day Ever in US: "Analysts have begun providing their final tallies for Cyber Monday sales, which found that people piled more in their virtual shopping carts than ever before. Monday was the highest-grossing online shopping day in U.S. history, with spending reaching $1.25 billion, according to market research firm comScore. That's up 22% from the previous record, which was last year's Cyber Monday."

The Guardian—Occupy Protests: Police Clear Activists from LA and Philadelphia Camps: "Hundreds of police officers are clearing protesters from Los Angeles and Philadelphia, arresting those refusing to leave and dismantling tents. ... [T]here were 200 arrests in Los Angeles alone, according to police. In Los Angeles around 1,400 officers wearing riot gear and biohazard suits were moving members of Occupy Los Angeles after they ignored a Monday deadline to leave the area. ... In Philadelphia, police began pulling down tents at about 1:20am (EST) after giving demonstrators three warnings that they would have to leave, which nearly all of the protesters followed. Dozens of demonstrators then marched through the street until they were stopped by police."

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Economic News Round-Up

The password is: Unemployment.

LA Times—On the US: "Despite the nation's 9% jobless rate, Republicans have grown increasingly uneasy with providing additional unemployment benefits beyond the 26 weeks most states offer. More than 2 million jobless Americans will exhaust those benefits in the early weeks of the new year. The federal government has been supplementing the states to provide up to 99 weeks of benefits. Congress will need to devise a way to pay for the estimated $55-billion cost of the extra aid that will draw GOP support without alienating Democrats."

Belfast Telegraph—On the UK: "The UK's economy will slip back into recession in the coming months, a bleak forecast from the OECD revealed. The economic think-tank said the UK's GDP will shrink in the final quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012—the first time it has predicted a double-dip recession for the UK. ... The OECD also said unemployment, which currently stands at 8.3%—its highest since 1996—will rise to 9% in 2013 as jobs figures take a worse hit than in the recession following the banking crisis."

ABC Melbourne—On Australia: "A study looking at youth employment has found young people make up almost a quarter of Australia's long-term unemployed. ... Since 2008, the percentage of young Australians without a job for a year or longer has almost doubled."

AP—On Japan: "Government figures released Tuesday showed the unemployment rate adjusted for seasonal variations had jumped to 4.5 percent from 4.1 percent in September. Other recent indicators show slowdowns in exports and industrial production in the face of a strong yen and a sputtering global economy."

China Daily—On France: "The number of jobless people in France grew by 1.2 percent in October from a month earlier, as sluggish economic activities slowed job creation in the eurozone's second largest economy, official figures showed on Monday. According to labor ministry figures, France registered 34,400 more jobless people last month, which pulled up the country's total number of jobseekers to more than 2.814 million in France's mainland."

Asia One News—On Thailand: "The Office of the National Economics and Social Development Board (NESDB) said yesterday that Thailand had 260,000 people out of work in the third quarter of this year and the flood had significantly affected workers' quality of life. The unemployment rate was expected to increase to 700,000-920,000 people, with household debts also rising."

NASDAQ—On Italy: "Italy's economy will contract by 0.5% in 2012, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday in a new set of forecasts, sharply slashing projections of 1.1% growth made in May. ... Italy's new government needs to 'fully implement' emergency fiscal measures it inherited from its predecessor and 'undertake important structural reforms to spur growth,' doing so even as unemployment rises, the OECD said."

Bloomberg—On Spain: "Spain's economy is struggling to recover from a three-year slump as households spend less to pay off one of the largest private-debt burdens in the euro region. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its 2012 growth forecast for Spain to 0.3 percent from 1.6 percent yesterday, and said it sees unemployment peaking at 22.9 percent next year."

The Globe and Mail—On Greece: "In October, Greece's million-strong unemployed outnumbered the county’s 750,000 public sector workers as the country edged to the close of its fourth year of recession."

Not good. Meanwhile, the Eurozone crisis remains a primary global concern...

The Guardian's live coverage is here.

CBS News—EU leaders seek Hail Mary for the euro: "The 17 finance ministers of the countries that use the euro converged on EU headquarters Tuesday in a desperate bid to save their currency—and to protect Europe, the United States, Asia and the rest of the global economy from a debt-induced financial [disaster]. ... Even countries outside the eurozone were ratcheting up pressure on the ministers to find a solution. President Barack Obama, meeting with top EU officials on Monday, said a European failure to resolve its debt crisis would complicate his own efforts to create jobs in the U.S. And even Poland, historically wary of German dominance beyond its borders, appealed for help. 'I will probably be the first Polish foreign minister in history to say so, but here it is,' Radek Sikorski said in Berlin. 'I fear German power less than I am beginning to fear German inactivity. You have become Europe's indispensable nation.'"

ABC News—Obama says US 'stands ready to do our part' for Eurozone crisis: "As the European debt crisis continues to escalate, President Obama urged European Union leaders today to act quickly to resolve the eurozone crisis... 'This is of huge importance to our own economy. If Europe is contracting or if Europe is having difficulties, then it's much more difficult for us to create good jobs here at home,' [the president said]. While Obama did not say what kind of assistance the U.S. would be willing to provide, earlier today the White House ruled out any financial contributions from U.S. taxpayers. 'We do not in any way believe that additional resources are required from the United States or from American taxpayers,' White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters. 'This is a European issue, that Europe has the resources and capacity to deal with it and that they need to act decisively and conclusively to resolve this problem,' Carney said."

So, basically, we're going to "help" by lecturing other countries to get their shit together while failing to get our shit together. Awesome. Austerity for everyone!

Reuters—Euro zone crisis biggest threat to global economy—OECD: "The euro zone's debt crisis has become the biggest threat to the global economy and a break up of the currency zone can no longer be ruled out, the OECD said on Monday, slashing its forecasts and urging the ECB to play a bigger role in defusing the crisis. ... A worst case scenario of continued inaction in the euro zone and the failure of U.S. lawmakers to agree a spending-reduction plan would usher in a devastating downturn for the world economy, the Paris-based OECD said."

Speaking of the Congressional Supercommittee, they have yet to do fuck-all, naturally. And Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, is leading the charge on making it All President Obama's Fault, despite the fact that Republicans accuse him of railroading Congress when it suits their narrative, and now accuse him of, essentially, not railroading Congress. (As if Congressional Republicans could be railroaded, anyway.) Good fucking god, this country's national discourse is infuriating.

In other random economic news...

IndieBay: Interview with Scott Olsen about his injury from the police attack on Occupy Oakland (video).

Bloomberg: Moody's considers bank debt downgrade in 15 European nations.

Wall Street Journal: Facebook targets huge IPO.

CNN Money: American Airlines files for bankruptcy.

Bloomberg: How Paulson gave hedge funds advance word. And related to that: Paul Krugman's "Mission not accomplished."

New York Times: In gloomy economic times, Santas learn to help by curbing expectations.

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Occupy Everywhere & Economic News Round-Up

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) supporters witness an arrest of one of their fellow at Zuccotti Park decorated with Christmas lights, in New York, November 21, 2011. OWS said 32,500 gathered last week to mark the anti-capitalist movement's two-month anniversary at Foley Square in lower Manhattan before many marched across the Brooklyn Bridge. [Getty Images]

Here's some of what I've been reading this morning...

Tina Dupuy has an interesting piece in The Atlantic about the gender disparity at Occupy encampments. See also Echidne's take on Dupuy's piece.

Gallup finds that US support for the Occupy Movement remains unchanged from a month ago at about 25% in favor, about 20% opposed, and about 55% conflicted or indifferent. Respondents, however, are now slightly more critical of "the way the protests are being conducted."

In Supercommittee Failure news...

Greg Sargent plainly (and correctly) states that "both sides" are not equally to blame for the breakdown in negotiations: "This is the primary difference in a nutshell: The Dem offer involved both sides making roughly equivalent concessions; the GOP offer didn't. The main GOP concession—the additional revenues—would have come in exchange for Dems giving ground on two major fronts: On cuts to entitlements, and on making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Putting aside whether the supercommittee failure matters at all, it's plainly true that one side was willing to concede far more than the other to make a deal possible. And anyone who pretends otherwise is just part of the problem."

And because our political system is irrevocably broken, both parties will look to exploit that failure for political gain: "[W]ith the [Bush tax cuts] due to expire at the end of 2012 and their fate left unresolved by the supercommittee, both parties are already positioning themselves to exploit the issue for maximum electoral advantage. President Obama, who campaigned on repealing the breaks for the wealthy, angered his base last year when he agreed to extend all the tax cuts beyond their original expiration, at the end of 2010. This time, the president has vowed to veto any effort to extend the tax breaks on upper-income Americans. ... Republicans vying to challenge Obama argue the tax cuts should be made permanent, not just for the wealthy but for middle-income Americans as well. And GOP strategists say the White House's position makes the president vulnerable to charges that he would impose what many Republicans are already calling the 'biggest tax increase in American history' if reelected."

Aside from political gamespersonship, what now? "Failure by the committee, evenly split between six Democrats and six Republicans from the House and Senate, sets in motion an alternative timetable for $1.2 trillion in spending reductions starting in January 2013. Leaders on both sides of the aisle are unhappy with the nature of the fallback plan, which cuts evenly from domestic and defense programs." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tries to hang the president with the responsibility for preventing the cuts: "Now it falls on the president to ensure that the defense cuts he insisted upon do not undermine national security." President Obama hangs the responsibility on Congress: "The only way these spending cuts will not take place is if Congress gets back to work and agrees on a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. That's exactly what they need to do. That's the job they promised to do. And they've still got a year to figure it out."

The only thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on anymore is that it's not their fault and it's definitely the OTHER party's responsibility to fix everything.

In related news, trying to prove he is NOT BORING and can be, in fact, just as loathsomely incendiary and irresponsible as all the best Republicans, Mitt Romney [trigger warning for violent rhetoric] described the automatic defense spending cuts initiated by the supercommittee's failure would be "like holding a gun to your own head."

In other US domestic economic news...

Reuters: Third-quarter growth revised down to 2.0 percent.

Forbes: The Top 0.1% of the nation earn half of all capital gains.

CNN Money: Next congressional battle: Payroll taxes.

Reuters: MF Global trustee doubles estimates of shortfall: Says shortfall could be about $1.2 billion.

CNN Money: Gingrich: CBO a 'reactionary socialist institution'.

And in Eurozone news, The Guardian's live coverage is here. Also: The head of the Financial Services Authority, Adair Turner, warns that "the global economy is at risk of a deflationary spiral as the private sector and governments seek to pay off their debts at the same time." Huzzah for austerity!

Occupy Everywhere & Economic News Round-Up

In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, photo University of California, Davis Police Lt. John Pike uses pepper spray to move Occupy UC Davis protesters while blocking their exit from the school's quad Friday in Davis, Calif. Two University of California, Davis police officers involved in pepper spraying seated protesters were placed on administrative leave Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, as the chancellor of the school accelerates the investigation into the incident. [AP Photo]

Related and Recommended Reading on the UD Davis incident:

Matt Wells in The Guardian: UC Davis Police Placed on Leave After Pepper Spray Video Outrage.

Garance Franke-Ruta in The Atlantic: Too Much Violence and Pepper Spray at the OWS Protests: The Videos and Pictures.

CNN: California Campus Police on Leave After Pepper-Spraying.

In other Occupy News...

The Guardian crunches the numbers and finds it more like the 99.99% [via Andy]:


[Related article here. Video transcript is available here.]
In sweet news, Occupy Wall Street activists Jonathan Lopez, 19, and Ivan Cabrera, 18, exchanged vows, marking the first same-sex marriage at Zuccotti Park.

In shitty news, powerful DC lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford "has proposed an $850,000 plan to take on Occupy Wall Street and politicians who might express sympathy for the protests. ... CLGC's memo proposes that the [their client, the American Bankers Association] pay CLGC $850,000 to conduct 'opposition research' on Occupy Wall Street in order to construct 'negative narratives' about the protests and allied politicians. The memo also asserts that Democratic victories in 2012 would be detrimental for Wall Street and targets specific races in which it says Wall Street would benefit by electing Republicans instead."

Speaking of Republicans, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich believes that secularism is responsible for the US' economic problems (of course he does): "A country that has been now since 1963 relentlessly in the courts driving God out of public life shouldn't be surprised at all the problems we have. Because we've in fact attempted to create a secular country, which I think is frankly a nightmare." Previously: Gingrich blames same-sex marriage for the country's economic woes.

Meanwhile, at Supercommittee Headquarters...

New York Times—The Deficit Deal That Wasn't: Hopes Are Dashed: "On Sunday, just one week after both sides had begun to feel hope, several members of the bipartisan panel conceded that their weeks of negotiations had failed. In the end the two sides could not agree on a mix of tax increases and spending cuts and—perhaps above all—on the fate of the tax cuts originally signed by President George W. Bush, which are now scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. While the panel's failure was in many ways foretold—President Obama and the House speaker, John A. Boehner, failed to reach a similar deal only this past summer—the deadlock offers fresh evidence for everyone frustrated with Congress, including its own members. ... Democrats and Republicans, as has been their wont throughout the process, could not even agree on what led the talks to slide into failure."

Washington Post—Debt supercommittee members brace for failure: "The congressional 'supercommittee' stumbled its way toward failure Sunday, with final staff-level discussions focusing mostly on how the panel should publicly admit that lawmakers could not meet their mandate of shaving $1.2 trillion from the federal debt. Rather than making a final effort at compromise, members of the special deficit-reduction committee spent their final hours casting blame and pointing fingers, bracing for the reaction from financial markets that are already jittery over the European debt crisis."

Speaking of the Eurozone...

The Guardian's live coverage is here.

New York Times—Europe Fears a Credit Squeeze as Investors Sell Bond Holdings: "Nervous investors around the globe are accelerating their exit from the debt of European governments and banks, increasing the risk of a credit squeeze that could set off a downward spiral. Financial institutions are dumping their vast holdings of European government debt and spurning new bond issues by countries like Spain and Italy. And many have decided not to renew short-term loans to European banks, which are needed to finance day-to-day operations. If this trend continues, it risks creating a vicious cycle of rising borrowing costs, deeper spending cuts and slowing growth, which is hard to get out of, especially as some European banks are having trouble meeting their financing needs."

Reuters—Warren Buffett: Euro zone not working, words alone won't fix it: "Buffett, dubbed the 'Oracle of Omaha' for his long track record as a value investor, said he had no idea how Europe's sovereign debt crisis, which started in Greece two years ago and rages on, would end, though he noted there were good valuations among companies in Europe. 'Not in the debt space, but in the equity space there are opportunities,' he said."

Brad DeLong—Yet Another New York Times Fail: Ross Douthat Department:"Does Ross Douthat really believe that there ought to be a law saying that lenders must lend to a country's government whenever that country wants to borrow on terms that the country's government sets? He simply has not thought any of this through."

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to what you've been reading/writing in comments.

Occupy Everywhere & Economic News Round-Up

An Occupy Wall Street demonstrator is pushed out of the way by police officers as they make an arrest during what protest organizers called a day of action in New York November 17, 2011. New York police prevented protesters from shutting down Wall Street on Thursday, arresting more than 200 people in repeated clashes with an unexpectedly small but spirited Occupy Wall Street rally. [Reuters Pictures]

Here's some of what I've been reading this morning...

New York Times—200 Are Arrested as Protesters Clash With the Police:

Thousands of protesters across the country flooded streets, squares, bridges and banks on Thursday, snarling traffic and often clashing with the police in a show of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement, two months to the day after the demonstration began.

In Lower Manhattan, protesters tossed aside metal barricades to converge again on Zuccotti Park after failing in an attempt to shut down the New York Stock Exchange. In Los Angeles, more than 20 protesters were arrested after ignoring orders to vacate streets. In Denver, 100 protesters marched by government buildings and intersections, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Organized weeks ago, the so-called day of action came two days after the police cleared the Occupy Wall Street encampment from Zuccotti Park in Manhattan in an early morning raid. After the protesters were ousted from the park that had become their de facto headquarters, a judge agreed that they could return later that day, albeit without their camping gear. They looked to Thursday to gauge the support and mettle that the movement had retained.

"We failed to close the stock exchange, but we took back our park," said Adam Farooqui, 25, of Queens. "That was a real victory."

Reuters—Authorities foil NY protest bid to shut Wall Street:

After tempers among police and protesters flared throughout the day, crowds grew larger and more festive after dark.

"This is a great night for a revolution. I've never seen anything like this in my entire life," said Daniel Reynolds, 34, a financial analyst at a venture capital firm, who joined the protests for the first time on Thursday.

Democracy Now!—Paramilitary Policing of Occupy Wall Street: Excessive Use of Force amidst the New Military Urbanism: Video with transcript at link.

Aren't you just DESPERATE to know what Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich think of Occupy Wall Street?! Of course you are! Aren't you just SHOCKED to hear that they don't like it?! What a surprisey-surprise! Herman Cain naturally thinks that the Occupy Wall Street protestors are "trying to destroy the greatest nation in the world," and Newt Gingrich, professional hater of democracy, obviously took the familiar route of demonizing citizen action, suggesting protestors should be jailed, and echoing Cain's sentiment by accusing OWS protestors of wanting "to tear down our country." What a thrilling exhibition of cutting-edge conservative thought!

Speaking of which...

CNN—Bachmann gives students a 101 on issues, then gets lectured:

With the air of a college instructor, Michele Bachmann essentially gave college students a Conservative 101 on the economy, national and foreign affairs and other important issues on Thursday in Iowa. But when the Republican presidential candidate took questions, some students turned the tables on their lecturer, peppering her with tough questions.

...As she criticized specifics of the nation's health care law, one student shouted: "So screw the sick and homeless?"

"Who said that?" Bachmann asked.

"You have," the student said.

"You could not be further from the truth," Bachmann shot back. "You're looking at someone who lived below poverty. Have you ever lived at that?"

Bachmann continued: "I know what I had to do. I got a job. That's what you need to do. You need to figure out how to get a job and make your way."

BOOTSTRAPS!!!

Paul Krugman checks in with SuperCongress.

Sarah Palin talks nonsense.

Newt Gingrich is a corporate shill. Who knew!

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to stuff you're reading/writing in comments.

Occupy Everywhere & Economic News Round-Up

David Crosby, left, and Graham Nash perform at the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011 in New York. [AP Photo]

The Atlantic—Occupy Wall Street Gets Its Generators Back: "Occupy Wall Street got its confiscated generators back on Tuesday after its legal team pressed the Fire Department of New York to release them. The machines were picked up from the New York City Fire Academy at Randall's Island by the Wikileaks truck, which has been stationed next to Zuccotti Park since the protest's inception. The vehicle with the generator on board made its way back to Zuccotti Park hours before a planned concert by Graham Nash and David Crosby."

The Guardian—Occupy protesters plan 300-mile march from NYC to Washington:

A group of Occupy protesters plan to march nearly 300 miles from New York to Washington DC in a bid to end tax cuts which they say benefit the richest 1% of Americans.

The group will set off from Occupy Wall Street on Wednesday and walk 20 miles a day en route to the capital, their arrival planned to coincide with the Congressional deficit reduction super-committee meeting on 23 November.

Protesters will pass through other occupations during the course of the 'Occupy the highway' action, which they say will encourage people in rural communities to get involved in the movement.

In US domestic news...

AP—Ohio Voters Reject Republican-Backed Union Limits: "The state's new collective bargaining law was defeated Tuesday after an expensive union-backed campaign that pitted firefighters, police officers and teachers against the Republican establishment. In a political blow to GOP Gov. John Kasich, voters handily rejected the law, which would have limited the bargaining abilities of 350,000 unionized public workers."

Reuters—Fannie Mae taps $7.8 billion from Treasury, loss widens: "Fannie Mae, the biggest source of money for U.S. home loans, on Tuesday said it needed a further $7.8 billion in federal aid to stay afloat as a shaky housing market widened its third-quarter loss to $5.1 billion. The government-controlled firm also attributed the deeper cash drain to losses on derivatives used to hedge its exposure to interest-rate swings and on expenses related to home loans made prior to the 2008 financial collapse. In the year-earlier quarter it had a loss of a $1.3 billion. Fannie Mae has now drawn $112.6 billion in bailout funds from the Treasury Department since being seized by the government in 2008 as mortgage losses mounted, and it has returned $17.2 billion to taxpayers in the form of dividends."

Think Progress—GOP Rep. Joe Walsh Melts Down, Screams at Constituents: 'Don't Blame Banks!…I Am Tired of Hearing That Crap!': "[D]uring a recent meeting with constituents in his Chicago-area suburban district, Walsh lost his cool when several attendees asked about why banks have so much power in government. At one point, Walsh even threatened to eject a man who asked Walsh about the revolving door of bank lobbyists infiltrating Congress and financial regulatory agencies. Walsh at one point screamed, 'Don't blame the banks … this pisses me off!' After several constituents accurately pointed out that bank lobbyists occupy key positions within Congress, the SEC, and other oversight bodies that are supposed to supervise bank practices, Walsh began sticking his finger close to his constituents' faces, yelling, 'Quiet for a minute or I'll have to ask you to leave!'"

CNN Money—2012 candidates slip on Econ 101: "America's Econ 101 professors say...the candidates continue to offer ideas and policies that wouldn't pass muster in their classes—populated by 18 year-old college students. ... Michele Bachmann promised to bring back $2 gas. Tim Pawlenty suggested sustained 5% GDP growth was a realistic target. Rick Perry would balance the budget with lower tax revenues. ... Stephen Golub, who is teaching Econ 101 at Swarthmore College this semester, said some of the ideas floated by Presidential candidates would earn a failing grade in his class. 'I think it's grossly irresponsible what they are saying,' Golub said, [adding that candidates are 'promising things that are impossible to deliver or make little sense']."

Washington Post—Republicans offer tax deal to break debt impasse; Democrats dismiss it: "Congressional Republicans have for the first time retreated from their hard-line stance against new taxes, offering to raise federal tax collections by nearly $300 billion over the next decade as part of a plan to tame the national debt. But Democrats rejected the offer Tuesday—along with the notion that Republicans had made a significant concession that could end the long-standing political impasse—leaving a special debt-reduction committee far from compromise with less than two weeks until its Thanksgiving deadline." What a refreshing surprise! Good job, Dems!

And in Eurozone news...

The Guardian—Greece's squabbling politicians fail to pick new prime minister: "The struggle to appoint a new prime minister at the helm of an interim coalition government in Athens dragged on as squabbling politicians darted across the capital in frantic negotiation while EU leaders looked on nervously. ... The unexpected length of the negotiations combined with their fractious nature, despite the looming threat of bankruptcy, raised fears over the ability of Greece's sparring politicians to forge consensus at all. In a nation so bitterly divided by left and right, where memories of brutal civil war and military dictatorship still run deep, coalition governments are almost non-existent. Attempting to douse concerns of political instability exacerbating the debt-stricken country's economic plight, officials insisted that the appointment of a new prime minister was 'very close'."

New York Times—Crisis in Italy Deepens, as Bond Yields Hit Record Highs: "Italy's financial crisis deepened on Wednesday despite a pledge by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign once Parliament passes austerity measures demanded by the European Union. ... Mr. Berlusconi, cornered by world markets and humiliated by a parliamentary setback, appeared to have become the most prominent victim of the broader European debt crisis. But his decision did not remove wide uncertainty about Italy's ability to tackle the crisis, and some analysts said the prospect of a protracted period of political wrangling could exert further pressure for a quicker exit from the impasse."

CNBC—IMF Chief Warns World Economy Risks 'Lost Decade': "Christine Lagarde told a financial forum in Beijing that European plans to bolster a rescue package for Greece were a 'step in the right direction', but that the outlook for the world economy remained dangerous and uncertain. ... 'Our sense is that if we do not act boldly and if we do not act together, the economy around the world runs the risk of downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability and potential collapse of global demand... we could run the risk of what some commentators are already calling the lost decade.'"

The Guardian—The emergence of the Frankfurt Group has turned back the democratic clock: "The European Union has always had problems with democracy, a messy process that can interfere with the grand designs of people at the top who know best. When Ireland voted no to the Nice Treaty, it was told to come up with the right result in a second ballot. The European Central Bank wields immense power, but nobody knows how the unelected members of its governing council vote because no minutes of meetings are published. That said, the latest phase of Europe's sovereign debt crisis has exposed the quite flagrant contempt for voters, the people who are going to bear the full weight of the austerity programmes being cooked up by the political elites."

Quote of the Day

"If we don't take a stand, who will?"—Diona Murray, a neighbor of Tawanna Rorey, who, with her law enforcement officer husband and their children, was scheduled to be evicted from their foreclosed-upon suburban Atlanta home by the sheriff's department, until Occupy Atlanta showed up to protest.

A Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said the foreclosure process for the Roreys was still ongoing and that no eviction had been scheduled for that address.

Experts were doubtful that the protest could do much to help the family. Misty A. Oaks, an Atlanta lawyer who specializes in foreclosure, said sitting in at an foreclosed home won't be effective legally.

"But it certainly will make for an interesting story and bring attention to the issues surrounding foreclosures and the enormous ramifications foreclosures are having," she said.

Once an eviction notice has been entered into the system, a homeowner no longer has title to the property, and anyone on it can be forcibly removed as a trespasser, Oaks said.

That reality did little to dampen the spirit of the protesters. They set up two tents in the front yard, draped a "This Home is Occupied" sign over the porch railing.

It may just be delaying the inevitable, but if we don't take a stand, who will?

Good question.

[Via Zaid.]

United States of Austerity

So this is also going on:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Just as 55 million Social Security recipients are about to get their first benefit increase in three years, Congress is looking at reducing future raises by adopting a new measure of inflation that also would increase taxes for most families - the biggest impact falling on those with low incomes.

If adopted across the government, the inflation measure would have widespread ramifications. Future increases in veterans' benefits and pensions for federal workers and military personnel would be smaller. And over time, fewer people would qualify for Medicaid, Head Start, food stamps, school lunch programs and home heating assistance than under the current measure.

Taxes would go up by $60 billion over the next decade because annual adjustments to the tax brackets would be smaller, resulting in more people jumping into higher tax brackets because their wages rose faster than the new inflation measure. Annual increases in the standard deduction and personal exemptions would become smaller.

Despite fierce opposition from seniors groups, the proposal is gaining momentum in part because it would let policymakers gradually cut benefits and increase taxes in a way that might not be readily apparent to most Americans. Changes at first would be small - the Social Security increase would be cut by just a few dollars in the first year.

[...]

The proposal to adopt a new Consumer Price Index was floated by the Obama administration during deficit reduction talks in the summer. Now, it is one of the few options supported by both Democratic and Republican members of a joint supercommittee in Congress working to reduce government borrowing.

The committee of six Democrats and six Republicans is struggling to come up with a plan to reduce government red ink by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Changing the inflation index alone would put them a sixth of the way there.

"I think the thought process behind this is, slip this in, people won't understand it," said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

[...]

In all, adopting the chained CPI would reduce Social Security benefits by $112 billion over the next decade. Federal civilian and military pensions would be $24 billion lower, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

If adopted across the government, fewer people would be eligible for many anti-poverty programs because the poverty level also would increase at a lower rate each year. That would result in fewer people living below the official poverty line, despite having the same income.

The tax increases would hit low-income families the hardest, while high-income taxpayers would see smaller changes. The wealthiest taxpayers already pay taxes at the highest marginal rate, currently 35 percent.

For example, by 2021, taxpayers making between $10,000 and $20,000 would see a 14.5 percent increase in their federal taxes with a chained CPI, according to an analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Taxpayers making more than $1 million would get a tax increase of 0.1 percent.

Who are some of the taxpayers making $1 million a year (or more)?

The number of Americans who are millionaires is pretty low — about 1 percent of the population. Members of Congress who are millionaires? Nearly 50 percent.

That's according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group that tracks money in politics.

Of the 435 members of the House, "244 current members of Congress are millionaires — that's about 46 percent and that includes 138 Republicans and 106 Democrats," says Center for Responsive Politics spokesman Michael Beck.

Beckel is talking about net worth, the total amount of money and assets lawmakers have, according to their own financial disclosure forms. In fact, there are probably many more millionaires in Congress, since lawmakers don't have to include the value of their family home and other details.

Sorry apple pie, you are being replaced by bootstrap pie.

Occupy Everywhere & Economic News Round-Up

People ride a stationary bicycle to generate electricity for laptops and mobile phones at the headquarters of the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District on November 4, 2011 in New York City. Despite a freak snowstorm last Saturday and the confiscation of their generators by the fire department, hundreds of young and old are staying put in the park. [Getty Images]

The Guardian's live coverage of the most recent Occupy events is here.

In US domestic news...

CNN Money—Bank dumping: Do the megabanks even care?

Credit unions and small banks say they've seen big jumps in new account openings thanks to this weekend's "Move Your Money" and "Bank Transfer Day" initiatives, but do the big banks even care?

Digital Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union in New England with 330,000 total members, welcomed 133 new members on Saturday. That's 56% higher than the average 85 account openings it sees on a typical Saturday.

...But while the "Move Your Money" initiative provided a wave of new customers to these smaller institutions, the big banks that these customers are leaving are so big that many of them have barely felt a dent in account holdings.

Bank of America, for example, has 58 million retail and small business accounts.

This, then, is yet another effect of deregulation allowing banks to expand to massive, too-big-to-fail sizes: It becomes increasingly impossible for a consumer-driven protest to have any meaningful impact.

TPMDC—Super Committee GOPers May Agree to Violate Norquist Pledge…With a Catch:

Super Committee Republicans are floating a trial balloon that would produce new tax revenue, in apparent contravention of Grover Norquist's taxpayer protection pledge, according to Wall Street Journal editorialist Stephen Moore.

But as Moore explains that the offer has a catch:

One positive development on taxes taking shape is a deal that could include limiting tax deductions, perhaps by capping write-offs on charities, state and local taxes, and mortgage interest payments as a percentage of each tax filer's gross income. That idea was introduced on these pages by Harvard economist Martin Feldstein.

In exchange, Democrats would agree to make the Bush income-tax cuts permanent. This would mean preventing top rates from going to 42% from 35% today, and keeping the capital gains and dividend tax rate at 15%, as opposed to plans to raise them to 23.8% or higher after 2013.

Neither Republican nor Democratic aides were immediately available to discuss the proposal. But if accurate as reported, it represents both a significant expansion of the growing rift between Norquist and the GOP, and a bad deal for Democrats.

...This isn't offered as a concession Republicans are willing to make in exchange for entitlement cuts — a key Democratic demand. It's designed as a concession Republicans are willing to make if Democrats will agree to make all of the Bush tax cuts permanent — and thereby throw away an enormous amount of leverage they have over Republicans who are committed to extending them.

Democrats, thus, would be expected to agree to throw in entitlement cuts anyhow, just because.

And they almost certainly will, because as soon as the Republicans start screaming, "WE MADE CONCESSIONS! THE DEMOCRATS ARE OBSTRUCTIONISTS!" the Dems will either cave on their own or face bipartipoop pressure from President Obama to cave. Sadly, the best hope we have of quashing this comes from the right, who will think the deal is too favorable to Dems.

CNN Money—Older Americans are 47 times richer than young: "According to analysis by the Pew Research Center released Monday, younger Americans have been left behind as the oldest generation has seen wealth surge since the mid-1980s. While it's typical for older generations to hold more wealth than younger ones who've had less time to save, the gap between the two age groups has widened rapidly. In 1984, households headed by people age 65 and older were worth just 10 times the median net worth of households headed by people 35 and younger. But now that gap has widened to 47-to-one, marking the largest wealth gap ever recorded between the two age groups." They weren't called the Me Generation for nothing.

The Guardian—Koch brothers: secretive billionaires to launch vast database with 2012 in mind: "The secretive oil billionaires the Koch brothers are close to launching a nationwide database connecting millions of Americans who share their anti-government and libertarian views, a move that will further enhance the tycoons' political influence and that could prove significant in next year's presidential election. The database will give concrete form to the vast network of alliances that David and Charles Koch have cultivated over the past 20 years on the right of US politics. The brothers, whose personal wealth has been put at $25bn each, were a major force behind the creation of the tea party movement and enjoy close ties to leading conservative politicians, financiers, business people, media figures and US supreme court judges."

Think Progress—Four Problems in Mitt Romney's Medicare Proposal: "Romney—who had leaked aspects of [his plan to partially privatize the Medicare program for future enrollees] during interviews—met with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) before officially announcing his 'premium support' proposal at the end of last week, and Ryan, in turn, gushed the he is 'very pleased with these kind of entitlement reforms.' ... But this approach is still problematic. ... There is still no evidence that competition between private insurers and traditional Medicare will lower health care spending. ... Lower income seniors will pay more. ... Private plans will undoubtedly be encouraged to cherry-pick the healthiest beneficiaries and leave sicker applicants to traditional Medicare. ... Nothing in Romney's plan would actually reduce national health care spending."

Meanwhile, in the Eurozone...

The Guardian's live coverage of the day's events is here.

CNN—Italian lawmakers to take up economic reforms: "The Italian parliament is expected to face a crucial vote on budget reform measures Tuesday, as the country's prime minister comes under increasing pressure to resign amid unease over Italy's economy. Italy agreed to implement structural reforms during an European Union meeting in Brussels last month. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said the reforms must be put in place or risk Italy's credibility in the international community. The budget vote comes after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied Monday's rumors that he might resign. But his main coalition partner added fuel to the fire Tuesday, telling reporters he had asked Berlusconi to take a sideways step."

AP—New Greek premier expected to be named Tuesday: "Greece will get a new prime minister later Tuesday, a senior government official said, as the country's European partners ratcheted up the pressure for a swift resolution to the political crisis. Talks between current Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras have dragged into a second day as they try to hammer out a power-sharing deal. The two agreed over the weekend to forge an interim government that will shepherd the country's new €130 billion ($179 billion) European rescue package through Parliament. Without the deal, agreed less than two weeks ago, Greece would go bankrupt, potentially wrecking Europe's banking system and sending the global economy back into recession. As yet, there are no precise details of when the new interim prime minister will be announced but the pressure is rising on Greek politicians to make decisions soon."

As always, please feel welcome and encourage to drop links to things you're reading and/or writing in comments.

Occupy Everywhere & Economic News Round-Up

[Trigger warning for violence.]

Below is video of an Occupy Oakland protester being shot with a rubber bullet while filming the police line in the early hours of November 3: "While filming a police line at Occupy Oakland after midnight on Nov. 3 following the Nov. 2 general strike, an officer opens fire and shoots me with a rubber bullet. I was standing well back. There was no violence or confrontations of any kind underway." [Via Zaid at Think Progress.]


CNN—A roundup of Occupy protests: "On Monday, a hearing will be held [in Atlanta] for a protester who was charged Saturday night with aggravated assault and obstruction after police said he assaulted a motorcycle officer patrolling the area. However, demonstrators said the officer 'accelerated into a demonstrator.' ... Riverside [California] police arrested 11 people Sunday after a group of about 40 demonstrators formed a human chain to prevent officers from pulling down tents near City Hall, Occupy organizers said." Etc. Meanwhile, in Chicago, police have installed surveillance equipment near Occupy Chicago HQ.

Welcome to America 2.0!

Here's some of the other stuff I've been reading this morning...

NPR—What Do Occupy Wall Street Protesters Want?: "Occupy Wall Street is in its second month of protest, and the frustration with financial big wigs continues to grow. Tomorrow's protesters will track 11 miles from Upper Manhattan to Lower Manhattan, ending in Zuccotti Park, the place where it all started seven weeks ago. They're calling the walk End to End for 99%."

The Guardian—US entrepreneurs cash in on Occupy movement: "The revolution could be trademarked in the US as more entrepreneurs seek to profit from the Occupy demonstrations. T-shirts began to appear days after the first protest on 17 September, a march through lower Manhattan. Now T-shirts, coffee mugs and other merchandise are being offered on the campsites that have sprung up in cities across the US. The US patent and trademark office has received a spate of applications." Perfect.

Barry Ritholtz in the Washington Post—What caused the financial crisis? The Big Lie goes viral: "A Big Lie is so colossal that no one would believe that someone could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. There are many examples: Claims that Earth is not warming, or that evolution is not the best thesis we have for how humans developed. Those opposed to stimulus spending have gone so far as to claim that the infrastructure of the United States is just fine, Grade A (not D, as the we discussed last month), and needs little repair. Wall Street has its own version: Its Big Lie is that banks and investment houses are merely victims of the crash. You see, the entire boom and bust was caused by misguided government policies. It was not irresponsible lending or derivative or excess leverage or misguided compensation packages, but rather long-standing housing policies that were at fault. Indeed, the arguments these folks make fail to withstand even casual scrutiny. But that has not stopped people who should know better from repeating them."

WaPo—Wall Street's resurgent prosperity frustrates its claims, and Obama's: "President Obama has called people who work on Wall Street 'fat-cat bankers,' and his reelection campaign has sought to harness public frustration with Wall Street. Financial executives retort that the president's pursuit of financial regulations is punitive and that new rules may be 'holding us back.' But both sides face an inconvenient fact: During Obama's tenure, Wall Street has roared back, even as the broader economy has struggled. The largest banks are larger than they were when Obama took office and are nearing the level of profits they were making before the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, according to government data."

New York Times—The Next Fight Over Jobs: "The way the job market is going, it will never be robust enough to bring down the unemployment rate, now at 9 percent, or 13.9 million people. Monthly job growth has slowed to an average of just 90,000 new jobs a month over the past six months, a pace at which growth in the working-age population will always exceed the number of new jobs being created. High unemployment and low job growth, which have plagued the economy all through the current 'recovery,' hurt both consumer spending and economic growth. But don't count on government to do the obvious and urgent thing—intervene to create jobs. Tragically, the more entrenched the jobs shortage becomes, the more paralyzed Congress becomes."

Paul Krugman in the New York Times—Here Comes the Sun: "Let's face it: a large part of our political class, including essentially the entire GOP, is deeply invested in an energy sector dominated by fossil fuels, and actively hostile to alternatives. This political class will do everything it can to ensure subsidies for the extraction and use of fossil fuels, directly with taxpayers' money and indirectly by letting the industry off the hook for environmental costs, while ridiculing technologies like solar. So what you need to know is that nothing you hear from these people is true. Fracking is not a dream come true; solar is now cost-effective. Here comes the sun, if we're willing to let it in."

In Eurozone news...

The Guardian's live coverage is here.

CNN—Greece's prime minister to quit in deal to salvage bailout package: "Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will step down as his government's leader, the country's president announced Sunday night—agreeing to do so on the condition that the controversial 130 billion euro bailout deal is approved. The announcement follows a meeting on Sunday in which Papandreou and Antonis Samaras—the leader of the New Democracy party, Greece's leading opposition party—agreed to form a new government."

The Guardian—Italy hails businessman a hero after he launches appeal to save the economy: "A businessman has become an unlikely national hero after urging Italians to buy up government bonds to help drag the country back from the brink of an economic meltdown. As the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, scrambles to deliver key reforms, the Tuscan financial services entrepreneur Giuliano Melani announced his appeal with a full-page ad in the leading daily Corriere della Sera, complete with his telephone number and email address. Melani says the bill for Italian government bonds expiring annually is €260-270bn (£223-232bn), a sum which would be taken care of if every Italian paid €4,500."

CNN Money—Europe: The worst-case scenarios: "That upheaval [in Greece] serves as just another reminder that the the crisis is far from over. ... Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy, put the odds of Greece leaving the eurozone at zero in the near term. Global Insight, another consultancy, puts it at about one in three. But UBS's Magnus puts it at 50-50 in the next year or two, and 80% by 2016."

This is not good:

The Guardian—Far right on rise in Europe, says report: "The far right is on the rise across Europe as a new generation of young, web-based supporters embrace hardline nationalist and anti-immigrant groups, a study has revealed ahead of a meeting of politicians and academics in Brussels to examine the phenomenon. Research by the British thinktank Demos for the first time examines attitudes among supporters of the far right online. Using advertisements on Facebook group pages, they persuaded more than 10,000 followers of 14 parties and street organisations in 11 countries to fill in detailed questionnaires. The study reveals a continent-wide spread of hardline nationalist sentiment among the young, mainly men. Deeply cynical about their own governments and the EU, their generalised fear about the future is focused on cultural identity, with immigration—particularly a perceived spread of Islamic influence—a concern."

As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to what you've been reading and/or writing in comments.

Quote of the Day

"The latest consequence of extreme austerity is in Highland Park, Michigan, which has not only turned off all of its streetlights, but also ripped out the light poles—a telling sign that its darkening of the streets is permanent. With an unemployment rate at 22 percent and a city debt of $58 million, Highland Park could no longer afford to pay the electric bills."—Rebecca Leber, at Think Progress.

Well, maybe the citizens of Highland Park can just light some bootstraps on fire.

Occupy Everywhere & Economic News Round-Up

Sheriff's deputies advance on Occupy Oakland protesters early Thursday morning, Nov. 3, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Following a mainly peaceful day-long protest by thousands of anti-Wall Street demonstrators, several hundred rallied through the night with some painting graffiti, breaking windows, and setting fires. [AP Photo]

I've seen several headlines and/or story ledes this morning that are some variation on "Oakland Protests Get Violent." Interesting framing, that. The protests, you see, only "got violent" when protesters broke shit; they weren't "violent," apparently, when police put Scott Olsen in the hospital.

Anyway.

CNN—Oakland, NYC occupiers see violence, legal action:

Two major hubs of the Occupy movement -- Oakland and New York City -- recovered Thursday from West Coast violence and East Coast court actions, with both fronts continuing their protest camps despite their encounters with the law.

In violence-torn Oakland, authorities reopened Thursday the city's port on San Francisco Bay after a night of Occupy demonstrations shut down the fifth-busiest port in the nation, a port spokesman said.

"The most current field reports confirm that in the port area there were no injuries, no property damage, and no major security problems from last night's demonstrations," port officials said. "There was a limited incursion into a private rail facility, and trespassers were escorted off peacefully."

Meanwhile, in downtown Oakland, Occupy protesters continued their encampment Thursday in the park in front of City Hall following a night of violent clashes with police.

CNN also has video of protests in Seattle greeting the CEO of JP Morgan, who was in town for some reason.

New York Daily News—More than a dozen Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested outside Goldman Sachs:

At least 15 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested Thursday after marching on Goldman Sachs to deliver an "indictment" of the financial giant.

Among the demonstrators hauled away after sitting down in front of the multinational's doors at 200 West St. was former New York Times foreign correspondent-turned-activist Chris Hedges.

...The marchers, led by four drummers, stretched a city block.

Some construction workers sitting along Church Street gave them thumbs up and a businessman on Murray Street muttered to himself, "What a bunch of idiots."

The NYPD didn't move in until about 15 protesters sat down and linked arms, blocking the lobby entrance.

As they were arrested, onlookers chanted "shame!" and "the criminals are inside!"

Here are two fun stories to read back-to-back...

New York Magazine—Jon Corzine Resigns, Won't Take More Millions From Failing Firm: "The CEO of MF Global, the securities firm that filed for bankruptcy on Monday, resigned this morning, and has opted not to accept his $12.1 million severance package, probably quite appropriately considering the role he had in the company's failing. Jon Corzine, the former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs CEO, said in a statement today that he feels 'great sadness about what has transpired at MF Global and the impact it has had on the firm’s clients, employees and many others.' Employees, of course, are basically out of a job, while about $630 million in client funds is still missing, drawing the suspicious eyes of the FBI and federal regulators. To keep things extra cozy, the man leading those regulators, Gary Gensler, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, worked closely with Corzine at Goldman Sachs, and eventually even worked for him."

I love how he's still entitled to a $12.1 million severance for running a company into the ground. Meanwhile...

The Guardian—US poverty data: 1 in 15 people among America's poorest poor:
"The ranks of America's poorest poor have climbed to a record high—1 in 15 people—and spread widely across metropolitan areas, as the US housing bust pushed many inner-city poor into suburbs and other outlying places and reduced jobs and income. New US census data paint a stark portrait of the nation's haves and have-nots at a time when unemployment remains persistently high."

In other domestic news...

Raw Story—Tea party supporter to Elizabeth Warren: 'You're a socialist whore!': Not only did a heckler at a campaign appearance call Warren a whore for being "the intellectual creator of that so-called party," referring to the Occupy Movement, but: "The Massachusetts Republican Party recently released an ad that dubbed Warren the 'Matriarch of Mayhem' for supporting the Occupy Movement protesters across the country." You know, in case anyone hadn't noticed she's a woman, or failed to understand how her womanhood makes her EXTRA HORRIBLE.

CNN Money—'I'm home!' Adult children move back in: "With job openings scarce, getting adult children to leave the nest is becoming a lot more difficult. The number of adult children who live with their parents, especially young males, has soared since the economy started heading south. Among males age 25 to 34, 19% live with their parents today, a 5% increase from 2005, according to Census data released Thursday. Meanwhile, 10% of women in that age group live at home, up from 8% six years ago. Among the college-aged set, the 18- to 24-year-olds, 59% of males and 50% of females lived with their parents, up from 53% and 46%, respectively. The fact that so many young people are unable or unwilling to flee the nest 'cuts into the formation of new households quite a lot,' said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. Zandi calculated that there are about 150,000 fewer households being formed per year than the 1.2 million that would be in a normal, well-functioning economy."

Paul Krugman in the New York Times—Oligarchy, American Style: "[E]xtreme concentration of income is incompatible with real democracy. Can anyone seriously deny that our political system is being warped by the influence of big money, and that the warping is getting worse as the wealth of a few grows ever larger? Some pundits are still trying to dismiss concerns about rising inequality as somehow foolish. But the truth is that the whole nature of our society is at stake."

Speaking of oligarchs...

Think Progress—Romney Campaign Memo: The Koch Brothers Are the 'Financial Engine of the Tea Party'.

New York Times—For Perry, Private Jets Have Been Key to Public Job.

In Washington...

CBS News—Boehner: Debt deal will include new tax revenues: "House Speaker John Boehner addressed one of the biggest sticking points for the 12 member Congressional 'supercommittee' today, acknowledging that any bipartisan agreement will need to include some new tax revenue. 'I think there is room for revenues, but I think there clearly is a limit to the amount of revenues that are available,' Boehner told reporters." Yeah, yeah—I'll believe it when I see it.

Reuters—Republicans block another part of Obama jobs plan: "Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a $60 billion White House proposal to repair crumbling bridges, highways and other transportation systems as President Barack Obama's job creation agenda hit another obstacle in Congress. All 47 Senate Republicans, one Democrat and one independent voted against a piece of Obama's $447 billion stimulus plan that would have helped construction workers—some of the hardest hit after the housing meltdown and economic downturn. The bill needed 60 votes to advance in the 100-seat Senate. Construction workers face a jobless rate of 13.3 percent, according to the Labor Department, far above the nationwide rate of 9.1 percent. Obama's jobs plan is effectively dead in Congress, but Democrats are forcing Republicans to vote on it piece by piece as both sides dig in their heels before 2012 presidential and congressional elections in which the economy is expected to be a defining issue."

And in Eurozone news...

The Guardian—Greece may leave euro, leaders admit: "The G20 is planning to increase the crisis-fighting firepower of the International Monetary Fund after the start of its summit was dominated by the first open admission from EU leaders that it might be necessary for Greece to leave the eurozone if the single currency is to survive. George Osborne said there was a 'real sense of urgency' on a day that saw an emergency interest rate cut from the European Central Bank, backtracking from Greece over a referendum on its bailout conditions, and a recognition that the IMF may need extra resources to cope with a deteriorating global economy."

The Guardian's live coverage of Greek PM George Papandreou's confidence vote, and related news, is here.