Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Tim Pawlenty’s Budget Problem
If this recent flattering Michael Gerson column is a preview of the case for Pawlenty in 2012’s GOP presidential primary, there may be a hitch. Gerson:
If the problem is deficits, Pawlenty believes he is the solution. From 1960 to 2002, state spending in Minnesota increased by an average of 21 percent every two years. As governor,
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Audit The Fed Opposition, Explained By A Liberal Insider
J. Bradford Delong is an economics professor at Berkeley, a co-author with Larry Summers of several papers, and a former deputy assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy from the Clinton Administration. He opposes Bernie Sanders’ amendment to audit the federal reserve, which the White House also opposes. But just barely. In a long …
Employment Numbers Better, Still Not Good Enough
As Adam notes below, some goodish news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released this morning:
In April, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 290,000. Sizable employment gains occurred in manufacturing, professional and business services, health care, and in leisure and hospitality. Federal government employment increased due to
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Morning Must Reads: Spring
Official White House photo by Pete Souza
–The economy added jobs 290,00 jobs in April, the biggest jump in four years. The unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent as the labor force swelled with people looking for work. President Obama is expected to address the report at 11 a.m. ET.
–Last night in financial reform: The GOP …
The Machines Took Over, But Keep Saving For Retirement
Global markets, before the 9 a.m. bell, are still falling Friday, even though the humans seem to be, for the moment, back in control. Yesterday, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., “I think the machines just took over,” explained one trader to the Associated Press. The New York Times weighs in with this bit of comfort, noting that $40 dollar …
An Upset Brewing in Utah?
Utah’s GOP holds its convention tomorrow, and Sen. Bob Bennett is in serious trouble. I have a Time.com piece on what’s behind Bennett’s plight here. There have been a number of stories on this topic, and many of them have pointed to Wyden-Bennett, TARP or the senator’s decision to renege on a term limits pledge as the cause of his …
Will the National Day of Prayer Hurt Obama?
Today is the National Day of Prayer, which by tradition is celebrated not with cake and balloons but with some attendant controversy. Just a few weeks ago, it looked as though the White House’s biggest problem regarding the day (first designated by Congress in 1952) was the fact that a federal judge ruled in April that the law directing …
Capitalism Undeterred By Market Scare
Get your tee shirt here.
(h/t Brian Stelter)
The Kagan Chatter Gets Another Boost
Mike Madden, at Salon, uncovers another sign that the White House seems awfully interested in protecting the good name of Elena Kagan, one of the front runners for the open Supreme Court seat.
In the last couple of weeks, after Salon’s Glenn Greenwald linked to this post by Duke University law professor Guy-Uriel Charles raising
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“The Machines Broke”: Dow Down 400 Points, But It Was Down 900
If you want to pick a day to watch CNBC, today would be a good one. At about 2:47 p.m. today, the Dow collapsed sharply, and then a minute or so later, recovered. (See chart here at 2:48 p.m.; the Dow was trading, for an instant, below 10,000) It is now trading down about 4 percent, at 10,480, mainly on fears of Greek contagion. Which is …
1,000 Words
Financial Regulatory Reform: The State Of Play
As Adam writes below, President Obama released a rather scathing statement condemning an amendment by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to weaken the proposed Consumer Financial Regulatory Agency. At a White House briefing today, Neal Wolin, the Treasury sherpa for regulatory reform, declined to say that the statement was a veto threat. “We …