Social Security 5-14-12

 SSW/SSSC mention**

Huffington Post (NAT)

Show Peter Peterson We Reject His Elite Austerity Consensus

05-14-12

Roger Hickey

I'll be outside Peterson's Fiscal Summit, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, and lots of friends who don't agree with Peterson's elite consensus -- including leaders of the Campaign for America's Future, Health Care for America Now, CREDO,Social Security Works, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Committee to Protect Social Security and Medicare, and NOW -- and lots of other folks concerned about our country. If you don't believe Peterson speaks for the American majority, come on out. We start at 1 p.m

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-hickey/show-peter-peterson-we-re_b_1513635.html?ref=politics

 

The New York Times (NAT)

Define 'Welfare State,' Please

05-14-12

Nancy Folbre

Data simply does not support the abstract notion that the "welfare state" is out of control in the United States, an economist writes.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/define-welfare-state-please/

 

Daily Kos (Blog)

1% Want To Steal Your Social Security, Pres. Obama Is Helping Them

05-14-12

“Joe Shikspack”

Practically since the modern social safety net was created wealthy, powerful right-wingers and organizations have been trying to kill it.  In recent years, those right wing forces have had a lot of help from Democrats in making their twisted dreams a reality.  Organizations like the billionaire Koch family created and funded Cato Institute and hedge fund billionaire Peter Peterson's namesake foundation have led the fight against Social Security.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/14/1090904/-1-Want-To-Steal-Your-Social-Security-Pres-Obama-Is-Helping-Them

 

Huffington Post (NAT)

Will Democrats Embrace American Austerity? Crash This Party and See

05-11-12

Richard (RJ) Eskow

Maybe your invitation to billionaire Pete Peterson's "Fiscal Summit" got lost in the mail. Or maybe they really, really didn't want you there.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/will-democrats-embrace-am_b_1509880.html

 

Huffington Post (NAT)

Fiscal Futility

05-13-12

Robert Kuttner

Austerity is a false cure for a prolonged recession. The Peterson Foundation is using a genuine crisis as an excuse to bash social insurance, at a time when we should be expanding social insurance. It's appalling that so many people are gulled by this propaganda.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/fiscal-futility_b_1513573.html

 

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Deficit Reduction: The Great Distraction

05-14-12

Dean Baker

This is the week of the third annual Deficit Fest, the event sponsored by Wall Street billionaire Peter G. Peterson. At this event, many of the people most responsible for the current downturn come together to tell us why we should be worried about the deficit at a time when 25 million people are unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work altogether and millions face the prospect of losing their homes.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-

 

Real Clear Politics (Blog)

Senators Dick Durbin & John Cornyn on "State of the Union"

05-13-12

But I -- let me just say the blame is on both sides to some extent, but if we're ever going to get anything done, we literally have to reach some level of agreement. I think about the Bowles- Simpson Commission.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/05/13/senators_dick_durbin__john_cornyn_on_state_of_the_union_114136.html

 

Seacoast Online (NH)

Who does Rep. Guinta think he is fooling?

05-14-12

Lenore Patton

Congressman Frank Guinta is at it again. First he lied about his supposed support of the Violence Against Women Act (he actually supports a bill that would weaken that law). Then he claimed he's protecting Social Security, while really trying to turn it into a voucher system that actually cuts benefits for seniors.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120514-OPINION-205140312

 

Baltimore Sun (NAT)

Susan Reimer: Does "Julia" illustrate Obama's welfare state?

05-14-12

Susan Reimer

Obama campaign's "Life of Julia" points out policy differences with Romney, but it also illustrates cradle-to-grave government props

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-reimer-julia-20120514,0,3098623.column

 

Seeing the Forest (NAT)

Why We Have A Deficit

05-14-12

Dave Johnson

Deficit theater is coming to DC tomorrow, with a well-funded "fiscal summit." The plot summary is that we have Deficit Trouble - Right Here In River City! so to fix it we need to cut Social Security and Medicare and the things democracy does for We, the People -- while cutting taxes on the rich and their corporations to make us more "business-friendly." (This musical is sometimes billed as "Simpson-Bowles" but it's the same old song.)

http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2012/05/why_we_have_a_d.htm

 

Phys.org (Blog)

Social security: Fixing the glaring gap for women

05-14-12

Elizabeth Fernandez

After a lifetime of lower wages and time out of the labor market for caregiving, women typically receive less from Social Security than men, with millions of widows and women of color falling into poverty in old age.

http://phys.org/news/2012-05-social-glaring-gap-women.html

 

Politics

 

MSNBC (NAT)

Gov. Christie's pension issue: N.J. probe looks at running mate, double-dipping

05-14-12

Mark Lagerkvis

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — a rising star in the national Republican Party —called an overhaul of the state pension system his "biggest governmental victory." He now faces embarrassment from flaws his reforms failed to…

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/14/11690662-gov-christies-pension-issue-nj-probe-looks-at-running-mate-double-dipping

 

The New York Times (NAT)

The Human Disaster of Unemployment

05-12-12

Dean Baker and Kevin Hassett

Millions of workers have been disconnected from the work force. If they are not reconnected, the costs to them and to society will be grim.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/opinion/sunday/the-human-disaster-of-unemployment.html?_r=1

 

The Washington Post (NAT)

FAQ: What happened at JP Morgan? And should you care?

05-14-12

Ezra Klien

Answers on the investment bank’s $2 billion blunder.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/faq-what-happened-at-jp-morgan-and-should-you-care/2012/05/14/gIQANTgoOU_blog.html

 

Politico (DC)

Opinion: Europe rejects austerity, will U.S.? 

05-10-12

Robert L. Borosage

Europeans across the continent are rising up against austerity policies — turning out politicians who enforce them, no matter what their party allegiance. Yet even as the European public rejects austerity, Washington elites increasingly favor it. If pursued, however, it could well face a similar public rejection here. We’re heading into...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76110.html

 

The New Yorker (NAT)

How John Roberts Orchestrated Citizens United

05-21-12

Jeffrey Toobin

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., summoned Theodore B. Olson, the lawyer for Citizens United, to the podium. Roberts’s voice bears a flat-vowelled trace of his origins, in Indiana. Unlike his predecessor, William Rehnquist, Roberts rarely shows irritation or frustration on the bench. A well-mannered Midwesterner, he invariably lets one of his colleagues ask the first questions.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/21/120521fa_fact_toobin?printable=true

 

The Hill (DC)

Paul won't campaign in any more states

5-14-12

Cameron Joseph

Ron Paul won't campaign in any more primaries, his campaign announced Monday afternoon. A letter sent from Paul to supporters promised to continue the battle for delegates at state party conventions in order to try to influence the party's platform, but said the campaign will no longer try to win delegates in new states — an uphill battle now that Mitt Romney is the presumed nominee and most states have gone to a winner-take-all system of delegate apportionment.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/227227-ron-paul-wont-campaign-in-any-more-states

 

The New York Times (NAT)

Brown Proposes $8.3 Billion in Cuts for California

05-14-12

Adam Nagourney

The governor proposed slashing state workers’ pay and spending on social programs and prisons, calling the moves “difficult — but necessary.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/brown-proposes-8-3-billion-in-cuts-for-california.html

 

CNN Money (NAT)

JPMorgan says investment chief Ina Drew out 

5-14-12

JPMorgan Chase announced Monday that Ina Drew, the firm's chief investment officer, has left the bank after revelations of a $2 billion loss sustained over the past six weeks.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/14/news/companies/jpmorgan-drew-retires/index.htm

 

USA Today (NAT)

Americans optimistic things are looking up, poll says

05-14-12

Susan Page

Americans may be downbeat about the economy, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, but they are optimistic things are about to get better.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-05-14/poll-economy-obama-romney/54958250/1