Blog For Arizona

Celebrities in Unequal Times

Posted by Bob Lord

If you write for a local blog, the best you can hope for is to have our views echoed by those with larger platforms. So it was gratifying to read George Packer's op-ed in today's NY Times, Celebrating Inequality. Packer picked up on two themes I've mentioned in previous posts. But he drew a connection between them that I had not noticed. And that connection is quite significant. It may explain why his work is on the opinion pages of the NY Times and mine is posted here. 

A few months ago, in a post entitled Trillionaires, I noted how we foolishly celebrate the achievements of the super rich as we do the accomplishments of athletes on steroids:

Remarkably, as we pass the milestones, $10 Billion, $50 Billion, soon $100 Billion, no alarm bells ring. Instead, we celebrate the expanding fortunes of the super-rich as we do athletes breaking sports records. Reaching $1 Trillion will be treated like hitting 73 home runs was before we knew Barry cheated to get there. With any luck, our first Trillion Dollar fortune also will be tainted by misdeeds of the achiever. Perhaps that will wake us from our slumber.

Packer focuses on this phenomenon, how we worship celebrities as demi-gods in times of inequality:

Fed Board Governor: Inequality May Hurt Growth (Ya Think?)

Posted by Bob Lord

Imagine that? Huff Po reports that a Fed Board Governor, Sarah Bloom Raskin, has "raised the possibility that rising inequality may restrain economic growth for several years."

I suppose we should be encouraged that someone in a position of modest power is starting to see inequality as a negative. But at the same time, it's stunning how cautious and late to the party she is, and she's supposedly a step ahead of her fellow Fed Board Governors.

Did it really take her this long to start worrying that if wealth and income flow out of the hands of people who buy stuff and into the hands of those who chase speculative investments, the economy might suffer?

“In my view, the large and increasing amount of inequality in income and wealth, which has been an ongoing development for decades, may have exacerbated the crisis,” Fed governor Sarah Bloom Raskin said Thursday in a speech delivered in Washington. “More research is required to determine whether it may also pose a significant headwind to the recovery from the crisis for years to come.”

More research is required? No, Sarah, it really isn't. Call Joseph Stiglitz. He'll tell you all you need to know.

But we have to keep telling ourselves: "This is a good development." Heck, in another decade or so, they might even conclude we perhaps ought to do something about inequality.

Ronstadt Transit Center: Community Space or Capitalist Dream?

by Pamela Powers Hannley

The Downtown Tucson Partnership-- like other business groups before them-- has designs on the Ronstadt Transit Center (RTC). Since the early Feb. 5 City Council vote approving a 60-90 day public comment period before throwing the RTC to the dogs... er ... developers,  the Tucson Bus Riders Union held a public forum at the Rialto, compiled and organized hundreds written comments collected at the forum, met with City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, and participated in collecting 2800 surveys from bus riders. 

When the Ronstadt Transit Center was constructed in 1991, it was billed as a community gathering place. Dance and music performances at the RTC were featured during Downtown Saturday Nights (pre-cursor to Second Saturdays but twice per month in its heyday). At the April public forum, dozens of speakers talked about improving the transit center, making it a focal point for community activities (as it once was), and building community-- not commercial develop-- at the site.

The big question is: in making its decision regarding the fate of the Ronstadt Transit Center, will the City Council listen to the 41-member Downtown Tucson Partnership or the thousands of Tucsonans who have voiced their opinion on this issue?

Today, May 17, a group of transit activists, downtown residents, and members of the Tucson Bus Riders Union will gather at the Ronstadt Transit Center in a community-building exercise. Wear white, bring your musical instruments, signs, and your community spirit to the RTC at 5 p.m. and let's see what happens. Meet under the clock, and don't disrupt the buses. This is a bus-friendly, community event-- not a protest.

For background on the most recent Ronstadt Transit Center struggle, check out stakeholder opinions after the jump.

Inequality and Climate Change: The Common Thread

Posted by Bob Lord

Inequality and climate change, two of our three most critical challenges (American imperialism being the third), have one thing in common:

Each report is more stunning (and more depressing) than the previous one. 

The following is an excerpt from Welcome to the Guilded City of New York, an article that appeared in a recent issue of The Nation:

Here is New York in 2013: a city of dazzling resurrection and official neglect, remarkable wealth and even more remarkable inequality. Despite the popular narrative of a city reborn—after the fiscal crisis of the ’70s, the crack epidemic of the ’80s, the terrorist attack of 2001, the superstorm of 2012—the extraordinary triumph of New York’s existence is tempered by the outrage of that inequality. Here, one of the country’s poorest congressional districts, primarily in the South Bronx, sits less than a mile from one of its wealthiest, which includes Manhattan’s Upper East Side. And here, a billionaire mayor presides over a homelessness crisis so massive that 50,000 men, women and children sleep in shelters each night. More New Yorkers are homeless these days than at any time since the Great Depression.

PDA to Congress: ‘Austerity Is Not an Option’

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) members visited roughly 200 Congressional offices nationwide on May 15 with an urgent message for their representatives: "Austerity is not an option." In addition, 2,000 PDA members called their Congressional representatives yesterday, and Robin Hood Tax supporters held demonstrations in San Francisco and Fresno. Over the past year, PDA's monthly letter drop campaign has mushroomed from a handful of offices visited to nearly half of Congress.

Once again, here in Tucson, PDA  visited the office of Representative Ron Barber. Once again, we asked him to back the Financial Speculation Tax (AKA the Robin Hood Tax) which would charge a tiny fee for every Wall Street transaction, stop speculative minute-by-minute computerized trading, bring stability to the financial markets, and generate billions of dollars for our economy. Once again, we asked him to protect the middle class, the veterans, and the poor by protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. 

Mr. Barber, aren't there more regular folks in CD 2 than bankers? Why would you protect Wall Street-- and not your constituents?

The only thing I can say to you is, "We're not giving up, and we're not going away." 

More about yesterday's actions after the jump.

OECD: Inequality Up Sharply Since 2010

Posted by Bob Lord

No surprise here. The OECD reports that income inequality increased as much in the past three years as it did in the preceding twelve years.

And the OECD countries with the largest income gap between rich and poor: Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Israel and the old US of A.

I've previously noted that we're living through a great experiment: How much wealth and how much income can we cram into the top 1% before the bottom 90% explodes? Still no answer, but the experiment still is moving along.

Robert Robb, just another cog in the right-wing noise nachine

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Republic(an)'s columnist Robert Robb had a column yesterday about the IRS "scandal" that left me wondering, "Where the hell did that come from?"

The real scandal with the IRS review of applications for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status from political organizations is that political organizations do not qualify -- and should not recieve 501(c)(4) tax exempt status. Period. The real IRS scandal: the ease with which political organizations have been abusing the 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.

The thousands of political organizations that have wrongly recieved this tax exempt status should lose it, and Congress should enact new legislation to make certain of this. While Congress is at it, the law should require transparency -- no anonymous donors, their identities and the amount of their contributions made publicly available in a financial disclosure statement. Problem solved.

But Robert Robb uses the IRS "scandal" to argue for a consumption or flat-income tax as a means of eliminating the IRS all together, asserting that there is a "liberty dimension at stake." How to keep IRS out of politics. This "scandal" is seen as an opportunity to argue for more income redistribution upwards to the über-rich plutocratic elites for whom Robb has spent his life as a lackey.

The Disappearing Deficit

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

What's a Tea-Publican deficit peacock to do? (They love to rail against the deficit, but their economic policies only add to the deficit). The deficit, which Tea-Publicans created but like to use against Democrats, is disappearing. Oh Noes!

Paul Krugman writes, About That Debt Crisis? Never Mind:

OK, another toe dipped in reality. The new CBO numbers are out, and they scream “debt crisis? What debt crisis?” Here’s the actual and projected ratio of federal debt to GDP:

Yes, debt rose substantially in the face of economic crisis — which is what is supposed to happen. But runaway deficits? Not a hint.

Yes, there are longer-term issues of health costs and demographics. As always, however, these have no relevance to what we should be doing now — and it’s far from clear why they should even be a priority for discussion. As I’ve written before, the VSP consensus seems to be that to avoid the possibility of future benefit cuts, we must commit ourselves now now now to … future cuts in benefits.

Why, it’s almost as if the real goal was to make sure that benefits get cut even if the fiscal outlook improves.

New Research: Regular Marijuana Users See Pre-Diabetes Benefit

by Pamela Powers Hannley

A new research study published today in the American Journal of Medicine found that current marijuana users had significantly lower fasting insulin, were less likely to be insulin resistant (a pre-diabetic state), and were more likely to have high HDL (good cholesterol). (Read the study here.)

Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) has been used for centuries to relieve pain, improve mood, and increase appetite. Outlawed in the United States in 1937 and further restricted under the Controlled Substances Act by the Nixon Administration, marijuana use has continued to increase. There are an estimated 17.4 million current users of marijuana in the United States. Approximately 4.6 million Americans smoke marijuana daily or almost daily. With the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington and Colorado and the legalization of medical marijuana in 19 states and the District of Columbia, US public opinion has moved toward less stringent laws.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Joseph S. Alpert of the University of Arizona College of Medicine calls on the federal government to open the doors of medical research to marijuana, allowing free investigation of the drug. Study details after the jump.

More B.S. from the Goldwater Institute and Tea-Publicans on Gov. Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

You can file this one under stupid shit the Goldwater Institute says and that reporters unquestionly repeat as mere stenographers. You can cross-file it under stupid shit that Tea-Publicans believe but which has no basis in the reality based world (they believe in confidence fairies and unicorns, i.e., the entirely disproved and discredited faith based supply-side "trickle down" GOP economic theory).

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Medicaid expansion critics question viability of hospital tax:

Opponents of Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan are concerned the proposed hospital tax that would pay for Arizona’s share of the new AHCCCS coverage may not last long, leaving the state on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Christina Corieri, a health care policy analyst at the conservative Goldwater Institute, said the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, often referred to as the Simpson-Bowles commission, has proposed eliminating states’ ability to use hospital taxes to pay for their share of Medicaid costs. Even President Obama and leading congressional Democrats have floated the idea of scaling back provider taxes, she said, which are currently capped at 5.5 percent of a hospital’s revenue.

My Obsession With Inequality

Posted by Bob Lord

I've never considered myself a single issue person / voter / blogger. But I'm admittedly headed in that direction. It's not that I don't care about other issues. I just feel that we've reached the point where if nothing is done to stop, then reverse, the concentration of wealth and income at the top, not much else will matter. 

Think of how a game of Monopoly progresses. At the outset, all players are equal, each with $1,500 of wealth. In the early stages of the game, all players acquire wealth, with some progressing faster than others. But even the players who are not landing on the choice squares still are making more money passing go for $200 than they are having to spend. At some point, however, the game crosses a threshold after which the successful players are acquiring more wealth at the expense of other players than those players are able to generate. That's when life gets ugly, player by player, until only one remains.

As I see it, America has crossed that threshold into ugliness.

GOP austerity economics is undermining the economy

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Greg Sargent makes an astute observation in the The Morning Plum today:

It’s been widely pointed out by liberals that much of the discussion of fiscal issues conducted by supposedly “neutral” reporters actually does take sides in a pernicious way. It often treats it as a given that near term deficit reduction is a good thing — sometimes even cheerleading for that outcome – when in fact there is an actual policy dispute over this point, with many arguing that immediate deficit reduction is destructive to the recovery, and that dealing with the deficit should be deferred until the economy is stronger.

And that’s why today’s big New York Times piece quoting a range of economists arguing that Washington’s deficit obsession has proven a drag on the recovery is so important and welcome. The piece states clearly and unequivocally that the consensus view among economists is actually the one that’s often marginalized — i.e., that short term deficit reduction and spending cuts hurt the economy:

The nation’s unemployment rate would probably be nearly a point lower, roughly 6.5 percent, and economic growth almost two points higher this year if Washington had not cut spending and raised taxes as it has since 2011, according to private-sector and government economists.

After two years in which President Obama and Republicans in Congress have fought to a draw over their clashing approaches to job creation and budget deficits, the consensus about the result is clear: Immediate deficit reduction is a drag on full economic recovery.

New York Times

Now it’s true that Obama and Democrats are heavily complicit in the 2011 decision to agree to a big deficit cutting deal that continues to harm us to this day (though it’s an open question whether Obama had any choice). And it’s also true that Obama and Dems agreed to end the payroll tax holiday, another drag on the recovery.

Redistribution: The Place Establishment Progressives Just Won't Go

Posted by Bob Lord

It seems I"m bumping into more commentary on inequality lately, but I honestly have no idea whether that's because people are waking up or because my browsing pattern is putting more and more of that commentary in front of me. I fear it's the latter.

In any case, Jared Bernstein put in his two cents last week a NY Times column, Where Have All the Jobs Gone? The piece is an interesting example of fear-driven commentary. Bernstein succinctly draws the connection between inequality and jobs:

Will the Tucson City Council Throw the Bus Riders Under the Bus?

by Pamela Powers Hannley

With pressure from developers and the budget, the Tucson City Council once again is considering decisions which would reduce-- or at least hinder-- bus transportation.

Today, Tuesday, May 7, at the City Council study session, Councilwoman Shirley Scott is expected to propose a $2 million cut to Sun Tran services. The Bus Riders Union has sent out an action alert for citizens who want to preserve bus transportation to come to the study session, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Here is a link to the agenda.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 8, City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich will meet with members of the Bus Riders Union regarding proposed redevelopment of the Ronstadt Transit Center (RTC) at 5:30 p.m. in the library room of the the Armory Park Center, 220 S. 5th Ave. This event is free and open to the public. Please attend if you want your voice heard. (You can also send comments to busriders@tucsonbusridersunion.com.) More details and results from the bus riders survey after the jump.

The Merging Definitions of "Two Americas"

Posted by Bob Lord

John Edwards spoke about our country being "two Americas." Edwards was attempting to shine a light on poverty in America. By "two Americas" Edwards meant the America most of us knew and the poor in America. But there's another way to view America as two Americas: The rich and everyone else. 

But we can have alternative views of "two Americas" only as long as you have a real middle class. As the middle class evaporates, the alternative views merge. Of course, in a merger, only one party survives. In the "two Americas" merger, it very clearly will be the "rich and everyone else" view that survives.

In a post yesterday at inequality.org, Why Are Luxury Car Sales Growing at Record Rates, Salvatore Babones describes the transfer of wealth and income from the rest of us to the rich.

Despite GOP sequester to harm the economy, April jobs numbers are up

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This is due to the incremental nature of the GOP sequester taking place over time, but so far the economy and job creation have not been dramatically slowed by the withdrawal of federal spending in the economy (public sector employment continues to decline unabated). The "summer doldrums" that have dogged the Obama presidency may be just around the corner, however, with the lagging factor of the  GOP sequester finally beginning to have an impact on the economy.

Steve Benen reports on the April jobs report, U.S. job creation improves, unemployment rate drops:

The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in April, more than expected, and overall unemployment rate dropped to 7.5%, its lowest point in four-and-a-half years. As is usually the case, there was a gap between the two major sectors -- America's private sector added 176,000 jobs last month, while spending cuts caused the public sector lose 11,000 jobs.

Of course, these are preliminary totals that will be updated in the coming months, and therein lies the key importance to this new jobs report: the revisions. February, for example, was revised up from 268,000 jobs to 332,000, making it the single best month for job creation since 2005 (excluding temporary Census hiring). March was also revised up, from 88,000 to 138,000. In other words, as of this morning's report, the previous two months added an additional 114,000 jobs we didn't previously know about. (Update: Also note, the February job totals, the best in eight years, came after January's tax hikes, but before the sequester.)

What the Oregon Medicaid study said: access to healthcare is good for you

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Wingnuttia is all atwitter over an Oregon Medicaid study that they claim demonstrates that Medicaid does not improve the health of people on Medicaid. So I assume their points are to say that "Medicaid doesn't work" so "you are on your own" and if you are seriously ill perhaps you "should die and decrease the surplus population."

This is what happens when GOPropagandists -- who did not read this complex research study because, really, who cares? -- are paid to push simpleton bumper sticker memes about the evils of "socialized ObamaCare."

So before you get buried under a mound of bullshit from wingnuttia in the battle over Governor Brewer's Medicaid restoration/expansion plan, here are some articles to help you sort out fact from GOPropaganda.

Tea-Publican economic terrorists threaten to take the country hostage, just because they can

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Tea-Publican Party no longer does policy. Whatever President Obama and the Democrats propose, they simply take the exact opposite position -- even when it is their bill that they proposed. Some commentators have taken to calling the GOP the "post-policy party" -- they stand for nothing but obstruction. Jonathan Bernstein writes, GOP’s debt limit threat goes off the rails:

In 2010, Republicans threatened to put the nation into default unless Democrats agreed to fulfill every wild conservative wish, more or less, about the size of government.

This time? Apparently, Republicans are planning to threaten default unless they get … tax reform!

That’s the takeaway from a nice Post story about GOP strategy heading into the need to raise the debt limit this summer. The problem, basically, is that Republicans have already cut discretionary spending deeply thanks to sequestration, so it’s relatively hard for them to ask for that. What about entitlement cuts? Yes, Republicans had previously claimed they wanted entitlement cuts, and in his budget, Obama offered them Chained CPI on Social Security. But while cutting “entitlements” in the abstract is a big attraction for many conservatives, cutting Social Security and Medicare – which is what cutting entitlements actually means — is unpopular. So — while this is not entirely clear cut or decided — House Republicans apparently have suddenly decided they don’t want to ask for those in exchange for the debt limit hike, either.

Instead, they are considering forcing the Democrats to go along with them on tax reform. Jonathan Chait had some fun with this by noting that the main difference between the parties on tax reform is that Republicans insist on revenue-neutral tax reform while Democrats want net revenue increases, which means that Republicans would be threatening to default the nation unless Democrats … agree to larger deficits.

Border policy myths, realities and faulty assumptions

By Karl Reiner

Gov. Brewer recently asserted that Arizona's controversial SB 1070 served as the catalyst for the creation of the immigration legislation now in Congress.  Although much of SB 1070 was set aside by the courts, the governor believes the law, costly legal fights and publicity helped start the momentum that led to the current bipartisan immigration proposal.

The governor has a point because the SB 1070 effort was not a low cost affair.  The publicity it generated saddled Arizona with a mostly negative reputation.  In far away Washington, Congress would have been aware of the SB 1070 tempest.  It could have encouraged senators to consider moving on immigration legislation.  

Down with Drones: Protest at Ft. Huachuca Today

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Southern Arizona peace activists have organized a anti-drone protest outside of Fort Huachuca today, Monday, April 29.

Drones are a big deal in Southern Arizona. Ft. Huachuca, Davis-Monthan, Raytheon, the University of Arizona, and Cochise College-- all have a piece of the military industrial complex's drone pie, and if our esteemed US Senators have there way, more money for drones along the Arizona-Mexico border, more money for militarization of the border overall, and more money (and customers) for private prisons will be attached to "imigration reform" legislation.

Sorry for the late notice about this action, but here's the information from the organizers:

We invite you to participate in a day of peaceful  demonstration on Monday April 29^th, 2:30-4:00 PM at the Fort Huachuca Main Gate, Sierra Vista AZ   Since 2004 over 4,700 deaths are attributed to Dronestrikes, civilian deaths remain unconfirmed though unfortunately post-strike photos show many children are among the lost. We’re encouraging a coalition of community voices, faith based, political, sectarian, to express concern regarding the ethical, moral, spiritual implications of the use of drone technology in warfare and the equally problematic domestic privacy concerns.  Literature will be available but we encourage you to bring signs, share information, prayers, let your voice be heard.  Participation could make all the difference in bringing attention to this critical issue.

Help Us Make a Difference!! Thank You!  JOIN US!

World of Beer Brings More Beer to Downtown Tucson. A Perfect Storm?

by Pamela Powers Hannley

A World of Beer franchise will be opening on the ground floor of The Cadence, that giant, six-story, white student housing complex rising from the old dirt lot next to the Rialto Theater downtown.

What could be more perfect than a 3000-square-foot bar located under a maxi-dorm with 465 apartments? This sounds like a capitalist's dream and a parent's nightmare.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a beer drinker, so I don't see the point of opening another beer joint downtown-- especially a franchise (owned by some guy from Tempe). World of Beer will be in direct competition with local beer joints already in the immediate vicinity of The Cadence, namely The Shanty, Thunder Canyon Brewery, Gentle Ben's, Barrio Brewing, and Borderlands Brewery. More about beer after the jump.

Complete Control By the One Percent? You Bet

Posted by Bob Lord

The Blue Meanie posted yesterday about the control by the top one percent. His post was spot on, especially the closing, where he noted how Professor Krugman's cynicism regarding the prospect of the one percent simply coming up with a new (specious) justification for their austerian policies was entirely justified. 

As I've noted in previous posts, we're living through a great experiment: How much wealth and how much income can we jam into the top 1% before the bottom 90% explodes?

The justification for Krugman's cynicism is everywhere you look. I read this article in the NY Times on Monday: Economists Agree: Solutions are Elusive. The reporter's second of two observations regarding a conference hosted by the Intenational Monetary Fund of the world's top economists:

The one percent are in complete control of the economy and the government

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The elite über-rich plutocrats -- the one percent -- are in complete control of the economy and the government. The ninety-nine percent who lead their lives of quiet desperation trying to earn enough income to provide for their families and to pay the bills, are simply too exhausted, and too poor, to be politically active and engaged. They are the voiceless, whose suffering is ignored in favor of the well paid lobbyists doing the bidding of the plutocrats.

Paul Krugman writes today, The 1 Percent’s Solution:

Economic debates rarely end with a T.K.O. But the great policy debate of recent years between Keynesians, who advocate sustaining and, indeed, increasing government spending in a depression, and austerians, who demand immediate spending cuts, comes close — at least in the world of ideas. At this point, the austerian position has imploded; not only have its predictions about the real world failed completely, but the academic research invoked to support that position has turned out to be riddled with errors, omissions and dubious statistics.

* * *

[T]he dominance of austerians in influential circles should disturb anyone who likes to believe that policy is based on, or even strongly influenced by, actual evidence. After all, the two main studies providing the alleged intellectual justification for austerity — Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna on “expansionary austerity” and Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff on the dangerous debt “threshold” at 90 percent of G.D.P. — faced withering criticism almost as soon as they came out.

And the studies did not hold up under scrutiny. By late 2010, the International Monetary Fund had reworked Alesina-Ardagna with better data and reversed their findings, while many economists raised fundamental questions about Reinhart-Rogoff long before we knew about the famous Excel error. Meanwhile, real-world events — stagnation in Ireland, the original poster child for austerity, falling interest rates in the United States, which was supposed to be facing an imminent fiscal crisis — quickly made nonsense of austerian predictions.

Yet austerity maintained and even strengthened its grip on elite opinion. Why?

The GOP insane clown posse rallies against Gov. Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Birthers-Birchers-Secessionists of the Tea Party, i.e., the GOP insane clown posse, held a rally yesterday in opposition to Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan. "Fringe" describes the unhinged from reality circus clowns who came up with this "genius" (sic) plan. AHCCCS might drop coverage for childless adults:

Thousands of Arizonans receiving health care through Medicaid could be thrown out of that program under one alternative offered by opponents of the governor's plan to expand coverage.

Senate President Andy Biggs, who joined a rally of Medicaid-expansion critics, vowed to do all he can to prevent a vote on Gov. Jan Brewer's proposal to expand coverage to those making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, with the state share of the increased cost coming from a special assessment on hospitals.

* * *

Other speakers outlined their objections.

"We have a choice: More socialism and bigger government or more freedom and fiscal stability," said Rep. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, one of the leaders of an ant-expansion rally on the Capitol lawn.

Sen. Kelli Ward, R-Lake Havasu City, called the care provided under Medicaid "substandard," and said entitlement programs like this "disincentivize the poor from improving themselves."

Rep. Justin Olson, R-Mesa, said an expanded Medicaid program means more tax dollars for family-planning services would be paid to Planned Parenthood, which has "this mission of terminating life before it's even born."

"I'm not going to allow late introduction of a bill," Biggs said, pointing out the deadline for that was months ago. And even if what the governor wants does end up at the Senate, whether from a House bill or an amendment to something else, "I never made a commitment I'd put it on the floor" for a vote.

West, Texas disaster a regulatory failure

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The West Fertilizer Co. explosion in West, Texas last week put an exclamation point on the need for government safety regulations and enforcement. The "free market" philosophy of no regulations and the mythical honor system imposed by the market place gets people killed.

This company appears to have pushed the envelope to see how much it could get away with -- and due to lax regulations and enforcement by "business friendly" Texas regulatory agencies, it got away with quite a lot.

There is plenty of blame to go around here, from the company, to state regulators, to the local planning & zoning board of West, Texas (assuming it had one).

The Dallas Morning News reports today, West Fertilizer Co.'s environmental compliance problems go back decades:

West Fertilizer Co.’s problems complying with Texas environmental rules go back decades, state records show.

In 1984, the company moved two large pressurized tanks of liquid anyhydrous ammonia, a potentially lethal poison, from a site in nearby Hill County to its current location in West without notifying state authorities.

Seven years passed before Texas regulators took notice and told the company to fix its paperwork. The tanks had sat at their new location, near homes, schools and a nursing home, with little or no state oversight for all that time.

The company’s regulatory history going back to 1976 comes to light as investigators seek the cause of last week’s fertilizer explosion that killed at least 14 people.

Moving the mail across Arizona was a big project in its day

By Karl Reiner

In these times of calls for undefined smaller government and resistance to rescinding tax cuts, many Americans forget the role played by government-private sector partnerships in developing the nation's economy.  In a country plagued by growing income inequality and aging infrastructure, the lessons from the past should not be ignored.

Over 150 years ago, there was a terrific need to improve communications between the eastern states and California.  To remedy the problem, the federal government awarded a $600,000 per year contract to the Butterfield Overland Mail Company in September 1857.  The contract was for six years.

Why Inequality Corrupts Our Society

Posted by Bob Lord

Statistics identifying the corrupting nature of inequality to our society are abundant. The crime rate, mental illness, divorce, or you name it, all can be shown statistically to increase with increasing inequality.

More interesting is why this is so. Salvatore Babones at inequality.org presents a logical, easily understandable explanation in a short blog post, Inequality, Greed, and the Demise of our Better Natures. The starting point, explains Babones, is basic human nature:

Conservative 'austerity' economics exposed as a fraud

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

With an awful week of news, some stories fell through the cracks, but nevertheless are important. In economics news, the Reinhart and Rogoff study that is the heart and soul of conservative "austerity" economics was exposed as a fraud. It turns out these geniuses ignored certain data and made an Excel spreadhseet error that resulted in conservative "austerity" measures which imposed an economic depression. Oops! (They are not sorry or repentant).

Paul Krugman writes at the New York Times, The Excel Depression:

In this age of information, math errors can lead to disaster. . . So, did an Excel coding error destroy the economies of the Western world?

The story so far: At the beginning of 2010, two Harvard economists, Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, circulated a paper, “Growth in a Time of Debt,” that purported to identify a critical “threshold,” a tipping point, for government indebtedness. Once debt exceeds 90 percent of gross domestic product, they claimed, economic growth drops off sharply.

Ms. Reinhart and Mr. Rogoff had credibility thanks to a widely admired earlier book on the history of financial crises, and their timing was impeccable. The paper came out just after Greece went into crisis and played right into the desire of many officials to “pivot” from stimulus to austerity. As a result, the paper instantly became famous; it was, and is, surely the most influential economic analysis of recent years.

Is America too broke to maintain its infrastructure?

BY Karl Reiner

Due to tax cuts, unfunded wars and a housing bubble that resulted in recession, the U.S. government is mired in debt, unemployment is high and anemic growth dogs the economy. The consequences of the poor policy decisions and the over allocation of resources to the housing sector are being prolonged by a Congress beset by gridlock.  The political uncertainty causes businesses to delay investment decisions, slowing the recovery even more.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issues a report card on America's maintenance and modernization of its infrastructure every four years. This year, the country got an overall grade of D+. It was up slightly from the previous dreary D.  Increased spending on bridges, drinking water systems, railways, roads, solid waste and waste water systems helped push the overall grade up a bit.

What's a conspiracy theorist to do? The price of gold collapses

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Tea-Publicans in the Arizona legislature enacted legislation that would declare privately minted gold and silver coins legal tender in Arizona. A version of the bill has passed both the Senate (Senate Engrossed version) and the House (House Engrossed version) and is awaiting concurrence in the Senate, before going to the Governor.

Tea-Publican legislators claimed that the global economy is on the precipice of financial ruin and the U.S. dollar could soon be worth less than the paper used to make it.

I hate to break it to you boys and girls, but have you been paying attention to the commodities market? The Price of Gold Is Crashing. Here's Why - Bloomberg Businessweek:

A chart of the crashing price of gold looks like a wedding ring rolling off a table. Late this morning, gold was trading at $1,378 an ounce, which is down 8 percent from the Friday close and 12 percent from April 11.

Why is gold plunging? The most important factor is that global inflation is falling, reducing gold’s value as a hedge against rising prices. Gold bugs who were betting on an outburst of inflation are scrambling to reverse their bets and exit their gold positions at any price.

My New (Second) Home

Posted by Bob Lord

A bit of self-promotion. I'll be changing my blogging pattern a bit, but only slightly.

I'll still be ranting here at about the same frequency, but it looks like I'll also be posting some of my tax and inequality related pieces at inequality.org, for which I really feel honored. It's the website for the Institute for Policy Studies' program on inequality. From all I've seen so far, the folks there are whip smart, do great work, and are dedicated to making the world a better place. And their editing skills are awesome, or so they seem to me. Although improving my written product is not exactly a tall order. 

Today's post, Retirement Vehicle or Giveaway to the Rich, is the first in a series about the rapidly expanding pool of assets generating income not subject to current taxation. This post focuses on how Roth IRAs ultimately will prove to be a giant giveaway of tens of billions of tax dollars each year to the very wealthy. 

If you have a few, please click on the link to the post and, while you're there, take a look at some of the other posts. If you're interested in the fight against inequality, inequality.org is a great resource.

Ezra Klein explains chained CPI

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

If you don't want to take my word for it, then at least consider what Ezra Klein has to say about chained CPI. Here’s what chained-CPI really means: Up to $849 less for someone who retired in 2001:

Here are the facts. Chained-CPI does mean that Social Security beneficiaries will see their benefits cut. Imagine a person born in 1936 who retired in 2001, at age 65. For simplicity, let’s assume they’re eligible for the maximum benefit. Given that the cap was below $30,000 a year as recently as 1980, it’s not inconceivable that a middle or upper-middle class person with steadily increasing earnings since 1958 would be in this situation.

Their initial benefit would have been $1,538 a month, or $18,456 a year. Under existing law, they would have gotten a series of cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). By 2013, COLAs would have increased this person’s annual benefit to $24,689.49. However, under chained CPI, it would be $23,820.19, a decrease of $869.30. That’s a 3.5 percent cut in benefits. And, of course, a 3.5 percent cut in income matters a lot more when you’re barely clearing $20,000 a year than it does when you’re making a regular middle-class salary.

Ronstadt Transit Center: City, Developers Ponder Proverbial Political Football (video)

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Anyone who has lived in Tucson long enough knows that the vitality of downtown has ebbed and flowed with the winds of politics and the fortunes of capitalism.

Thanks to infrastructure investments, tax breaks, land deals, and the promise of Rio Nuevo college students with Daddy's credit cards, downtown is again on the upswing-- with swanky bars, over-priced restaurants, micro-breweries, maxi-dorms, and a modern street car to deliver college students to the main gate of the university.

With the smell of money in the air, capitalists are ready to play "let's make a deal" with Tucson's Mayor and Council. One city property that developers have been trying to score for years is the Ronstadt Transit Center, on Congress. Once surrounded by seedy bars, funky diners, and shoe-string art galleries, the Ronstadt Center is now in the thick of downtown's rebirth as Mill Ave South.

Anyone who was around in 2009-2010 when developers lobbied for a land swap deal that would include ~40% of the Ronstadt Center for commercial development  should pay attention to what's happening now. Details and video after the jump.

What is up with President Obama's fixation with chained CPI?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I could not say it any better than Joan McCarter has already said it at Daily Kos:

Peter Orszag probably thought he was doing his old boss, President Obama, a favor when he penned this op-ed for Bloomberg, arguing that the chained CPI really, maybe, probably won't be that big of a benefit cut, and that "the difference between the chained CPI and the standard CPI has been diminishing. That means the impact of switching indexes may not be as great as many assume." That's an attempt to mollify Democrats and the 70 percent of voters over age 50 who absolutely loathe the idea.

Of course that leads to the obvious question: then why bother? Why not work with the so-far experimental index for seniors, the CPI-E, if a new index is in order. That answer is easy. Because chained CPI is a cut, and the administration wants to offer up this sacrifice of the elderly as a warped expression of "good faith." Good faith to the Republicans, not to the rest of us. But what Orszag is also saying, as TMP's Brian Beutler points out, is that switching to the chained CPI isn't going to do all that much for deficit reduction.

Sanctions, resistance and a campaign trip to Iran

By Karl Reiner

Economic sanctions were first imposed on Iran by President Carter in response to the hostage crisis.  They are currently imposed by the UN, U.S. and EU to prod Iran into negotiating the nuclear issue.  The goal is to make life difficult for the population. It is hoped that the economic squeeze will create enough popular pressure to force the Iranian government to agree to a nuclear deal.

Sanctions have delayed Israeli military action. At the UN, they have helped maintain unity between the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.  The combination of Iranian mismanagement and sanctions are slowing the Iranian economy.  In 2011, Iran produced 3.6 million barrels of oil per day. Oil provides the government over 50% of its income.  Its output has been depressed by 25%.  Iran's GDP has slipped by 8%, inflation has climbed to 10%, and unemployment stands at 20%.

Seniors hate chained CPI proposal

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Mr. President, a word. You keep offering the Tea-Publican economic terrorists chained CPI for calculating the cost of living adjustment (COLA) to Social Security. This has the cumulative effect of reducing benefits over time.

Mr. President, this proposal presents no political advantage or benefit to you or to the Democratic Party, the champion of Social Security. Seniors hate chained CPI, no seriously, they really hate chained CPI, Mr. President. So please, just stop it.

I know you are Desperately Seeking “Serious” Approval of the Beltway media, but they are all puppets of Pete Peterson's war on Social Security and Medicare, they are not the people from whom you need approval. That would be the voters to whom you promised to protect Social Security, and who voted for you based upon that promise. It's time for you to be the people's champion.

Joan McCarter reports, AARP poll: Seniors loathe chained CPI proposal:

The AARP has completed a new poll stating the really obvious: seniors, all seniors regardless of party, really hate the idea of a chained CPI.

The AARP reveals that 70 percent of voters age 50-plus oppose the use of the chained CPI to cut benefits, and two-thirds of them—including 60 percent of Republicans—say they would be “considerably less likely” to support a congressional candidate if he or she backed a new way of calculating consumer prices. And 84 percent of voters over 50 say Social Security has no place in budget-deficit discussions, since it is self-financed. [...]

A moment of clarity: Tea-Publicans have no interest in governing responsibly

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have said before that I believe President Obama is terrible at negotiation. For a Harvard educated attorney, he frequently violates the first rule of negotiation: never negotiate against yourself. His opening bid is frequently where the other side would like to end up at the end, which only encourages the GOP to get greedy and to move the goal line where they want to end up at the end even farther to the right.

But there is a counter-intuitive argument that some have adopted to explain President Obama's negotiation style. They argue that he is Mr. Spock playing 11-dimensional chess, demonstrating that there is literally nothing he could offer Republicans -- even things they themselves have said they want -- to induce them to compromise. Even if this were true, I am left to ask "to what end?"

This tactic will not get the president the "grand bargain" he claims to desire. All the while it undermines the legitimacy of Democratic Party principles by playing this game on a field determined by the GOP -- Mr. President, please stop using the GOP message framing and giving legitimacy to their arguments, which have no legitimacy in the real world of economics. Faith based supply-side "tricke down" GOP austerity economics is an unmitigated disaster, and has been entirely disproved and discredited. Allowing this to continue is no "bargain," it is insanity.

Yet that is where we find ourselves today. Greg Sargent writes, Why Obama wants a Grand Bargain:

The news of the morning is that President Obama will propose a budget next week that includes specific cuts in Social Security and Medicare along with new revenues — an effort to bring Republicans back to the table for a “Grand Bargain” to replace the sequester.

March jobs report suffers from Tea-Publican austerity measures

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Following the "sequester" that everyone in Washington, D.C. said would never happen -- ignoring the evil desires of the GOP to see it happen, and even giving the V-sign to claim victory when it did happen -- and the GOP's renewal of its threat to take the country hostage again over the federal debt ceiling, Americans have lost faith in the ability of Congress to govern.

Remember that GOP talking point about "uncertainty" in the economy (in the context of taxes) affecting decisions to invest and hire more workers? Uncertainty is what we have right now with the Tea-Publican economic terrorists in Congress imposing their failed economic theory of austerity. So the March jobs report really should come as no surprise to anyone. Steve Benen reports, Job totals stumble to 10-month low:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that the U.S. economy created just 88,000 jobs in March, the worst in the last 10 months. As is usually the case, there was a gap between the two major sectors -- America's private sector added 95,000 jobs last month, the public sector lost 7,000 jobs, though most of those totals were driven by Post Office layoffs.

The news is awful, but there was a silver lining: totals from January were revised up to 148,000 jobs (from 119,000), while February was revised up to 268,000 (from +236,000). The additional 61,000 jobs helped push the unemployment rate to 7.6%, its lowest point since December 2008.

$15 Per Hour: It's Australian For Minimum Wage, Mate

Posted by Bob Lord

After spending a week in Melbourne, Australia visiting our daughter and son-in-law, I have to reconsider my views about wealth and income inequality. NOT  

Want a job paying $15 per hour? Just move to Australia and work for the minimum wage. 

Yes, the cost of living there is a bit higher than in America, but Australia employs a concept that's a bit foreign to Americans. Every job pays a living wage. Imagine that? Taxes are a bit higher in Australia, and CEOs make a good bit less. So, life isn't as cushy there if you're a "job creator." But, ironically, someone must be creating jobs, because the unemployment rate is about 5%. Yes, you got that right. They pay the job creators less and tax them more, but jobs pay better and are more plentiful. 

And they have this crazy health care system there. If you're Australian, you're covered. 

Is Australia socialist? Hardly. They just have a system of laws and regulations that works more in favor of average Australians and less in favor of the elite. Kind of like the system America had not so long ago. 

Lobbyists against a 'living wage' and local government control

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Restaurant Association, the main protagonist behind HB 2147, which would require people applying for unemployment benefits to provide documentation that they are eligible, and if they don't provide that information, their benefits could be denied, Contact Governor Brewer, tell her to veto HB 2147, is also the main protagonist behind HB 2280, a bill that would make it illegal for Arizona cities to mandate a "living wage" for companies that operate within city limits.

That's right, because everyone should be working for $2.13 per hour plus tips with no employee benefits.

Once again, it is yet another example of our "big brother" Tea-Publican overlords in the Arizona legislature overriding local government control. So much for Tea-Publican "small government" rhetoric.

Howard Fischer reports, Arizona Senate gives early approval to 'living wage' ban:

[T]he restaurant industry has persuaded state lawmakers to prevent cities and counties from dictating how much employers have to pay their workers.

On a voice vote, the Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to legislation that would make it illegal for Arizona cities to mandate any employee benefits for companies that operate within city limits. That includes not only compensation but also paid leave, allowable absences, meal breaks and rest periods.

The House already has approved HB 2280. That means it requires only a final Senate roll-call vote before going to Gov. Jan Brewer.

David Cay Johnston on wealth inequality in America

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Pulitzer Prize winning tax analyst David Cay Johnston has a staqggering new anlaysis of the divide between the haves and have nots in America. His TaxAnalysts.com post is linked in a Huffington Post report, Income Growth For Bottom 90 Percent Of Americans Averaged Just $59 Over 4 Decades: Analysis:

Another day, another mind-blowing fact about the staggering difference between the haves and the have-nots.

Incomes for the bottom 90 percent of Americans only grew by $59 on average between 1966 and 2011 (when you adjust those incomes for inflation), according to an analysis by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston for Tax Analysts. During the same period, the average income for the top 10 percent of Americans rose by $116,071, Johnston found.

To put that into perspective: if you say the $59 boost is equivalent to one inch, then the incomes of the top 10 percent of Americans rose by 168 feet, Johnston explained to Alternet last week.

(Click over to Tax Analysts to read Johnston’s full Tax Notes column.)

Are Arizona's mayors on to something?

By Karl Reiner

The U.S.-Mexico relationship has its good and bad points.  Over $540 billion in merchandise trade moved between the countries in 2012. Mexico ranks third as an American supplier and second as an export market.  There are security problems involving the massive illegal drug trade, illegal migration (mostly from Mexico and Central America) and the flow of smuggled firearms to Mexico.  With Arizona's state leaders focusing mainly on security, the economic benefit of being a border state tends to be ignored.

SB 1215 is moving unobtrusively through the Arizona Legislature.  The bill extends the life of the Office of Sonora (part of the governor's office since 1992) for eight years.  The office works on exchanging information, promoting business and tourism with the state of Sonora, Mexico.  It assists the Arizona-Mexico Commission and keeps tab on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

'Life or Debt': Dr. Danny on the Cost of Care (video)

by Pamela Powers Hannley

More people in the US go bankrupt because of medical bills than for any other reason.

Even in Massachusetts-- where they have Romneycare (the model for Obamacare)-- people with health insurance are going bankrupt at alarming rates, due to unpaid medical bills.

Now, primarily because of uncompensated care, many US hospitals are going bankrupt.

Despite the evidence that our greed-based, healthcare non-system is inadequate, Teapublicans want to scale it back-- instead of expanding it. The Paul Ryan Budget would eliminate the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare), change Medicare to a voucher program, and cut Medicaid by more than 40%. The Koch Brothers are holding closed-door "educational" meetings with the Tea Party faithful, in an attempt to squash the Medicaid expansion, through the Affordable Care Act, in red states like Arizona. All of this is unfathomable. These efforts will save money for the corporatists but will encourage the sick and uninsured to forgo care or go to emergency rooms-- thus leading to more personal and hospital bankruptcies and premature death due to delayed care or no care. WTF?

After the jump, watch Dr. Danny, a New York emergency room physician, explain the cost of care and what should be done about it. Thanks to Strike Debt for posting this video on Facebook.

Matt Miller on the Progressive Caucus Budget

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There is only one serious budget proposal on the table, and it is the one the Beltway media villagers will ignore because it comes from the Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party (this is because the Beltway media villagers are all in the top 2% of income earners and their favorite cocktail party circuit guest, Rep. Paul Ryan, has promised them a tax windfall). At least some in the Beltway media who are truly "serious" are paying attention.

The Washington Post's Matt Miller writes, Lessons from the budget bake-off:

The most interesting development is on the “left.” I know I’m a broken record, but it can never be said often enough that Ronald Reagan ran government at 22 percent of GDP. This means the long-run spending goal of a caucus seen in Washington as impossibly liberal is just a penny on the national dollar higher than that of a conservative hero. Who knew how close the Gipper was to Karl Marx? (Don’t forget, the man was a union president earlier in his career...)

A word of advice to the progressive caucus: Lead with that Reagan talking point and you’ll open Washington’s mind.

The public supports the Progressive Caucus Budget, which will not be adopted

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted about this political science truism the other day (h/t Ezra Klein)  Still true after 40 years: Voters prefer cuts in theory, spending in practice:

In 1967, the political scientists Lloyd Free and Hadley Cantrill wrote that Americans were “ideological conservatives” but “operational liberals.” What they meant was that when asked broad questions about how government should work and what it should do, voters responded like conservatives. But when asked operational questions about which programs should be cut and which services should be eliminated, they responded like liberals. Voters like big cuts and smaller government in theory, but they don’t want to actually cut anything in practice.

This leads to cognitive dissonace between what people tell pollsters, and what they really desire. It also distorts sound public policy debate. Greg Sargent addressed this recently in The Morning Plum: A nation of Keynesians:

As many have pointed out, the House progressive budget — which calls for substantial new spending to create jobs and defers deficit reduction until later — has been almost entirely marginalized from the Washington conversation. Instead, the outer ideological poles of the debate have been defined by the budget from Senate Dems, which contains as much in spending cuts as it does in new revenues — and a tiny fraction of stimulus spending as an afterthought — and the Paul Ryan budget, which purports to rapidly slash the deficit only through huge spending cuts and contains nothing in new revenues or spending.

Can an American-Iranian optimist become president of Iran?

By Karl Reiner

The Iran-Iraq war has been forgotten.  The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the campaign to drive them out is old history.  The 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq is quietly observed as the military effort in Afghanistan slowly winds down.  At the same time, tensions grow between the West and Iran over Iran's nuclear program.  To deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons, UN, U.S. and European Union sanctions have been imposed.

Israel has threatened to take military action unless Iran abandons the program suspected of developing nuclear weapons.  Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, states that the Islamic Republic will retaliate if its nuclear facilities are attacked. Iran will strike Israeli cities. Although negotiations between the West and Iran continue, there is a drift toward war.

Arizona Dems Split on 'Back to Work' Budget Vote

by Pamela Powers Hannley

On Wednesday, March 20, 2013, the US House of Representatives voted on a series of amendments to the Republican Majority Budget, penned by Rep. Paul Ryan. 

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) amendment, dubbed the Back to Work Budget, was one of yesterday's votes. It lost 84 to 327, with no Republicans voting for it (not surprising) and 102 Democrats voting against it. 

How did Arizona's Democratic Party representatives vote on an amemdment spearheaded by one of their own-- Rep. Raul Grijalva? Not so good. Grijalva and Rep. Ed Pastor voted for the Back to Work Budget-- which would create jobs, reduce the debt, and protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. 

Representatives Ann Kirkpatirck, Ron Barber, and Kirsten Sinema voted against the Back to Work Budget-- despite letters and phone calls by members of the Arizona Chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA). Nationally, PDA hand delivered letters to 100 Congressional representatives and made 1000 phone calls. 

Frankly, I'm not surprised by Blue Dogs Kirkpatrick and Barber, but I am surprised and disappointed by Sinema. The three of them can expect to hear more from PDA.

Kozachik Kickoff Party: Pima Dems Love Fest (video)

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Yesterday's re-election campaign kickoff for Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik was a Democratic Party love fest for the feisty Republican turned Democrat. 

There were nearly as many Pima County Democratic Party faithful in attendance at Borderlands Brewery as there were at the traditional St. Patrick's Day fundraiser a few days earlier. 

Kozachik told the crowd of Dems, Greens, Occupiers, Progressives, and, I believe, a few closet Republicans that his campaign has hit the ground running with 800 signatures in just a few weeks. The Pima County Republican Party has not announced a challenger to the iconoclastic Kozachik, who proved to be too independent minded for them, after he bucked a loyality pledge to Governor Jan Brewer, spoke out against the Arizona Legislature's multiple attempts to hurt Tucson and Pima County, endorsed Democrats Richard Carmona for US Senate and Ron Barber for Congress, partied with Pima Dems on Election Night 2012, and-- the last straw-- spearheaded a campaign for universal background checks at gun shows.

More photos and video after the jump.

Tucson Progressives & Democrats Back the 'Back to Work' Budget

The following guest commentary about the current budget battles in DC was submitted to the Arizona Daily Star for publication. Since the Star chooses to primarily publicize Republican budget plans-- and no other ideas, including those proposed by Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva-- they didn't publish this commentary about the Congressional Progressive Caucus' Back to Work Budget. So, here you go...

On Tuesday, March 12^th, the Congressional Progressive Caucus released its proposed federal budget. Dubbed the “Back to Work Budget”, it will be presented as an amendment to the already discredited Paul Ryan and Congressional Majority budget. The CPC budget will reduce the Federal Budget Deficit by more than $4.4 trillion over the next 10 years, will create 7 million new jobs in its first year, and preserve existing benefits for Social Security and Medicare. The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ “Back to Work” budget will also make public healthcare affordable to the nation by offering a public option.  

More after the jump.

Ryan GOP budget attacked by far-right radical Republican Study Committee

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It appears that the crazy train has left the station. The GOP's alleged boy genius, Ayn Rand fanboy Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), has offered his dystopian Randian vision for America's future.

But Ryan's radical vision is not the most radical. There are crazy people in the House GOP who are even more radical, who don't think that the Flimflam Man does enough damage.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has jumped into the fray with their own budget proposal. Think Progress reports, The Most Radical Proposals In The House Conservative Budget:

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), helmed by Chairman Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) released an even more radical plan than the official House Republican budget, which disproportionately guts programs for low-income Americans while giving even bigger tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. The RSC budget purports to eliminate the deficit in just 4 years and limit total discretionary spending to $950 billion, the lowest level since 2008. In order to achieve this goal, the RSC cuts non-defense spending by $6 billion over four years, while the GOP budget slows spending growth over the same period.