By Will Allison, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET  On August 2, the United States of America is set to default on its debt obligations. I am not an economist, and would not deign to pretend that I understand the economic repercussions of such a move. However, I do have another important credential, and that is called a “survival instinct.” This instinct is stronger than I remembered.
I know this, because I am now up at 3am, scared right out my damn sleep from the horror movie that would be defaulting on our nation’s debt. I have read too many of these Freddy Krueger-themed articles not to believe it. Phrases like “global financial meltdown”, “financial apocalypse”, “the American economy dragging the global economy down the drain”, and “millions of unemployed joined by millions more” own me now, people. This is a cry for help.
 The raising of the debt ceiling, typically a pro forma vote Congress takes every year to meet our rising spending obligations, has met a wall this summer with a newly emboldened, GOP-controlled House. This House is heavily influenced if not directed by the Tea Party, willing to risk default to deal with what it feels is our top fiscal priority: spending cuts. In response, the Democrats, true to their nature, have already offered massive concessions on spending, in return for some kind—any kind—of tax increase on the very wealthy. The GOP has replied with “no”. Despite their deficit-obsessed rhetoric, they are not interested in increasing revenues to lower the deficit. They only want spending cuts, and apparently are willing to allow our economy to collapse if they don’t get exactly that, only that, and on a massive scale.
And so it goes. The Republican Party’s “top negotiator” on the debt ceiling, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, has already walked out of the talks. Democrats, in return, have begun to urge the President to invoke a little-known clause in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that may legally require our nation not to default on its debt. The President could simply say he’s not legally allowed to permit our nation to default, and instruct the Treasury to continue to pay the bills. The GOP’s response is to threaten impeachment if the president goes that route, claiming he will have superseded Congress’ power of the purse. I am going insane trying to keep up with this stuff, people.
Read the rest of…
Will Allison: Watching the Ceiling Cave In
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
What’s in a name? Google+ is your “plus one.” [Mashable]
How many millions are already using Google Plus? [ZDNet]
Google makes Facebook look socially awkward. [Washington Post]
Full court press? Google also unveils a new Youtube interface. [Mashable]
The history of Polaroid camera craze. [Technologizer]
By Greg Harris, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 9:00 AM ET  Historic moments define presidencies. For President Obama, that moment came in the form of a nation teetering on the brink of depression.
The President responded to the crisis by (while still Senator) supporting TARP and then, as President, spearheading a massive stimulus package.
This stimulus was very much unlike the federal “New Deal” spending that occurred under FDR during the depression, which included a primary focus on creating as many jobs as possible. Indeed, there are still many monuments to the WPA and related programs standing today (most notably, Hoover Dam, a primary energy source for the Southwest United States).
When you look at a breakdown on how American Recovery Act federal stimulus dollars were spent, you find that a big portion went to tax cuts, while the rest was spread scattershot over many programs. Much of these funds came in the form of aid to States, which supported essential programs (like Medicaid), but only long enough for States to put off most painful budget cuts until this year.
 Today we struggle with a 9.2% unemployment rate, and a continuation of tax policies that redistribute wealth to the very top. Last December, President Obama arrived at a “compromise” with congressional Republicans to extend the Bush tax code designed to accelerate redistribution of wealth to those who are already very wealthy. Indeed, Reaganomics followed by W’-nomics have had their intended effect: over the past quarter century four-fifths of income gains have gone to the top 1% of individuals, while middle class wages haven’t kept up with inflation. Contrary to GOP rhetoric, trickle-down economics has defied gravity.
Many progressives, me included, were hoping last December the President would take the fight to an opposition that would allow all tax cuts expire in the name of keeping income tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Had no compromise been reached, we would’ve returned to President Clinton’s more progressive tax code, which may well have proven a best case scenario with the added benefit of eradicating much of our deficit problem. But Obama didn’t take this approach. Rather, the debate was between keeping 98% of Bush’s tax code versus keeping 100% of Bush’s tax code. Hence, the GOP would’ve “lost” this showdown last December by only getting 98% of what they wanted versus 100%. Seems to me, they would’ve won either way. They got their 100% regardless.
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Greg Harris: Obama’s Defining Moment
By RP Staff, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET If you are in the dumps due to the doldrums of summer, you’ve come to the right place.
This week, The Recovering Politician is running on all cylinders, with dozens of new pieces by contributing RPs, Friends of RP, RP staff, and even the RP himself. Check in often for interesting, enlightening and funny takes on this week’s big stories.
Today’s focus will be on the biggest story of them all — the debt ceiling crisis that is consuming Washington and the nation. Tune in for takes from all sides of the political spectrum.
Enjoy your Monday. And don’t forget the sunscreen!
By RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET We have a huge week in store for you next week at The Recovering Politician. Dozens of fresh, new pieces by contributing RPs, Friends of RP, RP Staff, and the RP himself.
Stay tuned on Monday for some close analysis of the biggest story of the year — the crisis concerning the debt ceiling. You will hear, as always, from all sides of the political spectrum. And as always, we’d love to hear your views in the comments section.
Have a great weekend, and rest up for a big week ahead!
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
Two United States Senators from ethanol-producing states propose legislation to immediately end corn-based ethanol subsidies. [CNBC]
Rupert Murdoch shutters “News of The World” amid continuing fallout from the phone-hacking scandal. [Forbes]
Fortune Magazine releases their latest Global 500 list of the 500 largest corporations in the world. [Fortune]
The editors of Cigar Aficionado Magazine report on their latest trip to Cuba. [Cigar Aficionado]
Final space shuttle launch will be the end of an era. [Washington Post]
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET The Politics of the Planet A dust storm disrupts air traffic in Phoenix, watch the video of it arrive. [wsj.com]
A list of the top beaches in US national parks. [yahoo.com]
California is using wasps instead of insecticides to fight wasps. [latimes.com]
Another Exxon Mobile spill, this time from a pipeline in Montana. [latimes.com]
By RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Yesterday, the RP conducted a fascinating interview with Christine Todd Whitman, the former GOP Governor from New Jersey and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during George W. Bush’s first term in office.
Whitman shared her frustrations with the hyper-partisanship in Washington, the impact of the Tea Party on her beloved GOP, and the gridlock on environmental action and climate change remediation. She also offers her ideas on how to fix her party and her country’s political system.
Listen here:
No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET Maybe this Time magazine article should actually be titled “Ladies, Your Gaydar Is Real.” [Time]
Families with surrogate mothers, sperm donors, and same-sex parents are more common today, so family tree mapping is a little more complicated than it used to be. [NY Times]
Can’t get away from work for a vacation this summer? Eat some Vitamin D rich foods instead. [Psychology Today]
Scientists in the UK are researching innovative sunburn treatments… by starting with human test subjects. [Wall Street Journal]
Yet more scientific proof that we need to go green: a new study reveals that air pollution is linked to memory issues and depression. [Psych Central]
By Artur Davis, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET  Alabama’s new immigration law is about to become a flashpoint in the culture wars.
It is the first hard push to the right by a moderate Republican Governor who is an ally of the state’s powerful, and liberal, teachers’ union and who has soft-pedaled his opposition to what his party calls “Obamacare.” I think, taken in its totality, it is a push too far, and the Obama Justice Department should challenge its worst features as fiercely as it has attacked Arizona’s controversial 2010 restrictions.
I don’t criticize the provisions that make businesses confirm the legal status of their employees through E-Verify, or the stiff sanctions the law imposes on companies who knowingly hire illegal immigrants: those policies add teeth to current laws that are reasonable but often under-enforced.
There is also a sound underlying rationale: employers who hire undocumented workers are not motivated by a rush of generosity, but usually by a desire to undercut wages and to pad their payrolls with vulnerable, cheap laborers who can’t sue and who fear deportation too much to complain about lax safety standards.
Read the rest of…
Artur Davis: Alabama’s Ugly New Immigration Law
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On August 2, the United States of America is set to default on its debt obligations. I am not an economist, and would not deign to pretend that I understand the economic repercussions of such a move. However, I do have another important credential, and that is called a “survival instinct.” This instinct is stronger than I remembered.
The raising of the debt ceiling, typically a pro forma vote Congress takes every year to meet our rising spending obligations, has met a wall this summer with a newly emboldened, GOP-controlled House. This House is heavily influenced if not directed by the Tea Party, willing to risk default to deal with what it feels is our top fiscal priority: spending cuts. In response, the Democrats, true to their nature, have already offered massive concessions on spending, in return for some kind—any kind—of tax increase on the very wealthy. The GOP has replied with “no”. Despite their deficit-obsessed rhetoric, they are not interested in increasing revenues to lower the deficit. They only want spending cuts, and apparently are willing to allow our economy to collapse if they don’t get exactly that, only that, and on a massive scale.
