Newt Gingrich Blames Nation's Problems On Unemployed People

Legislation in South Carolina
The state of South Carolina faces a Financial Crisis with the Deficit reaching into the billions.  We have an educational system that fails at almost every level, leaving our Children undereducated and ill-prepared to face the future.  We have an Unemployment Rate that exceeds the national average, a Housing Market grown desperate, and many other problems I don’t have enough space to list here. And of the many Bills proposed by our State Legislature, few have begun to address the...

The Senators Who Dissed Baby Jesus
Marty Kaplan HuffPost What's the right word for what Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) was doing when he attacked Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for "disrespecting one of the two holiest holidays for Christians" by keeping Congress in session in the week before Christmas? What do you call it when Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) blasted Democrats as "sacrilegious" for wanting the Senate to take up an Arms Control treaty and a spending bill "right before... the most sacred holiday for Christians"? Not "chutzpah." Chut...

1 in 7 Americans rely on food stamps
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The use of Food Stamps has increased dramatically in the U.S., as the Federal Government ramps up basic assistance to meet the demands of an increasingly desperate population. The number of food stamp recipients increased 16% over last year. This means that 14% of the population is now living on food stamps. That's about 43 million people, or about one out of every seven Americans. Email Print Comment In some states, like Tennessee, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon,...

The would-be GOP kings
Who among us can contain their excitement? The GOP presidential primary season has begun! By my count, there are 24 people who are beneficiaries of nontrivial presidential buzz: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, John Thune, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence, Rick Santorum, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan, David Petraeus, Ron Paul, Jeb Bush, John Bolton, Bob McDonnell, Jim DeMint, Chris Christie, Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, Judd Gregg, Marco Rubio and Rick Perry....

The would-be GOP kings
There are 24 people who are beneficiaries of nontrivial presidential buzz, but only five are likely to emerge as true Candidates. Who among us can contain their excitement? The GOP presidential primary season has begun! By my count, there are 24 people who are beneficiaries of nontrivial presidential buzz: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, John Thune, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence, Rick Santorum, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan, David Petraeus, Ron Paul, Je...

Catch of the Day
Ah, I swear I was going to get to this, but Mori Dinauer beat me to it: The Los Angeles Times gets fooled into thinking that the business enterprise built to promote Newt Gingrich means he's "serious" about running for president in 2012.Newt Gingrich as a Presidential Candidate? Hey, I suppose it's possible that he'll go ahead and run. All sorts of people run for president. Newt Gingrich as someone with a chance to win the nomination? As a presidential Candidate, he's basically Sarah Palin with...

Is Gingrich Serious This Time?
The Los Angeles Times notes that while Newt Gingrich has toyed with the possibility of a presidential bid before, only to pull away in the end, "this time could be different... Gingrich appears to have strengthened his political operation, which gives him the potential to finance and organize a campaign, even as he expands a personal conglomerate of Think Tanks, grass-roots organizations and a film Production Company." ...

Crazy Things Conservatives Say: Jobless Edition
Having won the right to take control of one body of Congress, conservative Republicans are in full "what the American People voted for" mode -- in which a politician presumes the "American people" believe whatever crazy thing rattles around in his or her mind. Funny then, that after agreeing to a Compromise whick President Barack Obama regarding taxes and jobless benefits, all the components with the President championed are popular, and all the planks that Republicans insisted upon are not. T...

Hatch displays stunning lack of knowledge on unemployment insurance
Hopefully Orrin Hatch is reading the local, Capitol Hill news. Last week, he became one of the growing numbers of congresspeople who showed his vast ignorance on the topic of Unemployment Insurance. WASHINGTON -- Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch said this week that extended Unemployment insurance "is well over 100 weeks now," making him the latest Millionaire member of Congress to publicly demonstrate that he does not understand the Unemployment Legislation he obstructs.... Hatch joins Sen.Joh...

32 states borrow billions from feds to cover unemployment benefits...
BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - Hawaii has applied to be the 32nd state to borrow from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to pay state Unemployment Benefits. Hawaii will temporarily take up to $30 million this December to cover payments to the state’s 17,000 unemployed workers who lost their jobs within the last 26 weeks. That is the beginning of what will likely be an 18-month borrowing streak, says State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Interim D...

House Democrats Introduce A Bill To Help 99ers
The "99ers" are people who have exhausted the full 99 weeks of Unemployment Benefits without being able to find work. These are hard-working Americans who had jobs prior to the financial meltdown caused by the rapacious greed of the wealthiest and Most Powerful in the country. Right now there are roughly five unemployed workers for every available job. That means that for 80% of the unemployed there simply are no jobs available no matter how hard they try. In the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropol...

32 states borrow billions from feds to cover unemployment benefits...
BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - Hawaii has applied to be the 32nd state to borrow from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to pay state Unemployment Benefits. Hawaii will temporarily take up to $30 million this December to cover payments to the state’s 17,000 unemployed workers who lost their jobs within the last 26 weeks. That is the beginning of what will likely be an 18-month borrowing streak, says State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Interim D...

Lame Duck Produces a Lame Economy
Floyd and Mary Beth Brow, FloydReports.com The Lame Duck Congress and President Obama are retarding the recovery. It’s tough medicine to medicine to swallow — ending Unemployment Benefits for people who have been out of work for three years — but it is necessary if we want recovery. The official U.S. Unemployment Rate has not been beneath 9 percent since April 2009, and it is unlikely to dip until much of the currently unemployed take jobs paying lower wages and benefits. Back in...

Newt Gingrich, serious this time, mulls a bid for president
Reporting from Spartanburg, S.C. — Newt Gingrich has been here before, very publicly dangling the prospect of a run for president. In the past, he's yanked it away in the end, like Lucy and her football in the "Peanuts" comic stip. But this time could be different. Gingrich has said he's more inclined to run than not, and some longtime associates think he might. If so, he would bring an oversized personality and biting tongue to a crowded GOP debate stage. It would also be further evide...

Newt Gingrich, serious this time, mulls a bid for president
Reporting from Spartanburg, S.C. — Newt Gingrich has been here before, very publicly dangling the prospect of a run for president. In the past, he's yanked it away in the end, like Lucy and her football in the "Peanuts" comic stip. But this time could be different. Gingrich has said he's more inclined to run than not, and some longtime associates think he might. If so, he would bring an oversized personality and biting tongue to a crowded GOP debate stage. It would also be further evide...

Will 2011 Bring Economic Recovery or More of the Same?
If The Economy improves in 2011, the surest sign of this might be an increase in the Unemployment Rate. That is not a typo. An increase in the Unemployment rate could be an indicator that The Economy is improving and that a recovery is taking place. This will be one of several indicators to keep in mind as 2011 unfolds and Americans (and pollsters for both parties) wonder whether or not this is the year that The Economy shows signs of recovery. A higher Unemployment rate could mean that the wo...

Question #10 for 2011: Monetary Policy
by CalculatedRisk on 12/21/2010 12:57:00 PM Over the weekend I posted some questions for next year: Ten Economic Questions for 2011. I'll try to add some predictions, or at least some thoughts for each question - working backwards - before the end of year. Remember, I have no crystal ball and I'm sure many people will disagree. Also many of the questions are interrelated. The question on Monetary Policy depends on Inflation (question #9) and the Unemployment Rate (question #6). And the unemplo...

Obama's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year
(12-20) 21:11 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Barack Obama's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year got off to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start. There he was, on New Year's Day, on Vacation with his family in Hawaii, stuck on a secure phone with Counterterrorism officials, trying to figure out what screw-ups had allowed a would-be Terrorist to board a Christmas Day flight with explosives in his underwear. Things only got worse for Obama when he returned to Washington in between a pair...

Who Will Struggle in 2011
For many Americans, the Recession is finally over. Economic Growth in 2011 is likely to exceed 3 percent, and perhaps even hit 4 percent. That would be the best performance in more than a decade. Workers who held onto their jobs during the Great Recession can finally exhale, with growing confidence that their Job Security is improving. Companies are grudgingly starting to hire back a few of the unemployed. And the latest stimulus and tax-cut plan out of Washington will put cash into practicall...

New START clears vote threshold; Kyl won't admit defeat
Everyone here on Capitol Hill is beginning to see the ratification of New START as increasingly inevitable -- everyone, that is, except for Sen. Jon Kyl. As the Senate headed toward a vote to close debate on the treaty, more and more GOP senators came out in favor of the agreement, pushing the number of Republicans supporting New START past the nine-vote threshold that would ensure the necessary two-thirds majority for ratification of the treaty in the final vote coming Thursday. Sen. Lamar ...

On the Media: Patch.com clicks with veteran California journalists
When we last checked in on Patch.com, the fastest-growing news outfit in America was staffing up and making the most robust media foray into suburbia in years. Patch this week opened its 600th hyper-local website, in the Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead. The sites, which provide basic news coverage and ask readers to bolster reportage on their towns, have opened in 105 California communities, with more launching every day. The remarkable thing about Patch, besides its explosive growth in recent...

1 in 7 Americans rely on food stamps
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The use of Food Stamps has increased dramatically in the U.S., as the Federal Government ramps up basic assistance to meet the demands of an increasingly desperate population. The number of food stamp recipients increased 16% over last year. This means that 14% of the population is now living on food stamps. That's about 43 million people, or about one out of every seven Americans. Email Print Comment In some states, like Tennessee, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon,...

The Debt Ceiling Threat To Gut The Things Government Does For Us
The country’s huge Debt was caused by Tax Cuts for the rich and increases in Military Spending. But debt-cutting recommendations from the DC Elite never suggest restoring taxes on the rich and cutting Military Spending. Go figure. Instead they suggest cutting the things government does for We, the People. The DC Elite is not We, the People. Let's stop this in its tracks. Just a week after the Senate voted to give a big tax cut to the rich, increasing the Deficit by more than $800 billion, a ...

CNN Poll: Would government shutdown anger Americans?
Washington (CNN) - As Congress races to the wire to approve a temporary spending bill to keep the government open for business, a new National Poll indicates that if a legislative impasse shut down the Federal Government for a few days, most Americans would take it in stride. But a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday also indicates it might be a different story if the shutdown lasted for a few weeks. The current measure funding the government, a so-called continuing resoluti...

Jim DeMint and the war on Christmas vacation
South Carolina GOP Sen. Jim DeMint repeated today his claim that "millions of Americans" are "outraged" that Congress would dare work on major Legislation, namely New START, this close to Christmas. He previously called it "sacrilegious." "Don't tell me about Christmas. I understand Christmas," Vice President Joe Biden responded in a Dec. 16 interview. "There's 10 days between now and Christmas. I hope I don't get in the way of your Christmas shopp...