QE2 + Payroll Tax Cut = Helicopter Drop

Personal Advice from ME: If you are small time stock investor, GET OUT NOW!
…and here is why…. This comes via Gateway Pundit, who is one hell of a great blogger: The story via the U.K. Telegraph: US Treasuries last week suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The borrowing costs of the government of the world’s largest economy have now risen by a quarter over the past four weeks. Such a sharp rise in US benchmark market Interest Rates matters a lot - and it matters way beyond America. The US gover...

US Treasuries Suffer Biggest Two-Day Sell-Off Since the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
US Treasuries suffered their biggest two-day sell off since Lehman Brothers in 2008. US Treasuries last week suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The borrowing costs of the government of the world’s largest economy have now risen by a quarter over the past four weeks. Such a sharp rise in US benchmark market Interest Rates matters a lot - and it matters way beyond America. The US government is now servicing $13.8 Trillion (...

With $900 Billion in Tax Cuts, Many Working Americans Will Still See Taxes Rise
According to the Huffington Post, because of the structure of the nearly $900 billion Obama-McConnell tax deal, roughly a third of all workers will actually see their taxes increase next year. How anyone can defend this deal as smart politics for Obama is beyond me. From Ryan Grim: The tax deal reached between President Obama and congressional Republicans could mean a higher tax bill for roughly one in three workers as a result of the Social Security Tax Cut Republicans pushed as a replacement...

Fed remains in the hot seat
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve has been in the hot seat since its last meeting. But don't expect its embattled policymakers to signal any significant change of heart when they meet Tuesday. Economists and other Fed watchers expect the Central Bank's statement to be somewhat more upbeat than a month ago, acknowledging some signs of improvement in The Economy. Email Print Comment That might seem like a change from the tone that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took in his recent intervie...

Monday Open Thread
hat tip:Blackwaterdog More about that really bad deal the “Negotiator in Chief” brought for the Middle Class and the unemployed (Did you notice that we hear from Mr. Weiner mostly when there’s something to whine about, preferably against the president? It sure does bring him a lot of TV appearances). Anyway, the graph present the entire horror: The breakdown: 53.1% Middle Class AMT (OBAMA) 3.3% Expensing Provision (OBAMA) 4.2% Tax Credits for Working Families (OBAMA) 6.2% Unemployment In

Obama-Republican Deal Could Mean Tax Hike For One In Three Workers
WASHINGTON - The tax deal reached between President Obama and congressional Republicans could mean a higher tax bill for roughly one in three workers as a result of the Social Security Tax Cut Republicans pushed as a replacement for the current Making Work Pay Tax Credit. The Making Work Pay credit gives workers up to $400, paid out at 8 percent of income, meaning that anybody making at least $5,000 gets the full amount -- and gets as much as anybody else. Its replacement knocks two percentag...

Raiding Social Security?
The plan to cut the Payroll Tax -- which finances Social Security -- hasn't drawn the volume of opposition that it might under, say, a Republican President, with AARP blessing it on the grounds that the Treasury has said it'll make the money up from general Tax Revenues. Bernie Sanders, though, railed against the suggestion of replacing the dedicated tax with the general fund as the first step toward destroying Social Security during his long Friday Speech in the Senate, and Josh Gerstein not...

How Rising Mortgage Rates Could Boost Home Sales
If you're in the market for a home, you're probably feeling pretty calm: Prices are falling, Interest Rates are low, and there are few other buyers to compete with. You can probably just hang out for awhile and wait for prices to fall some more. [See 20 industries where jobs are coming back.] But how long will the buyer's market last? Conventional wisdom holds that prices will fall another 5 to 10 percent, most likely bottoming out sometime in 2011. As the Housing Market stabilizes, sales will...

Robert Reich Wrongly Claims Bill Clinton Inherited a Recession
The staggering ignorance and/or blatant dishonesty of liberal economic commentators never ceases to amaze me. The Recession Clinton inherited was relatively small, and caused by the Fed raising Interest Rates too high to ward off Inflation. The Recession Clinton inherited? What recession? According to the National Bureau of Economic Research - the group charged with determining the official start and end dates for such things - the early '90s Recession ending in March 1991. As the Commerce D...

Come Saturday Morning: Reasons to Fight the Obama/GOP Poor Tax
Why should we be melting down our phones telling our Senators and Congresscritters “Hell NO!” on this turkey? Let us count the reasons: - The poorer you are, the more of your disposable income you’re prone to spend. The richer you are, the more likely you are to sock it away somewhere. This is why a stimulus that mainly benefits the poor is far better for The Economy as a whole than one that mainly benefits the rich. Yet the Tax Cut framework actually forces poor people...

Last Word, I Hope
Most of the blogosphere continues to argue about the Tax Cut Compromise. I’ve said most of what I want to say, but most of the argument for me boils down to these points: One, the argument is that the Payroll Tax holiday is bad because if the lower Tax Rates became permanent they would eventually de-fund Social Security. I am skeptical the Republicans will be eager to extend the lower Payroll Tax rates this time next year, however, because - The Payroll Tax holiday doesn’t he...

Social Security advocates fear payroll tax cut (AP)
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax c...

Social Security advocates fear payroll tax cut
WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama’s plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program’s finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers’ share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages woul...

Social Security Advocates Fear Payroll Tax Cut
Like this Story? Share it: (AP) President Barack Obama's plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Mr. Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would ge...

PIMCO Shares Its Thoughts On The BAB Dilemma; Discloses How It Is "Protecting" Itself From A Worst Case Scenario
observations by Pimco's John Cummings and Bob Fields on recent developments in the municipal Bond Market. The initial catalyst for the selloff in the tax-exempt muni market was the sharp selloff in the U.S. Treasury market. Also, a significant increase in supply weighed heavily upon the muni market. It now appears that the BABs program could be in jeopardy, as a provision to extend the program has not been included in the current Senate tax bill. The supply of tax-exempt municipals remains robu...

China's leaders pledge stable economic growth
China's leaders pledged to ensure "stable and healthy" Economic Development in 2011, state media said on Sunday in announcing the conclusion of a top-level annual meeting on The Economy. The Central Economic Work Conference, held each year to outline economic strategies for the coming 12 months, also resolved to manage Inflation expectations in an active and stable way, the official news agency Xinhua said. The three-day meeting of the powerful nine-member Communist Party Politburo Standing Comm...

China's leaders pledge stable economic growth
China's leaders pledged to ensure "stable and healthy" Economic Development in 2011, state media said on Sunday in announcing the conclusion of a top-level annual meeting on The Economy. The Central Economic Work Conference, held each year to outline economic strategies for the coming 12 months, also resolved to manage Inflation expectations in an "active and stable way", the official news agency Xinhua said. The three-day meeting of the powerful nine-member Communist Party Politburo Standing Co...

Australia unveils sweeping banking reforms
Australia unveiled tough changes to finance laws Sunday, banning unpopular Mortgage fees and cracking down on price collusion between major banks in a bid to boost competition in the sector. Targeting Australia's "big four" banks, the reforms ban exit fees on new home loans and allow the competition regulator to prosecute lenders for colluding on rates, after large hikes sparked an angry consumer backlash. An additional four billion US dollars would also be injected into the mortgage-backed secu...

Robert Reich: Why Bill Clinton's Favorable View of Obama's Tax Deal Should Be Disregarded
Bill Clinton seems the perfect validator for Barack Obama -- which is why the president is utilizing the former president for selling his tax deal. After all, The Economy boomed when Clinton was president and 22 million net new jobs were created. From a more narrow political perspective -- and this is important to Democrats in Washington -- Bill Clinton was reelected, even though he lost both houses of Congress in the 1994 midterms. But the analogy falls apart as soon as you realize Clinton's ...

Poll finds broad bipartisan support for tax package
About seven in 10 Americans back the tax deal negotiated last week by President Obama and congressional Republicans, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. This Story Tax deal angers right as well as left Poll finds broad Bipartisan support for tax package Washington Post-ABC News poll data In political gamble, Reid seeks votes that are sure to fail Senate having trouble 'doing business in the modern era' View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story The high bipar...

Payroll tax cut worries Social Security advocates (AP)
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers, but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax ...

Obama takes credit for compromise (Politico)
President Barack Obama reprised his defense of his Tax Cut Compromise with Republicans in his weekly address on Saturday, arguing that the fate of Middle Class families — and the still-fragile Economic Recovery — is at stake as lawmakers consider the proposal. “The opportunity for families to send their kids to college hinges on this debate,” Obama said. “And our recovery will be strengthened or weakened based on the choice that now rests with Congress.” The...

Harkin, Dean raise doubts on Social Security tax holiday; AARP silent
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.) are both raising doubts about an aspect of President Barack Obama's tax-cut deal that has not received much criticism: a one-year, two-percentage point cut in employees' share of the Social Security Payroll Tax. By contrast, a group which usually mounts staunch opposition to changes in the Social Security funding mechanism, the AARP, has remained silent about the proposed Payroll tax holiday. "That’s another thing that I rea...

Why didnt Barry just give Clinton the finger?
Anyhow, Barry bails at 9:30. Stay classy, Barry! Stay classy! Then there's this, ZOMG: [CLINTON:] First of all, I feel awkward being here and now you’re gonna leave me all by myself. [CLINTON:] I don't want to make her mad. Please go. You're in good hands. It's nice to see the Big Dog doing the Big Dog thing -- he's so smart, and such a great communicator -- but even Clinton can't buff this turd. It's not a good bill. Selling the plan on the basis of the Unemployment Insurance extension ...

Which Party Owns the Payroll Tax Break?
As David Frum wrote this morning, the GOP needs to reposition itself as the party of the Payroll Tax cut to prevent President Obama from running on that (popular) issue in 2012. Greg Sargent has recently come into possession of a White House slide which underscores why time may be running out for the GOP on this issue. The slide is being circulated to convince Democrats unhappy with the Tax Cut Compromise (Obama may consider them “sanctimonious”) that they in fact got the better en...