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Bipartisanship is rare, but it seems there is one thing governors of both parties can agree on: “Shared sacrifice” really means more tax cuts for the rich to force regular people to share all the sacrifice. This is effectively what New York’s Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo is about to push through in his state by letting the current tax rate on millionaires revert to a lower level. From the New York Times:
Dashing the hopes of many Democratic lawmakers, including the bulk of the New York City delegation, the budget did not include an extension of a temporary income tax surcharge on wealthy New Yorkers, a measure that has drawn support among Democrats and even some Senate Republicans as a way to further offset Mr. Cuomo’s proposed cuts in money for schools and other programs.
Mr. Cuomo persuaded legislative leaders to agree to a year-to-year cut of more than $2 billion in spending on health care and education, historically the two largest drivers of New York’s budget. Over all, officials said, the budget deal would reduce year-to-year spending by about 2 percent.
This is the same basic game plan we have seen from several Republican governors this year who pushed for corporate tax cuts while cutting public services or pushing regressive changes to the tax code.
Billionaire Warren Buffett is right, there is a class war underway, and his class is winning.
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No problem. The extension of the Federal tax cuts was only for 2 years. We’ll fix it in 2012. /s
We’re in the final, looting stages of capitalism in this country. The cupboard will soon be bare.
and as you yourself pointed out Jon, it is, in many ways, a small-scale version of what President Obama (with the help of Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell) has been overseeing at the federal level
One in eight families now has someone unemployed, and
Clearly, the solution to this human suffering is to increase the demand for Gulfstream 5 private jets,
and what better way to do it than to cut taxes on those who can afford them?
Well then, f*^&k you Andrew, for another slimy republicrat. You are trying to take away any shred of a reason anyone might have for being a Democrat or supporting the Democratic Party. I think you are succeeding.
while we sit about moaning, posting and hoping against obvious reality that our govt cares about us there is an alternative.
ING customers mobilised on Twitter and other social networks to protest at bonuses paid to bosses at the bank, one of the biggest in the country. The threat of direct action to take their money out of the bank raised the spectre of a partial run on ING, terrifying the Dutch establishment. “People were outraged. We heard about the bloated sums being paid again in the City and in New York; but suddenly the issue exploded on our own front door.”
Compared with the packages awarded to bankers in the US and UK, the Dutch bonuses were small potatoes. Jan Hommen, ING’s chief executive, was due to receive a £1m bonus – a pittance when you consider that Stephen Hester, head of state-controlled RBS in the UK, is in line for up to £7.7m, Bob Diamond of Barclays is to collect as much as £6.5m, and some senior bankers at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are looking at windfalls of about £40m each.
Post this in all your network sites, spread the word….we can fight back
here is the link not sure why it did not show in my post
For some reason I can’t post link to the story?
Hey, get off Cuomo’s back. He’s just positioning himself to be the DemocRAT nominee in 2016. Gotta have the backing of the MOTU if you’re get elected Liar-In-Chief. (Or maybe that’s Fascist Figurehead-In-Chief.)
More evidence the Democratic Party, on economic issues, is NO DIFFERENT than the Republican Party.
How much evidence is needed before you blue team folks see this? Or is the fact that they’re slightly different on social issues good enough for you?
Speaking of shared sacrifice, many of you will probably remember how I got a call a few weeks ago from a place where I had interviewed, telling me I was a top candidate and promising me a second interview. Well I just got an email telling me that they’ve hired somebody else for that position so no job, not even the promised second interview. I didn’t want sympathy, I didn’t want kindness from strangers though I have received both here from my dear friends at FDL. I just wanted a job. That’s all. Just a way to support myself. Losing out on this one makes me realize how much hope I had riding on it.
Thanks to everybody who have helped out and thanks to all who have lent a sympathetic ear. Now I have to figure out what to do next. The only thing I am sure about at this point is that the status quo is no longer sustainable.
The old man is known for his City on the Hill speech at the 1984 convention.
The son is more interested in the Citi on the Hill.
Pretty easy to be winning when your side is the only one in the fight.
OT NOTE: NONE of the formatting buttons are working for me. I’ll get out, and log back in to see if that helps but right now NONE of the formatting buttons are working.
OK, that worked, I think. if the quote appears as a quote.
So glad you focus on Cuomo. As a NYSer, I have emailed him many times asking him what distinguishes him from the TPers.
He is an execrable PoS.
Did you get anything in the mail today?
no
His father is still alive. Can’t help but think that the relationship between Cuomo pere & Cuomo fils bears some relationship to Bush pere & Bush fils.
Incredible story out of Hungary. Maybe the MOTUs here will find a way to cause divisions here like the one against the Roma in Hungary, to channel disaffection away from the true culprits of the economic malaise.
Try getting completely out of your browser, then restarting and log back in.
None of the formatting buttons (Bold, Italics, Underline, Quote, or link) were working for me, but then I got out, and logged back in and they all work.
Answer: A lack of beastiality porn.
Oh damn, sooooo sorry to hear that.
Sure hope you hear from Fed Ex in the next couple of days.
??? Are you implying that Bush pere is somehow less vile that Bush fils?
Bush pere – vile.
Bush fils – quasi vile.
Reply to Margaret @ 10
Margaret,
I send you (())’s.
I wish I could send you a job.
Please know that I really appreciate your insight in many of the
problems we all discuss here. Your knowledge is broad and always worth reading.
Thanks for being here.
Just sent another e-mail demanding explanation. Keep me posted.
Between Doomberg and Cuomo, NY is done. Watch Mike’s lackey puppet Christine ‘slush fund’ Quinn run for an effective fourth Mayoral term for ‘ol Mike.
Margaret, I’ve been reluctant to interfere in your circumstances, though I am very sorry for them.
But, have you done opposition research on yourself? One book I read (can’t remember the title just now and don’t remember where I left the book) said that employers did full investigations of applicants these days.
As I’ve read of your experiences with job interviews, your high qualifications, and your lack of success, I wonder if there’s anything in your record that investigations are finding that is killing your employment prospects.
Just an idea. No implications nor harm intended.
*heh* Being a card-carrying member of the ‘Professional Left’ certainly doesn’t enhance one’s chances…! ;-)
I know exactly the feelings you are having. I don’t the type of firm or skills you represent. But sometimes this means only big companies or corporations hire your skills. And that sucks. Without knowing what sort of job you were looking for… could you re invent yourself and target a different set of job opportunities? I just don’t know what to tell you. I had not work for a year. YUCK. And now it’s picking up, but I can’t even see the top of the hole I’m in.
If Warren Buffet is so bent out about the “class war,” why doesn’t he divest his assets and use the proceeds to pay off the debt of the 50 states. Whatever’s left over can be used to help rebuild Japan.
At his age, he should be able to collect Social Security. Won’t that enough to get him through his golden years?
The choice we had in NY was crap. Cuomo didn’t even try too hard to hide his oligarch affiliation. But he was saner then Carl. The thing was could the legislature hold him to the fire. We got the answer. He even gets a budget on time. That is a big old stinking pile of manure adds insult to injury.
And any time someone tells me he makes sense, I say if there is money to run an endless loop of commercials to support his budget, how much money are they going to pocket. And wouldn’t that money be better spent on teachers and health care. Funnily enough, what gets most of the dissenters to consider agreeing is when I add, I’d go for the tax cut if it demanded jobs be created, good jobs. To get the cut you have to produce jobs. Say you must produce X number of jobs per 25 thousand dollars cut from tax bill. The jobs aren’t produced you retroactively owe the tax with interest. Because everyone is tired of the reason for the cuts being to create jobs that never appear.
Yes, it could be no more complicated than a google search for “Margaret.”
*gah* Sgt. Schultz is such an O’Bomber cheerleader…! 8-(
The ones making that pitch are laughing their asses off that the rubes are still falling for it.
Oh, the ‘choice’ in NYS was a complete joke.
Thinking Cuomo fils is to the right of Chrisie in NJ.
LOL, does that thing down at the bottom of the screen really say “Decisive Leader?”
I know…! I’ve googled myself…! I’m sooo screwed…! ;-)
Kenneth Feinberg – Oil spill fund administrator gets a raise–$1,250,000 per month
PASCAGOULA, Miss.— Documents provided
by the administrator of BP’s claims fund for
Gulf oil spill victims show the oil giant agreed
to increase his law firm’s monthly
compensation from $850,000 to $1.25 million.
The documents furnished Friday to The
Associated Press include a letter from former
U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to
claims czar Kenneth Feinberg. Mukasey stated
his belief that the extra money was warranted
because Feinberg’s duties had grown.
Mukasey was asked by Feinberg to weigh in on
how reasonable his compensation was.
The pay hike, detailed in a Tuesday letter from
Mukasey to Feinberg, is retroactive to Jan. 15
and runs through the end of 2011.
Feinberg has been criticized for the pace of
processing the roughly 500,000 claims that
have been filed since he took over handling
claims for individuals and businesses from the
$20 billion fund in August. Fishermen and
others have complained that the money they
have received is inadequate, and that in many
cases their claims have been denied with little
explanation.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42275072#
You got Yours ALREADY!!! Daym CT how’d I get left out…/s
Age and length of time unemployed have become the screen.
*heh* Don’t ya just luv the phrasing of tonite’s Q too…? ;-)
I know I’m truely thankful that no $$$$ were injurged in this event and want to thank those of the demodogs/repugs party that help make this possible.
Yep.
And the rational response to that would be to offer early Social Security benefits to those folks.
Of course, this country left rational somewhere between 9/11 and WMD’s.
Nope, not yet, last I’d heard it’ll be another 2 weeks or so…! Counting my chicks early…! ;-)
In December when tax cuts for the wealthy were continued by the Dems/Repugs.
I heard that they(Dems/Repugs) were high fiving each other after the vote.
Of course Obama said that he would fight next time to tax the wealthy. Let’s see…He (Obama) will fight when the Repugs have a majority in the House. What a guy!!!!!!!
Margaret, I’m sorry that things didn’t work out. I had a similar situation where I applied for a job and got an interview. It was for a business owned by husband and wife. I had an interview with the wife while the husband was on a trip. I was a really great fit and the wife told me not to take another job – she knew that I was looking – because she would tell her husband that night and call me the next day. The next day came and went and a couple of more. I realized that they were not going to hire me, but they didn’t have the courtesy to tell me. I didn’t check back because there was no answer that would really be true. I think that eCAHN @25 has a good suggestion.
Otay.. you had me there for a moment… that green streak rose up..(:>))
Was talking to a friend the other day. Attractive woman in her 50s. She’s been unemployed for a year and is looking for a receptionist position. Last time she interviewed, she found herself in the same room with 4 college graduates in their 20s also interviewing for the same job — at the same pay.
No chance.
The one thing that gets me is that so many people accept the situation without a peep. I can understand the politicians being bought off because that has gone on for a long time. For people to continue voting in the very ones making life hard is unfathomable.
Me, not so much, but I’m in a position where I don’t need to be so concerned. On my screen name, my fdl comments come up, which would certainly prevent me from being hired by any major corp were I of age to be looking for a job. But on my actual name, the stuff that comes up is pretty flattering, like Wellesley Business Leadership Council.
That’s for sure.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/27/dutch-bankers-bonuses-axed-by-people-power
Athenae is upstairs!
Late Night: The Invisible Mongoose
I sent the form in today to become a “decline to state” after 25-odd years as a Democrat. Probably wouldn’t have had the balls to do it if my state didn’t have open primaries. Nonetheless – it felt good.
This is Deja Vu. It is called protect the corporate slave-owners…….
As the southern slave-owners resisted the liberation of their property, human beings, slaves, Corporate America and its aristocrats resist change which might provide Americans with more value for the shrinking dollars they earn and the overpriced goods and services we cannot afford.
Like the Antebellum Senate of a prior time the operative word is obstruction. Obstruct anything which would provide increased opportunity for Americans and diminish corporate profit. Protect that corporate interest as America one protected slave-owners and Mr. Buffets prudent observations concerning “class warfare” will have a reaction as the seeds of civil war once sown by a SJC decision called “Dred Scott,” has been repeated with Citizens United. Where corporations are permitted to buy law and gain monopolies in commerce trade which place people into states of servitude to corporations, like a slave to slave-owners. Limiting choice, opportunity and freedom to protect leveraged cash cows!
Cuomo’s a scumbag like Emmanuel.
http://dunwalke.com/sidebars/andrew_cuomo.htm
People in some countries are waking up, but not here. Hit the snooze button again, only 20% are in slave class.
This has been coming for a long time. How come you did not note his extreme sellout of the middle class until it was too late to do anything?
Cuomo took 92,000 dollars in funding from koch industries, but no unions are out in the street. http://bit.ly/dSi45P
I might also add that the election was not even close so it would have been a good time to advocate for prolabor green Howard Hawkins, but there was not a peep out of the progressives despite the fact that Cuomo was campaigning on this stuff.
That’s too bad. The tell was when she told you not to take another job – an honest person wouldn’t have done that, IMO.
Thanks for that link beneath “Warren Buffett is right.”
I hope they don’t use Google…one of the first results that pops up for my name is a Nazi…