Daily Archives: March 26, 2009

Are tax increases necessary to curb deficits?

March 26, 200912:01 p.m.

nationaldebt“The debate on the budget is phony, the howling on deficits a charade,” wrote columnist E.J. Dionne. “Few politicians want to acknowledge that if you really are concerned about long-term deficits, you have to support tax increases.”
Meanwhile, “Frontline” had an interesting but depressing program this week on the national debt. It spread the blame, reporting on the estimates of how much Barack Obama’s budget will add to the debt but also noting how the Bush administration cut taxes while it was waging two wars and approving a huge entitlement expansion (Medicare prescription drugs). Experts on the program agreed that curbing Medicare and Medicaid spending is the biggest challenge.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Economy, President Obama | Comments (73)

If Obama’s teleprompter could blog

March 26, 20096:03 a.m.

obamateleprompterSomeone decided it would be entertaining to write a blog as Barack Obama’s teleprompter, offering “reflections from the hard drive of the machine that enables the voice of the leader of the free world.” Recent postings include one in which the teleprompter said that “when people can’t see past the gloss and the smooth lines, and thin brackets and sleek screens, not bothering to see the real me, the real guts, it hurts. I have a brain, people.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under President Obama | Comments (46)

Open thread 3/26

March 26, 20096:02 a.m.

thread-comm45

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (202)

An AIG bonus recipient speaks — and quits

March 26, 20096:01 a.m.

aig2Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group’s financial products unit, publicly resigned on the New York Times Op-Ed page today, tired of the “dysfunctional environment” and a $1-a-year job that required him to spend “10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family” but had nothing to do with the credit default swaps that imperiled AIG. He wrote: “After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company — during which AIG reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 — we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by AIG and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn.” DeSantis said his March 16 bonus was $742,000 after taxes. “None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Economy | Comments (31)

Where is urgency on Sebelius’ nomination?

March 26, 20096:00 a.m.

Obama HHSThe journey from nomination to confirmation took four weeks for former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, who was confirmed by the Senate Wednesday as secretary of commerce. If Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ nomination for secretary of Health and Human Services were on the same time line, she would have had a Senate hearing this week on the way to a confirmation vote next week. Yet her nomination, announced March 2, was only formally sent to the Senate on March 17, according to the White House Web site, and spokesmen for the White House and Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday that nothing was set. That could push Sebelius’ confirmation into late April, after Congress’ two-week Easter break. Where is the urgency to get a leader in place for HHS, which has 65,000 employees and a full agenda?

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Congress, President Obama | Comments (7)