Tag Archives | Economy

Medicaid Expansion: A Prescription for a Healthy Michigan

By on May 1, 2013 in Michigan Republicans

Michigan Republicans are the only ones who think it’s a bitter pill.

The evidence that Medicaid expansion is in the best interests of Michigan and its citizens keeps stacking up. Even Governor Rick Snyder gets it. But Michigan Republicans continue digging in their heels, trying every unsubstantiated excuse in the book to block expansion.

As I wrote here previously in a two-part series, Medicaid expansion would deliver measurable benefits to the state, insuring up to 730,000 uninsured Michiganders with the help of $1 billion in federal funding, creating 18,000 jobs and about $2.1 billion in economic activity.

Apparently, those aren’t good enough reasons for the Michigan GOP to take the money and run with a program that could boost the physical, emotional and economic health of our state.

Much more after the jump.


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Conservatives and Republicans have completely lost their minds about the debt ceiling

By on January 15, 2013 in Conservatives, Republican-Fail, Republicans

Go outside and play, children. Grown-ups are trying to govern.

There was a time when a handful of legislators could cast a political protest vote against raising the debt ceiling in this country and it didn’t make a bit of difference because, at the end of the day, everybody knew that the majority of lawmakers, including Republicans, would vote to raise it. They have to. They are paying for things they have already spent money on. Barack Obama did this as a Senator in 2006 and admits now that it “was just an example of a new senator making what is a political vote as opposed to doing what was important for the country”.

But what’s happening now is completely different. Republicans and conservatives are actually contemplating defaulting on the bills we owe. And that changes everything.

Much more analysis after the jump.


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Michigan leaders weigh in on what our state should do to attract jobs (hint: it ain’t “lower taxes & bust unions”)

By on January 11, 2013 in Labor, Michigan, Michigan Republicans, Rick Snyder

Wait, I thought Gov. Snyder was a businessman…

A recent study by the Michigan Economic Center asked over 3000 representatives from businesses, nonprofits, and governmental organizations what things Michigan needs to do to attract more business investment in our state. If you listen to Michigan Republicans, including our governor, their answer is “lower taxes and bust unions”.

They might wish to ask the people who actually DO business in this state what they think. “Lower taxes” isn’t even close to the top.

Follow me over the jump for details.


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Romney campaign urges Florida governor to quit bragging about his state’s recovery

By on June 21, 2012 in Barack Obama, GOPocrisy, Mitt Romney, Obama for America, President Obama

Quit SAYING that! People will think things are getting better.

The Romney campaign wants Florida Governor Rick Scott to quit talking about how great the economy is in Florida right now. Knowing that an improved economic picture kills Romney’s only talking point in this election, they simply can NOT have that kind of talk.


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Rising gas prices not suppressing consumer spending

By on April 3, 2012 in Barack Obama

Okay, Republicans, you can stop cheering now

If you lean out your window, you can probably hear Republicans around the country cheering for high gas prices. Not because they want Americans to use less of this polluting fossil fuel and decrease our dependence on Mideast oil. No, it’s because they are literally counting on gas prices to be the death knell for President Obama’s reelection campaign. It doesn’t matter that he’s not responsible for it (hint, hint: it’s Wall Street.) That doesn’t matter one bit.

Here’s the problem: rising gas prices aren’t actually …


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Wall Street has its best 1st quarter since 1998

By on March 30, 2012 in Barack Obama, President Obama

Lookin’ good, lookin’ good…

This bodes well for the Obama re-election campaign. The Republicans are counting on a tanking economy and for corporate interests to come running to their rescue. And then comes this: Wall Street had its best first quarter since … wait for it … 1998!

Despite falling six out of the last nine sessions, the S&P 500 gained 12 percent in the first quarter, its best start of the year since 1998 and the best overall quarter since the third quarter of 2009. The broad-market average sits just off four-year highs.

Hard to imagine an outpouring of corporate money flowing to the GOP when Wall Street is doing so well.…


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US Economy is looking better than previously thought

By on March 1, 2012 in Barack Obama, President Obama

This is GREAT news for John McCain Barack Obama!

Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Commerce Department has upgraded the fourth quarter 2011 GDP results up to 3% growth from 2.8%.

The economy grew slightly faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter and a gauge of factory activity in the Midwest hit a 10 month-high in February, pointing to underlying strength in the economy.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 3 percent annual rate, the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday in its second estimate.

The reading, which was up from the 2.8 percent pace the government reported last month and reflected modest upward revisions to almost all components of GDP, added to the recent run of fairly upbeat economic reports.

…


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Michigan gets some good unemployment news

By on December 15, 2011 in Michigan

Alright! Now THIS is more like it!

Michigan’s unemployment rate fell by eight-tenths of a percentage point last month to 9.8 percent. This is the first time since November of 2008 that Michigan’s jobless rate has dropped below 10 percent. The national November unemployment rate is 8.6 percent.

The jobless rate fell by eight-tenths of a percentage point in November. That’s a sharp drop and much of it was due to new hiring. But retail was the only sector to show significant growth from month to month and much of the decline is also due to about 19,000 fewer people in the workforce competing for available jobs.

…


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Obama administration moves aggressively on investing in small business creation

By on December 8, 2011 in Uncategorized

As part of the Obama administration’s ongoing “We Can’t Wait” program, they announced today an aggressive new initiative to spur the creation of job-creating startup companies. It’s a two-pronged approach. First, they are launching a $1 billion Early State Innovation Fund which provides matching capital to small business investment companies. This is part of an existing program called Startup America.

An additional $1 billion investment will be announced later today during the first board meeting of the Startup America Partnership. This consortium of over 50 companies are pledging to provide $1 billion in goods and services such as consulting, computer software and other essential items for new businesses.…


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Newt Gingrich calls CBO “a reactionary socialist institution which does not believe in economic growth/innovation”

By on November 23, 2011 in Barack Obama, President Obama

Newt is such a charmer, isn’t he? I love that, when he appears in the GOP primary debates, he spends 3½ of his alotted 4 minutes deriding the question and the questioner and castigating the media as a whole. There’s no better way to garner positive press than treat the members of the press as pariahs and sociopaths, is there?

Well, there’s another group Newt ingratiated himself with this week: the nonpartisan group that scores our nation’s bill as to their impact on the nation’s budget & economy – The Congressional Budget Office (CBO). During a speech in New Hampshire Monday, he said “The Congressional Budget Office is a reactionary socialist institution which does not believe in economic growth, does not believe in innovation and does not believe in data that it has not internally generated.” It is not known if Mr.…


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