Old Man Cap

Top 1% of Americans Reaped 2/3 of Income Gains in Last Economic Expansion (courtesy of: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities)

Check out the above link for some scary and not really surprising data on where exactly all the growth has been going towards over the past decade.

Huzzah for the new age of Robber Barons!

Latest plan for the large economic stimulus plan began circulation today. Lots of great stuff in here and (sort of) details included as well.

Looks like a heavy dose of what the country needs structurally to be able to maybe succeed and not fall apart. I’m generally happy with it. Check it after the jump.

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Today, Census Bureau data came out detailing the year-on-year changes in retails spending. It was the worst year they have on record, a real decline of over 11% in retail sales nationwide in 2008.
Calculated Risk: Retail Sales Collapse in December

So, I blogged awhile ago that we were entering just the eye of the storm and we’d have another hard rocky time ahead of us. That rocky time begins now. The initial part of the recession was due to the bubbles bursting, financial and housing. Those bubbles kicked in and are starting to drag down the rest of the economy now. As victims of the above bubbles, everyone has tightened how they spend money (and actually save it instead – can you imagine?!). Not only retailers but especially lenders and creditors. No one is spending money any more, or is able to get money in the first place. As more and more jobs are lost as a result of Part 1, this will go even further and drag us down quite a bit to the full extent of this recession (potentially even depression [classified as a -10% change in GDP]).

While the market realized this was going on, it never really quite sinks in until official data comes out (albeit too late). Today, and even last week with its unemployment numbers, are the signals of Part 2 of this recession. Let’s see how far it drops. During then, keep safe.

I feel a countdown is appropriate.
8 days left until that mockery of the presidency is out of office. 8 more days to potentially screw more things up in an attempt to create some sort of legacy.
It’ll be a very anxious 8 days.

Some details, thanks to CR.

The Job Impact of American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan

Daily Camera: Former FEMA director among evacuated

What would have been better is if his home was both flooded and surrounded by fire. Like a huge moat and inside the moat, a ring of fire, and then his house inside, not on fire. Oh yeah, and he had a couple other thousand Bushies waiting inside his house. Yup.

Then wait a few days. Yup.

Then hear something about how everything is doing fine. Yup

Wait a couple more days. Yup.

Now once the fire is out, someone comes to help.

Wonkette: Roland Burris Tells Media Roland Burris is Awesome

This guy is so ridiculous. THE MAGIC MAN

via Wulff Morgenthaler

Actions for Restoring America: Transition Recommendations for President-Elect Barack Obama

On Change.gov, the transition administration is inviting people to propose recommendations for the transition period and at the above link is a fantastic (& long) series of things that need to happen. I’m not going to start being proud of our nation until most of these get underway. Things like ceasing torture, restoring privacy, protester protections, etc… We could look at our Constitution and our current government and marvel at the effective implementation of the Constitution. Our current government and movement away from some of our core principles as a nation are travesty. If you think you are truly free right now. You are not. You are only comfortable. Please read the above and forward it along. Being an American is a state of mind. It is not a birth right.

It’s about time that this has been officially stated. For those who have been thinking that the economy has been sucking since before August, you were right!

NBER: Determination of the December 2007 Peak in Economic Activity

This also begins to explain why foreclosures starting happening en masse at the beginning of last year and it bringing the recession out in force.