Economist Proves: Reagan’s Deregulation caused Today’s Income Inequality.

Finally, the root cause is revealed.  Plenty of talk has been talked on the topic, by experts, data wonks, and politicians. But nobody was able to say why the 1% started f***ing the rest of us to an even greater extent than hitherto, from the 80’s through the present day. Not until a few months ago, that is:

There are many gauges of the depth and breadth of economic inequality, and they often measure what middle-income working people have today against what they had prior to 1980 – that time when homes were affordable, along with doctor visits and college educations. Yet few of the astonishing charts and metrics that have captured this widening gulf explain how it all came about. So when economist William Lazonick pointed a finger at a very specific aspect of corporate behavior, people took note.

Lazonick’s 4,900-word piece, titled Profits Without Prosperity, focused on the 449 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index that were publicly listed from 2003 to 2012. Lazonick found that from the end of World War II until the late 1970s, corporations generally took a “retain-and-reinvest” approach to profits. That is, they kept their earnings and reinvested them – first and foremost in pay raises and job benefits for the employees who helped make the firms more competitive, but also in business expansion, research and new technologies.

But starting in the early 1980s, after the Securities and Exchange Commission removed limits on companies’ power to buy back their stock, these large, publicly traded companies began spending a portion of their net income on stock buybacks. The trend was exacerbated in the 1990s, when the compensation packages of corporate chief executives were linked directly to the stock value, and has accelerated in recent years – even though it’s been little noticed and rarely discussed as a prime driver of economic inequality.

THIS IS HUGE, Gentle Reader. Huge. It proves what everyone except Teapubbies and all the other “small government” and supply-side eedjits have known for decades: the Reagan Revolution was a huge mistake, a f***-up for the ages, even worse than when the Senate handed Rome to Caligula. The nation’s woeful retreat from its former stability to the shambles of the present day is, once and for all: The. Fault. Of. Reagan. Era. Republicans.

And the longer America keep electing these criminally idiotic, venal, fact-challenged, big-mouthed-but-walnut-brained f***wits, the worse it’s gonna get. We need to vote each and every “Republican” who is currently IN office OUT of said office. And that soon.

Maybe someday, when Repubs go back to the pre-Reagan days of ideological and political sanity; then, and ONLY then, can we allow them back into power. But frankly, friends, we can’t AFFORD these Teapublican nitwits any longer. They have cost us dearly, far too dearly, and done far too much damage to be trusted now.

Now you know who to blame. Time to do something about it.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Even Big Business’s Mouthpiece Admits It: “Republican” Policies Suck.

When Forbes, of all magazines, says “Obama kicks Reagan’s ass”, or words to that effect, you know that the Supply-Siders are totally f***ed. And that they suck dead elephant d***s. And are too f***ing stupid to realize how stupid they are.

But Big Business follows data, and data proves that Voodoo Economics is a giant, stinking heap of dinosaur bollocks:

Bob Deitrick: ”President Reagan has long been considered the best modern economic President. So we compared his performance dealing with the oil-induced recession of the 1980s with that of President Obama and his performance during this ‘Great Recession.’

“As this unemployment chart shows, President Obama’s job creation kept unemployment from peaking at as high a level as President Reagan, and promoted people into the workforce faster than President Reagan.

“President Obama has achieved a 6.1% unemployment rate in his sixth year, fully one year faster than President Reagan did. At this point in his presidency, President Reagan was still struggling with 7.1% unemployment, and he did not reach into the mid-low 6% range for another full year. So, despite today’s number, the Obama administration has still done considerably better at job creating and reducing unemployment than did the Reagan administration.

Big businesses may not like Obama, but they (unlike brain-dead ideologues like Ted Cruz) can read a balance sheet. They know that good old-fashioned math-based accounting proves that supply-side economics is deader than a doorknob. So too do most normal Americans.

Why, then, does our nation persist in its apparent infatuation with such a bankrupt ideology? Simple: the Teabaggers who are dumb enough to buy the voodoo potion turn out and vote; and the precious few in the business world who are profiting by the Reagan-era policies spend lots of money buying elections for ideologues like Ted F***ing Cruz.

Sad to say, mere facts and common sense matter litlle when politics rears its ugly head. This writer hopes that you, Gentle Reader, will at least consider facts when you express opinions and cast ballots. The same facts that even the Repubs at Forbes are acknowledging.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

As predicted, “Voodoo Economics” has created a “Zombie Economy”.

This blog sneers ofttimes at “Republicans” and their stupid-f*** “supply-side” economics. (Here is one example of said mockery.) The gist is: tried and true data-based economic practices are the way to succeed, and Randian, Lafferesque Voodoo economic policies are the way to fail.

In Kansas, one of several states that have decided Ayn Rand was the false Goddess they shall worship, Voodoo economics have had the result most of those in the Reality-Based community have predicted:

In Kansas, the right wing has completely run the show in the state capitol since the 2012 elections, when Sam Brownback (who became governor two years earlier) led a purge of moderate Republicans who were acting as a brake on his agenda in the state Senate. Kansas is now a laboratory for what would happen if conservative Republicans gained full control of government. Empowered state Republicans slashed taxes for the rich, arguing that an economic boom would follow. It didn’t, as job growth in Kansas has underperformed the national average (as has Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, another state that moved hard right around the same time). But what did follow was a huge hole in the state’s budget (while liberal-dominated California is running a surplus and paying down debt).. (Emphasis via Cranky)

In state after state, the predicted results have occurred: Voodoo economics have created a sort of Zombie economy. What might seem just a mildly amusing turn of phrase is in fact a devastating blow to those of us not in the 1% (said 1% motherf***ers not being in the least incommoded by the Undead Economy). The economy is limping along, barely alive as far as most of us can tell, and that is not a sustainable path.

In Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, and indeed across the nation, we see the results of “Republican” policies: and rotten results they have proven to be. Using millions of people to test their voodoo theories was unethical at the outset, and has since sucked most of the life our of our economy.

Unlike the zombies one sees in movies, our Repub-afflicted economy can be healed and brought back to life. All that is needed is to lay off the voodoo, apply some healthy policies, and the rotting ambulatory corpse of our nation will be restored to health.

And the first step of that cure? Get out and vote. Vote against each and every “Republican” in every race, in every location. Banish the witch doctors and bring back the trained, educated professionals that had served us so well for centuries. Ditch the dream of Supply-Side, and awaken to reality.

That ‘dream’ turned out to be a nightmare the likes of which even Romero could never have envisioned, anyway.

Mr. Blunt and Crankly

Screw the Catholic Church, but the Pope is speaking some truths.

This writer has been trickling all over supply-side economics for quite some time now, going back to the Reagan era when the idiotic notion first reared its ugly-assed head. And so have many others. But Pope Francis has outdone us all.

Here is Francis taking the academic approach:

“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world,” Francis wrote in the papal statement. “This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacra­lized workings of the prevailing economic system.”

“Meanwhile,” he added, “the excluded are still waiting.”

And here he is with the killer phrase, offering a perfect summation of Voodoo Economics:

“The promise was that when the glass was full, it would overflow, benefiting the poor. But what happens instead, is that when the glass is full, it magically gets bigger, and nothing ever comes out for the poor”.

Being a descendant of Huguenot refugees who fled from the terrors and crimes of Rome, Mr. B & C has long felt (and continues to feel) a huge antipathy towards the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Screw that organization with a rusty chain saw. They have done immense damage to Jews, Protestants, women, and the LGBT community over the centuries, and continue to to wreak havoc today, bringing misery and death to untold millions. And they rarely (if ever) apologize or make recompense for their crimes. So, again, screw that organization.

But let’s give credit where it’s due: Pope Francis has revealed the Laffer-Curve Emperor to be naked. He has brilliantly summed up the con job that was foisted upon the world by a bunch of fake “Republicans”, starting in the late 70’s. He has linked the cause (Supply-Side Economics) to its effect: the historically unprecedented inequality that plagues our planet. He has, in short, truly done God’s work this time.

It may be nothing more than the leader of one criminal organization calling out another: but it is truth. It is a truth that the world needs to hear. So, bless you, Pope Francis. Just for today, and thank you.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

A Song For The Kasich

A “shell game” is an old trick, beloved by con artists: they have three shells and one small pebble. They put the pebble under one of the shells, and then rapidly move the shells to and fro, mixing them up so you can’t tell which is which. They then ask you “which one is hiding the rock?” Most of us guess wrong, and lose our money.

Ohio Guv-boy John Kasich is clearly a connoisseur of the shell game: he has outlined a large number of changes to the tax code that are confusing and nearly impossible to follow, and labeled them a “tax cut”. Not surprisingly, people in and out of government are scratching their heads, trying to follow The Kasich’s sleight-of-hand routine.

Ohioans would do well to remember a few things:
Number A; Bob Taft once noticed that an income tax cut was about to bankrupt the state, and proceeded to push through a sales tax increase-this cut taxes on the rich and shifted the burden to the middle class and poor. The Kasich is doing something similar, but with more smoke and mirrors-while “cutting” taxes, he is proposing a whole raft of new taxes, again mostly hitting everyone but his wealthy paymasters and cronies.

Letter 2; this is just another example of the discredited and failed theory of Trickle-Down economics. Steal from the poor, give to the rich, and the rich keep the money, instead of magically giving it back to the unwilling donors.

Thirdly; the late great George Harrison summed up The Kasich’s little scam very neatly, as Mr. Vaughn demonstrates:Taxman. That is the Song For The Kasich.

The entire history of The Kasich’s tenure has been one shell game after another. People need to remember the reason con artists work the shell game in the first place: the con man always wins, and the other players always lose.

Mr. B & C

Lying Sacks of S*** of The Week: Austerity Advocates

This week, the Crown O’ Polished Turds has thousands of worthy recipients: anyone and everyone who still pushes Austerity as a solution for an economy in recession. It hasn’t worked, doesn’t work, and won’t work in the future. Like Supply-Side economics, it is a theory with no supporting evidence and lots of information proving it wrong.

Recent examples include Greece and the rest of the EU, as well as Great Britain. The record pretty clearly proves that Austerity Does. Not. Work.

So to all the s*** heads pushing yet another reverse-Robin-Hood scam, we present even more s*** to put on top of your noggins. Wear it with pride, and to warn the rest of us of your approach.

Mr. B & C

PS: remember the huge 1991 Japanese recession, where they tried Austerity to fix the economy? They are STILL in a recession, 22 years later.

Austerity Doesn’t Always Work

Not quite a century ago, America had the Great Depression. The government at first tried to let the free market fix everything, used a tiny amount of stimulus, imposed austerity measures, and made things even worse.  A subsequent administration used huge amounts of stimulus, which helped the economy to recover and made it possible for the United States to avoid being taken over by the German Empire later on. Only a few fringe theorists think that we should have stuck with austerity in that case.

A decade or so ago, Japan had a pretty severe recession. The government decided to impose strict financial discipline and imposed drastic austerity measures. Japan’s economy has not yet gotten back to where it was before the recession, even after all these years, and independent economists have pretty much reached a consensus that austerity didn’t work in that case.

A while back, China had no particular economic issues but DID have huge honkin’ political issues. The government used unnecessary stimulus to distract the populace and is now realizing that they are about to have a recession. Neither austerity nor stimulus should have been used in that case.

A year or four ago, America and Europe got whacked with the Great Recession. America hedged its bets and went with a small dose of government stimulus, and the EU went with drastic austerity measures. Today, America’s economy is slowly (very slowly) recovering while Europe’s is circling the drain. Once again, independent economists are saying that the Yanks’ stimulus approach helped to stop the bleeding, and  the Europeans’ austerity measures have made a bad situation even worse.

So why, despite its lousy track record, do so many of us still think that austerity is a good tool to use in fixing our current financial mess?

Mr. B & C

Lying Sack of S*** of The Week: All Supply-Siders. Yes, including Romney and Ryan

Mr. Blunt and Cranky is bestowing this week’s Crown O’ Polished Turds upon any and everyone who is still pushing Voodoo Economics. They do so in spite of the recent Congressional Research Service analysis that proved that Supply-Side Economics Does. Not Work. Period. End of Story. Mourners, please omit flowers.

One would think that the GOP (and some few Dems) would be changing their tune, given the news. After all, if what they are proposing to do would damage the economy, run up deficits, and possibly foment civil unrest,  surely any responsible politician would change course, for the good of the nation. One would think that, and one would be wrong. Why?

The one effect that supply-side HAS had is the concentration of wealth among the top 1% of Americans. This is the primary funding source of the “Republican” party in this day and age, and that is what their priority is: the pipeline of cash (legal and otherwise) that lines their pockets and bloats their offshore bank accounts.

“Give us more time”, they say; “trust us”, as they siphon money from our pockets. Perhaps one might be inclined to give them said time, were it not for this little fact: the supply-siders who have had 3 ½ decades to prove their plan will work (and want more time) are the same people who are saying that President Obama should be thrown from office for not fixing the Great Recession in 3 ½ years.

Got that? They have had ten times as long to make their case, and want more time; time that they will not give to the other party. Feh.  They know that their theory is bogus, and rather than act in a patriotic manner, they are choosing to continue lining their pockets at our expense.

Throw them out, the lot of them, the lying, sneaking, pilfering, cheating scumbags.

Mr. B & C

Trickle-Down Economics is Dead: Yes, Mitt, it’s Official

Mr. Blunt and Cranky has been saying that the Supply-Side Voodoo Economics theory that “Republicans” have been pushing for the past few decades is a bunch of mule muffins, and has further challenged adherents thereof to provide impartial proof otherwise. Thus far, no Pro-Trickle proof has been presented.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Research Service (said Congress being under the effective control of the Repubs, mind you) has just put out a report saying that the Reagan/Bush/Romney plan does not work, and has never worked. The first link is a summary news story; the second is the actual report, suitable for OCD data freaks like your humble correspondent.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/tax-cuts-wealthiest-don-t-stimulate-economy-report-160714639.html

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/news/business/0915taxesandeconomy.pdf

Here’s the money quote from the Congressional Research Service:

“The results of the analysis suggest that changes over the past 65 years in the top marginal tax rate and the top capital gains tax rate do not appear correlated with economic growth. The reduction in the top tax rates appears to be uncorrelated with saving, investment, and productivity growth. The top tax rates appear to have little or no relation to the size of the economic pie.

However, the top tax rate reductions appear to be associated with the increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution”.

All y’all got that? The Romney/Ryan plan will do nothing to create jobs or boost the economy. It WILL, however, make those two rich f***s even richer, along with their cronies. They are pushing a plan that will screw us all, while lining their own pockets.

You might not call that criminal behavior –  politicians running on a platform that enriches themselves at the expense of the nation they profess to “serve”. This writer does. And if you vote for them, you’re just as guilty as they are.

Mr. B & C