Caveat emptor: The first-quarter economy is slowing, and inflation is rising. A month ago, economists were optimistic about the potential for 4 percent growth. Now they are marking down their estimates toward 2.5 percent. Behind this, consumer expectations are falling, while inflation fears are going up.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Perhaps one of the most dangerous sentences in the English language is: "It can't get any worse."
Eighteen years ago, "midnight basketball" was the big har-har-har on the conservative talk circuit. It was a federal program that sought to coax young men off the late-night mean city streets and onto supervised basketball courts.
One thing on which there seems to have been agreement during the monthlong debate about how the United States should respond to the uprisings in the Middle East -- in particular to the anti-Moammar Gadhafi rebels in Libya -- is that we must not act unilaterally.
The White House Office of Management and Budget projects that this year, mandatory spending will exceed federal revenue. Congress could cut every dime of discretionary spending and Washington would still run a deficit. Years ahead of forecasts, Social Security paid out more money than it took in last year. So who in Washington is serious about tackling the deficit and looming tidal wave of debt?
While there is much stupid behavior to be found among politicians on both sides of the aisle during the embarrassing budget debate, few incidents have been more revealing than the latest Republican attempt to defund National Public Radio.
Not long ago, Republicans mounted their high horse over Charlie Rangel's ethical lapses. They had a right to. Among other questionable conduct, Rangel had solicited charitable donations from executives with business before the House Ways and Means Committee, which the New York Democrat chaired.
Much has changed since our launch of the 2012 Crystal Ball Presidential Ratings—and yet little has changed in this slow-starting campaign. We outlined all our cautions about early assessments in the January Crystal Ball, so we’ll just skip right to the red meat evaluation.
Grover Norquist, the affable head of the Washington-based Americans for Tax Reform, doesn't want Republicans to negotiate with Democrats to solve Washington's deficit problems or to cut a deal to solve California's budget shortfall.
The weakest part of our political system is the presidential nomination process. And it's not coincidental that it's the part of the federal system that finds least guidance in the Constitution.
In about a month, the Republican majority on the House Budget Committee will present its concurrent budget resolution for fiscal year 2012, which by law will include their proposed 2012 annual budget and their projection of the budgets (spending, revenues and the resulting deficit, surplus or balance) for the following nine years.
"Did you have a nice weekend?" a friend asked on Monday, before recounting all the fun things he and his kids did over the weekend.
At Friday's news conference, President Obama tried to connect with the common man coping with rising gasoline prices. Instead, the president left little doubt that he is clueless about cars.
A wall of water now rules our freak-of-nature nightmares. Like the whirling funnel that drops down from the sky, it gives scant warning. But unlike a tornado, it devastates wide swathes of civilization, and there's no tsunami equivalent of a tornado cellar for sitting out the violent weather.
In the Illinois legislature, state Sen. Barack Obama voted "present" 129 times. Today, he seems to be voting present on two major issues, Libya and the budget.
Forget the recent scandals involving National Public Radio. Go back to the days before NPR chief exec Vivian Schiller resigned, before a conservative prankster videotaped NPR fundraisers disparaging tea party participants as "seriously racist, racist people" -- to even before NPR fired senior news analyst Juan Williams after he said on Fox News that he got "nervous" flying with passengers in Muslim garb.
Stocks got slammed today. The Dow dropped 228 points as the much anticipated correction appears to be taking hold. Year-to-date, the broadest index, the S&P 500, is still up 3 percent, and the Dow is up 3.5 percent. Curiously, a $2 drop in oil did not rescue the market. But a lot of worries about China growth, a Spanish credit downgrade, and a widening U.S. trade deficit weighed down the market right from the opening trade.
It’s time for a quick update on the 2012 Senate and Governor contests. Even though only two months have passed since our January roll-out, a surprisingly large number of shifts have occurred.
Despite the dubious credentials of Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., as an opponent of terrorism, owing to his years fronting for the Irish Republican Army, his controversial hearings on the "Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response" might still have proved useful. Had they included testimony from real experts, officials who are responsible for counter-terrorism and actual leaders from the Muslim community, the proceedings could have revealed fresh and important information.
