SAR #11091

Running from a mob does not make you a leader.

The Big Squeeze: The US economy is growing faster than most of the industrialized world, profits are up and production is expanding. But the growth in production per-capita means that there are few if any jobs for the unemployed, while the growth in profits means that the rich don't care that the poor have no jobs. Yet.

Quickie: The European Monetary Union is resembles Nude Descending a Staircase in oh so many ways...

Angels on Pinheads: The banks are all upset because federal regulators have decided that the definition of a good mortgage under Dodd-Frank means “a good mortgage” - one that is unlikely to go into default, with 20% down and a mortgage payment around 30% of proven income. The banks are not sure there are such things anymore, as they've not written one in four or five years.

Seems Fair: Turns out the biggest threat to future GOP electoral victories are the GOP's past electoral victories.

Blind Date: The Fed, having been backed into a corner by the Supremes, has finally released documents detailing which banks borrowed how much from the emergency discount window at the height of the financial crisis. They released it to a small group of reporters, on disks, in pdf format. Why not an open-access website? Because they still don't think you should know.

Theme Song: US Factory orders dropped “unexpectedly” in February by 0.1% after a 3.3% gain in January, while European inflation “unexpectedly” grew at its fastest rate since October 2008. Expect the unexpected.

What the Dickens? Maine Republicans want to repeal child labor laws and make it legal for kids to work 50 hours a week and up 11 pm on school nights, while earning only $5.25 an hour. That'll put a lot of family breadwinners back to work.

Mirror: Look to India to understand where the growing gulf between the rich and the rest is leading the US. Don't pretend it doesn't worry you.

Apostasy: The new report card for the Irish banks is expected to be so bad that “a radical new approach” will be needed to resolve the problem – bondholders who have been milking the Irish taxpayers to keep these failed banks afloat will be forced to lose some of their own money. Gasp!

Kids For A Day: Dan Quayle's boy Ben was elected to Congress to represent Arizona's third district posed with children that weren't his in an election mailer... Family values?

Brave New World: Obama says the US must reduce its dependence of foreign oil because the price is too high. But, Sir, oil is a fungible product on the world market. The price is set by the world market and not by where it was produced. If that's the level of his understanding of the problem, god help the Libyans.

Let's Make A Deal: Putative Democrat Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, has delivered a state budget that gives tax breaks to millionaires while making devastating cuts to education in the poorest school districts. Sound familiar? Like any politician dreaming of being president, the first thing he's traded away are his principles.

Re-Run: The top 1% honestly believe they’re immune, having successfully beaten down the average American for 3o years. They have fallen under the spell of the Great Gatsby, believing they are different from you and me. They are not. They are not immune from consequences. Can a revolution happen here? Perhaps. Certainly nobody predicted the revolutions throughout the oil-rich Arab world.

Way Back Home: Claiming that women will say anything just to get an abortion, Indiana Republicans have voted not to make an exception in their anti-abortion for cases of rape or incest. They also contend that there should be no exception in the case of women whose life is threatened by their pregnancy. They should have known better than to have sex in the first place.