From the "Why we can't have nice things" file.

It's why we can't have nice things, and why, like I always say sometimes, that...



Hat tip to Ron Chusid.

From the "There oughta be a law" file.

Emilia1956 posits...

New Rule: If Obama Has to Show His Birth Certificate, Then Romney Has to Show His Tax Returns.

Sounds fair enough.

From the "Just the facts, ma'am" file.

Via Driftglass...

Signs of the times.

Hat tip to The Stand.

This post is brought to you by the number zero.

Via the White House blog...

From the "Me too" file.

Warren Buffett, whose straw is longer than yours or mine or yours and mine added up...

"I want a government that is responsive to the people who got the short straw in life.”

Me too.

From the "Give 'em hell, Harry" file.

The Majority Leader…

“The Senate GOP has had a love affair for many years now with Grover Norquist — they will not touch any new revenues.They are not in touch with reality or their own constituents. But they are in touch with Grover Norquist.”

Chart of the day.

Steve Benen graphs the new WaPo/Bloomberg poll...

Not just a good ol' boy….

…a damn good ol' boy. Toby Keith…

One way or another, before it’s over they’re gonna have to come and take big money from the earners and big corporations to save the country. I’m sure that everybody that has a patriotic cell in their system will say, ‘If it’s gotta be done, it’s gotta be done.’ I’d rather live here and not have as much money than live anywhere else and have twice as much.

Maybe Toby oughta get with Hank Jr. down for a little sit down...

Chart of the day.

Via Laura Clawson ...



It's become plainly, and painfully, obvious where the money went. The challenge is to get some of it back. The Buffett Rule seems like a good, if modest, place to start.

At long last…

…the President reports for duty...

There’s a lot of people saying, “this is class warfare.” Well, if saying that billionaires should pay the same share in taxes as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what? I’m a warrior for the middle class.

Welcome aboard, Sir.

The Once and Future Speaker…

…speaks.

"Every day we are talking about debt we are not talking about jobs, and that's a victory for the other side."

In the minority, the most important job is to frame the debate in a way that brings you a majority. If the debate is between cutting taxes (for, well just for worse, the GOP deficit reduction plan) and creating jobs, jobs sound like a winner.

From the "Me neither" file.

Chris Bowers...

As you read this, rich and powerful people in Washington, DC are trying to determine not whether they should cut programs designed to help low and middle-income Americans, but by how much they should cut those programs. The rich and powerful people in DC are making these cuts in order to pay for tax breaks they recently gave to rich people and large corporations. Additionally, the cuts are being made at the behest of the lobby organizations and media operations owned by rich people and large corporations.

If that isn't a class war, I don't know what is.

Me neither.

My money comes and goes…

…and rolls and goes and flows
Through the holes in the pockets of my clothes…

Wonder where it ends up?

New data released by the IRS reveals that, over a period of 12 years, tax rates for the richest 400 Americans were effectively cut in half. In 1995, the richest 400 Americans paid, on average, 29.93% of their income in federal taxes. In 2007, the last year for which the IRS has released data, the richest 400 Americans paid just 16.63%.

In 1995, just 12 of the 400 richest Americans paid an effective tax rat of between zero and 15%. By 2007, that number skyrocketed to over 150. The massive reduction is due to both Bush-era tax reductions for the wealthy and the aggressive exploitation of tax dodges and shelters.

Damn right it's a class war, and "don't retreat, reload" is starting to sound like good, if still figurative, advice.

Survey says…

...we're right, they're wrong.

Chart of the day.

Via Ezra Klein...



Hat tip to Howie.

From the "Not exactly news" file.

Michele Bachmann's a hypocrite.

Mitt Romney's a liar.

Herman Cain doesn't think.

And what's more...

But I imagine you knew all that...

From the "Since you asked…" file.

Alex Pareene inquires…

Is Rand Paul as dumb as he sounds?

Since you asked, yep.

Heh™.

Conan O'Brien via Ron Chusid...

“A Tea Party group has a summer camp for kids, the only one where they sit around the campfire and tell scary stories about taxing the top 2%.”

From the "Why not Washington?" file.

Andrew Leonard at Salon...

In Connecticut, Democratic control of the governorship and state legislature have pushed through an agenda of higher taxes and extended social welfare safety net benefits that must make President Obama green with envy.

I'm kinda green myself. I mean, we have Democratic control of the governorship and the state legislature. Why not Washington?

Oh yeah, we have direct initiatives, too. They don't hamstring their elected representatives that way. If that's not the "why not," it's a "why not."

Time to end the incurably corrupt practice and its perversely anti-democratic outcomes.

Past time.