Put the cat nip down, now!

Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson: It's Party Time on Wall Street, But Americans Face the Hangover

www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-s-hacker-and-paul-pierson/its-party-time-on-wall-st...
The Congressional Oversight Panel set up to police the reckless financial institutions aided by the federal bailout of 2008 has just released an alarming report on the foreclosure mess. It concludes that "companies servicing $6.4 trillion in American mortgages may have bypassed legally required steps to foreclose on a home," with the possible consequence that "the housing market could experience even greater disruptions than have already occurred, resulting in significant harm to major financial institutions."

Alan Grayson: Five Things The Rich Can Do With Their Tax Cuts (VIDEO)

www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/18/alan-grayson-five-things-_n_785657.html
WASHINGTON -- Alan Grayson (D-Florida) wants everyone to know that he is not in favor of extending the Bush cuts for the wealthy, which would average out to about $83,347 a year for each person in the top 1 percent of the U.S. income bracket. To drive his point home, he made a list for lawmakers on the House floor Wednesday night of the many ways those "high and mighty" individuals making an average of $1.4 million a year will be able to use that extra cash.

The Lame Direction of the Lame Duck | OurFuture.org

www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010114619/lame-direction-lame-duck
Nearly 2 million U.S. workers are facing premature elimination of federally-funded unemployment benefits if Congress doesn't act by November 30. Yet the talk dominating Washington, D.C. these days is about extending George Bush's tax giveaway to the rich. Really?

The Recession Is Not Over - NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/opinion/19fri2.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a211
The Times’s Sabrina Tavernise recently reported on new Census data showing that in 2010, the number of children living with a grandparent rose sharply for the second year in a row, to 7.5 million. That is 10 percent of children under 18, up from about 8 percent from the years before the recession

Capitol Hill wealth? No recession there | jacksonville.com

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jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-11-19/story/capitol-hill-wealth-no-recession-there
The top five were Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., with holdings exceeding $303.5 million; Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., with $293.4 million; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at $238.8 million; Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., at $174.3 million; and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., at $160.9 million.

GOP's Top Tax Guy: Republicans Will Block Permanent Middle-Class Tax Cut | TPMDC

tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/gops-top-tax-guy-republicans-will-block-perm...
The Republicans' top tax guy in the House threatened in the clearest possible terms today that he and the rest of the GOP would vote to block any tax cut for the middle class during the lame duck session unless tax cuts for the wealthy are extended for the same period of time.

Marian Wright Edelman: The Threat of Persistent Poverty

www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/the-threat-of-persistent_b_784114.h...
As the economic downturn lingers, a striking characteristic is just how widespread its impact still is. Recent reports state that more Americans are now living in poverty in the suburbs than in cities -- a trend that has increased dramatically during the recession