charlestonpeace.net

By Patrick Hayes

To be delivered to: The South Carolina State House and The South Carolina State Senate

Use returning revenues to honor our state’s commitment to its teachers and fully fund our schools.

Read more and sign the petition.

This week and last week, EPI President Lawrence Mishel was razor sharp, poking holes in various aspects of conservative economic mythology.

• The United States is not becoming an “entitlement society.”

…Read more at EPI News.

Josie Raymond:  From Bad to Worse: A History of the U.S. Poverty Rate

The new poverty statistics released this week by the Census Bureau are bad — 43.6 million Americans are officially in poverty and tens of millions more are on the cusp — but not worse than what was expected. However, that’s still the largest number of poor people in the United States in the 51 years that records have been kept.

So there are more of us worse off, but as a nation, are we worse off than ever? Let’s look at the ups and downs of the poverty rate since it debuted in 1959 to this week’s results

Matt Amaral:   All Those Damn Kids Have Cell Phones Though, Don’t They?

Contrary to popular opinion, all these damn kids don’t have cell phones, computers, printers, or anything. But yes, most of them have refrigerators—those poor bastards.

Dan Morgan:    Remembering Poverty Before the Safety Net

Stacy Mitchell: How State Banks Bring the Money Home

Stacy Mitchell interview at Free Speech TV

If higher marginal tax rates lead to slower economic growth,  then why do higher marginal tax rates correlate to faster economic growth?

Are they just ignorant, or are they lying to us?

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC):  “We also need to just cut the top marginal rate for individuals and corporations so that we’re more competitive and companies can look way out in the future and know they’ll have a competitive tax rate.”

Speaker of the House John Boehner:  “We’ve seen over the last 30 years that lower marginal tax rates have led to a growing economy, more employment and more people paying taxes.”

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI):  “The economics profession has been really clear about this – higher marginal tax rates create a drag on economic growth”

Pat Garofalo:  CHART: Since 1950, Lower Top Tax Rates Have Coincided With Weaker Economic Growth

Dean Baker:  Weak Job Growth Leads to Another Rise in Unemployment
“The employment-to-population (EPOP) ratio fell to 58.2 percent, the low hit in December of 2009 and again in November in 2010. This means that the job growth thus far in the recovery has been just sufficient to keep pace with the growth of the labor force.”

CBPP Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the June Employment Report
“Today’s very disappointing employment report shows that two years after the technical end of the recession and after 16 straight months of private-sector job creation, the jobs deficit remains huge (see chart).”

Heidi Shierholz:  Labor market in full retreat
“[The July 8] release of the June 2011 Employment Situation report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a labor market in retreat.  Virtually every single measure was weak…”

In solidarity with the Madison protesters:

Rally to Save the American Dream
SC State Capitol – Gervais and Main Streets,
1801 Main Street (Map)
Columbia, SC 29201
This Saturday, February 26th, 12:00 PM

Rally for a Moral Budget
Saturday, March 12 at 1:00 PM
State House
Columbia, SC
803.808.3384
http://www.scpronet.com/
Some music to get you in the mood:

Tom Morello – World Wide Rebel Songs Live in Madison Wisconsin

Bruce Springsteen & Tom Morello – The ghost of Tom Joad

Billy Bragg -There Is Power In A Union

Dropkick Murphys The Workers Song