Debt Ceiling Hangover Edition

The Stock Market plunged more than 200 points despite the phony Debt Ceiling crisis being averted, proving it was a phony crisis this whole time.  It's been the recession all along, as well as projected double dip inflation, stagnation, stagflation, zero job creation and no elation.... jobless numbers expected to unexpectedly rise again this Friday when the Labor Department figures come out --  and oops, that 9.2 percent figure for June?  Likely to be revised upward..... again and again and again.

 Obama said now that Phony Debt Ceiling crisis is over, the country can start to focus on jobs.  Huh?  Congress is beating it out of town for the next five weeks. But wait! Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness had a forum livestreamed from the White House website this afternoon. (I thought Joe Biden had vowed to get rid of wasteful government websites!)  Anyway, it was a bunch of CEOs lolling around on a stage commiserating about this and that and mostly about THEMSELVES.  Steve of AOL says we need a Silicon Valley States of America.  We need government to be more friendly to businesses so they can have the confidence to invest.  We need a program so all their hoarded overseas profits can be "repatriated" to evade American taxes.  There might have been talk of actual jobs instead of entrepreneurship and how the rich can get richer. I don't know.  I turned it off after 15 minutes.  It was a waste of time, and I am in austerity mode, cutting back on my government propaganda so I can save for college and win the future.


One bit of pleasantly surprising news: Kirsten Gillibrand, the junior senator from my homestate of New York, broke ranks with bank-licking Chuck Schumer and voted against the Debt Ceiling extortion bill.  From her statement:

“The fact is, there is nothing in this deal that will address the significant jobs crisis we are facing. This deal, cut behind closed doors with zero transparency, is an unbalanced approach that cuts deeply into discretionary spending while being overwhelmingly stacked in favor of large corporations who exploit loopholes and the wealthiest among us. It is simply not in the best interests of the middle class and the larger economic recovery."

Doubly surprising, given Gillibrand was the top recipient of Wall Street largesse during her campaign.  Somebody obviously read the emails and phone messages from her pissed-off constituents. (including me)  So good on Kirsten, whom I have oftimes criticized for being in the pocket of the banks.  The five other Democrats who voted against the bill in the Senate are both New Jersey senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, along with Tom Harkin of Iowa, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.  Names to remember come election time.

The Economy by Numbers in all their horrifying reality, are here.

And last but not least, by popular request, here is the link to Keith Olbermann's "Special Comment" call to action.  Enjoy.