Why American roads are so bad
“Our roads are riddled with potholes and cracks and bumpy asphalt band-aids over more potholes and cracks. It’s bad. And it’s our fault.” Read more…
(source: Gizmodo)
Pat Robertson: Idiot of day!
Robertson: Christians should not join Occupy Wall Street
(source: Gotcha Media, via BuzzFeed)
The last Labor Day?
“Let’s get it over with and rename the holiday “Capital Day.” We may still celebrate Labor Day, but our culture has given up on honoring workers as the real creators of wealth and their honest toil — the phrase itself seems antique — as worthy of genuine respect.”
“Imagine a Republican saying this: ‘Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.’” Read more…
(source: Washington Post)
American tale: Workers side against their economic interests
“As another Labor Day arrives, it’s not hard to see many in the present-day workforce doing the same thing [voting against their own economic interests], this time by accepting the notion that organized labor (e.g., teachers, auto workers, public employees) — not Wall Street and a reckless, unregulated financial industry — collapsed the economy. Anyone who dares point this out is charged with inciting “class warfare.” And the critics are right; it is class warfare, though not quite as they mean it. There is, indeed, a fierce class war under way and the working class is losing it.” Read more…
(source: nj.com)
82% of Obama voters will vote to reelect him if he raises taxes on the rich
“A new survey of Obama voters by Survey USA found that by a margin of 82%-18% they are more likely to support him again in 2012 if he raises taxes on the rich. The good news for Obama is that 66% of those who voted for him in 2008 approve of his handling of the economy compared to 27% who disapprove. Sixty three percent of those who disapprove are doing so because they believe that Obama has been too willing to compromise with Republicans. The president’s voters made it very clear what they want. Eighty one percent of those who voted for Obama said that they want to see the president lay out a broad jobs plan next week. Only 16% wanted him to focus on smaller measures.” Read more…
(source: PoliticusUSA)
Why do most poor people oppose increasing taxes for the rich?
“The Economist did a study recently to find out how lower-middle and lower class Americans think about money and the economy, in order to better understand how and why the vote the way they do. What they found out is interesting and a little sad.” Read more…
(source: itThing)
Americans don't realize just how badly we're getting screwed by the top 0.1 percent hoarding the country's wealth
“With an unprecedented sum of wealth, tens of trillions of dollars, held within the top one-tenth of one percent of the US population, we now have the most severe inequality of wealth in US history. Not even the robber barons of the Gilded Age were as greedy as the modern-day economic elite.” Read more…
(source: AlterNet)
Could an alien invasion really save the U.S. economy?
“There’s no shortage of ideas on how to help the faltering economy, but Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has come up with what has to be the oddest suggestion yet: Fake a looming invasion from outer space.” Read more…
(source: Global Public Square, via The Week)
Airplane circling Wall Street with banner: 'Thanks for the downgrade. You should all be fired'
“On Tuesday, less than a week after Standard and Poor’s downgraded U.S. credit for the first time in history, a plane circled lower Manhattan with a banner that read: ‘Thanks for the downgrade. You should all be fired,’ according to a tweet by AmericanBanker. It has since come out that the stunt was paid for by an unnamed broker from St. Louis, according to Fortune.” Read more…
(source: Huffington Post)
E-Trade Baby Loses Everything (ad parody)
(source: YouTube, via Huffington Post)
Is narcissism to blame for the U.S. debt crisis?
“The fragile state of the U.S. economy and the country’s unsustainable debt have been generating headlines across the world this summer, with many economics experts weighing in on how the U.S. has gotten to this point and what can be done about it. Economist and author Daniel Altman says there is a fairly simple explanation for America’s complicated debt crisis: narcissism. He addresses the problem in his latest book, Outrageous Fortunes: Twelve Surprising Trends That Will Reshape the Global Economy.” Read more…
(source: CBC)
(source: Dilbert by Scott Adams)
Apple has more cash than U.S.
Steve, can you help a brother out?
“The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Thursday that it now has an operating balance of just $73.8 billion. At the moment, Apple has a cash reserve of $75.9 billion.” Read more…
(source: Daily Beast)
Tooth Fairy gets frugal in shaky economy
“The economy is so tough that it has taken a bite out of what kids get for losing teeth. Compared with a year ago, youngsters reaching under their pillows have found an average of 40 cents less per tooth, according to a recent Visa Inc. survey.” Read more…
(source: Denver Post, via The Daily Beast)
United States of Narcissism
Self-obsession is on the rise in America, and the economic consequences could be dire.
“Narcissism is on the rise in the U.S. It’s likely to get worse before it gets better, and the economic consequences will likely be severe. Americans today are happy to spend rather than sacrifice, leaving future generations with the bill instead of accepting higher taxes themselves. They choose to keep bathing in a sea of cheap credit rather than cracking down on the practices and institutions that led to the financial crisis. And all along, they insist that their economic system is the best even while neglecting future investments in the very things that make a productive society: education, infrastructure, and scientific research.” Read more…
(source: Newsweek)
