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30 Sep 2010 21:53

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Politics: Economist Robert Reich: Rich getting richer, poor staying poor

  • There are big, big holes in that Wall Street financial reform act — holes big enough for Wall Street traders to drive their Ferraris through. …  I think we’re going to be left with a Wall Street that continues to grow more and more powerful and richer relative to the rest of the United States economy.
  • Economist (and Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor) Robert Reich • Regarding the economic recovery and financial reform, which he says has not succeeded in helping the middle-class, but has succeeded in allowing the financial industry to get richer. It’s created a disparity that, according to Reich, hasn’t existed since the Great Depression. “[The middle class] can’t go deeper and deeper into debt. They can’t work longer hours. They’ve exhausted all of their coping mechanisms,” he says. source

05 Jul 2010 21:28

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Politics: Paul Krugman: What’s the point of punishing the jobless?

  • As I and others have been arguing at length, penny-pinching in the midst of a severely depressed economy is no way to deal with our long-run budget problems. And penny-pinching at the expense of the unemployed is cruel as well as misguided.
  • New York Times columnist (and “Get Him To the Greek” co-star) Paul Krugman • Discussing the bizarre situation which led to the lack of unemployment extensions. He’s pushes hard on the issue, saying that the solution is worse than the problem. “Cutting off benefits to the unemployed,” he writes, “will make them even more desperate for work — but they can’t take jobs that aren’t there.” source