recession

CNN: "Officials confirm 'credible but unconfirmed' 9/11 threat"

Andrew Stiles: "Hensarling: Lay Off the Supercommittee"

The Hill: "Disgraced former-Rep. Wu makes surprise appearance at Obama's speech"

Politico: "Rick Perry panic fires up the left"

Zero Hedge: "How The Economy Quietly Entered A Recession On Friday, And Why The GDP Predicts A Sub-Zero Nonfarm Payroll Number"

Last week I wrote a piece about the great comic book bubble of 1993. Today I got a note from Ron Forman, who owned one of the regional distribution companies that Diamond drove out of business, setting the bubble in motion. Ron helpfully adds that it was The Return of Superman and Turok #1—think of them as the comic book version of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers—which precipitated the collapse.

What Tolstoy wrote about families is true of economics: Boom times are all alike, but every crash is disastrous in its own way. That’s why stories about bursting bubbles are always instructive. There are lessons in the smallest of them, even the bubble that led to the comic book crash of 1993. 

"Bill Clinton to Paul Ryan on Medicare Election: ‘Give me a Call’"

Is NY-26 a "A Blue-Collar Warning Sign"?

Stay classy, Ed Schultz.

I have noticed something unsettling in my own life lately: I know a lot of people who are on food stamps or some kind of extraordinary government assistance. The count right now stands around 10 people, which is a lot for a small town denizen such as myself.

Over at The Atlantic, Derek Thompson flags this terrifying indicator:

The folks at econstories.tv are back with round two of their entertaining and informative rap battle between economists John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek. Watch it below:

Let me bore you with some numbers. Employment dipped to 137,960,000 in December 2009. That may seem like a lot of Americans with jobs, but it happened to be the low point in the recession that began before President Obama took office the prior January.

At this point, conventional wisdom suggests that it will be difficult for Republicans to force and win a vote before the midterm elections on extending tax cuts for all Americans. The main obstacle is the Senate, where Republicans would have to get 19 Democratic votes. There are now five Democratic senators on record favoring the more comprehensive extension that Republicans want.

The American economy is in serious trouble, and the remaining weapons we have available to prevent a double dip are few indeed.