[VIDEO] The 5% recovery: Why most are still in recession

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What housing recovery?

Shari Olefson, author of "Foreclosure Nation," and Tanya Marchiol, CEO of Team Investments, discuss the decline in recent housing data and what it indicates about the recovery.

How strong the economic recovery has been since the Great Recession ended in 2009 probably depends on viewpoint.

For those in the top 5 percent, the recovery has been pretty good.

As for the other 95 percent, well ... maybe not so much.

Post-financial crisis wealth disparity has been well-chronicled.

Federal Reserve Gov. Sarah B. Raskin drew widespread attention with this speech in April that showed how poorly the lower income levels have fared during the recovery, particularly because those demographics have their wealth concentrated in housing and are hit far more severely by falling prices.

The unemployed in lower-income groups also take a hit because they have a more difficult time finding jobs that pay at a rate commensurate with the positions they lost.

(Read more: Jobless picture is worse than you think: Gallup)

Finally, history has shown that highly accommodative monetary policy widens income disparity by awarding speculators and penalizing savers. While the S&P 500is up nearly 150 percent since the March 2009 lows, that's most helped those heavily invested in stocks.

Via: CNBC

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NYT: Say, these Obama admin job-creation claims seem rather dodgy

Maybe the real surprise is that the White House is still using Porkulus formulas to make their job-creation claims, years after they have been discredited by newspapers across the country.  The New York Times belatedly took a closer look at job-creation figures from the Obama administration, and found that — like Obamanomics — they just don’t add up:

CREATING jobs is an essential goal today, given our high unemployment rate. But when job programs rely on taxpayer backing, their success or failure should be clearly disclosed.

For example, the United States Department of Agriculture has called its $1.6 billion business and industry loan program a rousing success. Not surprisingly, the department often trumpets the number of jobs that are expected to result from these loans — figures that it gets from the borrowers themselves. Whether these jobs are actually created, however, is another story.

The loan guarantee program is overseen by the Rural Development unit of the Agriculture Department and is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Rural Development provides loan guarantees of as much as 90 percent to banks or other approved lenders that finance the improvement or development of businesses in rural and high-unemployment areas.

Those who followed the long and bankrupt saga of the green-tech subsidy program will find this a very familiar tale, if on a smaller scale. Once again, the Obama administration decided to “invest” large amounts of taxpayer dollars into questionable operations.  Once again, the White House overpromised on jobs — far beyond even what the recipients of the funds proposed would be created.  And once again, the administration demonstrated that bureaucrats don’t make good venture capitalists.

Via: Hot AIr

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Dem bill would trigger huge new taxes on guns, ammo

A pair of Democratic lawmakers are proposing steep new taxes on handguns and ammunition, and tying the revenues to programs aimed at preventing gun violence.

Called the “Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act," the bill sponsored by William Pascrell, D-N.J., and Danny Davis, D-Ill., would nearly double the current 11 percent tax on handguns, while raising the levy on bullets and cartridges from 11 percent to 50 percent.

"This bill represents a major investment in the protection of our children and our communities, and reflects the long-term societal costs of gun and ammunition purchases in our country,” Pascrell said.

The lawmakers say the bill would generate $600 million per year, which would be used to fund law-enforcement and gun violence prevention.

Critics predicted defeat for the measure.

“What the anti-gun interests can’t ban, they want to tax it out of existence,” Alan Gottlieb, chairman for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, told FoxNews.com. “It’s nothing more than confiscatory taxation.

“I doubt this bill will pass, but we will lobby against it if need be,” he added. “This is simply another shot against gun owners in this country.”

The bill would exempt all federal, state and local agencies, including police departments, from paying the tax.

Via: Fox News Politics

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$1.5B for 'youth jobs fund'? Critics pan pork in Senate immigration bill

After a comprehensive immigration bill passed the Senate in June, President Obama says he's "absolutely confident" it can pass the House if put to a vote.

But critics question how many lawmakers have actually read the 1,200-page bill, which they say is packed with hidden pork-barrel spending projects ranging from $1.5 billion for a "Youth Jobs Program" to millions for immigrant support groups that some say have a political agenda.

"Earmarks, special pork deals, and cash for groups allied with the Obama administration should be eliminated from any final bill," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a statement to FoxNews.com.

The largest program FoxNews.com found with tenuous ties to immigration is on page 1,181 of the Senate bill, which allocates $1.5 billion for a "Youth Jobs Fund" to give states money to "provide ... employment opportunities" for teens and young adults.

The section was introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who first proposed the idea in a stand-alone bill in June. He said then that, "we have got to do everything we can to make sure that young Americans have the jobs they need to pay for a college education and to move up the economic ladder."

His office did not respond to a request for comment about why the program is relevant to immigration.

Page 219 of the Senate version of the bill also allocates $50 million plus "such sums as may be necessary" to non-profit "immigrant-serving organizations." The bill says the organizations are to use the money to help immigrants here illegally apply for legal status and citizenship, and to teach them civics and English.

Via: Fox News Politics

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Lew Tells Congress Treasury to Hit Debt Limit in Mid-October

The U.S. will hit the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling in mid-October, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said in a letter urging Congress to raise the limit “as soon as possible.”

“Extraordinary measures are projected to be exhausted in the middle of October,” Lew said in the letter today to House Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers.

“At that point, the United States will have reached the limit of its borrowing authority, and Treasury would be left to fund the government with only the cash we have on hand on any given day,” he said. He said the cash balance at that time is forecast to be about $50 billion.

The Treasury Department had earlier said it probably will be able to finance government operations by using special accounting measures until after Congress returns Sept. 9 from its recess. Lew said Aug. 22 a failure by Congress to raise the debt limit would “have disastrous effects for our nation” and could put at risk payments to Social Security recipients and veterans.

Boehner said last month the Republicans wouldn’t increase the debt ceiling “without real cuts in spending” that would achieve a further reduction in the deficit. Lew has said the Obama administration won’t negotiate on the debt limit.

The Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit research group, has estimated that the U.S. will reach the point where it is unable to pay its bills sometime between mid-October and mid-November unless Congress increases the limit.

Via: Bloomberg

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Kerry accuses Syria of using chemical agents and destroying evidence

Hinting at a military response, Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday accused Syria of using chemical weapons against its people and destroying the evidence, and said President Barack Obama believes “there must be accountability.”

Kerry, using forceful language in a brief statement to reporters, said images that have emerged from Syria in the past week — entire families killed without shedding a drop of blood, bodies contorting in spasms — “shock the conscience of the world.”

He said the evidence was “undeniable” that the Syrian regime had used chemical agents. And he said the president feels there must be accountability for those who use “the world’s most heinous weapons.”

The secretary spoke hours after a United Nations team trying to look into claims of a poison gas attack in a Syrian suburb was turned back by sniper fire. At the podium in Washington, Kerry spoke in pained personal terms, as a father, of watching and rewatching video of the aftermath of chemical attacks.

“Nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny,” he said.

The administration won preliminary support from members of Congress to wage strikes against the Assad regime, though lawmakers differed over the breadth of the attacks that the U.S. and its allies should wage.

“I do think action is going to occur,” Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on TODAY.

Via: NBC News

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CHARLES RANGEL ADDRESSING OPPONENTS OF OBAMACARE: “I SAW THE HATRED THAT WAS IN PEOPLE’S EYES.”

Many Democrats insist the opposition to Obama and ObamaCare is rooted in racism. Rep. Charles Rangel loses no time in addressing this concern.

Referring to racial inequalities, Rep. Charles Rangel says in The Hill:

“How do you overcome it? We certainly haven’t done it with an African-American president. I saw the people who scream and shout about ObamaCare. I saw the hatred that was in people’s eyes. People are not being honest with themselves if they don’t realize that the roots of racism go deep, that we still have not been able to cut that cancer out of the side of America.”

Remember, this is the same guy who recently called conservatives “white crackers” and continues to fuel the race-bating game.  

The leftist hypocrisy continues.

Via: Liberty News
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Fearing a U.S. strike, Syria warns of global "chaos"

DAMASCUS, SYRIAA senior Syrian official said Monday that his country will defend itself against any international attack and will not be an easy target as the U.S. and other countries ramp up rhetoric in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack last week on a rebel-held neighborhood of the Syrian capital.

In an interview with The Associated Press in Damascus, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad said airstrikes or other action against Syria would also trigger "chaos" and threaten worldwide peace and security.

He spoke Monday as support for an international response was mounting if it is confirmed that President Bashar Assad's troops were responsible for the Aug. 21 attack, which activists say killed hundreds.

The Obama administration is now talking behind the scenes as if there is almost no doubt about Assad's use of chemical weapons, CBS News senior White House correspondent Major Garrett reported on "CBS This Morning."

President Obama is moving toward a military strike against Syria. Any final decisions haven't been made, but senior administration officials talk of Syria now as a place where the U.S. and its allies must exact a military price for heavy use of chemical weapons. There is no longer serious debate within the administration if the Assad regime used chemical weapons last week.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., also appearing on "CBS This Morning," confirmed Garrett's assessment, adding: "There's no question the administration is building support with our NATO allies."

There are currently high-level conversations between the Obama administration and the British, French and German governments -- part of an intense effort to build a broad coalition outside the United Nations.

Via: CBS News

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Second suspect arrested in fatal beating of WWII vet

A second suspect believed to be involved in last week’s robbery and fatal beating of World War II veteran Delbert Benton was arrested early Monday morning, according to information provided to The Daily Caller.

Keenan Adams-Kinard, 16, was arrested at 3 a.m. on Monday for his alleged role in the robbery and murder of the 88-year-old Benton. Adams-Kinard is being charged with robbery and murder in the first degree.

Demetrius Glenn, also 16, was arrested last week by Spokane police and also charged with first-degree robbery and murder

Both teens have previous arrest and conviction records, which include assault charges.

Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub will hold a press conference later Monday as the case continues to develop.

Via: Daily Caller

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Republican Leaders and Their Changing Stories

Back in January, as Republicans geared up for a fight on the debt ceiling, House Republican Leaders assured their constituents that a continuing resolution was the way to fight Obamacare.

Said one Republican adviser:

“The debt ceiling is a terrible place to have the fight when you have the sequester and the continuing resolution…. There is so much misinformation about the debt ceiling, the word ‘default’ keeps getting thrown around. Why go for a big fight? Better to take a small bite of the apple here knowing that you will get a few more whacks at it down the road.”

At the time, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) penned an op-ed in which he wrote, “It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country.”

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich went on CBS to advise Republicans that their fight with Barack Obama should be during a continuing resolution fight, not a debt ceiling fight.

Keith Hennessey, whose opinion is highly regarded on Capitol Hill, wrote that the GOP should, “Take whatever big spending cuts you want and make them conditions of extending the Continuing Resolution. Threaten to shut down the government rather than to make the government risk not paying its bills on time.”

The Politico reported that John Boehner would never allow a default to happen and, consequently, would raise the debt ceiling. In fact, the Politico report last January suggested the GOP would make its stand on the continuing resolution.

That was all in January of 2013. The House Republicans decided to pass a clean debt ceiling and gamble on sequestration cuts. When March rolled around, the GOP killed a measure that would have defunded Obamacare in the March 2013 continuing resolution.

They chose to punt until later in the year.

Via: Red State

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