Harvard Economist, Claudia Goldin, On Income Inequality

"Is equality of income what we really want? Do we want everyone to have an equal chance to work 80 hours in their prime-time productive years? Yes, but we don't expect them to take that chance equally often."

On General Motors's Tax-Break Possibly Being as Much as 45 Billion

Can you say, corporate welfare, Obama style?

On the Lancet's Claim of 1.4 Million Dead Iraqi Civilians

WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Iraq Body Count has underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 91.7%. WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Associated Press has underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 92.1%. WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Iraq Family Health Survey has underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 89.2%. AND WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Wiki Leaks Iraq War Logs have underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 92.2%. These assertions, folks, we are led to believe. Duh yuh think that there might be some politics involved here?

Beyond Bush and Evil

One of the things that has most gotten lost in this whole "Bush is a war criminal" debate is the fact that ethics is almost as much a concept of intention as it is one of consequence. Saddam Hussein INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the Kurds. Pol Pot INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the intellectuals, Christians, professionals, Chinese, etc.. Hitler INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals. Leopold 2 INTENTIONALLY tried to brutalize the black Africans of the Congo. The Turks INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the Armenians....President Bush has consistently said that he'd do it all over again, even knowing what he currently knows. I cannot believe that, folks. I refuse to believe it.

The Proof of the Pudding is in the Bleeding

Lyndon Baines Johnson lied us into Vietnam; a war that caused 10 times more casualties than the Iraq War, a war that didn't have a U.N. resolution OR a Congressional approval. According to the very same criteria that has been put forth by those who have argued most vociferously that George W. Bush is a war criminal, LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON WAS A WAR CRIMINAL. Now, let us see if these individuals agree. 

A Quick Undressing of a Myth

The assertion - that the United States economy is rigged and that only certain people can benefit from it.............The refutation - a) 58% of the people in the bottom quintile in 1996 were out of it by 2005 AND their income had risen substantially (91%).......b) More than half of the people in the top 1% of income earners in 1996 were out of the top 1% by 2005 AND their income actually went DOWN (26%).......c) At least 70% of the people on the "Forbes" richest 400 list were described as ENTIRELY SELF MADE and only 19% of them had inherited their fortune.......d) The age range for the highest average income earners is 45-54. This strongly infers that the people in the highest income bracket have only achieved this level after having first risen from the lower levels.......Yep, there it is, folks; our country, a country in which the people not only can make it but do make it, and in which a person's wealth isn't necessarily a guarantor of future success. Let the spinning begin.

Channeling Chris Hayes

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