And a very merry DOOM to you too, sir!

Eric Cantor’s WaPo op-ed.

The president has acknowledged that without reform, spending on entitlement programs is unsustainable. But he has also made clear that he would never support the type of structural changes to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security needed to make these programs solvent as envisioned in our budget — even if Republicans agree to his demand for tax increases. While a compromise on the way to strengthen entitlements may be one thing, raising taxes in this economy is another. Doing so would exacerbate the jobs crisis for the 14 million Americans out of work. It would negatively affect the businesses across America that we are counting on to get our economy going.

The Euro is doomed, China’s in for a radical slowdown, and America might yet end up as the least-worst economy left standing by the end of the decade. Yay us!

Why Amazon can’t make the Kindle in the US.

Green jobs, red faces.

Is the main driver of unemployment a lack of labor mobility? There is a shortage of jobs in certain geographical areas, but there is also a lack of qualified applicants for the jobs that exist. The author blames stubborn unemployment numbers on a lack of labor mobility, and there is some truth to that, but a bigger issue is the asymmetry between the skills being demanded of the workforce versus the skills that the citizens are actually learning. It’s a failure of the educational system first and foremost.

Brother, can you spare $1.2 Trillion? But keep it on the down-low. I don't want anybody to know I'm hard-up.

Eurocrats are still pushing fiscal unity. I don't think it's going to happen.

Yet another reason to give Boomers a high-stepping kick in the nads. I jest...but only a little. I feel like the smallest child in a house full of bigger siblings who clean out the fridge of all the good stuff before I can get there. Oreos? Gone. Twinkies? Gone. Brownies? Gone. Leftover fried chicken? Gone. All that's left is some old celery and prune juice.

CDS Market: We’re getting pretty alarmed over here.

President Obama to serve up yet another giant nothing-burger. You know, I just can't get enough of this guy. A day without a gassy meaningless speech from King Putt is like a day without sunshine.

Taking the fabled “dine and dash” to a whole new level.

Germany’s “us or them” moment.

In coming months, Germany may have to make an agonizing choice: stable money or European integration.

More on the unpleasant choices facing Germany and the EU.

The recession of 2011?

A reminder: The Fed can’t cut rates below zero. And they can’t force people to borrow money.

Amity Schlaes: What’s the best thing Congress can do? Take their ball and go home.

Singer is blunter. About Washington's impact on the economy, he says simply: "Congress subtracts value."

Demographic DOOM. We're considerably less boned than Europe in this regard, so I guess we have that going for us.

The blue social model’s war on the young.

E. J. Dionne: We already consider you our Emperor, Barack! Please begin acting like one! The Imperium Americus will usher in a new age of freedom and prosperity!

Lie for years and get fat bonuses. Tell the truth and get fired. What a world. I'm sure this had nothing at all to do with the recent downgrade of US debt, that there was absolutely no pressure brought to bear by a red-faced Administration. (I wonder if Obama sent Luca Brasi over to S&P to deliver the message.)

King Putt: The $4 Trillion dollar man. And he doesn’t even have a bionic eye.

UPDATE 1: Those evil GOP bastards want to tax the poor! Well...yeah. When half of the people in the country pay no federal income-tax at all, they have no skin in the game. Everybody should pay something for the government they receive, just to remind them that government isn't free.

UPDATE 2: Posner: Yeah, we're in a Depression, all right.

Unfortunately, even when the economy recovers, and tax revenues increase, the federal deficit will continue to rise because of the rapid growth of entitlement expenditures—primarily Medicare and Social Security and, because of the health-reform law, Medicaid.

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posted by Monty at 08:41 AM

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