The only president since Jimmy Carter to constrain out-of-control spending by Congress was Bill Clinton. But deficit spending during President Obama’s first term has so far only been in response to the recession, part of his administration’s expansionary fiscal policies which have included tax cuts and credits for most Americans.
CBS: As the Senate began a new term Wednesday, there was 100 percent agreement on its first order of business, approving a resolution honoring Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who just set a record for longevity.
They call her Senator Barb. At just 4-foot-11, she sometimes gets lost in photos, but on the Senate floor there’s no way to miss her.
…With her victory in 1986, Mikulski became the first female Democrat elected to the Senate in her own right.
…She broke boundaries, and as she entered her fifth term Wednesday, she broke a record. Republican Margaret Chase Smith was the longest serving woman in the Senate at 24 years, but a lot has changed since 1973.
…”Now we’re 17 percent; we’re no longer a novelty,” said Mikulski. “We’re here to stay and there’s more of us to come.”
Bloomberg: Service industries expanded in December at the fastest pace since May 2006, showing the U.S. economic recovery is picking up and broadening beyond manufacturing.
The Institute for Supply Management’s non-factory index, which covers about 90 percent of the economy, rose to 57.1, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, from 55 in November. A reading greater than 50 signals growth. Another report today showed hiring accelerated.
Improving demand at FedEx Corp. and Carnival Corp. shows the expansion is extending to areas like retailing and recreation, putting the rebound from the worst recession since the 1930s on firmer footing. The gains may prompt more employers to increase payrolls, one of the missing ingredients that has concerned Federal Reserve policy makers.
…Stocks climbed as the reports bolstered optimism the economy is strengthening …. companies boosted payrolls in December by the most since records began in 2001. Employment increased by 297,000, almost three times the 100,000 median estimate of economists surveyed …. Employers last month also announced plans to cut 32,004 jobs, the fewest since June 2000…
Full article here
…with Majority Leader Harry Reid and his wife Landra
….with whatshisname?
Oh yeah! Wasn’t this guy once the future President? How did that go?
….with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, her husband Jonathan and their son Theo
… with a Rand(om) Nutjob
….looking at the pearl necklace of Ava Rose Wyden, daughter of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore
Senator Lisa Murkowski hands Vice President Joe Biden one of her campaign t-shirts
…..and gets a hug in return. Hope you were watching Joe Miller 😉
….with Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette
….with Senator Barbara Mikulski
….. with Senator Barbara Boxer and her husband Stewart
…checking to see if his work was done
Back at the office….
JB: “Actually, I used a Macy’s catalog to swear in Rand Paul, so his votes won’t count at all.”
BO: “Good job, Joe!”
President Obama talks with Vice President Biden in the Oval Office while National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and Counsel to the President Bob Bauer confer in the Outer Oval Office, Jan. 5, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
“Excuse me, Vice President. Can you tell some of the construction workers to build a Lego shop here?”
– Jack Isakson to Joe Biden at the ceremonial swearing-in for his grandfather Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.).
VP: “I’ll tell you what, I’ll work with grandpop to see if we can get that done. We need jobs, Jack. The kid’s thinking! He wants to build a LEGO shop here!”
Speaking of Lego …..
Here’s a pic from Flickr showing then Senator Obama kicking John McCain’s ass during the Presidential election. Very nice. But the President’s hair? It looks like a cat sleeping on his head.
And here’s the inauguration at LEGOLAND California:
And, eh, here’s the President and First Lady during the swearing-in. Am I being harsh, or could there have been a touch more detail in the faces?
President Barack Obama talks on the phone with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in the Oval Office, Jan. 5, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Bloomberg: Companies in the U.S. boosted payrolls in December by the most since records began in 2001, showing a stronger labor-market recovery at the end of last year, data from a private report showed today.
Employment increased by 297,000, exceeding the highest projection in a Bloomberg News survey….
Faster job growth will fuel the income gains necessary to further spur consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. A Labor Department report in two days will show companies added 150,000 workers last month and the unemployment rate eased to 9.7 percent…
….today’s ADP report showed an increase of 27,000 workers in goods-producing industries … it was the biggest gain since February 2006 and the second straight rise. Service providers added 270,000 workers, the 11th straight gain and the most since record-keeping began.
Employment in construction was little changed, the first time without a decline since June 2007, while factories added 23,000 jobs…employers in the U.S. announced plans in December to cut 32,004 jobs, the fewest since June 2000…
Full article here
‘Repealing health-care reform would cost hundreds of billions of dollars — and Eric Cantor knows it’
Washington Post: House Republicans are in a pickle: One of their new rules says that new legislation must be paid for. But the health-care bill reduces the federal deficit by more than $100 billion over the next 10 years. Luckily, they’ve figured out an answer to their problem: They’ve decided to simply exempt the repeal bill from the rules. That means they’re beginning the 112th Congress by lifting their own rules in order to take a vote that will increase the deficit. Change we can believe in, and all that.
Republicans are aware that this looks, well, horrible … Majority Leader Eric Cantor got asked about this, and he returned the reporter’s serve with a volley of nonsense ….”….everyone knows beyond the 10-year window, this bill has the potential to bankrupt this federal government as well as the states.”
That’s all well and good – but it’s not true. … What’s important about Cantor’s argument is not that he’s wrong. It’s why he’s saying something he knows to be wrong … as a matter of arithmetic, using the math that Congress always uses, the bill saves money. It cuts enough spending and raises enough taxes to more than pay for itself, both in the first 10 years and in the second 10 years….
But Cantor and the GOP know full well that the bill is unpopular largely because people think it increases the deficit. Polls have shown that only 15 percent of Americans know that CBO said it will reduce the deficit. If, in the repeal fight, it becomes widely understood that the bill reduces the deficit, it will become more popular. So it’s crucial, as the repeal effort goes forward, for Republicans to become much more brazen in falsely asserting that the bill doesn’t really reduce the deficit…
Full article here
(This echoes Eugene Robinson’s point in this article – “….all along, what Democrats really wanted was for Americans to look closely at the details (of the health-care bill). Now it looks as if the GOP is ready to oblige.”)
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