Good morning folks,
Yesterday we were reminded that our economy continues to struggle. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Government spending, which has been a drag on growth for more than two years, declined for the ninth time in 10 quarters. The biggest cuts came in military spending, which tumbled at a rate of 22.2%, the largest drop since 1972. But state and local spending also fell, dashing hopes of stabilization after a rare increase in the third quarter.”
So what to do? The official response of the White House was to blame House Republicans - the minority in Washington. Wow, pure courage. If you read one thing this morning, it should be Keith Hennessey’s excellent response to Jay Carney’s idiotic comments. We have faith that at some point, journalists will hold Carney accountable for literally lying from the podium.
Seize the day,
Brad Daysping
@BDayspring
Mark Bednar
@MarkBednar
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@JamesPoulos “Guns dont kill ppl, weeklong MW3 seshs kill ppl RT @ArthurDelaneyHP Videogames bigger problem than guns: actual senator http://d.pr/q458”
@AlexisMadrigal “My two cents on FB earnings: Facebook nets about $0.02 a month per user.http://bit.ly/Tcmb4M”
@SEC_Logo “Alabama Recruiting Class Rankings: 247Sports (1st), Rivals (3rd), Scout (9th), ESPN (2nd) #SEC”
FTAlphaville “Spain finds €40bn hidden in sofa http://on.ft.com/XUG0dY”
@Abumuqawama “NYTimes: Iran Is Said to Be Set to Accelerate Uranium Enrichmenthttp://nyti.ms/Vpx3ZZ”
On The Radar
Economic Growth
Recovery Shows A Soft Spot. “The U.S. economy shrank for the first time in more than three years in the fourth quarter, underscoring the halting nature of the recovery. But the strength of consumer spending and business investment suggested that the economy will grow, albeit slowly, this year.”
Higher Tax Bite Means 1Q GDP Won’t Improve On Dismal Fourth. “It would be easy to chalk up the reversal in GDP growth to cutbacks in government spending, but buried within the report are signs of more trouble ahead. One big example: Personal income rose $253 billion, or 7.9%, in the fourth quarter but most of that was due to increased dividends, salaries and bonuses designed to escape the higher taxes that kicked in Jan. 1.”
It Isn’t Time To Thank President Obama For Helping Charities. “With tax law changes swirling around us every day, nonprofit executives like me lie awake nights wondering how these changes will affect the charitable giving on which we depend. Will the recent tax increases hurt us, as so many journalists and commentators have warned? And what will be the effect of the changes President Obama still plans to seek?”
Immigration Reform
On Immigration, Obama Assumes Upper Hand. “The principles Mr. Obama embraced this week differ in some central ways from the effort under way in the Senate, where Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, and Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and six other senators are working toward a bill that could be debated and voted on as early as this summer.”
Health Care
Obama Administratin Takes Steps To Implement Individual Mandate. “The Obama administration took new steps Wednesday toward implementing the individual mandate in its signature healthcare law, downplaying the scope of the unpopular provision by stressing rules that allow exemptions from the requirement to purchase insurance.”
Federal Rule Limits Aid to Families Who Can’t Afford Employers’ Health Coverage. “Under the law, most Americans will be required to have health insurance starting next year. Low- and middle-income people can get tax credits to help them pay premiums, unless they have access to affordable coverage from an employer.”
X-Factor
Obama’s Flip-Flops On Money In Politics: A Brief History. “When President Obama told supporters that he would morph his campaign into a new nonprofit that would accept unlimited corporate donations, the announcement set off a familiar round of griping from campaign finance reformer.”
The White House’s Curious Silence About Obama’s Claim Of Skeet Shooting. “A number of readers have raised questions about the president’s statement that he goes skeet shooting “all the time” while at Camp David. In these suspicious times, they would like to see some evidence. But the White House has been oddly silent about the matter.”
This & That
What is a dive bar?
20 Tattoos Inspired By Crafting
Dazed & Confused Star Arrested
Dan Marino has some explaining to do
Age Discrimination