Not a good week for Republicans' anti-Obama agenda

[ProSense]

White House announces job-generating energy-efficiency plan that needs no okay from Congress

Labor board approves controversial union election rule in 2-1 vote

Vt. to get $18 million for US health care reform (Senator Sanders: A Step Forward on Health Care)

The Bomb Buried In Obamacare Explodes Today-Hallelujah! (also posted here)

"21st consecutive month of private sector job growth"

Market’s Gain for Week Is the Strongest in 2 Years

An early stock market rally fizzled on Friday but still left the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index up 7.4 percent for the week, its biggest gain since March 2009.

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The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.61, to 12,019.42. The Dow ended the week up 7 percent, its largest weekly gain since July 2009.

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The Dow jumped 490 points, its biggest gain since March 2009 and its seventh-largest one-day point gain in history. The weekly point gain of 787 in the Dow was the second-biggest in its history, following a 946-point gain in October 2008.

“This market has been gripped with fear for a long time,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. “And I think some of these fear factors are beginning to dissipate.”

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Camp Victory, emptied of U.S. troops, is handed to Iraqi government

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military transferred control of its sprawling headquarters outside Baghdad to the Iraqi government Friday, a deeply symbolic moment that launched the final month of a nearly decade-long U.S. presence.

The last few soldiers at Camp Victory, a base that once housed 68,000 military personnel and contractors, departed early Friday afternoon. There are currently 12,000 U.S. troops left in Iraq at five bases, down from a peak of 170,000 at 500 bases in 2007, military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson said. All will be gone by the end of the year.

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[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BklnDem75]

4. Compared to last year

8.6% is looking much better than 9.8%. Luckily performance is not rated on your cherry-picked goals.

[Pirate Smile]

10. Seasonal adjustments are supposed to take out the known retail hiring for the Christmas season. The

numbers subtract that out so we don't show a huge swing in the employment numbers every October & November.

I understand the need for the RW to dismiss all good news. I suppose I do understand the need of some on the left to do the same. They think if things get so horrible some bizarre utopian revolution will happen and the people at the middle & bottom of the economic ladder will miraculously go to the top. I think if things get worse then the people with all the $ & resources will just get to manipulate things even more to their benefit.

The people on the left who continue to dismiss and denigrate all progress his President & Democrats manage to achieve are just providing an assist to the Republicans.

[Itchinjim]

5. Too good for links eh?

Must be God's gift to DU.
Jeez.

[johnaries]

7. WTF? "no blue links"? If you can't back up what you say with

references, then "just remain silent".

[Cali_Democrat]

2. The stock market is no indication of increased prosperity for the 99%

The S&P 500 is actually up over 85% since it's lows in March of 2009, yet unemployment has increased and wages have flat lined. Meanwhile, the 1% is doing better than ever. Record profits at many corporations and increased wealth for the 1% have done nothing for the 99%. The people that benefit the most from a flying stock market are corporations, hedge funds, investment banks and the wealthy 1%.

With regard to the jobs created, more than half were added by retailers, restaurants and bars...essentially low paying "hamburger flipper" jobs. Many were also seasonal/temporary workers for the holiday season. Also, 315,000 actually left the labor force. That's disastrous.

What we need is real economic reform and a complete pivot from Reagan's economic policies. We're not getting that. If anything, we keep moving in the wrong direction.

If people keep trying to polish the turd and pretend that everything is OK, we're never going to get real structural reform.

[Itchinjim]

6. The stock market IS an indication of increased prosperity for this 99%er's 401k.

Along with millions of other's retirement funds

[Cali_Democrat]

9. 401k's are a scam designed to skim money from the average American

See Rachel's Show on this --->>> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#44968952

[JoePhilly]

12. Not according to my 401k.

[Tarheel_Dem]

18. And mine.

:thumbsup:

[joshcryer]

21. I can't see that, what are the arguments?

Private investment in a regulated environment is always more profitable than public investment in a fixed bonds market or something.

[trekbiker]

29. 401K can be a pretty good deal

but is no substitute for a defined benefit pension. Companies that convert defined benefit pensions to defined contribution plans like 401K's or to Cash Balance pension plans are in effect reducing employees benefits and saving themselves a lot of money over the long term. And now its coming to my company in our latest union agreement. New employees will have a cash balance plan instead of a defined benefit plan. I think it really is true that my generation (I'm 53) will be the last to have a greater standard of living than the preceeding generation.

As far as 401K its been very good for me. A colleage in the same union job as me and same hire date 27 years ago never bothered with contributions much over the years while I maxed my contributions most years and was very disciplined about it. What they say about getting an early start is true and my account is now close to 900K while my friends account is about 100K.

[DCBob]

19. This is why OWS is having a hard time connecting with mainstream folks.

Most have retirement plans that are dependent on stocks and bonds, etc.

[think]

25. Could or should OWS promote investment in socially responsible business?

The bank transfer day was a great success for OWS. Why not continue in this fashion?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

28. Neither did the Vietnam War Protests, the Civil Rights Movement

or the Feminist Movement at the time. Not registering with Ma and Pa in Muskogee when they first began didn't make those movements any less just. You're not making me more likely to vote for Obama with comments like that.

[DallasNE]

26. Mixed Message

You're right on the stock market but unfocused on jobs.

The good paying manufacturing jobs were mostly lost during the Bush years. These same manufacturing jobs have been leading the way in the recovery. There have been nearly 3 million private sector jobs added in the last 21 months. That is more than in the entire 8 years of the Bush administration. People seem to forget that we had a false economy during the Bush years based on a housing bubble that broke late in his administration as the growth that did occur was fueled by borrowed money rather than improving payrolls. The hangover in the form of debt service continues to be a drag on recovery. Now you may think this is "polish the turd" but I see it as simply correcting the record.

Now this is not to say that real structural reform is not necessary because it clearly is. There is no way, however, that that can happen in the current environment in Washington DC. Republican obstruction blocks that from happening. Since it is the Republicans who are blocking this the only answer is a crushing defeat for Republicans in 2012 and that is what we all should be working towards.

[Ikonoklast]

30. My Union's Pension Fund Managers would disagree with you.

My pension is in a much stronger position now than it has been in almost five years.

Hundreds of thousands of people are in a better financial position because of the improving economic numbers, and that is just ONE union pension fund.

[barbtries]

3. republicans deserve

a thousand million weeks of bad.

[Pisces]

8. Great post.

[CakeGrrl]

11. Rec

[great white snark]

13. Indeed! K&R.

I keep being told that Obama's agenda is a Republican one. This undoubtedly proves otherwise. Thank you.

[Scurrilous]

14. K & R

:thumbsup:

[DCBob]

15. GOPer talking points are dropping like flies.

Seems all they will have left is Obama is a muslim socialist who hates America.... and I think that one is already worn out as well.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

16. :)

K and R :thumbsup:

[tblue37]

17. From the AHCA article you link above:

The author is considering the question of whether the big insurance companies can make a profit now that they are required to actually spend most of the money they get in premiums on health care for those who own policies:

Not a chance-and they know it. Indeed, we are already seeing the parent companies who own these insurance operations fleeing into other types of investments. They know what we should all know – we are now on an inescapable path to a single-payer system for most Americans and thank goodness for it <emphasis added>.

Whether you are a believer in the benefits of single-payer health coverage or an opponent, mark this day down on your calendar because this is the day seismic shifts in our health care system finally get under way.

If you thought that the Obama Administration chickened out on pushing the nation in the direction of universal health care for everyone, today is the day you begin to understand that the reality is quite the contrary.

If you believe that the end of private, for-profit health insurance is some type of nefarious step towards a socialist society, then you might want to attend church this Sunday to mourn the loss of health insurers being able to worm out of covering the bills of a cancer patient because she forgot to write down on her application that she had skin acne for three months when she was a teenager.

It looks as though my post of several months ago might be on the mark:
"Is Obama a 'Stealth' Progressive?"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=631285&mesg_id=631285

[ProSense]

20. The

waivers are also going to be a huge factor. Single payer is on the radar in many states, and like Vermont, states can model their exchanges to be easily converted.

[joshcryer]

22. Vermont and Oregon are already on board!

In the end it will be had, it's just an annoying inconvenience that it's delayed by 5 to 10 years.

[ProSense]

24. Maybe

"In the end it will be had, it's just an annoying inconvenience that it's delayed by 5 to 10 years"

...legislation pushing up the waiver date will pass before 2014, which is only three years away, which is a good reason to take control of the House out of Republicans' hands.

[joshcryer]

33. Yes. Obviously we can improve it dramatically in a few votes if we had the numbers.

Create a federal public option (woo, probably Medicare based), keep the mandate (ouch, sorry, but it's necessary). You're just shy of single payer.

[joshcryer]

23. Fascinating OP.

Sorry I couldn't have participated.

[tblue37]

31. Thanks--but I wonder whether you mean you would have

concurred or shot me down. :hi:

[joshcryer]

32. I would've concurred on the basics.

I probably would've disagreed on the implementation, though. :)

A stealth progressive would've shut the government down!!! :D

Still, I like the idea and I think it's mostly true.

In my mind it is hard for me to believe, at this point in the information age, a scholar like Obama isn't a real progressive. He's just not as sneaky as I'd hope.

[joshguitar]

27. these are good things but they are overshadowed

by the NDAA bill, if he doesn't veto it our government is going to have more power over its citizenry than ever before. Who needs due process? He's promised to veto, I hope he keeps his word.

k&r