In Economic Woes 09-30 UPDATED

Making Bush Look Like a Piker

In tight times, Congress boosts its budget

Congress is on the verge of giving itself a bump in its annual budget — even as local governments, families and businesses across the country are tightening their belts in the worst recession in decades.

Under a House-Senate conference measure, approved by the House last week and poised for passage in the Senate on Wednesday, spending for the legislative branch will increase 5.8 percent this year, boosting Capitol Hill’s annual budget to $4.7 billion.

The measure includes a hodgepodge of new funding for lawmakers: a $500,000 pilot program for senators to send out postcards about their town hall meetings, $30,000 for receptions for foreign dignitaries and $4 million for consultants — with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) getting up to nine each and Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) getting up to three more.

I think we know why Congress's polls are so low. Only 16% Like The Job Congress Is Doing. After this report gets out, I wouldn't be surprised to see that number go into the single digits.

Ballooning Bureaucracy

Cap and Tax…And Tariffs!

Your Retirement or Our Political Agenda

Oh Goody! Greenspan Sees Growth Slowing as Stocks ‘Flatten Out’

Obama’s Paper Chase aka Obama's plan to trash the US economy some more.

Mr. Obama, Your Job Is More Jobs



Meyerson's Economists Mainly Live in His Mind and in the Pages of the NYT

Here's a smidge of good economic news - California's Almost-Flat Tax