Graph of the Day - December 24th

(Source: MaddowBlog via Robert Frank chart by way of Ezra Klein)

Vocabulary Review: "Median" does not mean average...it means exactly in the middle. If there were a total of 3 workers, it's worker in the #2 spot. If the are 101 workers, then it's worker #51. A median worker has an income smack dab in the middle of all workers. The same goes for median rent.

For Baby Boomers to insinuate that current (young) workers have it so much better off and that they are merely squandering their income on unnecessary toys is insulting and counterproductive to any discussion of economic reality. Not only do Baby Boomers as a group speak from a chronologically privileges position (older workers hold a disproportionate percentage of jobs above the median due to number of years on the job, tenure, experience, etc), they also reference their past with false equivalency.

And a note about the "standard of living" argument. This is not 1950. You can't get ahead through social networking by asking everyone you meet for a card and storing it in your Rolodex. A smart phone is a near necessity if you want to get above that median during your life. Most decent jobs now require applications complete with PDF downloads, uploads, customized cover letters, and more information about your past than one person can possibly remember. Let's not forget that just the cost of attending college has grown at a far faster pace than inflation or wages.

Graph of the Day - February 24th

Source: Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight

I appreciate this because it attempts to plot these potential candidates on more than one characteristic. If I had to make a bet right now, I would bet on Huntsman. I see the battle of the Republican primary as basically being between the upper left corner and the lower right corner. I think the person in the upper left who best contorts themselves to attract the support of the lower right will be the nominee.

First, the area of each candidate’s circle is proportional to their perceived likelihood of winning the nomination, according to the Intrade betting market.
...

Finally, the color of each circle reflects the region the candidate is from: blue for the Northeast, red for the South, green for the Midwest, and yellow for the West.

**NOTE: "Graph of the Day" is a series that may include graphs, charts, and other visuals that communicate data.

Graph of the Day - February 17th

Long time away from writing, but I certainly have been thinking a lot. More garden related blogs to come in the next few days, but today's is political.

Arkansas Republicans (and a few turncoat Democrats) want to give a massive tax break to wealthy Arkansans while looking into a budget that cuts education and services to children and the poor.

Here is their plan to cut state capital gains taxes. I say if they are looking to cut 55-65 million dollars in taxes this year they should go ahead and completely eliminate the food tax.

For more on this read the press release from Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families. It has a link to their entire report on this issue and how it hands money to the wealthiest Arkansans.

Graph of the Day - October 13th

See how corporations can pour millions of dollars into putting ballot measures up for vote that benefit themselves. Californians have the ability to say NO to the power of Big Oil. The original image is interactive and allows you to scroll over each contributor to find their total donation. More on stopping Prop. 23.

Source

Graph of the Day - October 8th

http://www.flickr.com/photos/speakerpelosi/5062499482/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Private employers have added 863,000 jobs this year. The recovery is happening but it is very slow and is much slower for the average American when compared to the stock market. Productivity and profitability is at all time highs for corporations but they there is not rapid job growth. I think corporations are holding the American economy hostage until they get the people to agree to even more favorable measures towards large business and wealthy Americans. Perhaps then the wealthy and their corporations will CONSIDER lending, investing, and expanding. Until then they save......and American hurts because of it.

Graph of the Day - September 7th

Source

It's funny how many people look back to the 5o's, 60's, and 70's with nostalgia yet they vote hard core corporatist Republican. You would think that people would figure it out that tax and economic policy matters in creating a more equitable society, one that more people enjoy living in. Income equality matters. Everyone doesn't have to make exactly the same, but everything works better when Americans are all playing in the same economy. As is, the wealthy play in completely different economies, often insulated by geography and other barriers.

Graph of the Day - August 28th

Ken Mehlman, former chair of the ENTIRE Republican Party, who was President Bush's 2004 campaign manager, who went along with the most homophobic campaign in history, who built a political culture that probably led scores of young gay teens to suicide, finally came out.

Fox News doesn't even mention it. This is beyond the excuse of "well the other stations don't report important stuff either." Fox News, by pretending to be news, is doing the country a disservice.

I got this from Pam's House Blend.

Graph of the Day - August 24th

Tax cut proposals by income level

Source

Republicans want to give Millionaires an extra $700 billion over the next ten years. They think it will be good for the economy. How are we to expand the American economy when the vast majority of Americans are losing ground?

Graph of the Day - July 17th

Okay, it's not the greatest graph from a basic design standard. The visual hierarchy is a little funky since the title is so understated, but the point of this graph is obvious: traditional fossil fuels is already highly subsidized more so than renewables.

For those market-worshiping conservatives (remember, libertarians wouldn't be supporting those huge market altering tax breaks for oil, gas, and coal), this is what people mean when they say that renewable energy doesn't get a fair break in tax incentives.

A very important distinction between the fossil fuel subsidies and the renewables is that the former are written into permanent U.S. tax code and create predictable incentives that drive business decisions. The latter are temporary and are approved year to year and sometimes not. The renewable energy industry doesn't get to plan for continued and efficient growth like the fossil fuel industry.

The Democrats want to end some of those Big Oil subsidies, but good luck ever getting Big Coal to ever pay it's fair share. The subsidies for Corn Ethanol are listed under "climate protecting" but that is highly controversial. All of this might create decent economic policy, but it is horrible environment policy. Energy policy must be somewhere in the middle.....it cannot be considered merely a part of economic policy. The renewable energy subsidies should be made permanent and predictable. Europe has figured it out...why can't we?

Read more at http://www.eli.org/Program_Areas/innovation_governance_energy.cfm