August 9, 2010, Monday: Huffington Post

Conservanomics: A Church Without Bishops (But it's Got Sarah Palin and Invisible Tax Fairies!)

Conservative economics has often felt like religious dogma, with its elevation of "a rising tide lifts all boats" to unintended extremes and its unfounded belief that lower tax rates create higher revenue. But, at least as far as that second article of faith is concerned, Conservanomics is becoming a church without bishops. Leading conservative economists are abandoning the idea that lower rates create more revenue. Without its elders the "less brings more" tax school is becoming a decidedly fringe movement, the fiscal equivalent of a flying saucer cult.

Want to guess who rushed to fill the void left by economic conservatives like Alan Greenspan and David Stockman? Whoever said "Sarah Palin" wins. The former half-term Governor of Alaska has become the nation's leading advocate of continued tax cuts for the wealthy, although her pitch still needs a little work. When Chris Wallace pointed out that she didn't know how to pay for the tax cuts she was pushing, for example, her answer began with this elliptical koan:

"Yeah. No."

"It's idiotic," Ms. Palin continued. "And my palm isn't large enough to write -- to have written all my notes down on what this tax increase -- what it will result in. It's a tax increase of $3.8 trillion over the next 10 years, and it will have an effect on every single American who pays an income tax." Both of the Governor's (demi-Governor's?) statements are, in fact, false: The Obama proposal would only affect 2% of Americans - those earning over $250,000 - and the $3.8 trillion figure wouldn't be correct even if it cuts were allowed to expire for everyone.

Palmistry aside, did you notice what Ms. Palin did not do in that response? She didn't answer Wallace's question about paying for these cuts. For that we have to go to Arthur Laffer, whose ideas were originally used to promote the original "raising revenue by cutting taxes" mythos.

Laffer claims that he derived his ideas from the ancient treatises of Ibn Kaldun and the more recent work of John Maynard Keynes. But he took some reasonable observations about the upper limits of taxation to new and radical extremes. ,He drew a curve on a napkin, said the late Jude Wanniski, and everything became clear.

Lots of people write things on napkins, but they're usually treated with the appropriate level of skepticism. Wanniski was the Wall Street Journal editor who coined the terms "Laffer curve" and "supply-side economics." He held some interesting and suprising convictions - he was adamantly opposed to the Iraq war before his death, for example - but when it comes to economics, Wanniski was a brilliant salesman for some truly strange and terrible ideas. One of Wanniski's best sales jobs was in convincing the public that Laffer's ideas were credible, even though most scholars knew they were not.

In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, Laffer repeats his pet idea that cutting taxes on the rich will increase revenue. Laffer's piece is entitled "The Soak-the-Rich Catch-22", which will give you a sense of its relationship to reality. It's filled with misinterpretations of the data, but the key mistake is this: Tax revenues from the top 1% didn't increase during the Bush years because of tax cuts. They went up because there was a massive upward redistribution of income. Their earnings rose even faster than their taxes were being cut. According to economist Edward Wolff's interpretation of Federal Reserve survey data, for example, "income of the bottom half (of the population) fell by 9 percent over the last 10 years [from 1998-2008] while the income of the top one percent rose by 40 percent."

Paul Krugman has famously referred to "invisible bond vigilantes," those creatures of the market that are allegedly going to punish us someday for government spending. Laffer and his ilk would have us believe in their cousins -- let's call them the "Invisible Tax Fairies" -- who are about to fly down from their perches in the gables and parapets of Wall Street to sprinkle us with gold. All we have to do to earn their love is be kind to rich people.

David Stockman, who is still a conservative Republican, calls proposals like Palin's and Laffer's a "perversion" of supply side theory. For right-wing economists, that's like an indictment for heresy. Says Stockman: "You can't keep borrowing from the rest of the world at that magnitude year after year after year .... I say we can't afford the Bush tax cuts." As for Alan Greenspan, he says ""I'm in favor of tax cuts, but not with borrowed money."

This is not to suggest that all is peace and love on the economic divide. Stockman and Greenspan still have profound differences with their more progressive colleagues. But, with this kind of firepower defecting from the Invisible Tax Fairy camp, where can Palin and Laffer turn for support? Try Rick Santelli. He's the television personality who helped trigger the allegedly "populist" Tea Party movement by leading a self-entitled on-air tantrum of ... get this ... Chicago commodities traders.

In a recent broadcast (starting at about eight minutes into the clip), Santelli began his policy broadside by saying that "paying teachers ... is noble, but it isn't a stimulus." He then added: "Maybe we need a recession to heal the problems that the trillion dollars (in bailout and stimulus) didn't address ... Maybe if the did the tax cuts originally the deficit would've gone up, but the money would've raised the 'M's.'"

Yeah. No.

While there's a lot of incoherence in this rant, Santelli seems to be suggesting that we could've put more money into circulation by cutting taxes even more -- but that paying teachers won't help at all. That's getting it exactly backwards: The rich tend to save their money, while middle-class earners like teachers spend much more of their income immediately. And as for the idea that "we need a recession" to heal our problems, well ... that's the kind of logic you get once you catch the bus for Invisible Tax Fairyland.

The political voice of the Palin/Santelli intellectual movement is Rep. Paul Ryan, who has issued a "Roadmap for America's Future." As Krugman explains, "nobody checks his arithmetic." Krugman calls Ryan a "Flimflam Man," and the reasons he gives for that harsh assessment are persuasive. The core of Krugman's takedown is this: Ryan's plan won't "cut the deficit in half," despite claims to that effect. In fact, a nonpartisan group says it would reduce revenue by almost $4 trillion over the next ten years. Krugman:

"The Tax Policy Center finds that the Ryan plan would cut taxes on the richest 1 percent of the population in half, giving them 117 percent of the plan's total tax cuts. That's not a misprint. Even as it slashed taxes at the top, the plan would raise taxes for 95 percent of the population."
That's a perfect snapshot of the Republican Conservanomic agenda: Expand an already-massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to wealthy Americans. Let America's government and infrastructure collapse for lack of funding. And fool the people by pretending that Magical Tax Fairies will wave their wands and make everything all right. Nobody loses in the dream world they're selling. It's the fiscal version of Flip Wilson's old comedy routine, "Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die."

And hey, if that doesn't work we can always try Rick Santelli's suggestion and have another recession. In fact, if we believe what Palin, Ryan, and Santelli say we will have another recession ... before a lot of people in this country are out of this one.

August 9, 2010, Monday: NBC LOs Angeles

Levi Stress? Not Over Bristol Palin
Johnston hangs out in Hollywood with new arm candy

Levi Johnston wasn't pining away for his erstwhile Alaskan lass Bristol Palin at the Teen Choice Awards Sunday.

The 20-year-old hockey hunk, who was a baby and two def8unct engagements with Sarah Palin's oldest daughter, shrugged off their latest breakup.

"Oh, we're friends. The ring's off, but we're friends, so everything's good," Johnston told People magazine

Everything was not good with self-professed Mama Grizzly Sarah Palin when the couple announced via Us Weekly last month that they were back together. After all, Johnston had sharply criticized the Palins in a series of interviews. But although the former Yukon state governor wasn't ready to bury the hatchet, Bristol was. Then she told People she'd been tricked.

"He told me [his trip to L.A.] was to see some hunting show, but come to find out it was that music video mocking my family," Bristol Palin, 19, tearfully said.

On Sunday, Johnston was with the singer of that video, Brittani Senser, who he described as "just a friend. She's a singer."

As for breaking up with the mother of his 19-month-old son, Tripp, Johnston sounded like he was managing and said he and Bristol are still "co-parenting."

"You know, it's tough," he told the magazine. "It's not something that I wanted, but life goes on, and I'll just take it one step at a time."

"Oh yeah, yeah. We're still co-parenting," he says.

Bristol Palin said she's moved on and hopes to one day find someone "who's going to be completely honest with me and someone who loves me and Tripp and wants to be with him all the time."

August 9, 2010 Monday: ABC News, The Note

Worst Governor Ever’: Alaskan Accuses Sarah Palin of Quitting Her Responsibilities

ABC News’ Huma Khan reports: Sarah Palin went to Homer, Alaska this weekend to watch “the halibut take the bait,” but the former Alaska governor instead found herself caught in a heated exchange with an angry Alaskan questioning Palin’s celebrity status.

Teacher Kathleen Gustafson hung a large sign that read “Worst Governor Ever,” just as Palin was visiting the town to film her television show.

When approached by Palin, Gustafson accused the former governor of quitting her responsibilities for money and celebrity status.

The exchange was caught on a cell phone video (with attempts by Palin’s security guard to block the camera).

Go to the link to see the cell phone video.

August 9, 2010: Monday. CBS News - upcoming primary in Georgia

Palin Urges Vote for Karen Handel; Against 'Good Ole Boy Network'

Calling the governor's race here "epic" and "historic," former Alaska governor Sarah Palin wrapped her arms around Karen Handel, the former secretary of state who is hoping to be Georgia's first female chief executive.

Kathleen Gustafson tells Sarah Palin that she left Alaska to become a celebrity.Palin whipped up the crowd of several hundred in a hotel ballroom here, just one day before the Republican runoff that will end a bitter three-week fight between Handel – one of Palin's "Mama Grizzlies" – and her rival, former Rep. Nathan Deal.

"Are you ready to 'Bring it On'?!," she said, using the Handel campaign's slogan.

The audience of enthusiastic supporters responded with cheers and chants of "Sa-rah!"

"It's epic. It's historic," Palin said, explaining why she became so interested in this race, pitting Handel against a veteran member of the state's Republican establishment.

Related
WATCH: Morning Mix: Ground Zero, Breast-Feeding and Bristol PalinWATCH: Obama and the GOP ClashWATCH: Sarah Makes 9: Palin Teams With Gosselin"The eyes of America are on you, Georgia, to see if you really do want that positive change and to get rid of that 'good-ole-boy' network that really gets in the way of just doing the thing that the people who want to hire a good governor are expecting of their government."

The Handel campaign has accused Deal of being "corrupt," pointing to allegations that while in Congress he pressured state officials into awarding a no-bid contract to a business he owns. Deal resigned from the House earlier in the year, curbing an ongoing ethics review, but speculation of a federal grand jury probe has dogged him.

The GOP establishment in the state firmly backs Deal. All but one member of Georgia's congressional delegation supports him, and he has earned the endorsement of native son Newt Gingrich and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who campaigned for Deal in Gainsville this past weekend. And he has the National Rifle Association in his corner.

"They said we didn't have a chance," Handel told supporters before Palin spoke. "They said we were the outsiders; that we weren't going to have enough money; that we weren't going to get any endorsements. Yet, three weeks ago, we shocked them all," Handel said, referring to her first-place finish in last month's GOP gubernatorial primary. The result earned her the spot in the runoff against Deal, who came in second.

This is a 3 page article, go to the link to read complete article.

Aug 6, 2010, Friday. Sponsors of Sarah Palin speech at Cal State campus violated no laws, Jerry Brown says

Sponsors of Sarah Palin speech at Cal State campus violated no laws, Jerry Brown says

A state investigation found that no laws were broke when Sarah Palin spoke at a California State University campus earlier this summer, said state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown.

The investigation looked into the finances and actions of a Cal State Stanislaus foundation that had invited the former Alaska governor to give a speech after allegations that it may have illegally discarded documents related to the event.

It also looked at whether the foundation violated the California Public Records Act when it refused the request of state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) to hand over documents related to Palin's speaking fee and other aspects of her June 25 appearance.



"We examined whether money given to a charitable foundation was handled appropriately, but found no violation of law," Brown said in a statement. "However, the foundation board has agreed to make changes to improve oversight of its funds."

His announcement would appear to end the controversy over Palin's speech.

-- Shelby Grad

August 5, 2010, Thursday: Politico - Obama in over his head

Sarah Palin: President Obama 'in over his head'

Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin declared Wednesday night that President Barack Obama has proved to be “in over his head.”

Though Palin did not fully articulate when the president has demonstrated that he has not been able to handle the job, the former Alaska governor asserted during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that Obama was not up to the job.

“I think he’s quite complacent, and I think he’s in over his head, and he has poor advisers around him. And I think he’s really in flux when it comes to what his governing philosophy really is,” she said.

“Some of this, though, is a result of him not having much experience,” added Palin, who left the governor’s office halfway through her first term.

Palin blamed a “complicit media” and voters who did not demand that Obama be fully “vetted” during the presidential campaign.

Palin pointed to the immigration issue as an example of where Obama has dropped the ball.

“It’s a travesty with what is going on with the immigration issues in this country,” she said. “He has a choice in defending we the people in this nation of laws, and you can see where he is headed.”

Palin also sought to provide “context” to her comment over the weekend that Obama lacked the “cojones” that Palin said Arizona GOP Gov. Jan Brewer has displayed on immigration.

“The governor is doing the right thing, and the president lacks the guts to do anything about it,” she said.

August 4: Caffeinated Thoughts blog

Leaked CBS Footage of Katie Couric Mocking Sarah Palin

Below is video of Katie Couric doing show prep. This was the eve of the Republican National Convention, and Governor Sarah Palin had just been announced as Senator John McCain’s running mate. You can watch the video below:




My first observation is where the heck did she get those glasses? Seriously, this sheds some light into the interview that she had with Sarah Palin. This woman should have never been allowed to come near the Governor, let alone have the access that she had. In Going Rogue: An American Life, Governor Palin describes the interview with Couric as:

I couldn’t have known it then, but what transpired during the series of interviews and what CBS actually aired were two different breeds of cat. Camera crews shot hours of footage across the U.S.; Katie and her producers decided on what fraction America would see – and let’s just say the emphasis was on my worst moments. Editing footage is nothing new, of course; I created video packages when I worked as a sports reporter. But responsible editing means you keep substance and context, and trim out fat. When I saw the final cut, it was clear that CBS had sought out the bad moments, and systematically sliced out material that would accurately convey my message. The sin of omission was glaring, (pg. 272).

She goes on to cite various examples of how editing distorted answers that she gave, etc. She also took responsibility as well, “There was so much I could and should have said, and I later kicked myself for not doing so.” She also admitted that wore her annoyance on her sleeve and that colored some of her answers (for instance, “what do you read?” question, interpreted as “do you read?” in Palin’s mind). Palin also noted.

When she asked me how living in Alaska informed my foreign policy experience, I began by trying to frame the geographical context. Lower 48ers grow up seeing our state tucked with Hawaii in a little square off the coast of Mexico on the nightly news weather map. So I began by trying to squeeze a geographical primer into a ten-second sound bite, explaining that only a narrow maritime border separates Alaska from Russia, that we’re very near the Pacific Rim countries, and that we’re bordered by Canada.

But Katie interrupted and I did not complete my answer. I wish now I had stopped her and said, “Here’s the geographical context. Now may I answer your question?”

There was much Katie appeared not to know, or care to hear about. For instance that Alaska’s geographic location makes our relations with Pacific Rim countries of great strategic import, and that we’re the air crossroads of the world. That Russian bombers often play cat-and-mouse with our Air Force near Alaska’s airspace. That I dealt with Canadian officials on a weekly basis and have signed agreements concerning everything from security to salmon fishing, and that NAFTA has significantly affected our economy. That melting polar sea ice has created new trade routes but has also created security threats to North America. That Alaska takes on Japanese and Russian fishing trawlers that want to ravage the ocean floor. That Chinese and Russian energy companies had both sought access to (and possible control of) our natural gas resources. That these and other countries were staking their own resource claims in Arctic waters while the U.S. sat on its hands. And that, yes, you can indeed see Russia from Alaska.

And those were just the foreign policy issues (though issues certainly foreign to most governors). How much more I would have liked to say about Alaska’s contribution to the U.S. economy, its potential to help the nation reduce its dependence on foreign energy sources, and the delicate balancing act required to manage and responsibly develop our abundant wildlife resources.

But Katie wasn’t interested in discussing these issues. and when I did, she didn’t air them…. But Katie’s purpose – share by most media types – seemed to be to frame a “gotcha” moment. And it worked. Instead of scoring points for John McCain, I knew that I had let the team down, (pg. 274-275).

So looking at the video it seems pretty clear that there was if not hostility an air of superiority. Conservatives 4 Palin notes that there is a larger story than what appears in the leaked video:

It’s not just what was said by Couric in her discussion of Governor Palin, but also the way CBS framed the narrative of Governor Palin’s life in their story. The script covers moose burgers, her kids, her being a former beauty queen and being on the cover of Vogue. Sarah Palin was a sitting governor, and at that time, before the Obama campaign and their allies in the press spent months relentlessly smearing her good name, she had the highest approval ratings of any governor in the country. She was also responsible for getting the largest energy project in North American history underway after several decades of interminable delays in Alaska. She was a courageous corruption-busting whistleblower who turned in the leader of her own party in Alaska for his corrupt practices. She was a fiscal conservative who made the largest veto cuts in Alaska history, reined in the reckless waste, cut her own expenses, sold the governor’s private jet, let the personal chef go, and put away billions of dollars in savings for Alaska for a rainy day. She was a tough CEO who went toe to toe with the Big Oil companies and fought to get the best deal for Alaskans, the resource owners she represented. And she did all of this as a woman from a modest background who was entirely self-made – without the benefit of a rich or influential father or husband.

But what in this impressive biography did CBS News and Couric choose to focus on? Moose burgers and beauty pageants.

By their choice of the framing of the story, it’s evident Couric and CBS had an agenda here: They wanted to diminish Governor Palin because her impressive record of accomplishments towered over the non-existent record of the guy at the top of Democrat ticket.

What was discovered in the JournoList archives shows that the media indeed saw her as a threat. Just add this to the growing mountain of evidence that mainstream media is dead.