Talking Points

Although we might not find Moody's as trustworthy as before, (since Moody's is the credit rating service that, oops, miscalculated the risk on those derivatives based on subprime mortgages that are going sour), try this set of "facts" and keep them handy for conversations with Republicans. They are from the April 2009 Harper's Index:

• Estimated amount by which the U.S. GDP increases for each additional dollar of tax cuts: $1.03
• Amount for each additional dollar of infrastructure spending and food stamps, respectively: $1.59, $1.73

So if anyone doubts the advantages of government spending over tax cuts, refer to these items.

Also found in the latest issue of Harper's is an essay by Thomas Geoghegan called Infinite Debt. (He ran for Rahm Emanuel's seat in Congress and lost.) In it he looks at the real reason for the collapse of the financial system: the loss of collective bargaining, the shift from manufacturing to financial services because of the gigantic profits reaped, and the infinite consumer debt. Notice that there are no such thing as usury laws anymore. Credit cards can charge insane amounts on trailing balances. They don't want people to pay, because then they don't make these horrendous profits. Instead of placing a 35% cap on credit card interest rates, he suggests it should be at 9%. Isn't that enough profit?