Moonlighting in Vermont

It has long been a truism that thousands of Vermonters squeak by on very small wages (and benefits) and that many hold second, and even third, jobs in order to make ends meet.

The state’s largest newspaper, the Burlington Free Press, has a story on this in today’s edition. The story, which leads with a white-collar trade association manager who has a sideline business, really doesn’t get to the core of the problem, which is low wages in a state who’s largest employment category is retail clerks (who earn about $18,000 a year). But it’s worth perusing as an introduction to the situation – Second jobs in VT

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They screwed up just about everything they touched

Senate Foreign Affairs Committee releases a report on how the self-described “Vulcans” in the Bush administration botched the effort to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden – Three Stooges go to Afghanistan

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The Roosevelt Institute on job creation and the economy

Well worth your while. I liked James K. Galbraith’s piece quite a bit:

Getting us (all of us) out of this mess

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Albert, Albert, Albert

Pujols has his hat-trick
MVP

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One of my faves – Susie Madrak, over at C&L, thinks Reid is selling us out

Triggering trouble in the caucus

It’s long past time to worry about getting to 60 votes for passage. The public option and Stupak’s coat hanger amendment attached to the House bill are two issues that appear to be impossible to Solomonically resolve. So, let’s get the bill we really need – okay, it isn’t single-payer or national health, but at least a bill for now – and go to reconciliation and be done with it.

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Featured new (to me) site – Arms Control Wonk

These folks are talking `way deeper than any public conversation I’ve ever heard. I’m making them a regular stop on my daily blog surfing.

Arms Control Wonk

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Big day today

First, it appears Harry Reid can at least move the health care reform bill to the Senate floor – Dems have the votes, for now

It also appears that there will still be a fight for passage. ConservaDems may balk, and our own Sen. Bernie Sanders has said Reid cannot count on his vote for passage if the bill doesn’t go far enough to ensure things like coverage and affordability:

I voted to proceed on health care reform because our current health care system is disintegrating and must be reformed. Forty-six million Americans are uninsured, [it’s actually closer to 50 million now – SG] and 45,000 die every year because they don’t have access to a doctor. We have almost one million Americans going bankrupt because of medically-related diseases, health care costs are soaring and we end up spending almost twice as much per person on health care as any other nation. It is clear that we need real health care reform.

While I voted to proceed to the health care legislation tonight, I have made it clear to the administration and Democratic leadership that my vote for the final bill is by no means guaranteed. In the weeks to come I intend to do everything I can to make this legislation stronger and more effective for working families and taxpayers in Vermont and America and something all Americans can be proud of.

AARP is still not on-board with the Senate version, although they endorsed the House bill (thanks, TPM) – AARP letter to Reid

Blanche Lambert Lincoln, Ben Nelson, and Mary Landrieu are not yet confirmed as being on-board, either. Meanwhile, that twerp Joe Lieberman continues to try to extend his 15 minutes.

Over on the other side of the Hill, the House Financial Services Committee voted to audit the Fed – Voting for transparency at the Fed

While this is a big deal, don’t count on it seeing the light of day. The amendment was proposed by a couple of back-benchers, while heavyweights – like Committee Chair Barney Frank – are worried about getting the political camel’s nose under the tent. DC is VERY respectful of institutions and their privileges, and this would upset some of those.

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Well, duh

Note to the White House: Unemployment, not the deficit, is the number 1 economic issue.

And, while we’re on the subject, the longer those of us who have lost their jobs watch the bankers and brokers walk away with millions of dollars thanks to Uncle Sam, the angrier we will become.

Recovery is spelled J O B S

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Adding insult to injury

The St. Louis Cardinals tanked after Sept. 11th, stumbling to the finish line to win the NL Central, but then getting whitewashed by the Dodgers in the first round of October. That was hard enough to take, but to see the Cy Young given to Tim Lincecum, of the Giants, over both Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, is going to require a major dose of Maalox.

Can\'t believe it

Post-Dispatch columnist Jeff Gordon lists the reasons this is a crime – Highway robbery

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After CBO scoring of the Reid bill, the hunt for the details

Here’s the letter – CBO scoring for Reid bill

SCHIP and Medicaid get bumped up a little, but we’re still leaving about 18 million people uninsured, so there’s more work to do. (Single-payer, anyone? Single-payer Senate bill VTrs talking about single-payer)

Robert Reich, writing at HuffPost, is less than impressed – \"Public option\" in name only

Jon Walker, at Firedoglake, finds even less to like – Eight things I hate about you

Note Medicare takes a hit, particularly in the out years, a point that will doubtless be made ad nauseum by the Rs. Nothing like scaring the hell out of seniors – can anyone say, “death panels?” – to make life politically unpleasant for Dems. This is worth pondering, in the runup to 2010 (which is the frame for just about everything in DC now), as seniors, who turn out on Election Day in particularly strong numbers, were the one traditionally Dem-leaning cohort who didn’t go big for Obama. His base is younger voters and minorities – good in the long run, less good in the next three years – and so any long-range policy that will ultimately benefit that base will likely have a negative impact on current seniors. It’s going to take major courage (not to mention organizing) to deal with the political fallout from that.

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