It's Official: Austerity Economics Doesn't Work by John Cassidy

(via Thoma)

Why Does a Q&A on the "National Debt Crisis" Appear in the Washington Post? by Dean Baker

(via Krugman)

Janet Yellen’s Game-Changing Speech for Monetary Policy by: David Dayen (at Firedoglake?)

I kind of view Firedoglake, Duncan Black, Digby and Crooked Timber as the pain-in-the-ass-but-in-the-right Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. They're right but wrong.

Yglesias on the the payroll tax cut extension and the Austerity Bomb.

John Cassidy on the Austerity Bomb:

But has Obama given the Republicans sufficient reason to believe he won’t eventually roll over? 

At least to me, that’s not yet clear. During his press conference, a reporter asked the President, “(W)hy should the American people and the Republicans believe that you won’t cave again this time?” This was Obama’s reply:

Well, two years ago the economy was in a different situation. We were still very much in the early parts of recovering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. And ultimately, we came together, not only to extend the Bush tax cuts, but also a wide range of policies that were going to be good for the economy at the point—unemployment-insurance extensions, payroll-tax extension—all of which made a difference, and is a part of the reason why what we’ve seen now is thirty-two consecutive months of job growth, and over five and a half million jobs created, and the unemployment rate coming down. But what I said at the time is what I meant, which is this was a one-time proposition. And you know, what I have told leaders privately as well as publicly is that we cannot afford to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

Zombie-killer Krugman says Brian Beutler was the one to coin "austerity bomb."

Michonne is my new favorite on The Walking Dead. The show has motivated me to pick up the graphic novel series.

In the latest episode, she left The Village - Woodbury - and Andrea stayed.

David Brooks Is Worried About Non-Existent Economic Crises by Dean Baker

Krugman had this nailed. All of the sudden deficit scolds are worried about the austerity bomb.