Can anyone give me a link to the poison pills Thom was referencing at the begining of the first hour? The drug-testing, and other restrictions on unemployment benefits?

You're absolutely right. It is a media echochamber. Fox and MSNBC do not represent the polar extremes of opinion, nor do they represent the only opinions. To pretend halfway between the center and the right-of Atilla-the-Hun is the "objective" view, and to think that any other facts from third parties (or fact-checking it at all) are not relevant, abrogates their authority and changes what they do from "journalist" to "propagandist" that would consider Kim Jong Un's "life story" a valid side. It is worse than silence.

I do kind of understand the source of the problem, though: as a reporter gets famous his/her salary goes up. The same with a news organization. As a side-effect of success these people move into a new tax bracket and then it is in their interest to vote for money-managers, hang out with the other Neauveau Riche, and it takes a special person (like The Hartmanns) to maintain objectivity and even be honest about policies that may harm thousands even if the policy benefits him and his new friends. Or the office falls into a need for high-end friends and loses interest in stories that irritates the new circle. It's not right, but it is understandable. It's as expected, but still nauseating, that a highly successful newspaper like the St. Pete Times, parent of Politifact, would be afraid to be labelled "liberal". It is a painful irony in light of the fact that their only competition, The Tampa Tribune, is seen as "conservative" (though both papers, at least the last time I saw the Trib, employ columnists from the center-left and center-right and otherwise have objective policies) and the Times is actually prospering while the Tribune is cutting back and raising prices...

I see this whole mess as part of a long term chess game or game theory exercize to crush the middle class. The current oligarch-wannabees, like Koch Industries, are still horrified about the THIRTIES. They view worker's "rebellion" as a horrid terrorist security breach. They view the failure of Herbert Bush (GHWBush) to get reelected in the same way they view the failure of the people to elect Barry Goldwater. Or the takedown of Joseph McCarthy. It is the misbehavior of unworthy and ungrateful children who do not understand what the one percent do for them. We are little better than housepets, or house-{insert N-word here}, who must be chastized and controlled for our own benefit. There is a wierd Neo-Calvinist twist to this, a philosophy that says that the rich are the elect because God placed their soul into a baby born to a rich (successful) family or aided them in succeeding (and the rest are poor because they are not elect and therefore don't matter/can't understand). This is also their thinking in the insane economic and ecological philosophies: when reality doesn't match their delusion it is the fault of the "corrupt, sinful world" and its residents. They expect a Rapture at any moment, so long term survival is moot.

This is, of course, delusional thinking of the most "dangerous to self and others" kind. Now we have the asylum run by the lunatics and their obsessive-compulsive greed, and their total lack of empathy. Every time I hear about "austerity" I think we must get these poor and suffering souls into hospitals and treat their illnesses before their behaviors finish rendering the earth inimical to our kind of life.

The payroll taxes are what "feed" the Social Security Trust fund. Does anyone not understand that this "crusade" by Obama (the so called socialist) is going to DESTROY Social Security if it IS passed? Is everyone just nuts, or are there people that realize this??? Obama is a deceiving maggot, a Wall Street stooge worse than ANY OTHER PRESIDENT BEFORE HIM. He is WORSE than Bush. Wake up people!!!!!

I don't get it. This is one of Obama's republican moves, where he sneakily defunds social security. And now, instead of framing it as reverting to the normal payroll tax rate, it is being characterized by Thom, Randy Rhodes and others, as a tax increase, and shame on the republicans???? What gives??? I really don't get it. It was not a healthy tax break. It was the worst kind. Why are you in favor of it Thom? People don't understand, clearly, that the payroll tax is another name for their social security contributions. Why aren't you pushing to have the limits raised, which would increase the funds going into social security, and give a little more equity to the taxation rates for the population as a whole????

I don't believe that. I believe that this is temporary and that the payroll tax will be instituted later on when the economy improves a bit. This is one that should be relatively easy to re-fund. Just lift the $108,000 lifetime "lid" on contributions. Don't know why it was put there in the first place.I do not think Democrats (in the White House or in Congress) would allow this.

And I am really offended by your comments. If you have a point, you can make it without calling the president a maggot and a Wall street stooge. No president is worse than W. He holds the country's lifetime booby prize for starting 2 unnecessary wars without figuring out how to fund them. He wasn't even president: Cheney was.

If you have real arguments and real evidence, let's hear them.

First off the 2% cut was a joke to begin with! if they really wanted to help us workin stiffs out they would have reduced our federal withholding and not messed with the only shred of income i may have when I'm what 80? by time i get whats mine they will have raised the retirement age to a hundred so I may infact just die at my desk tryin to keep mac and chees in my belly.

I'm not saying its a bad thing, just a stupid thing. Our erudite elected slabs of fat back seem stupider then some of the kids coming out of our now shriveling up education system!

and as usual people want to put all the blame on obamanuts when in fact it is the fault of all of them. a whole lot of pissin in the wind and ain't nobody winnin'. Its the very same as the day i wrote the song 17 years ago, pigs pissin in the wind.

But how will it change? only the sand of time will tell. that is if we take time to learn from the foot fall left behind before the wind blows it away!

they bumped the wage base by the way for social security. I'm sure in an effort to offset what did not get paid in in 2011. it would be a whole lot better if they raised the wage base to 200k. talk about raking in some $$$ and building a bigger fund! Cha Ching. and by the way, if i, as a single wage earner was fortunate enought to make 200k i am hard press to beleive i'd miss the $8400 if i knew it was part that which keeps us socially sound and united as a nation. I see some of the down trodon askin for $$ at 7-11....makes me sad. don't remember seeing so many homeless when i was a younger bloke and made it a point to see everything with young eyes....

Agree. The media and the politicians keep talking about a tax increase. This is a reinstatement of a temporary reduction of the payroll tax. The idea of a payroll tax reduction is a Republican idea. Obama started by putting it on steroids with his further reduction and expansion to employers. This is just a continuation of the attempt to weaken SS like the tax-reduction induced national debt is a way to weaken government and present an excuse to reduce or end social programs.

I did hear that the trust fund is supposed to be reimbursed but I'm pretty skeptical of that happening. Instead of taking money out of the trust fund, we should be putting money in to fund the projected shortfall. Pesonally, I think that due to high unemployment and reduced wages, the projections will be off and the shortfall will appear sooner.

A better way of giving money to those in need is with the Make Work Pay Credit that was used previously.

Speaking of truth in reporting, in my world...which is quite average.... the biggest truth of 2011 was the republican freaks in the house of Norquist voting to end the most popular "We the People" program that exists....it's on record.....which is why they are avoiding the vote on a tax increase on the working poor....it will be on record! Thanks for nothing tea baggers!

So the Republicans in congress now want to drug test unemployed workers before letting them have the UEI benefits they paid into when they still had jobs. Presumably the reason for drug testing the unemployed is because too many potential workers are getting high and dropping out of the job market, thus causing an epidemic of vacant positions left unfilled in the labor market... Buzz! What's wrong with this picture? Oh I know, the last time I checked (earlier this morning) the central problem that's been plaguing our economy for the past several years is not a shortage of workers, but a shortage of jobs for them to do. Viewed in the light of this in-your-face undeniable fact, it is obvious that it's the "job creators" in the top 1%, not the job seeking members of the 99%, who are shirking their responsibilities and letting the economy fail by not creating enough jobs for all those who want one. So if the question is who need to be drug tested because they are clearly screwing up and causing the nation's economy to fail, the answer is obvious: drug test the bankers, drug test the CEOs, drug test casino capitalist big investors, and while we are at it, drug test those Republican politicians who think the problem is ordinary working Americans.

DB

Thom, your blog may have hit the bullseye when you stated that congress has a approval rating of 11%. It's congress, not congressional republicans with the low ratings. This means democrates are getting the blame along with the tea party, who is at fault. Do you think Americans are smart enough to know the difference? Three months ago I would have said no, but the occupy movement is giving me some hope.

Last Thursday (12/15) Thom indicated that he did not care to have non-lawyers in Congress, citing, for example, that the physician, Ron Paul is less than an ideal legislator. At what point is a physician, who practiced for about 15 years before entering politics in 1976 primarily a politician?

Didn't the founders of our Republic intend for legislators to be citizen representatives, rather than life-long politicians. Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, fewer than half (25) were lawyers and 7 of those 25 had other occupations (scientist, musician, surveyor, ...).

Many of our existing Congress(wo)men are only too happy to enjoy the perks (both deserved and not) of office, but are not willing to exercise their Constitutional responsibilities (like declaring war, or not). Perhaps it's time to hit the "reset" button, reboot, and fill Congressional seats with citizens more representative of our voting population!

Every dollar counts. This is the funding for the so called Medicare trust fund, that we all suspect does not even exist. It is Obama playing politics. That is all it is. He does not care about the working class. He is more concerned with raising his billion for reelection. Why doesn't anyone talk about that on here?

Quote angus7572:The payroll taxes are what "feed" the Social Security Trust fund. Does anyone not understand that this "crusade" by Obama (the so called socialist) is going to DESTROY Social Security if it IS passed? Is everyone just nuts, or are there people that realize this??? Obama is a deceiving maggot, a Wall Street stooge worse than ANY OTHER PRESIDENT BEFORE HIM. He is WORSE than Bush. Wake up people!!!!!

Are you really a left-wing Obama critic? Your stuff is so senseless destructive, to my ears you sound like a tea party troll. Or you must be extremely confused..... sort of gridlock depression. If so, sorry; I don't wanna be too tough on you -- don't know what you went through. Well, either you are extremely mean, or extremely pitiable. Or do you feel big if ya can destroy something bigger.... like America?

Whatever, this goes for your logic as well:

You hate the Democrats because they’re only humans, instead of angels. So you think we might deal with the Republican devil as well. You practically say, “Eat me tiger, so the bees can’t sting me anymore!”