U.S. now on pace for European levels of austerity in 2013 Washington Post ...after this week’s fiscal cliff deal, the United States is now on pace to engage in about as much fiscal consolidation in 2013 as many European nations have been doing in recent years — and more than countries like Britain and Spain...
Euros discarded as impoverished Greeks resort to bartering The Guardian ...in the heart of Greece's most fertile plain, locals have come up with a novel way of dealing with austerity – adopting their own alternative currency, known as the Tem. As the country struggles with its worst crisis in modern times, with Greeks losing up to 40% of their disposable income as a result of policies imposed in exchange for international aid, the system has been a huge success...
Portugal warns EU-IMF troika to back off on austerity demands The Telegraph ...Portugal's president has ordered a legal inquiry into the country’s austerity policies and threatened a showdown with creditors over the draconian terms of its EU-IMF bail-out...
Payroll Tax Hike Erases Paycheck Gains For Minimum Wage Workers Huffington Post ...Many of the nation's poorest workers were looking forward to a modest pay hike on New Year's Day, when 10 states implemented higher minimum wages. In the end, those workers' increased earnings may have lasted all of a few hours...
Congress Vacations While Sandy Victims Freeze firedoglake ...People in New York and New Jersey are huddled in the cold and dark and apparently the US Congress cannot manage to vote for Superstorm Sandy relief before they go on their vacations...
Reid will postpone filibuster reform The Hill ...Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will postpone filibuster reform until later this month, giving him time to negotiate a deal with Republicans...
As Swing Districts Dwindle, Can a Divided House Stand? New York Times ...Most members of the House now come from hyperpartisan districts where they face essentially no threat of losing their seat to the other party. Instead, primary challenges, especially for Republicans, may be the more serious risk...
Thanks To Gerrymandering, Democrats Would Need To Win The Popular Vote By Over 7 Percent To Take Back The House ThinkProgress ...Democratic House candidates earned 49.15 percent of the popular vote, while Republicans earned only 48.03 percent ... Nevertheless, thanks largely to partisan gerrymandering, Republicans have a solid House majority in the incoming 113th Congress...
Stalemate Over Teamsters Continues in Putnam Valley The Putnam County News and Recorder ...On December 27 the Putnam Valley Town Board ... held a hearing regarding the two-year-long contract renegotiation between the Town’s Local 456 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters bargaining unit, which includes 25 workers for the Putnam Valley Highway Department...
