eLiberal - ADA's Blog on Politics & Public Policy

Government of, by, and for the Powerful

Common wisdom tells us that corporations, the rich, and the conservative politician that serve them, are opposed to big government. Common wisdom also says that these same groups support something called the free market.

However, as is often the case, the real world is much different than common wisdom would have it.

Republicans: The Party of the Tax Cheaters?

Recently Mitt Romney’s waffling about whether or not to release his tax returns has been highlighted in the news. Another tax-related item, that has largely escaped attention, is a report released earlier this month by the Internal Revenue Service. IRS figures show that tax cheating robbed the public of about $385 billion during a single year. A closer look shows that the IRS is probably underestimating tax evasion, that tax cheating is most prevalent among the top-income brackets, and that Republicans have been in the forefront of preventing the IRS from enforcing tax laws.

Unemployment: Good News, But a Long Way to Go

The unemployment numbers for December, released on Friday, represented an improvement. The employment situation is getting better, but the economy is not nearly out of trouble yet. The official unemployment rate is still high, at 8.5%. The economy generated a healthy 200,000 new jobs in December. However, if employment were to continue to grow at this rate, it would take until 2019 for unemployment to return to its pre-recession rate.

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