Calculating the costs of the Bush tax cuts...

Just for the top 5% of incomes:


(Source: National Priorities Project)
 via Wonkblog

"Britain's Self-Inflicted Misery"

An excellent editorial in the New York Times on the disastrous British austerity strategy - which, as the authors point out, is an ideology more than a viable economic plan:

PM Cameron cogitates

For a year now, Britain’s economy has been stuck in a vicious cycle of low growth, high unemployment and fiscal austerity. But unlike Greece, which has been forced into induced recession by misguided European Union creditors, Britain has inflicted this harmful quack cure on itself.

Austerity was a deliberate ideological choice by Prime Minister David Cameron’s ruling coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, elected 17 months ago. It has failed and can be expected to keep failing. But neither party is yet prepared to acknowledge that reality and change course.

Britain’s economy has barely grown since the budget cuts began taking effect late last year. The most recent quarterly figures showed the economy flat-lining, with growth at 0.1 percent.

New figures released this week reported Britain’s highest jobless numbers in more than 15 years.