Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars, interviewed by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman & Juan González

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Deficit Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Deficit

  • Button-simpson

    Paul Krugman: Debt Commission Chair Alan Simpson is Wrong to Call For Greater Austerity, Budget Cuts

    Earlier this week, former Sen. Alan Simpson, who co-chaired President Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission, attacked New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, saying his work "borders on hysteria." We ask Krugman to respond to Simpson, who has advocated for slashing spending despite the economic downturn. "We’re witnessing a gigantic experiment in the kinds of policies that people like Simpson want," Krugman says....
    May 17, 2012 | Story
  • Congress_supercommittee_storm

    America's Not Broke: Solving the Debt Crisis by Making Nation More Equitable, Green & Secure

    The bipartisan so-called "supercommittee" has failed to reach an agreement on reducing the federal deficit after three months of negotiations over taxes and spending. The full Congress will now have a little over a year to come up with an alternative. A trigger of $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over 10 years to military and domestic programs takes effect in 2013. "What people need to remember is that we are a rich country...
    Nov 22, 2011 | Story
  • Gop_poll

    Bachmann's Iowa Straw Poll Win Signals Early Tea Party Role in Shaping GOP Primary

    The race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination heated up this weekend as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll and Texas Gov. Rick Perry formally announced his candidacy. Bachmann led the Iowa contest with more than 4,800 votes out of almost 17,000 votes cast, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul placed a close second. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty placed a distant third, and on Sunday he announced he was leaving the presidential...
    Aug 15, 2011 | Story
  • Play_debt

    Bipartisan "Super Committee" Turns to Cutting Deficit with "Extraordinary" Powers

    The bipartisan "super committee" tasked with finding a way out of the U.S. debt crisis has been established, but what can we expect? On Thursday, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi named the final three members to the 12-person panel, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. They will have until November 3 to recommend a plan to cut $1.5 trillion from the deficit over 10 years. We speak with Robert Borosage, founder and president...
    Aug 12, 2011 | Story
  • Play_poverty_tour

    "A Declaration of War on the Poor": Cornel West and Tavis Smiley on the Debt Ceiling Agreement

    The veteran broadcaster Tavis Smiley and the author and Princeton University Professor Cornel West are in the midst of a 15-city, cross-country trek they have dubbed "The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience." The tour comes on the heels of last week’s deficit agreement, which has been widely criticized for excluding a tax hike on the wealthy, as well as any measures to tackle high unemployment. "Any legislation that doesn’t...
    Aug 09, 2011 | Story
  • Obama_west_smiley

    Cornel West & Tavis Smiley on Obama: "Many of Us Are Exploring Other Possibilities in Coming Election”

    We speak with veteran journalist Tavis Smiley and Princeton University Professor Cornel West about President Barack Obama and the 2012 elections. "He’s rightly associated much more with the oligarchs than with poor people," says West. Adds Smiley, "I don’t think the President would be hurt, necessarily—the country certainly would not be hurt—by a primary challenge that would refocus him on what really matters. It would...
    Aug 09, 2011 | Story
  • Barbara_nickle_button

    "Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America”: Barbara Ehrenreich on the Job Crisis & Wealth Gap

    Standard & Poor’s announced Friday it has downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time in history. The move by S&P, one of three leading credit rating agencies, came just days after Congress approved a $2.1 trillion deficit-reduction plan. "In some ways, that is in another world from most Americans and their day-to-day struggles. What is it going to mean to you if you have no job now?" says our guest, Barbara Ehrenreich,...
    Aug 08, 2011 | Story
  • Debt_deal_women_button

    Women Hurt Most by Debt Deal Cuts to Medicare, Social Security, Tuition

    The debt ceiling agreement reached this week by the White House and Congress could deal a serious blow to women’s well-being, according to leading women’s rights groups. The deal will potentially impose $1 trillion in cuts to programs that mostly serve and employ women, such as family planning clinics, food stamps, college tuition assistance and childcare. The National Organization for Women (NOW), the largest feminist organization...
    Aug 04, 2011 | Story