Obama Topics

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

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  • Play_jobs-economy

    Economist Dean Baker Predicts A "Really Bad Deal or No Deal" from Deficit "Super Committee"

    President Barack Obama welcomed the deficit deal as "an important first step" and urged both parties to work together on a larger plan to cut the deficit. The deal includes no new tax revenue from wealthy Americans and no additional stimulus for the lagging economy. It has a provision to create a joint committee of 12 legislators charged with finding $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts. The committee must hold its first meeting in 45 days...
    Aug 03, 2011 | Story

  • "War, Debt and the President." By Amy Goodman

    President Barack Obama touted his debt ceiling deal Tuesday, saying, “We can’t balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have borne the biggest brunt of this recession.” Yet that is what he and his coterie of Wall Street advisers have done.
    Aug 02, 2011 | Columns & Articles
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    After Months of Partisan Wrangling, Wall Street & Pentagon Emerge Victorious on Debt Deal

    After months of a bitterly partisan stalemate, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted 269 to 161 in favor of raising the federal borrowing limit and avoiding a default on the national debt. The final count showed 174 Republican ayes, with Democrats split evenly—95 on each side. The vote came just hours before a Department of Treasury deadline that potentially would have seen the United States run out of cash and default for the first time...
    Aug 02, 2011 | Story
  • Gutierrez_arrest_button

    Rep. Luis Gutierrez Arrested Outside White House Protesting Record Deportations Under Obama's Watch

    This week, thousands of immigrants and their allies protested outside the White House, denouncing the Obama administration for deporting more than one million immigrants in the last two years. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Democrat from Illinois, was among the dozens of protesters arrested on Tuesday for peacefully occupying the White House sidewalk. He participated in the act of nonviolent civil disobedience one day after he received a letter from President...
    Jul 29, 2011 | Story
  • Debt_button

    Richard Wolff: Debt Showdown is "Political Theater" Burdening Society's Most Vulnerable

    Republicans have agreed to a vote today on a budget plan they say will cut the deficit $917 billion over 10 years. The move sets the stage for a showdown against unified Democratic opposition in the Senate and threats of a White House veto. To discuss the debt talks and economic austerity worldwide, we’re joined by Richard Wolff, Emeritus Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of several books, including...
    Jul 28, 2011 | Story
  • Play_economy_debt_age_of_greed

    U.S. Debt Default Looms as Talks Stall on Deficit Reduction: “We Are Playing with Fire”

    Discussion on a deficit reduction deal has stalled after five consecutive days of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. In order to borrow beyond August 2, the United States must raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. This week, Standard & Poor’s became the second of the major credit rating agencies to place U.S. debt under review, citing an increasing risk of a payment default. Republicans are pushing for massive spending...
    Jul 15, 2011 | Story

  • "Soldier Suicides and the Politics of Presidential Condolences." By Amy Goodman

    President Barack Obama just announced a reversal of a long-standing policy that denied presidential condolence letters to the family members of soldiers who commit suicide. Official silence, however, has long stigmatized those who die of self-inflicted wounds. The change marks a long-overdue shift in the recognition of the epidemic of soldier and veteran suicides in this country and the toll of the hidden wounds of war.
    Jul 13, 2011 | Columns & Articles
  • Bush_torture_button

    A Debate on Human Rights Watch's Call for Bush Administration Officials to be Tried for Torture

    Human Rights Watch has released a new report calling on the U.S. government to launch a broad criminal investigation into alleged crimes of torture committed by former President George W. Bush and other top officials under his administration. It comes on the heels of a Department of Justice investigation into alleged torture, abuse and murder during the interrogation of detainees in CIA custody. Earlier this month, the DOJ announced it would launch...
    Jul 12, 2011 | Story
  • Obama_debt_button

    Debt Lock: Will Obama Make Cuts to Social Security and Medicare?

    As President Obama tries to broker a compromise budget deal that would allow Congress to raise the national debt ceiling before an August 2 deadline, he may appease Republicans by cutting funding for Medicare and Social Security. Congressional Democrats say they have ruled out any gutting of Social Security, but there are concerns the cuts could still be achieved through a backhanded approach. Retiree benefits are set by the Consumer Price Index,...
    Jul 12, 2011 | Story
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    As Debt Talks Threaten Medicare, Social Security, Study Finds U.S. Spending $4 Trillion on War

    As part of ongoing debt negotiations, the White House has proposed slashing more than $4 trillion from annual budget deficits over the next decade—twice what Obama had proposed earlier. While much of the talk in Washington centers on taxes, Social Security and Medicare, far less attention is being paid to the growing cost of the U.S. wars overseas. A new report from Brown University has estimated the true cost of the U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan...
    Jul 08, 2011 | Story