Today, Obama held a backyard discussion in Columbus, Ohio that focused on economic issues. He insisted that with a few minor changes, Social Security will be just fine.

Since the economic recovery is largely dependent on the psychology of consumer confidence, I’ve been trying all year to be optimistic about the unemployment reports. But each month, the numbers are getting harder and harder to spin in a positive fashion. According to the New York Times.

Earlier this year, Democrats in the Senate tried three times to pass legislation that would help states deal with growing Medicaid rolls, the joint federal-state health care program for the poor. Each effort has failed in the face of united Republican obstructionism.

This is the second in a series of posts based on youtubes from a speech in Milford CT by Warren Mosler. Warren is running for the Senate in CT in the Independent Party primary. Unlike both the Democratic and Republican candidates Warren really understands economics and his forté is explaining it to people. Here’s a youtube on his proposals for restoring our economy to normal functioning and to full employment.

‘They’ are the bipartisan media/political elite. They’re taking us into slashed deficits during a time of nearly 10% unemployment. And look at what they celebrate: GM’s slashed wages, benefits and (reduced by 11%) workforce. It’s a place I don’t want to go.

Senators should pass a clean energy and climate bill this summer and head into the final campaign push with a real success in hand.

A growing chorus is speaking up for much more than just restoring the economy. Many see this worldwide crisis as a unique opportunity for true reform and transformation.

A run down on the newest report by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which confirmed that AB32 will have a positive impact on the economic growth of California.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 442,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Are we steadily moving toward recovery, or do these numbers merely provide false hope before the next collapse?

It looks like we’re approaching an inflection point of great danger in working through problems in creating Economic Recovery. The inflection point is coming because there has been little economic recovery both internationally and domestically, with some nations continuing to run large deficits, and a growing chorus from many, calling for austerity and Governmental budget balancing even though it’s well known that the consequences of these policies will be economic contraction and further hardship for all of us but the rich. The big question is: which way will nations that have debts held in their own sovereign currency like the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia go? Will they listen to the domestic and international deficit hawks (e.g. the ratings agencies, the IMF, the European Commission (EC), and various currency traders and hedge fund managers) and cause further contraction and hardship for their citizens, or will they tell the deficit hawks to “take a hike,” create demand from the public sector, where private sector demand is falling short, full employment, and healthy economies?

I can’t answer this question, but what they ought to do is stated quite clearly in a recent blog post by L. Randall Wray and Yeva Nersisyan. Here’s an extensive sampling of their views along with some comments.