a. cut spending by downsizing existing programs b. begin paying down the service on the debt c. take back more of their money from the unfunded pensions they pretended belonged to individuals, but which in point of fact they assert really belongs “to the people” (whose aggregate interests are represented by the government). d. toga party

protein wisdom: “Done. Though there was really no need for such bossiness. We here have been ignoring Geithner’s counsel for quite some time now, thank you very much.”

China and the Iraqi oilfields — along with every American with a working brain — breathe a sigh of relief.

So if you live in Indiana, you’ll want to keep the pantry stocked with plenty of donuts. Wouldn’t want to piss off your new housemates, should they decide to drop in. (h/t Rush Limbaugh and zamoose) **** update: Chris Muir’s take.

Harvard econ professor Greg Mankiw, at his blog: Tim Conley and Bill Dupor have a new paper on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (that is, the Obama stimulus bill). Their empirical findings Our benchmark results suggest that the ARRA created/saved approximately 450 thousand state and local government jobs and destroyed/forestalled roughly one million private sector jobs. State and local government jobs were saved because ARRA funds were largely used

Bill Wilson, ALG: Every American should be afraid when their government tells them to keep their mouths shut. This is especially true when the subject relates to a matter of national public policy. On Monday, Lafe Solomon, acting general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), seemed to forget about the right to free speech when he essentially told Boeing, and all other commentators, to shut it. In 2009,