Hopefully Democratic politicians and our media will begin to call the GOP out on Wanniski's and Reagan's "Two Santa Clauses" scam.

Today I'm in the hospital here in Oregon for back surgery, so yesterday I put this post together and scheduled it for delivery to you this morning. It was originally published back in September of last year, but I think you'll find it even more timely today.

Basically, it explains why Republicans on the weekend shows last Sunday were all claiming the would both increase inflation and the budget deficit (it will do neither), and are preparing to again crank up their rhetoric against "Democrat [sic] tax-and-spend policies."

There's a long and gnarly history here going all the way back to the 1970s, and knowing it prepares us all for the next time it splats across the media landscape, as it definitely will one day soon. Read on…

---

The only thing wrong with the U.S. economy is the failure of the Republican Party to play Santa Claus.
—Jude Wanniski, March 6, 1976

The stock market is falling, a reaction to GOP threats to shut down the government: it's all part of their plan.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week warned us that the GOP is about to use Jude Wanniski's "Two Santa Clauses" fraud again to damage Biden's economy and our standing in the world. And, sure enough, Mitch McConnell verified it when he said last week there would be "zero" Republican votes to raise the debt ceiling.

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Thursday's Daily Stack

Poem: "Gratitude" by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt.

Poem: "Gratitude" by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Bill: "H.R.1 - For the People Act of 2021" by Rep. Sarbanes, John P. [D-MD-3].

Article: "Biden signs $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law, unlocking funds for transportation, broadband, utilities" by Jacob Pramuk.

Article: "U.S. Senate passes historic climate bill" by Zoya Teirstein.

Article: "Biden signs bipartisan gun safety bill into law: 'God willing, it's going to save a lot of lives'" by Donald Judd.

Article: "Caps on prescription drug price hikes most popular aspect of Inflation Reduction Act: poll" by Jared Gans.

Article: "Trump lawyer in June said classified material had been returned -NY Times" by Reuters.

Article: "2022 Student Loan Debt Statistics: Average Student Loan Debt" by Alicia Hahn, Jordan Tarver.

Article: "Alternative minimum tax" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Confirmation bias" by Wikipedia.

Law: "Telecommunications Act of 1996" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Matt Gaetz" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Marjorie Taylor Greene" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Lauren Boebert" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Liz Cheney says she's 'willing to pay' for 'standing up for the Constitution,' regardless of whether or not it costs her the GOP primary" by John L. Dorman.

Article: "US adds 528,000 jobs, restoring all workers lost during pandemic " by Ariel Zilber.

Law: "Civil Rights Act of 1964".

Article: "Rep. Jamie Raskin On Surviving A Double Blow of Tragedy and Finding the Strength to Lead" by Nathan Heller.

Site: Randi Rhodes Show.

Site: Hightower Lowdown.

Article: "An 11 point plan to rescue America" by Rick Scott.

Article: "How Government Insider Trading Corrodes Democracy" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Martha Stewart" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Address to the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association, August 13, 1991" by Dan Quayle.

Article: "These electric vehicles qualify for $7,500 tax credit under Inflation Reduction Act" by Sarah Raza.

Article: "The social connections that shape economic prospects" by Noam Angrist & Bruce Sacerdote.

Article: "Dane County Neighbors Helping Neighbors during COVID-19 crisis" by Nicole Sandler.

Article: "Noam Chomsky" by Wikipedia.

Article: "All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I. F. Stone" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Auschwitz concentration camp" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Dachau concentration camp" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Treblinka extermination camp" by Wikipedia.

Article: "The Karate Kid" by Wikipedia.

Video: Dr. Oz Goes Shopping.

Article: "Crudités" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Andrew Yang, Christine Todd Whitman move ‘Forward' with third party" by Callie Patteson.

Article: "Charlie Crist" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Medicare Advantage" (Medicare Part C) by Wikipedia.

Article: "Time to End the Medicare Advantage Scam" by Thom Hartmann.

Site: Social Security Works.

Book: Who Moved My Cheese? : An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson.

Article: "Trump on Releasing His Tax Returns: From ‘Absolutely' to ‘Political Prosecution'" by Katie Rogers.

Article: "National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of Trump White House documents from Mar-a-Lago" by Kevin Breuninger.

Article: "FBI Recovered Eleven Sets of Classified Documents in Trump Search, Inventory Shows" by Alex Leary, Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman.

Article: "Pritzker family firm has ties to COVID-19 testing companies" by Illinois Policy.

Article: "Medline Industries" by Wikipedia.

Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

It's Anything Goes Friday!

Jefferson Smith is in for Thom today taking your calls...

Today's Theme: "Debunking Dumb Stuff"

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Does Trump Want His Terrorists To Attack The FBI?

Why The Rich FEAR Unions Featuring Richard Wolff

Are We Fighting Revolutionary War AGAIN?