FRIDAY FYI’s

***JOBS FOR NEW GRADS:  A bit of good news for the 2011 college graduates is brought to light in The National Association of Colleges and Employers Report — job prospects are looking up!  The biggest jumps are in the Midwest and West where projections are that employers will be hiring 13.5% more new grads than in 2010.

NRA LIES — AGAIN:  The National Riffle Association is claiming credit for the 3 year decline of violent crime in our country.  The NRA proclaims that the 2009 rise in gun sales is responsible for the fall in crime.  Gun sales have gone up all right:  gone up in response to right-wing fear mongering that “Obama’s gonna come git yer guns!”  Which resulted in…?  Yep, you guessed it, gun sales went up among right-wingers, who already had an arsenal.

Gun ownership by household has gone DOWN.  In 1977 54% of households had guns, and in 2009 that number’s 33%.

We would be the safest citizens in the world if more guns meant less crime.  80% of people in the industrialized world who die from bullets are Americans, and the truth is that more gun violence is the result of more guns.

***GOTP HYPOCRICY — AGAIN!:  This small, but irritating, thought occurred to us this week — why is it that Hillary Clinton was so totally demonized by the Right for keeping her maiden name, Hillary Rodam, (and even continued to receive ridicule after she added “Clinton” becoming Hillary Rodam Clinton) BUT the Right seems to have no problem at all with Liz Cheney, who is married  —and presumably not to a cousin?!?

***GOTP TO REPEAL THE AFFORDABLE CARE LAW (HEALTH CARE REFORM):  The Republicans have finally revealed their new document with their plans for the country, in the event that they take over the House/Senate.  Not a surprise, the Repubs say if elected, they will repeal the new health care law and replace it with one of their own.  What is a surprise is that 7 of the things in their own plan are actually in the existing law that they plan to repeal. 

And, the Wonk Room points out that the “Republican Pledge to America” doesn’t tell voters how they plan to offset the $140 billion increase in the deficit, that will be the result of repealing the ACA.  They actually have no plans to lower health care spending, and the repeal of the ACA will actually bend the cost curve up!

***AMERICANS UNAWARE OF OUR WEALTH INEQUALITY:  In a new study, majorities of Americans underestimate the income inequality in our nation today.   AND, they actually are supportive of a “more equal distribution of wealth.”  The study was conducted by Duke University’s Dan Ariely and Michael Norton of Harvard Business School.  Crossing all ideological, economic and even gender groups, Americans way underestimated the amount of wealth controlled by the top 20% of our society.  Americans believe that the richest 20% control about 59% of our wealth, but the actual number is almost 84%.  And, in all demographic groups (including Republicans and the wealthy) there was a desire for a more equal distribution of wealth than we currently have in our nation — they believed that the top 20% should own only 32% of the wealth.  

When presented with 2 unlabeled pie charts, one representing the wealth distribution of the US (top 20% control 84% of the wealth) and another of Sweden (top 20% only control 36% of wealth), without knowing which country they were picking:  92% picked Sweden as the country they’d rather live in.