It appears that those teenagers running D.C. have continued to avoid making real decisions and blared their Hoobastank a little too loudly for Mayor Bloomberg's taste, so Hizzoner gave a speech at the Center For American Progress this morning to straighten things out. "For too long, Washington has operated on the 'something for nothing' principal," Bloomberg said. "Spending money we don't have seems to be about the only thing the two parties can agree on." His solution for the Budget Supercommittee? Let the Bush tax cuts expire for everyone, close tax loopholes for the financial industry, and end farm and energy subsidies. more ›

Hey, you over there in the corner barstool: Have you ever stopped backwashing into that pint glass for long enough to consider how your drinking is affecting the economy? Of course not, neither have we. But do you know who has? The CDC! And they are not happy with what your drinking habit is doing to good taxpaying Americans. more ›

After the House's passage of the debt-ceiling "compromise" that will raise the debt ceiling through 2013 and cut more than $2.1 trillion in government spending without raising taxes or closing corporate loopholes, the Senate passed the bill today 74-26. The bill is expected to be signed by the president "immediately." Among the lawmakers who voted against the legislation was New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who said in a statement, "This deal…is an unbalanced approach that cuts deeply into discretionary spending while being overwhelmingly stacked in favor of large corporations. It is simply not in the best interests of the middle class." Middle class? What middle class? more ›

After the failure by both parties to advance their catastrophe-sparing legislation to raise the debt ceiling beyond the House of Representatives, Senator Mitch McConnell told reporters this afternoon that a default on U.S. debt "is not going to happen," and that he's "confident and optimistic" of an "agreement within the very near future," based on his recent telephone conversations with President Obama and Vice President Biden. Speaker Boehner agreed, telling CNN, "In spite of our differences, we're dealing with reasonable, responsible people." HAHA he'll be here all weekend, people! more ›

There's only 9 shopping days until the real apocalypse, and that means time is running out for President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to hammer out a "grand bargain" that would reduce the deficit by trillions, raise the debt-ceiling limit, and soothe the worries of the global economy. Boehner reportedly called Obama today, but that was probably to tell him how much he cried when he saw Marley and Me. However, the original First Black President, William Jefferson Clinton, suggested last week that Obama use Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling himself. While the president said on Friday that his attorneys "are not persuaded that that is a winning argument," a few law professors tell the Times it's entirely feasible. more ›

Are you a veteran, receiving Social Security, a government contractor, or of one of the recipients of the 70 million checks the federal government mails out every month? Your payments may be drastically affected (along with the American economy) next month if the debt-ceiling limit isn't raised in 10 days. more ›

After cows tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease last week in Japan, the country put a halt to exports of Wagyu, the famous cattle breed that's raised according to strict traditions and yields exceptional marbling, delicate texture, and high prices. With no end in sight, chefs are running out of their precious meat. "Everyone that buys from us has called up and said, 'How much do you have left, lock it up for me?' " George Faison, chief operating officer at De-Bragga & Spitler, a meat supplier in the Meatpacking District, tells the Wall Street Journal. "We only have 500 pounds left." Very troubling, Japan! How are Americans supposed to extravagantly blow hundreds of dollars on a steak (or $81 on a burger) now? more ›

East Village residents packed a community forum Wednesday night to vent about a surge in the local rat population. City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, who co-hosted the meeting, declared that rats were "the largest growing population in the East Village." And Community Board 3 manager Susan Stetzer deemed the rat boom a "crisis...This year we didn’t even have the little Halloween parade in Tompkins Square Park for the kids because of all the rats." According to the Villager, Rick Simeone, director of pest-control services for the Health Department, says they stopped putting poison in the park due to concerns that hawks, squirrels or dogs would eat it. Instead, the city is promising to crack down on bars and restaurants who don't manage their trash properly. Meanwhile, gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods are crawling with rats, too! more ›

NYC comptroller William Thompson is proposing that the city plug the MTA's budget gap by raising automobile registration fees in the 12 counties served by the MTA’s trains and buses. If passed by the State Legislature, his plan would require drivers in the city and surrounding counties to pay $100 a year to register their vehicles. (The city currently charges $30 every two years.) According to the Times, drivers with vehicles weighing more than 2,300 pounds would have to pay an additional 9 cents per pound. By that measure, owners of Lincoln Navigators, which weigh in at 6,000 lbs., would owe the city $450 per year. Thompson says the revenue could add up to about $1 billion per year and serve as an alternative to the MTA's "devastating" budget proposal announced last week. more ›

After years of massive expansion, real estate brokers are bracing themselves for a reversal of bank oversaturation. There are as many retail bank branches in Manhattan as there are Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts combined. Now Washington Mutual has postponed opening new branches (understandably), and other banks are consolidating their branches. One broker predicts that "we might have empty corners without a lot of takers out there chasing the space." But Mitchell Moss, NYU professor of urban planning, tells the Sun, "You will see a new kind of retail venture taking over the space, but it is difficult to predict what that will be — but it won't be clothing. It will have to be something that addresses a necessity." Gazing into the crystal ball, one can just about see the pawn shop where Chase Bank once pushed out the Second Avenue Deli. more ›

Don’t get too comfortable homeowners – the city’s foreclosure rate is skyrocketing, up a startling 66% in the first quarter of 2008 compared to last year, according to Crain’s and the housing research site Property Shark. Queens saw more foreclosures than the four other boroughs combined, with 508 in the first quarter, up 59% from the same period in 2007. more ›