The Wall Street Journal reports that lending at the big U.S. banks has declined even after these same institutions rolled up the TARP funds from the 2008 financial bailout. No worry, it seems, as the New York Times reports that bank nationalization may be the next step anyway. Market Watch says the U.S. economy was in a "free fall" in the 4th quarter, although USA Today offers a glimpse of recovery in its story, "Majority of Economists Expect a Slow Recovery This Year."
There's lots more, but the best story is the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the Democratic stimulus plan working through the Congress will include hundreds of millions in funding for "family planning services":
STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?Gateway Pundit says, oh, that's great, "Much like how a genocide would reduce costs."
PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?
PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.
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