Tag Archives: The Economy

October 25, 2011 · 8:04 pm

Obama bypasses Congress to offer lower student loan payments for millions

This is a good start to addressing a big problem…

And “extra credit” to the President for getting around the insensitive, obstructionist Republican Congress

From DailyKos.com:

The Obama administration today announced some actions it can take to bypass Republican obstruction and reduce the burden of student loans for millions of current students and recent graduates, at no new cost to taxpayers.

Currently, an income-based repayment program lets people with student debt reduce their loan payments to 15 percent of their discretionary income; after 25 years, remaining debt is forgiven. Last year, Congress passed a law reducing that 15 percent to 10 percent and forgiving remaining debt after 20 years. That was set to go into effect in 2014, but President Obama is using regulatory authority to make it take effect in 2012. The administration estimates that this could reduce payments for 1.6 million people.

More:   Daily Kos: Obama bypasses Congress to offer lower student loan payments for millions.

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October 25, 2011 · 6:57 am

Peter Smirniotopoulos: Why Occupy Wall Street Scares the Shit Out of the Political Establishment and the MSM, and Why the Movement Shouldn’t Conform to Either

Great article over at Huffington Post that I encourage you to read…

Occupy Wall Street is the first significant genuine grassroots protest I’ve seen in years.  And yes, I am discounting the astroturf Tea Party.  They were financed by the corporate world.  Occupy Wall Street is organic.

That’s what makes it so scary to the Powers That Be and the Corporate owned Press….

I encourage you to click through and read Mr Smirniotopoulos’ entire article, after this brief excerpt:

So, what’s “the thing” about Occupy Wall Street that truly scares the shit out of the political establishment and the MSM? It is that they cannot *control* that which they truly do not understand. And even if the MSM and the political establishment take the time to come to understand Occupy Wall Street, they will never be able to manipulate it for their political gain. And that is a truly scary prospect for them.

There are plenty of talking heads in the MSM and in both political parties offering their avuncular advice to Occupy Wall Street; to clarify and simplify its message; to create a hierarchy of leadership; to anoint spokes models armed with talking points who can appear on–you guessed it–news and political talk shows with panels of political operatives from both parties, as seen on every MSM network. And to what end? For the convenience of the MSM so they don’t have to actually learn what’s really going on in Zuccotti Park; so they can continue to overlook how an organic democratic process actually works; to make it that much easier for the Democrats and the Republicans, respectively, to deify or demonize the movement for their own political gain. None of these outcomes, of course, will advance the cause of Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement.

Occupy Wall Street and the nationwide and global Occupy movement it has spawned should continue to be what it is: A messy yet remarkably effective example of what real democracy looks like. Because, after all, isn’t that the most important message of all here? That people believe in government by the people and for the people, and they plan on taking it back. NOW.

via Peter Smirniotopoulos: Why Occupy Wall Street Scares the Shit Out of the Political Establishment and the MSM, and Why the Movement Shouldn’t Conform to Either.

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October 24, 2011 · 8:04 pm

The 147 Companies That Control Everything

Fascinating article in Forbes….

Confirms a lot of suspicions and breeds more….

This is why Occupy Wall Street is so important….

 

Three systems theorists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have taken a database listing 37 million companies and investors worldwide and analyzed all 43,060 transnational corporations and share ownerships linking them. They built a model of who owns what and what their revenues are and mapped the whole edifice of economic power.They discovered that global corporate control has a distinct bow-tie shape, with a dominant core of 147 firms radiating out from the middle. Each of these 147 own interlocking stakes of one another and together they control 40% of the wealth in the network. A total of 737 control 80% of it all. The top 20 are at the bottom of the post. This is, say the paper’s authors, the first map of the structure of global corporate control.The #occupy movement will eat this up as evidence for massive redistribution of wealth. The New Scientist talked to one systems theorist who is “disconcerted” at the level of interconnectedness, but not surprised.

MORE:   The 147 Companies That Control Everything – Forbes.

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October 23, 2011 · 10:30 am

Why Credit Unions Are a Better Financial Choice For Us Than Big Banks

I’ve been with a Credit Union for over 20 years and can offer only praise for their services and costs.  I can’t imagine why anyone would chose a bank-especially a big bank- over a Credit Union.

With Credit Unions, you are not just a customer, but part owner.  Rates are better, service is better and even the smallest Credit Unions generally offer all the same services as big Banks.

My advice:  Move your business to a Credit Union today!  It’s not just best for you, it’s better for the economy and the country as a whole…..

From Daily Finance:

 

With big banks adding new fees or increasing existing fees, credit unions have been able to capitalize on the growing discontent with the financial services behemoths. Bank of Americas BAC $5 debit-card-fee fiasco alone is responsible for 20% to 50% of the new accounts at some credit unions — and new accounts have been growing steadily in recent months.Thats because many credit unions are offering cash back or reward points for debit card usage, not fees. There are other perks, too, to get you to move your business. For example, the Co-op Services Credit Union of Michigan has been successfully offering $105 to those who switch to them from a regular bank.

And credit unions are reaching out to business customers, too. FDIC data has shown bank business lending shrinking over the past year or so, while credit union commercial lending is growing.

Dollars and cents arent the only reason people are moving their money to credit unions. The fundamental setup of the system is vastly different from that at big banks. While a bank is a for-profit business, aiming to maximize earnings for its shareholders, credit unions are nonprofits. While youre simply a customer of a bank, youll be a member of a credit union, owning the whole thing along with your fellow members.

via Why Credit Unions Are a Better Financial Choice For Us Than Big Banks – DailyFinance.

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October 15, 2011 · 5:54 pm

Tea Party Co-Founder Expresses Support for Occupy Wall Street

Very interesting article.  On many levels

a) He admits the Tea Party was co-opted by the GOP

b) He thinks Occupy Wall Street is smarter

This guy was obviously too bright for the room that held the Tea Party captive…

From RawStory.com

One of the original founders of the Tea Party movement has told RT.com that he believes Occupy Wall Street is not only comparable to the earliest states of the movement he helped launch but can learn from its mistakes.

“The problem with protests and the political process is that it is very easy, no matter how big the protest is, for the politicians to simply wait until the people go home,” financial blogger Karl Denninger observed. “And then they can ignore you.”

“Well, Occupy Wall Street was a little different,” he continued. “And back in 2008, I wrote that when we will actually see change is when the people come, they set up camp, and they refuse to go home. That appears to be happening now.”

Denninger has been complaining for some time that the Tea Party was hijacked by the Republican establishment and used to protect the very prople it had originally opposed. A year ago, he wrote, “Tea Party my ass. This was nothing other than the Republican Party stealing the anger of a population that was fed up with the Republican Party’s own theft of their tax money at gunpoint to bail out the robbers of Wall Street and fraudulently redirecting it back toward electing the very people who stole all the ****ing money!”

Now he advises Occupy Wall Street, “Don’t let it happen.”

“One of the things that the Occupy movement seems to have going for it is it has not turned around and issued a set of formal demands,” he explains. “This is a good thing, not a bad thing. Everyone is looking for a set of demands. The problem is that as soon as you pipe up with a list of four or five things — and you’ve got to keep it simple and short — then somebody’s going to say, ‘Well, we gave you 70 percent of it, now go home.’ And the fact is, that’s exactly the sort of thing that happened with the Tea Party.”

“Stay on message, which is that the corruption is not a singular event,” Denninger urged. “You can’t focus in one place. You have to get the money out of politics, which is very difficult to do, but at the same time you can’t silence people’s voice.”

via Tea Party co-founder expresses support for Occupy Wall Street | The Raw Story.

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October 14, 2011 · 9:44 am

Eviction of Occupy Wall Street From NYC Park Postponed

A great Birthday present for me!

The threat is not over, but at least postponed….

From ABC News:

 

ABC News’ Greg Krieg reports from New York City:

City officials today postponed a cleanup of  Zuccotti Park after earlier threatening to evict Occupy Wall Street protesters who have been encamped here. Jubilant protesters later poured from the park to the Wall Street area, some clashing with police. As many as 15 people were reportedly arrested for blocking access.

As the announcement was made via the “people’s mic” at 6:40  a.m., the crowd waved their brooms in triumph.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office tweeted that Brookfield Properties, owner of the park,  (and not the city) decided to postpone cleaning. The city was informed “late last night.”

via Eviction of Occupy Wall Street From NYC Park Postponed – ABC News.

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October 12, 2011 · 9:25 pm

Georgia Considers Replacing Firefighters With Free Prison Laborers

Well, this is one of the dumbest, most outrageous ideas from the GOP yet.  I’m surprised it didn’t come from South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama as well…

I guess someone in Georgia got the idea from “Gone With the Wind” when Scarlett used prisoners to run her lumber mill.

They’ve never been real good at separating fiction from reality in Georgia….

Not only does this endanger the prisoners, it endangers professional firemen who have to work with them as well as the general public since they will have neither the training nor the enthusiasm of a professional.

Next, they’ll be trying to use prisoners to fill the gap in General Practice doctors.  Or as school teachers.  Or as policemen!

Dumb, dumb, dumb….

Almost as dumb as voting for these fools…..

From ThinkProgress.org:

A select group of inmates may be exchanging their prison jumpsuits for firefighting gear in Camden County.

The inmates-to-firefighters program is one of several money-saving options the Board of County Commissioners is looking into to stop residents’ fire insurance costs from more than doubling. […] The inmate firefighter program would be the most cost-effective choice, saving the county more than $500,000 a year by some estimates. But that option is already controversial, drawing criticism from the firefighters who would have to work alongside – and supervise – the prisoners.

The Camden program would put two inmates in each of three existing firehouses, and they would respond to all emergencies – including residential – alongside traditional firefighters. The inmates would have no guard, but would be monitored by a surveillance system and by the traditional firefighters, who would undergo training to guard the inmates.

The inmates would not be paid for their work, but upon release they would be eligible to work as firefighters five years after their conviction dates instead of the normal 10.

Naturally, many are questioning the wisdom of asking prisoners to put their own lives at risk in a dangerous job they don’t necessarily want to do. Not only would the program jeopardize inmates’ safety, but their potential lack of enthusiasm and training could jeopardize the lives of fire victims they are supposed to be saving. Firefighter Stuart Sullivan told the Florida Times-Union that firefighters choose the profession because they have a passion for serving the public and helping people, while the inmates would only be there as an alternate way to serve their sentences.

Many firefighters are speaking out against the idea, and don’t relish the additional responsibility of having to guard and worry about inmates as they are trying to put out fires and save lives. This distraction could be another life-threatening consequence of the measure. The program also runs the risk of inmates escaping — all in all a very dangerous proposition for public safety just to save money.

Georgia is not the first state to use prison slave labor to try to cut costs: in California there are more than 4,000 firefighting inmates stationed at 45 camps throughout the state. (HT: Gawker)

via Georgia Considers Replacing Firefighters With Free Prison Laborers | ThinkProgress.

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October 9, 2011 · 7:00 pm

Occupy Wall Street: Why?

If you are wondering what Occupy Wall Street stands for, Keith Olbermann reads their statement below…

Sounds good to me!

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October 9, 2011 · 6:30 pm

$39,000 For a Backpack? Luxury Items Flying Off the Shelves

As Marie Antoinette allegedly said, when told the poor had no bread, “Let them eat cake.”

I bet she would have had one of these bags….

Some kids can’t pay their college tuition without mortgaging their future with student loans and others carry a backpack that costs more than a year’s tuition at an Ivy League College???

Something is very wrong here….

From AlterNet.org:

If you wanted to sum up what people mean when they toss around phrases like “class war” and “the 99 percent”  and “WTF,” you might put it all down to this: $39,000 backpacks. Sold out.

It’s been four years since the entrepreneurial Olsen sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley, launched their luxury fashion line, the Row, and three months since they debuted their stylish and exorbitantly priced black crocodile bag. But it was the news this week that at the Paris launch of the handbag line, Ashley Olsen bragged that the backpack “was the first thing that sold off the shelf” that really took the let-them-eat-cake. Olsen added that luxury brands do well in hard times, noting that “During our last economic crisis in the U.S., the only thing that went up was Hermès,” before, in the words of Women’s Wear Daily, “returning to sip Champagne with guests including Michelle Harper and Christian Louboutin.” As a commenter on CNN observed of this news, “This is what’s wrong with America. The income inequality in this country is outrageous, we are well on our way to becoming a 3rd world country.” Or, as another more aptly expressed it, “That’s cray cray.”

via $39,000 For a Backpack? Luxury Items Flying Off the Shelves | | AlterNet.

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October 9, 2011 · 4:09 pm

Protesters Against Wall Street

Very nice statement in today’s New York Times on the Occupy Wall Street movement.

At least one mainstream media outlet seems to be getting it….

Here is a brief excerpt and a link to the full article:

 

As the Occupy Wall Street protests spread from Lower Manhattan to Washington and other cities, the chattering classes keep complaining that the marchers lack a clear message and specific policy prescriptions. The message — and the solutions — should be obvious to anyone who has been paying attention since the economy went into a recession that continues to sock the middle class while the rich have recovered and prospered. The problem is that no one in Washington has been listening.

At this point, protest is the message: income inequality is grinding down that middle class, increasing the ranks of the poor, and threatening to create a permanent underclass of able, willing but jobless people. On one level, the protesters, most of them young, are giving voice to a generation of lost opportunity.

The jobless rate for college graduates under age 25 has averaged 9.6 percent over the past year; for young high school graduates, the average is 21.6 percent. Those figures do not reflect graduates who are working but in low-paying jobs that do not even require diplomas. Such poor prospects in the early years of a career portend a lifetime of diminished prospects and lower earnings — the very definition of downward mobility.

The protests, though, are more than a youth uprising. The protesters’ own problems are only one illustration of the ways in which the economy is not working for most Americans. They are exactly right when they say that the financial sector, with regulators and elected officials in collusion, inflated and profited from a credit bubble that burst, costing millions of Americans their jobs, incomes, savings and home equity. As the bad times have endured, Americans have also lost their belief in redress and recovery.

 

MORE:   Protesters Against Wall Street – NYTimes.com.

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