Occupy Debate: It Isn't Just about Electoral Politics and Third Parties
In an interview with The Real News Network, Jeff Cohen, the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, the founder of the media watchdog FAIR, and the co-founder of RootsAction.org, argued that the Occupy movement--as well ...
The Wealthy Do Not Create Jobs
At the May 2012 TED conference in Long Beach, an interesting thing happened, a venture capitalist stood up before the audience and told the truth. One of the original investors in Amazon.com and current chief of Second Avenue Partners, an advisory group ...
It's Not Enough to Blame Republicans
It's an election year and the Democratic machine is in full-court-press rallying its troops. Criticisms of Barack Obama that were once greeted by spirited debate and congeniality are now met with vitriol and anger. The mantra goes something like this: ...
What Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's Investments Say About Them
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both filed their Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Reports as required in order to seek the office of the Presidency in 2011. I have previously described the two men as Pragmatist and Opportunist, respectively, ...
No Separation - No Peace
Even if your only source of news is FOX and Friends, you must certainly have heard by now that the nation's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase, suffered a loss of at least $2 billion--and likely much more--in a botched credit ...
Not Your Grandfather's Government - The Public Sector Needs You
Unless you live in California, you may not have heard the announcement today that the state is currently facing a $16 billion shortfall in revenues for the next fiscal year. Tax revenues fell short of rosy politically motivated estimates, and ...
Occupy Debate: Let's Meet in the Middle
It is certainly a rare situation where I find myself in the middle on an issue, nearly inconceivable in questions of politics. However, in a recent debate I found myself square on the fence. In competing articles this past week, ...
Pragmatist or Opportunist?
Essentially the voters in 2012 will have a very simple choice to make, whether to elect a political pragmatist or a political opportunist. On the one side is President Barack Obama, who by all accounts holds very few, if any, ...
A Lost Decade or Ten . . . .
This past Wednesday, Larry Summers and Paul Krugman both spoke at different events and both warned of a lost economic decade--or decades--in the United States. While I am loathed to accept anything spewing from the frothy mouth of Larry Summers, ...
Bill Clinton Part II - Starring Barack Obama
We all remember the wonderful carefree days of the Clinton Administration, notably the second lame-duck term during which much was accomplished, for good and for bad. The economy was growing, unemployment was low, and the stock market performed swimmingly. Congress ...
Neither Side is being Reasonable on Taxes
As the election draws near and the competing interpretations of deficit bean counting becomes louder and louder, taxes, specifically income taxes, will be occupying a more pronounced amount of the political space. On the one side, Republicans, who oppose raising ...
Obama and Department of Education Outsourcing Student Loan Servicing
On April 15, 2012 I received a letter in the mail from EdFinancial, a so called "nonprofit" financial services company, informing me that it would be taking over the serving of my William D. Ford direct consolidation loan, effective April ...
Petty Settlement Reached by CFTC with Oil Price Manipulator
The CFTC settled a case late Thursday with a multinational liquidity provider for alleged oil and gasoline futures manipulation. While this settlement comes nearly five years too late, it may mark a turning point in the Obama administration's general reluctance to take on Wall Street.
Late Thursday, the CFTC ...
Olympia Snowe has it all Wrong
Before the ink was dry on the press release alerting the media and her colleagues that she was retiring after three terms in the United States Senate, journalists and bloggers were busily penning posts and pieces lamenting her loss as ...
Congress Nearly Fails in its Efforts to Prevent Oil Spills
So, with all the talk of the need for compromise and conciliation in the Congress when it comes to keeping the American people safe, we certainly must have new effective regulations concerning oil drilling safety and cleanup in place nearly ...
AIG Illustrates Further Treasury Department Incompetence
Evidence of further incompetence from Timothy Geithner and friends over at the Treasury Department surfaced recently in a report that uncovered a disturbing tax deal flowing from the 2008 $182 billion bailout of AIG and other companies. A tax loophole that ...
You Love the Bailouts, Didn't You Hear it on the News?
In an unsurprising yet detestable act of hubris, the Obama administration and its Treasury Department recently held yet another invitation only press briefing for select journalists. Apparently, the marching orders for the press this time around are to communicate to the public that the Bush ...
Don't Listen to Jeremy Siegal
Perma-bull and Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel is predicting that the Dow Jones Industrial Average could reach 15,000 by the end of 2013 and 17,000 shortly thereafter. Regular folk and students enrolled in second and third tier business schools should be ...
Wells Fargo in Lockup
When corporate profits, conservative tea party values, and corporate political influence intersect, the result is one of the scariest human rights developments within the borders of the United States. Charles Davis, guest blogger at Salon.com recently authored a downright Orwellian ...
Wall Street Hates Elizabeth Warren
Normally Wall Street--much as it does even if in direct conflict with clients' interests--hedges its bets when it comes to campaign contributions, donating equal amounts to both Democrats and Republicans. Not coincidentally it generally reaps similar benefits from each. How else can you ...
HARP Continues to Flounder
A new report by Cora Currier over at ProPublica chronicles the massive practical shortcomings of the Democratic administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, and why it continues to fail to offer underwater homeowners any real relief. The program has also fizzled in offering meaningful rate ...
Robert Shiller Weighs in on Home Prices
The most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index was released on March 27, 2012 showing that home prices have continued to dip and are currently sitting at 2003 levels. While this comes as no surprise to me, as I suspect that home prices have to ...
Chief Justice John Roberts has an Opportunity to be Not Just Another Right Wing Nut
With a decision on the Affordable Care Act's mandate looming, Chief Justice John Roberts has a rare opportunity. He has the ability to uphold the individual mandate as constitutional while breaking from his obviously politically motivated peers on the right wing side of the bench. In doing so he would virtually ...
80% of America Can't be Wrong
While even uttering the words "third party" is widely considered poison to any movement or independent candidate, it appears that this conventional wisdom may need to change. The term so frightens those interested in challenging the two party system that it is standard practice for any movement or ...
You're Hot: You're Hired
You may be one the of millions of Americans who periodically sit down to clear your mind and blow an hour or two watching some ridiculous reality show wherein contestants are eliminated one by one until only one narcissistic candidate remains. The next time ...
Stock Market: It's So 1900's
Over the past few decades, the United States has embarked upon a course of massive financial market deregulation. This deregulation has affected every area of finance. The result has been a volatile and generally disadvantageous stock market for average investors. Conventional investment strategy dictates ...
JOBS ACT: The Next Bubble
In yet another example of the Democratic and Republican parties working together to screw the American people, the United States House of Representatives last week passed a set of bills formally referred to as the JOBS Act, but colloquially known ...
Allowing Fraud is in the Public Interest
A new study by mortgage behemoths Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae has ruffled powerful feather, from banking executives to the man in charge of administering the agencies after a takeover by the government during the mortgage crisis. Fannie and Freddie now control nearly 80% of all outstanding mortgages in the ...
Obama Fundraising vs. Romney Fundraising
The Obama campaign announced its February 2012 donation numbers today, with the campaign raking in $45 million last month. Of course, the Republicans immediately cast the numbers as low, but what was important, at least to us, is that nearly 350,000 people contributed to the ...
Uh Oh CBO
Just when you think Wall Street could not possibly be uncovered as having influence over yet another arm of government, some Goddamn Ph.D. who actually knows what she is talking about comes forward and exposes the Congressional Budget Office of ...
Iran: Not Happening
With all the news reporting about Iran and its heretofore-primitive nuclear program, you would think the entire world population is on the verge of donning hunting gear, fleeing their homes, and heading out to live in the woods in some ...
No Excuse for Tied Hands on Oil Speculation
Anyone who drives or owns a business has noticed the recent surge in oil and gasoline prices recently. We have also heard that the price is dependent upon nothing more than good old Econ. 101 supply and demand. This is ...
Pouring Down Economics
We have heard about trickle-down or so-called supply-side economics for decades, if not centuries now. The theory goes that if the wealthy are provided with lucrative tax breaks and major corporations are freed from the shackles of regulation, the economy will ...