January 4, 2009 7:08 PM

Bad Compromise News on the Obama Stimulus

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the much needed Obama stimulus package is likely to include expensive provisions to allow companies that lost money in 2009 (think big banks, auto companies, housing developers, etc) to use those losses and go to the IRS and obtain cash refunds for earlier years in which they made money and paid taxes.

If the goal of the stimulus plan is to put cash in the hands of those that will immediately spend it (think food stamps for poor people or funds for states to maintain health care) or to invest in infrastructure that will change the economy (think cleantech or a smart electrical grid), then this cash for money losing companies is a truly terrible idea. If the report is accurate, the only possible justification is to compromise in advance with Republican special interests who have been whining that they will ask tough questions about reckless spending - perhaps even filibuster - if they don't get a big share of the stimulus plan. I think their bluff should be called. Now.

January 2, 2009 2:17 PM

Anti-apartheid heroine passes away

Helen Suzman died yesterday. First elected to the South African legislature in 1953 - the year I was born - she was a tireless opponent - often the only white legislative opponent - of apartheid. She made her part of the world a better place and never feared asking questions that were inconvenient for those in power. Talking Points Memo has more details.

December 23, 2008 8:49 AM

The Ten Greediest People of 2008

It is the time of year for top ten lists, and many are quite fun. Hard to choose among the avaricious, but Alternet has done the hard work for us. And yes, Madoff is on the list.

No doubt they have missed some - any come to mind?

December 19, 2008 10:28 AM

Rev. Rick Warren

President-elect Obama has made a bad choice in his selection of the Rev. Rick Warren to provide the invocation at his inauguration. We are all for having serious conversations with those with whom we disagree, or even enemies. But that is quite a different matter than elevating them to a position of honor and visibility.

Mr. Warren is known for his vehement stands against stem cell research, abortion, and equality for gays and lesbians. Among other things, he is famous for his infamous "five non-negotiables" sermon tips sent to over 100,000 conservative pastors right before the 2004 presidential election, which suggested how pastors might guide their flocks in deciding how to vote.

He gained notoriety recently for his outspoken, even crude, but definitely hateful support of Proposition 8 in California, which stripped gays and lesbians of the right to marry which had been acknowledged by the California Supreme Court.

President-elect Obama missed an opportunity to show the nation and indeed the world that there are Christian leaders whose faith leads them to support equality for all. We hope that the Rev. Warren, in delivering his invocation, uses it as an opportunity to seek forgiveness for the pain he has caused. We hope that Mr. Obama follows through on his campaign agenda of reversing the hateful Defense of Marriage Act.

December 19, 2008 10:06 AM

A bittersweet victory for working families.

I was shocked and saddened on Wednesday afternoon when I read that Chrysler was shutting down production for a month, laying off all of its plant workers until January 19th at the earliest. President Bush had been "weighing his options" regarding emergency loans for the Big Three U.S. automakers -- essentially sitting on his hands while workers paid the price. Yesterday, over 10,000 CREDO Action members e-mailed President Bush to tell him that enough is enough: we can't afford to sit idly by and allow one of our nation's biggest industries to collapse in the midst of a global economic crisis. Today, President Bush answered our call, approving $17.4 billion in loans for GM and Chrysler -- a lifeboat to help them stay afloat through March 31, 2009. This is great and heartening news, not just for struggling autoworkers, but for all Americans who'd rather not see our economy collapse.

So why is this victory bittersweet? Well, when the Treasury Department doled out over $300 billion to Wall Street, it did so without any regulations, any increased oversight, or even any limits on executive compensation. Essentially, your tax dollars can now be used to give six-figure bonuses to the Wall Street fat cats who helped get us into this mess, and President Bush is fine with that.

The auto bailout, on the other hand, had strict requirements (despite the fact the Wall Street bailout was twenty times larger). Some of these requirements were exactly the kinds of tough oversight that might have been helpful for the Wall Street bailout, and despite the hypocrisy of applying that oversight to one group and not another, I don't have a problem with that. Where I have a big problem is with a requirement that the United Automobile Workers (UAW) reduce their wages and benefits to be competitive with those of foreign automakers who have plants in America. To be clear, reports that UAW members all make $70 an hour are completely erroneous - in three years working the Midwest for labor, I never met a single autoworker who made that kind of money. Union autoworkers are better-paid than non-union autoworkers, but guess what? That's because union workers are better paid across the board, and the auto industry is no different from any other in that respect.

Japanese autoworkers are unionized in Japan. German autoworkers are unionized in Germany. But Japanese and German auto companies don't have to pay American workers as much as they pay workers in their own countries because of American laws that systematically undermine unions, workers' wages, and workers' rights. If Ford wanted to build a plant in Japan, it would never be allowed to pay Japanese workers non-union wages, let alone dictate the wages that Japanese companies pay their own workers. But that's exactly what President Bush (and the Senate Republicans, for that matter) insist upon here in America.

Yes, I'm happy President Bush approved the bailout for Detroit. But I'm sick and tired of the uber-rich getting richer while the middle class dwindles and dies. Here's hoping President Obama tries to do just a little bit better for America's working families.

December 16, 2008 11:03 AM

Meet Me March 2nd in DC

It will not be possible to arrest and reverse global warming without stopping our heavy reliance on coal. Period. Perhaps there is not greater symbolism of the craziness of our current energy policy than the fact that Congress itself relies directly on a coal powered generating facility on Capitol Hill.

On March 2, 2009, environmentalists will protest our current climate policy, the existence of the coal burning plant, and some will commit civil disobedience to draw attention to those goals. I think this is an exciting moment where the tide may shift. You can sign up for updates on the event at http://ran.org/get_involved/powershift_and_mass_civil_disobedience_updates/.

December 16, 2008 9:44 AM

A Whiff of Deflation

November consumer prices fell by 1.7% - mostly driven by sharply lower energy prices. This is the biggest decline in prices in 60 years and reinforces the need for an economic stimulus package to be very large and passed by Congress as early in January as possible. Even though Obama cannot sign the legislation until January 20th, the certainty and specificity of the plan will help.

And as Bush returns from his humiliating visit to Iraq, his Administration has almost nothing useful to offer up on the economy. I have been reading several accounts of FDR's early presidency, and all I can say is that it is enormously helpful that our transition will occur on January 20th rather than Roosevelt's early March of 1933.

December 12, 2008 5:08 PM

Why Did Republicans Senators Filibuster the Detroit Bailout?

Evidently, even a plea from Vice President Cheney, warning of the electoral consequences of triggering a depression, did not budge most Republican senators. Were they newly fiscally responsible? Wanted to punish Michigan, Ohio and other key auto states for voting the wrong way on November 4? Could it possibly have been as simple as they wanted the UAW to take wage cuts and not Citigroup bankers?

I defer to nobody in thinking that the U.S. auto industry has been the single most poorly managed domestic industry. It needs fundamental change. But frankly, I worry more about the economy-wide effects of bankruptcy for General Motors than I did for Bear Stearns or even Citibank.

I think the Republican senators played to their electoral base, which is almost entirely a Southern base now. They successfully forced the White House to totally change every one of its arguments against using TARP money to bail out the automakers, so that they could go home and say they acted out of principle, but without any responsibility for the outcome.

Who ever would have thought that the Bush White House would be more sensible than a group of senators?

December 11, 2008 3:44 PM

Rod Blagojevich has Annoying Hair

Like Pinocchio's nose, could it be that lying and corruption lead to unfeasibly dark and lustrous locks, not to mention helmet head, in politicians? Whatever the cause of Governor Blagojevich's peculiar coiffure (overweaning vanity, myopic colorist?) he would appear to be the latest in a long line of politicians with questionable values, which is why Working Assets/CREDO supports the work of CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) who continue to expose elected officials who have misused their position through illegal, unethical or just plain outrageous conduct. The 2008 donations ballot is nearing its December 31 deadline, click here to check out the work of CREW and the other great groups we will fund this year.

December 11, 2008 8:20 AM

No More Bailout Money for Bush

The economy is sinking fast. Bigger layoffs are happening daily. Foreclosures are rising. And Treasury Secretary Paulson has already used just about all of the first $350 billion of the bailout money provided to him, and is about to ask for the remaining $350 billion. It is with much regret that we think the request should be denied.

So far the Bush Administration has not delivered. It has done nothing for the millions in foreclosure, not yet instituted any of the regulatory protections needed to deal with the crisis and invested billions in banks with no new lending to show for it.

The money should be saved for the incoming Obama administration. In the meantime, the burden of dealing with the financial crisis will have to be borne primarily by the Federal Reserve which has done more than the Treasury in any case.

Under the bailout law, Congress must approve a request for the remaining funds. If denied, Bush can veto the denial, and unless his veto is overturned, Paulson will get the money. This dance was created to make it seem as if more oversight was built in than was truly the case.

December 9, 2008 8:26 AM

Indictments and "Bad Apples"

I am glad that the indicted Rep. Bill Jefferson, who is likely to be convicted of bribery, lost his bid for re-election.

I am glad that Governor Blagojevich of Illinois has been indicted on various charges of public corruption - the stink of pay to play has surrounded him for a long time. I hope he resigns today.

But I am more glad that the Justice department has indicted five employees of Blackwater for their role in killing innocent Iraqi civilians. Blackwater mercenaries and their ilk have been responsible for great harm in Iraq, and this is the first time the Justice Department has taken the slightest step to hold them accountable.

But my biggest fear is that this will also be the last step, and simply repeat the Bush Administration's "bad apple" approach in which low level soldiers and others are indicted and sometimes convicted while those who made the decisions to torture, steal, or otherwise behave badly go free, receive honorary degrees, and comfortable appointments while awaiting the next chance to do harm.

December 8, 2008 9:53 AM

Who is the Bad Guy in the Republic Windows Story?

Right now, several hundred laid off workers, who last week were making energy efficient windows at doors at Republic Windows and Doors, are occupying the factory because they are not receiving pay that is owed them.

The factory shut down due to the recession in the building industry and because Bank of America cut off their line of credit. Yes, the same Bank of America that just last month received $25 billion in taxpayer money on preferential terms to ensure that it would keep lending.