Economy

Spinning the Tax Cuts

by Anne Landman — September 21, 2010 - 2:06pm

Democrats argue that Republicans' plan to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the nation's wealthiest citizens would add $700 billion to the national debt over the next ten years. While this is true, Democrats usually don't mention that Obama's plan to extend tax cuts for just middle and low income wage earners would also add to the national debt.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, September 21, 2010

Bailed-Out Banks Finance Predatory Payday Lenders

by Mary Bottari — September 16, 2010 - 7:07am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • American taxpayers bailed out the big banks. Now many of those banks are returning the favor by extending credit to payday lenders who sucker consumers into a spiraling debt trap.

    That is the claim in a new report published this week by National People's Action (NPA), the Chicago-based community organization. The report, called Predators' Creditors, names Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase as some of the biggest lenders to the booming payday loan industry.

    "The very same banks that helped tank the economy are now helping the bottom feeders of the industry," says George Goehl, Executive Director of NPA. "The report shows that a $300 payday loan could end up costing you $750. If Al Capone was alive today, I bet you could get a better deal from him."

    Declare a Jobs Emergency on September 15!

    by Mary Bottari — September 9, 2010 - 9:02am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • Job cuts have a way of sneaking up on you -- a few teachers here, a police officer there and another fire department that is not open when you need them. In some areas it is a slow bleed, but as every Emergency Medical Technician knows, a thousand small cuts can still kill the patient.

    Welcome Mr. President, but Laverne and Shirley Don't Work Here Anymore

    by Mary Bottari — September 6, 2010 - 8:57am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Corporations, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • For many Americans, Laverne and Shirley remain the enduring icons of the city of Milwaukee. Barack Obama was a teenager when the sitcom about two independent young women working in a beer factory was a popular hit in the late 1970s. But the sad truth about Milwaukee is that Lavern and Shirley don't work here any more.

    Banking on a Lighter Note

    by Mary Bottari — September 1, 2010 - 12:27pm
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • The accolades for Elizabeth Warren keep rolling in on the BanksterUSA.org petition. If you have not had a chance to sign it or leave a comment, click here. While you are at it, check out the amusing video produced by the Main Street Brigade to promote her candidacy for the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

    The Washington Post reports that Warren has been spotted meeting with bankers. No, I don't believe she has gone to the dark side, however I do believe that this indicates the administration is serious about her nomination and has asked her to build some bridges.

    Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall when she meets with Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein: "so Lloyd, are you still selling securities that are designed to fail?" Or with Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf: "have you stopped juggling customer late fees to maximize the pain for consumers?" These are just some of the big bank tricks featured in our last column.

    Telecoms Force Customers to Pay for Nothing

    by Anne Landman — August 31, 2010 - 3:37pm

    Time Warner Cable has figured how to make customers pay more for a "service" that consists of doing absolutely nothing: it doubled its fee to not print customers' names in the phone book. Time Warner now charges $1.99 a month, or almost $24 a year, for an unlisted number.

    Main Source: 
    Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2010

    Will Perpetrators of Financial Crimes Ever Face Justice?

    by Mary Bottari — August 25, 2010 - 11:29am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • Some will rob you with a six gun and some with a fountain pen – Woodie Guthrie

    Like mushrooms popping up in a damp basement, a slew of court settlements have been registered recently involving the big banks and their role in the financial crisis. An informal review of settlements over the last two years reveals about 16 multi-million dollar payouts from the big banks amounting to some $1.6 billion in fines and restitution and $13 billion in buybacks of auction-rate securities that were represented to be as safe as cash.

    Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? But when fines are stacked up against an elite white-collar crime spree worth trillions, it is a little less impressive.

    President Obama, Give Liz a Job

    by Mary Bottari — August 15, 2010 - 11:57pm
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project
    • Elizabeth Warren is one of the most educated, clear thinking, ethical advocates for the consumer that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and hearing. As a consumer, I would feel it was a true measure of this administration's faith in me, and my place in this country, if Elizabeth Warren were confirmed as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

    -- Judith Safley

    With news reports that Government Sachs is trying to prevent Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren from being nominated by President Obama to head to the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, there is one crowd she clearly has in her camp, the American people.

    Reagan's Top Economist Says GOP Misled the U.S. and Tanked the Economy

    by PRW Staff — August 13, 2010 - 1:58pm

    Lost in the 24/7 news cycle has been a July 31, 2010 opinion-editorial by David Stockman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan.

    Main Source: 
    MarketWatch, August 10, 2010

    Bankster Scorecard

    by Mary Bottari — August 2, 2010 - 9:53am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • I asked subscribers to the Bankster list to rate the bank reform bill that just passed Congress. I appreciate the fact that some folks took the time to rank the three parts of the bill, which include: 1) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; 2) the derivatives chapter, and; 3) our favorite "too big to fail" section.

    Those that took the time to rate all three sections of the bill averaged a "B" for consumer protection, "C" for derivatives, "F" for too big to fail. However, most Bankster subscribers gave the whole bill an "F." There was general agreement that the bill would not prevent the next crisis because it did not do enough about the financial institutions whose size, power and influence pose a threat to our economy. Bankster subscribers have always cared the most about the "too big to fail" issues and supported the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall, hard size caps on the big banks and other measures to break up the banks.

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