Day: February 28, 2011

Categories
Economic growth Politics Republican

Republicans Say “It’s All About Jobs,” So They Will Cut 700,000 More

When John Boehner said, “if we lose 200,000 federal jobs, so be it,” we listened and thought the figures didn’t add up. A little  research into the facts revealed the figure was more like 20,000 to 40,000 jobs lost if Boehner got his way.

Now, after economists studied the Republican budget and the effects of it’s cutting $61 billion dollars from it, the result – as reported by  financial economists – would be a job loss of 700,000 by the end of 2012.

According to reports from The Washington Post;

Zandi, an architect of the 2009 stimulus package who has advised both political parties, predicts that the GOP package would reduce economic growth by 0.5 percentage points this year, and by 0.2 percentage points in 2012, resulting in 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of next year.

His report comes on the heels of a similar analysis last week by the investment bank Goldman Sachs, which predicted that the Republican spending cuts would cause even greater damage to the economy, slowing growth by as much as 2 percentage points in the second and third quarters of this year.

Of course, Republicans stand by their claims that cutting $61 billion will create jobs and put America back on its financially feet. And of course, they’re the only ones believing this claim.

Maybe more appropriate for Boehner would be to claim, “Losing 700,000 jobs because of our budget and 200,000 federal jobs? Whatever!  I must keep a campaign promise, so be it!”

Read the rest of the Washington Post report here.

Categories
Barack Obama Domestic Policies United States White House

President Obama Changes Position on Health Care Mandates

“Instead of refighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and let’s move forward.”

Those were the words of President Obama in his State of The Union address at the end of January, and today, the President signaled just how much he was willing to listen, comprimise, or adopt new policies that he hopes will accomplish the “fix.” Today, President Obama spoke with governors at a White House meeting and told them that he was willing to allow states to withdraw from the controversial mandate requirement in 2014 instead of 2017, if they could prove that they can insure the same amount of people the original Health Care Reform did, at the same cost.

“I think that’s a reasonable proposal; I support it, it will give you flexibility more quickly while still guaranteeing the American people reform.”

According to reporting from The New York Times;

The bipartisan amendment that Mr. Obama is now embracing was first proposed in November, eight months after enactment of the Affordable Care Act, by Senators Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, and Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts. Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, a Democrat, is now a co-sponsor.

The legislation would allow states to opt out earlier from various requirements if they could demonstrate that other methods would allow them to cover as many people, with insurance that is as comprehensive and affordable, as provided by the new law. The changes also must not increase the federal deficit.

If states can meet those standards, they can ask to circumvent minimum benefit levels, structural requirements for insurance exchanges and the mandates that most individuals obtain coverage and that employers provide it. Washington would then help finance a state’s individualized health care system with federal money that would otherwise be spent there on insurance subsidies and tax credits.

“It seemed to make sense that rather than have states invest in a system that may not be best for them, you change the date to 2014 from 2017 and give them the flexibility to design it,” said one of several administration officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the president. “But it’s clear that states must do a number of things to qualify for a waiver.”

The Health Care Reform passed by a Democratic controlled congress in 2010 divided the country along party lines, with most Democrats in favor of reform and most Republicans against. The White House and Democrats have admitted fault and have taken responsibility  now for  explaining to Americans the benefits of reform. And with the mis-representation of many parts of the law, many Americans are still advocating a total repeal of the bill, a promise that House Republicans have made and seemed determined to do. In reality however, repeal will not happen because of a Democratic controlled senate, and a promise of a veto if the bill makes it to the President’s desk.

Read the rest of The New York Times report here.

Categories
Citizens United Politics United States Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Koch Brothers And American For Prosperity Attacked By Anonymous

The Koch Brothers and Americans For Prosperity have been put on notice… from Anonymous, the internet hacking group that came out in support for Wiki-leaks and other “internet injustices.” The group began their protest by joining the pro-union fight in Wisconsin, and by taking down the website for Americans For Prosperity.

Anonymous then put out a press-release stating their cause;

Dear Citizens of the United States of America,

It has come to our attention that the brothers, David and Charles Koch–the billionaire owners of Koch Industries–have long attempted to usurp American Democracy. Their actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back.

Koch Industries, and oligarchs like them, have most recently started to manipulate the political agenda in Wisconsin. Governor Walker’s union-busting budget plan contains a clause that went nearly un-noticed. This clause would allow the sale of publicly owned utility plants in Wisconsin to private parties (specifically, Koch Industries) at any price, no matter how low, without a public bidding process. The Koch’s have helped to fuel the unrest in Wisconsin and the drive behind the bill to eliminate the collective bargaining power of unions in a bid to gain a monopoly over the state’s power supplies.

The Koch brothers have made a science of fabricating ‘grassroots’ organizations and advertising campaigns to support them in an attempt to sway voters based on their falsehoods. Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United are just a few of these organizations. In a world where corporate money has become the lifeblood of political influence, the labor unions are one of the few ways citizens have to fight against corporate greed. Anonymous cannot ignore the plight of the citizen-workers of Wisconsin, or the opportunity to fight for the people in America’s broken political system. For these reasons, we feel that the Koch brothers threaten the United States democratic system and, by extension, all freedom-loving individuals everywhere. As such, we have no choice but to spread the word of the Koch brothers’ political manipulation, their single-minded intent and the insidious truth of their actions in Wisconsin, for all to witness.

Anonymous hears the voice of the downtrodden American people, whose rights and liberties are being systematically removed one by one, even when their own government refuses to listen or worse – is complicit in these attacks. We are actively seeking vulnerabilities, but in the mean time we are calling for all supporters of true Democracy, and Freedom of The People, to boycott all Koch Industries’ paper products. We welcome unions across the globe to join us in this boycott to show that you will not allow big business to dictate your freedom.

Things are starting to get interesting…! 🙂

Categories
Politics

Will We See Fox News’ Roger Aisles On M.S.N.B.C.’s Lockup?

Yes, encouraging someone to lie to the Federal authorities is a crime, punishable with fines and or imprisonment, and that seems to be  exactly what Roger Aisles – the senior executive of News Corp and Chairman of Fox News – did, according to a Ms. Judith Regan.

According to a report from the New York Times, Aisles, the man responsible for the direction of the so-called “news network,” gave the unsolicited advise to Ms. Regan in an effort to protect Rudolph Giuliani, a then 2008 Republican presidential candidate. Regan – the Times reports – had an affair with Bernard Kerik, Giuliani’s New York police commissioner, and the man being considered by the Feds to head up the job of Homeland Security Secretary. Aisles advised Regan to lie or withhold information about the relationship from the feds, and according to Ms. Regan, the conversation was recorded.

The revelation was made in court in another case involving Ms. Regan. Brian C. Kerr, a former lawyer of Ms. Regan describes the evidence he found in an affidavit. The Times Reports;

But Brian C. Kerr, one of Ms. Regan’s former lawyers, describes in an affidavit the physical evidence he reviewed as “including a tape recording of a conversation between her and Roger Ailes, which is alluded to throughout the complaint” that Mr. Kerr and another lawyer, Seth Redniss, drafted for Ms. Regan. That complaint said News Corporation executives “were well aware that Regan had a personal relationship with Kerik.”

“In fact,” the complaint said, “a senior executive in the News Corporation organization told Regan that he believed she had information about Kerik that, if disclosed, would harm Giuliani’s presidential campaign. This executive advised Regan to lie to, and to withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik.”

Mr. Redniss, in his affidavit, referred to “a recorded telephone call between Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News (a News Corp. company) and Regan, in which Mr. Ailes discussed with Regan her responses to questions regarding her personal relationship with Bernard Kerik.”

Would I be wrong to assume that Roger Aisles will deny these claims and the voice on the recording? No, of course not. As a matter of fact, it is expected that Mr. Aisles will deny it all, because after all, he’s the one responsible for the content of Fox News. There will obviously be more to this story in the near future.

Read the New York Times report here.

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