Archive for January, 2010

January29

Why it's time to tax Wall Street transactions

By: Editor

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUGgIwnVPU]

Earlier this week, Public Citizen, along with the Center for Economic Policy Research and WallStreetWatch.org, hosted a panel debate on the pros and cons of a speculation tax on financial services. We’ve called for such a tax as an important reform needed to rein in Wall Street’s reckless behavior. Now, bills before Congress would create the tax as a way to raise as much as $100 billion a year in revenue, while also deterring the harmful churning of stocks and financial instruments.

In the video above, economist Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy Research, discusses why we need a speculation tax. To view the entire debate, which also included Public Citizen President Robert Weissman, University of Massachusetts economist Robert Pollin, Gerogetown University Professor Jim Angel and George Sauter, Vanguard Group’s managing director and chief investment officer, visit our Vimeo page.

Posted in: Congress3 comments

January28

Let shareholders, not CEOs, decide how their money is spent on politics

By:

Holman

A stunning blow of a court ruling deserves a strong response. We have that in a measure introduced late Wednesday by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) to counter last week’s U.S. Supreme Court campaign finance ruling. In a powerful rejoinder to a court decision that allows corporations to spend unlimited money on pet political causes and candidates, Capuano has introduced legislation that requires CEOs to receive shareholder approval for each and every corporate political expenditure. Public Citizen enthusiastically supports Capuano’s “Shareholder Protection Act” and applauds his initiative in working to rein in the damage the court is causing by unleashing unlimited corporate spending in politics.

Last week, the court reversed 100 years of political tradition and ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations are “persons” under the First Amendment, entitled to spend unlimited amounts of corporate treasury funds to support or attack candidates. Never mind that corporations are not people, do not vote and were never envisioned by the Founding Fathers as “persons” under the Constitution. Five justices have taken it upon themselves to give corporations

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Posted in: Campaign Finance, Consumer Protection2 comments

January28

Justice Alito's 'read my lips' moment

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pB5uR3zgsA]

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is no Joe Wilson, the excitable South Carolina congressman whose uncivil outburst last fall put him right up there with Terence Trent Darby and the 1970 Kansas City Chiefs on the list of one-hit wonders. Yet, Alito snagged his viral moment at last night’s State of the Union address when he shook his head and mouthed the words, “Not true,” in response to President Obama’s rebuke of the Court’s ruling in last week’s Citizens United case. You can tell Alito and the four justices who voted with him to overturn a century of campaign finance protections what you think at www.DontGetRolled.org.

Posted in: Campaign Finance, Congress, Litigation0 comments

January27

Public Citizen President Robert Weissman explains the Citizens United ruling

By: Editor

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrhQSLjMr3Y]

Public Citizen President Robert Weissman explained the ramifications of the recent Citizens United ruling during a webinar this past Tuesday. He also answered viewer questions and laid out Public Citizen’s strategy to get a constitutional amendment passed that would undo the ruling. The video above is an excerpt. The full webinar can be found on our Vimeo page.

Posted in: Campaign Finance0 comments

January27

State of the Union watch guide

By:

As President Obama addresses the nation tonight in his first State of the Union speech, people across the country will be sizing up the president’s prose with his campaign promises and actions over the past year.

Public Citizen created a guide to his SOTU address on the issues we find most critical and that we hope he will speak to. From financial reform to climate change, open government to trade, DC voting rights to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, Public Citizen assesses Obama’s performance thus far and provides goals for Obama to achieve in the coming year.

Cable and network television stations will broadcast the address, and the White House will have a live broadcast on its Web site, as well. Watch tonight at 9 p.m. EST and let us know what your reactions are.

And if the current state of the union is too much for you to bear, here’s something that might cheer you up.

Posted in: Campaign Finance, Climate Change, Congress, Energy, Health, Nuclear Power, Open Government, Trade0 comments

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