Posts Tagged ‘economy’

September2

Not your father’s recession is right

By: Micah Hauptman

On Tuesday, President Obama signaled a new economic direction by announcing his appointment of Alan Krueger to chair his Council of Economic Advisors. Krueger’s background is in employment and labor policy, so he will hopefully function as a high-level advocate for bringing down the persistently high levels of unemployment and alleviating our economic malaise. This appointment couldn’t have come soon enough.

Americans continue to suffer from this Great Recession. According to a study released this week by The Conference Board, consumer confidence has hit its lowest level since April 2009. There are many potential reasons for this abysmal statistic: unemployment and underemployment remain at stubbornly high levels, the housing market continues to be a drag on the economy, the recent debt limit fiasco put us on the verge of default, illustrating just how dysfunctional Washington can be, and the subsequent S&P downgrade sent shocks waves through the market. Even the bravest souls who dare to peek at their 401(k) statements are sure to be spooked. And to make matters worse, the U.S. labor market added no new jobs in August, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report that was issued this morning.

Dimitri Papadimitriou and Greg Hannsgen of the Levy Economics Institute have recently detailed in a paper titled “Not Your Father’s Recession,” how this recession is far worse than other recessions that we’ve experienced. One key measure they point to is the employment-to-population ratio. From the beginning of the recession in December 2007, this ratio has decreased by 4.6%, from 62.7% to 58.1%. In contrast, in all other recessions since 1973, this ratio never decreased by more than 3% and always rebounded much more quickly. Clearly our current slide over the last 43 months has been deep and long.

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Posted in: Congress, Financial Reform, Social Justice, Uncategorized0 comments

August10

Get ready for the GOP’s total assault on public safeguards on behalf of corporate profits

By: Rich Robinson

The hubris the current group of Republican conservatives who hold sway in Congress these days is nauseating. Given their behavior since Barack Obama was elected president however, this is not shocking. Anyone with a 401 (k) plan is now painfully aware that the GOP’s refusal for any bipartisan compromise in the debt deal is forcing the country to pay a steep price for the party’s lock-step adherence to its ideology.

There was a time not that long ago when they at least made an attempt to camouflage their contempt for our vital system of regulatory safeguards, but those days are long gone. Coming in September when Congress returns from its summer break, Republicans will brazenly target federal regulations as part of its “jobs plan.” Ultimately, this all-out attack will only expose the fact that they actually have no jobs plan at all.

Boehner Cantor

flickr by TalkMediaNews

The GOP attempted to launch a jobs plan in May, but it was laughed off the table. Their flimsy 10-page document, filled with more pictures and drawings than words, contained the same old failed “trickle down” economic tools that have proven worthless since Ronald Reagan raised taxes four times from 1982-84.

So now, they are boldly turning to the “scourge” that is federal regulations as a means to revive our stalled economy – as if clean air and safe children’s toys are at the heart of the nation’s economic troubles. They are attempting to “fix” a problem that does not exist.

This attack on safeguards is not about jobs, it is about corporate profits. Ours is supposed to be a government of, by and for the people. But for our democracy to work, we need effective standards and regulations for accountability and transparency. Special interests shouldn’t be able to meet with public officials in secret, or have their lackeys in Congress bury amendments into appropriations bills that gut vital safeguards.

What is really needed is more regulatory oversight, not less. Do you think the BP oil spill disaster, the Massey mine explosion or the Wall Street meltdown of 2008 that sent 8 million Americans to the unemployment line occurred because of too many regulations?

The foes of public safeguards love to talk about how rules cost businesses too much and that they are an impediment to job growth. Both allegations are simply untrue.

Several studies have shown that claims about the burden of federal regulations are completely overblown. The non-partisan Economic Policy Institute released a study this spring that compared the benefits of regulations to their costs, investigated whether regulations negatively impacted the economy and assessed the studies that the federal government uses when drawing up specific rules.

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Posted in: Congress, Regulation, Uncategorized1 comments

May19

A way to rein in Wall Street greed

By: Rick Claypool

Wall Street’s greed crashed our economy and caused the Great Recession we’re struggling through today.

Yet the bankers on Wall Street continue to reward themselves with astronomical bonuses for engaging in the same high-risk financial gimmicks that crashed our economy back in 2008. Firms, big banks and hedge funds on Wall Street spent more than $135 billion on record-breaking payouts in 2010; the top 25 hedge fund managers raked in $22 billion by themselves.

It’s an absurd situation. It has to stop. And you can help stop it.

Congress passed the Wall Street reform bill last year, and now federal agencies are seeking comments from the public on how they should implement the section of the law about Wall Street pay practices.

That’s right – they want to hear from you.

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Posted in: Activism, Financial Reform, Regulation0 comments

February25

On Wisconsin and America

By: Robert Weissman

‎We are now having a major dispute about what kind of society America should be.

Right now, the flashpoint in this controversy is Wisconsin, where tens of thousands of people are demonstrating every day in an effort to block Governor Scott Walker’s plan to all but end collective bargaining rights for public employees.

But the debate is a national one. The Wisconsin showdown is only the first in a whole series of pending state conflicts. And, over the next 10 days, a corporate-friendly Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives may decide to shut down the federal government.

The clashes in Wisconsin and other states, and in Washington, D.C., are dressed up in the language of budget debates. But these debates have nothing to do with “fiscal responsibility.” They are about what kind of society we want.

Do we want government to provide vital services, or exacerbate inequality? Should we have strong protections for health, safety, the environment and economic stability, or should giant corporations be free to impose their rules on the rest of us? Will we protect the right of workers to join together in unions, or will we permit private and public employers to drive down wages in the interest of generating more profits or lowering taxes for corporations and the wealthy?

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Posted in: Activism, Social Justice1 comments

February23

Despite state budget problems and weak economy, Wall Street execs still reward themselves handsomely

By: Bartlett Naylor

The Wall Street titans who crashed the economy are largely responsible for today’s state budget problems.

Today, the New York Comptroller’s office released numbers showing that these same executives rewarded themselves with obscene compensation in 2010, even as corporate-backed governors demand a major sacrifice from already modestly compensated public employees.

The comptroller’s report shows that overall compensation increased 6 percent on Wall Street, while bonuses declined only 8 percent to $20.8 billion in 2010.

Contrasting with this compensation, Republican governors are seeking pay cuts from school teachers, highway maintenance crews and other public servants vital to the real American economy. The disparity is painful.

Bart Naylor is the financial policy advocate in Public Citizen’s Congress Watch.

Posted in: Financial Reform0 comments

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