You might want to sit down to read this one ......
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-dorlester/guaranteed-health-care-in_b_280528.html
A couple of months ago (February 2nd to be precise), I authored a posting entitled, “John Yoo A Tough Decision to Defend for the President” regarding the redemption of America’s justice system in wake of all the miscarriages of justice which occurred during the Bush Administration and in particular those pertaining to John Yoo. Yoo was Bush’s lead legal adviser authoring legal memos concerning the treatment, incarceration and trial (hearings) proceedings of Iraqi and Afghan detainees.
Following up on my past posting I’ve learned others share equally in my interest of Mr. Yoo’s all encompassing ability of embarrassing our country in the eyes of the international community. In an article posted within Hoffington Post, Mr. Martin Garbus, a Trial lawyer, authored an article entitled: “The Times May Be Changing” where he states some of the following excerpts:
Now six years after Iraq started, nearly one hundred days into the new presidency, more and more information is coming out about the involvement of the Bush people in Iraq-related criminal acts. The legal memos and the statements of tortured detainees are only the beginning of what will soon be a flood of information. The legal machinery is starting to build, case by case, a rejection of Bush’s legal theories. Today’s decision from Federal Judge John Bates of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that those detained in Afghanistan will have access to American courts builds on the recent cases that allow Guantanamo detainees access to the federal court. Judge Bates rejected both the Bush administration’s view and the recently articulated view of President Barack Obama that habeas corpus is not available to imprisoned non-Afghans who are arrested beyond Afghanistan. We are seeing a pattern in the Washington federal courts. The judges are not shying away from tacking tough issues. The concept that a man sitting in Baghram has a right he can enforce in an American court seemed impossible a few years ago. The constant rat-a-tat of the media, with pictures of the tortured prisoners clearly influences judges along with the rest of the population. Judges respond also when the president too set a higher standard. Attorney General Eric Holder is the one who must start the criminal process against Cheney, Gonzales, Yoo and the others. He does not shy away from difficult choices, given backing that lets him know he is not alone. He can, and has, taken positions that are ahead of Obama.
Now six years after Iraq started, nearly one hundred days into the new presidency, more and more information is coming out about the involvement of the Bush people in Iraq-related criminal acts. The legal memos and the statements of tortured detainees are only the beginning of what will soon be a flood of information.
The legal machinery is starting to build, case by case, a rejection of Bush’s legal theories. Today’s decision from Federal Judge John Bates of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that those detained in Afghanistan will have access to American courts builds on the recent cases that allow Guantanamo detainees access to the federal court. Judge Bates rejected both the Bush administration’s view and the recently articulated view of President Barack Obama that habeas corpus is not available to imprisoned non-Afghans who are arrested beyond Afghanistan.
We are seeing a pattern in the Washington federal courts. The judges are not shying away from tacking tough issues. The concept that a man sitting in Baghram has a right he can enforce in an American court seemed impossible a few years ago. The constant rat-a-tat of the media, with pictures of the tortured prisoners clearly influences judges along with the rest of the population. Judges respond also when the president too set a higher standard.
Attorney General Eric Holder is the one who must start the criminal process against Cheney, Gonzales, Yoo and the others. He does not shy away from difficult choices, given backing that lets him know he is not alone. He can, and has, taken positions that are ahead of Obama.
Attorney General Holder’s decision today is easier than it was yesterday, and as more and more stories of brutalized prisoners come out, it will get even easier, especially with our President’s recent executive order of allowing wider windows to be opened to the public through the “Freedom of Information Act.
Judge Bates, and the judges before him, including the Supreme Court, have rejected the rationale of Bush’s Attorney General and supporting lawyers that gave the President “unitary powers.”
The public should let Eric Holder and the president know they support criminal prosecution of the Bush people. This may be accomplished by contacting the Department of Justice here.
Additional postings regarding this topic and others may be found here:
I’m not a Catholic, although I studied the religion, and believe I would have become a Catholic if I didn’t have stronger feelings towards the Christen religion I did choose.
However, I strongly disagree with Notre Dame’s decision to invite the President to speak at their commencement exercise and then follow the invitation up with highly publicized disagreements in the media, regarding the president’s pending appearance – could this be a cruel and very unbecoming way to deliver a political message?
Is it because President Obama is not a Catholic? No, since Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush all spoke at Notre Dame graduation ceremonies and the school has an established tradition of having the current president speak at its commencement, extending the invitation to Obama, who is pro-choice and recently overturned the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, has caused a fierce backlash among some Catholic groups.
I strongly believe our president is not going to use this occasion to campaign for his decision and beliefs on pro-choice and stem cell research to those gathered at the commencement.
Furthermore, I believe the Catholic parishioners are both smart enough and loyal to their beliefs to understand the issues of controversy over the aforementioned to listen and absorb opposing view points.
The following is a video I produced and released on YouTube during the Primaries last year, where John F. Kennedy is speaking about his Catholic religion and his personal feelings regarding his roll as President. Please give it a listen and see what this former Catholic had to say.
Senator Obama – Faith
Over the past several months, on the Internet, there had been numerous videos and e-Mails circulated, regarding Senator Obama’s religion, which is currently an unpopular religion in some countries and perhaps here in America. This uncalled for “smear” campaign is totally nonproductive to the issues concerning our country at this time, furthermore, an individual’s beliefs should not affect our important selection for the highest office in our country. The video reflects that of another time in our history where religion was also considered an issue in choosing a President, although the audio quality is poor and portions of the audio reluctantly had to be edited, to conform with YouTube’s requirements for uploading, the message given is absolutely “clear” as to its meaning.
Over the past several months, on the Internet, there had been numerous videos and e-Mails circulated, regarding Senator Obama’s religion, which is currently an unpopular religion in some countries and perhaps here in America. This uncalled for “smear” campaign is totally nonproductive to the issues concerning our country at this time, furthermore, an individual’s beliefs should not affect our important selection for the highest office in our country.
The video reflects that of another time in our history where religion was also considered an issue in choosing a President, although the audio quality is poor and portions of the audio reluctantly had to be edited, to conform with YouTube’s requirements for uploading, the message given is absolutely “clear” as to its meaning.
Lets see how long as it been since last September when Americans first learned of our worst economic crisis in almost eighty years?
It’s intuitively obviously to the most casual observer – not long enough for the GOP boys and girls to come up with a fail-safe plan to rescue us from the Democrats Economic Stimulus Package that’s creating a variety of green jobs, improving just about all facets of our digital and concrete infrastructure, resurrect the doomed “middle class”, render lower income tax payers a break in taxes and restore confidence in our country’s future as a world leader.
Now lets consider the benefits of the GOP’s concept of an economic stimulus package (as presented on the first of April (April Fools Day)):
That’s about it, no more, but the ramifications are great! Please carefully read an article publishing on Huffington Post, authored by Bob Cesca and entitled “Insane Republicans Reveal An Insane Budget Plan”
It only makes sense that a party currently being wagged by fringe crazy people like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Michele Bachmann would release its alternative budget on April Fools’ Day.Not only does the Republican plan freeze discretionary spending for five years in the midst of a recession which, by most accounts and proved by history, will countermand any sort of economic recovery, but it also cuts taxes by 10 percent for the same Wall Street executives whose actions largely got us into this economic mess in the first place. In other words: Congratulations, Republicans, you just released a budget that rewards wealthy corporate executives while blocking any attempt to dig us out of the economic catastrophe they created.Smart!The only bit of Republican legislation that’d be more ridiculous would be if Michele Bachmann were to introduce a constitutional amendment thwarting a fake plot to eliminate the dollar as the form of currency in the United States.Oh wait. She’s already done that. And 30 Republican congressmembers so far have co-sponsored the amendment. 30 Republicans have irrevocably tethered their wagons to the Bachmann crazy train. Excellent. Next on the agenda: a bill creating the Office of Robot Insurance, protecting us from robot attackers who use old people’s medicine for fuel. Speaking of which, the Republican plan also phases out Medicare.The marquee item, however, in the Republican plan is their inexplicably regressive tax cut for the super rich. Wealthy Americans in the top three tax brackets would see their tax burden cut to a flat 25 percent from previous rates of 35, 33 and 28. According to the Center for American Progress, CEOs from any of the top 800 corporations would receive a tax break of around $1.5 million a year. Meanwhile, if you earn $15,000 a year, your tax break will be around $0 a year.But get this. Under the Republican plan, Americans are given the option of paying the old tax rates instead of the new, expensive and regressive Republican rates. So, for example, if your household income is $100,000, you could pay the same tax rate as someone earning $15,000. Or you could be a swell egg and go back to your old rate. Aside from the utter lack of fairness in the notion of a $100,000 household paying the same rate as a $15,000 household, who in their right mind would voluntarily pay higher taxes?Now you might be asking, given that the Republicans are all about fiscal responsibility, how much does this Republican tax cut for the wealthiest three brackets actually cost? Some estimates, according to Steve Benen, project upwards of a $4 trillion price tag. At the very least, according to their own projections, the Republican plan would run up a $500 billion annual budget deficit through at least 2080. Again, the Republican grasp of fiscal responsibility is about as firm as their grasp of reality and sanity. The subtext here being: The trillion dollar Bush tax cuts weren’t irresponsible enough. Let’s go crazy! WOOO!And by the way, those are annual deficits that factor into the mix a completely insane five year freeze on discretionary spending — a freeze that would surely plunge the American economy into a deep depression. To that point, the Republican plan doesn’t account for such an economic catastrophe, and therefore doesn’t factor such an inevitable consequence into their revenue and deficit projects.All told, imagine if you will the Monopoly man running up and shoving you into a deep precipice. The Republican plan not only gives that Monopoly man a $1.5 million check for his trouble, but it also cuts the rope you were using to climb out of the hole — provided you actually survived the fall in the first place.Speaking of holes, did you see the graph Paul Ryan clearly yanked out of his?Check out that steep blue line illustrating the alleged Democratic budget deficits extending to upwards of 50 percent of GDP by 2060. Put another way, suggesting a deficit that’s 50 percent of GDP is like presupposing a living human being that’s 50 percent marshmallow man. It’s insane. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections only extend out to 2019. Yet the Republican chart somehow extends out to 2080. The steep upwards slope of the Democratic budget begins at around 2030 — 11 years after the furthest CBO projections stop.What does this mean? For starters the claim on the chart: “Out-years based on CBO’s Long-Term Alternative Fiscal Scenario” is a lie. And the text: “Source: House Budget Committee Republican Staff” might as well say: “Source: Paul Ryan’s Ass.” In other words, that steep upwards slope is entirely made up.The graph might as well look like this:Yes, the Democratic budgets will be so out of control they’ll eventually make little curly-cues and travel backwards in time — adding to past deficits — while also looping around the word “government” — you know, because the Democrats love government.At this point, the laughable street vendor pamphlet that John Boehner rolled out was probably less ridiculous than this actual budget plan and its accompanying Wall Street Journal graph. But it stands to reason that given their track record the Republicans would churn out a budget proposal that’s fully in line with their backwards, zero cred reputation.
It only makes sense that a party currently being wagged by fringe crazy people like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Michele Bachmann would release its alternative budget on April Fools’ Day.
Not only does the Republican plan freeze discretionary spending for five years in the midst of a recession which, by most accounts and proved by history, will countermand any sort of economic recovery, but it also cuts taxes by 10 percent for the same Wall Street executives whose actions largely got us into this economic mess in the first place. In other words: Congratulations, Republicans, you just released a budget that rewards wealthy corporate executives while blocking any attempt to dig us out of the economic catastrophe they created.
Smart!
The only bit of Republican legislation that’d be more ridiculous would be if Michele Bachmann were to introduce a constitutional amendment thwarting a fake plot to eliminate the dollar as the form of currency in the United States.
Oh wait. She’s already done that. And 30 Republican congressmembers so far have co-sponsored the amendment. 30 Republicans have irrevocably tethered their wagons to the Bachmann crazy train. Excellent. Next on the agenda: a bill creating the Office of Robot Insurance, protecting us from robot attackers who use old people’s medicine for fuel. Speaking of which, the Republican plan also phases out Medicare.
The marquee item, however, in the Republican plan is their inexplicably regressive tax cut for the super rich. Wealthy Americans in the top three tax brackets would see their tax burden cut to a flat 25 percent from previous rates of 35, 33 and 28. According to the Center for American Progress, CEOs from any of the top 800 corporations would receive a tax break of around $1.5 million a year. Meanwhile, if you earn $15,000 a year, your tax break will be around $0 a year.
But get this. Under the Republican plan, Americans are given the option of paying the old tax rates instead of the new, expensive and regressive Republican rates. So, for example, if your household income is $100,000, you could pay the same tax rate as someone earning $15,000. Or you could be a swell egg and go back to your old rate. Aside from the utter lack of fairness in the notion of a $100,000 household paying the same rate as a $15,000 household, who in their right mind would voluntarily pay higher taxes?
Now you might be asking, given that the Republicans are all about fiscal responsibility, how much does this Republican tax cut for the wealthiest three brackets actually cost? Some estimates, according to Steve Benen, project upwards of a $4 trillion price tag. At the very least, according to their own projections, the Republican plan would run up a $500 billion annual budget deficit through at least 2080. Again, the Republican grasp of fiscal responsibility is about as firm as their grasp of reality and sanity. The subtext here being: The trillion dollar Bush tax cuts weren’t irresponsible enough. Let’s go crazy! WOOO!
And by the way, those are annual deficits that factor into the mix a completely insane five year freeze on discretionary spending — a freeze that would surely plunge the American economy into a deep depression. To that point, the Republican plan doesn’t account for such an economic catastrophe, and therefore doesn’t factor such an inevitable consequence into their revenue and deficit projects.
All told, imagine if you will the Monopoly man running up and shoving you into a deep precipice. The Republican plan not only gives that Monopoly man a $1.5 million check for his trouble, but it also cuts the rope you were using to climb out of the hole — provided you actually survived the fall in the first place.
Speaking of holes, did you see the graph Paul Ryan clearly yanked out of his?
Check out that steep blue line illustrating the alleged Democratic budget deficits extending to upwards of 50 percent of GDP by 2060. Put another way, suggesting a deficit that’s 50 percent of GDP is like presupposing a living human being that’s 50 percent marshmallow man. It’s insane. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections only extend out to 2019. Yet the Republican chart somehow extends out to 2080. The steep upwards slope of the Democratic budget begins at around 2030 — 11 years after the furthest CBO projections stop.
What does this mean? For starters the claim on the chart: “Out-years based on CBO’s Long-Term Alternative Fiscal Scenario” is a lie. And the text: “Source: House Budget Committee Republican Staff” might as well say: “Source: Paul Ryan’s Ass.” In other words, that steep upwards slope is entirely made up.
The graph might as well look like this:
Yes, the Democratic budgets will be so out of control they’ll eventually make little curly-cues and travel backwards in time — adding to past deficits — while also looping around the word “government” — you know, because the Democrats love government.
At this point, the laughable street vendor pamphlet that John Boehner rolled out was probably less ridiculous than this actual budget plan and its accompanying Wall Street Journal graph. But it stands to reason that given their track record the Republicans would churn out a budget proposal that’s fully in line with their backwards, zero cred reputation.
I’ve always said I’m not an economist, but when it’s presented this simply, as Mr. Cesca as accomplished to do; only a fool would understand this is more of a curse than it really is a plan.
I guess I could be wrong! I’ve always voted for candidates based on bills they have either authored or supported by their vote, and this, with me, has been true at the local state and federal levels of our government.
Now I see there are other things I should have considered besides the “Intent” of the bill introduced by the person I want in office or that person’s beliefs.
As I understand it, Lawmakers in at least eight U.S. states want recipients of food assistance, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing. For me this is a travesty of government, which could lead to serious repercussions. This effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse. Please consider reviewing this online news release by CBS News entitled: “States Consider Drug Tests For Needy”. Subtitled: “Recipients Of Food Stamps, Unemployment Benefits And Welfare Targeted By Plans In 8 States”.
We enact laws to “aid” and “protect” us for specifically defined reasons, when these laws are not used for this purpose, in my opinion we are violating the “Rule of Law”, which our country is based upon.
Suppose in my extreme example: a person is transporting a registered firearm “illegally” (in actuality basically a law bidding citizen with no criminal record) in there vehicle; and while transporting the firearm this person comes to the aid of rescuing another individual from a pending life or death situation, hence saving the person’s life! Should this “Good Samaritan” be charged with the crime of transporting a firearm illegally?
For me, to long, I have witnessed the miscarriage of justice within our country in regards to applying laws authored to service one purposed and used in another to establish the “Law of Rule” as opposed to the “Rule of Law”. Our former Bush administration is an additional example, with to many examples to site within one posting.
So, lets not deny those who need financial assistance at this troubling time in our economy when they need it the most. Especially when you consider we could be hurting innocent family members within a family more so than the person under question. Denying an individual these needed benefits could also lead this person to a more serious crime and with one in every one-hundred Americans serving prison time; our penal system is already heavily over crowded.
The following video is a prime example of the importance the Rule of Law as it applies to our American society and basically what separates our nation from developing and undeveloped nations.
Public Service, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law
Sen. Ted Kennedy delivers the keynote address at the 2006 Conference on Public Service & the Law at the University of Virginia Law School. Founded by law students seven years ago, the conference brings together students, citizens, and attorneys to discuss current public interest legal issues. A graduate UVA’s law school, Mr. Kennedy discusses ‘Public Service, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law’.
There was plenty of outrage on Capitol Hill last week over the executive bonuses paid out by AIG after getting federal bailout money. But another money trail could make us voters just as angry: the campaign dollars to members of Congress from banks and firms that have received billions via the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
That’s right!
While a few big firms, such as Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, have curtailed their campaign giving, others are quietly doling out cash to select members of Congress, particularly those who serve on committees that oversee TARP. In recent filings with the Federal Election Commission, the political action committee for Bank of America (which got $15 billion in bailout money) sent out $24,500 in the first two months of 2009, including $1,500 to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and another $15,000 to members of the House and Senate banking panels. Citigroup ($25 billion) dished out $29,620, including $2,500 to House GOPWhip Eric Cantor, who also got $10,000 from UBS which, while not a TARP recipient, got $5 billion in bailout funds as an AIG “counterparty.” “This certainly appears to be a case of TARP funds being recycled into campaign contributions,” says Brett Kappell, a D.C. lawyer who tracks donations. (A spokesman for Cantor did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Hoyer said it’s his “policy to accept legal contributions.”)
Think about this for a moment (that’s all you should need) here elected officials receiving campaign contributions from the same guys in essence they’re investigating. I haven’t looked up the word “kick backs” in the dictionary, but this sure sound’s like a synonym for the word.
The article from Michael Isikoff and Dina Fine Maron appeared in Newsweek and is entitled: “Follow the Bailout Cash”, which is very aptly titled.
Below a video of Fox News, interviewing Eric Cantor, House GOP Whip, videoed on January 15, 09, so could the real questions that need to be asked is when did congressman Cantor receive his campaign contribution, how did he vote on Troubled Asset Relief Program and how much of a fight did he put up before his vote?
TARP Trouble - Eric Cantor on Fox News
House, Senate to vote on release of $350 billion in bailout bucks.
In a post last week I sited excerpts from an article regarding how China is shopping for American businesses at bargain prices within a time piece entitled “Things go Better with Coke”. Well it seems I was a bit far sighted, since I see in the Washington Post today the European countries are coming to the States too.
Not necessarily for business “buy outs”, but instead to start lobbying activities for our $787 billion dollar Economic Stimulus Recovery package. Foreign nations and companies are stepping up their lobbying efforts in Washington and in state capitals, hoping to gain vital business in hard times. Hundreds of foreign-owned companies, many of them with significant operations in the United States, are selling their expertise in clean energy, high-speed transit and other technologies that undergird key aspects of President Obama’s stimulus efforts.
The following is an excerpt from the Post article, entitled: “Foreign Firms May Cash In on Stimulus Act With Expertise U.S. Companies Lack”, authored by Dan Eggen.
Telecoms such as Alcatel-Lucent of France, for example, and its New Jersey-based research arm, Bell Labs, are eligible to seek part of $7.2 billion in stimulus money set aside for upgrading broadband networks. Most global companies specializing in the transit and high-speed rail projects envisioned under the stimulus act are based in other countries — Canada’s Bombardier and France’s Alstom, for example. Transurban Group of Australia, which is helping develop high-speed toll lanes along the Capital Beltway, is a world leader in developing toll roads. Sanyo North America, an arm of the Japanese technology giant, has already broken ground on a new solar-panel plant in Oregon and is readying strategies to tap into stimulus-related business, according to company officials. The firm recently registered as a lobbying organization in Washington for the first time since 2001, Senate records show.
Telecoms such as Alcatel-Lucent of France, for example, and its New Jersey-based research arm, Bell Labs, are eligible to seek part of $7.2 billion in stimulus money set aside for upgrading broadband networks. Most global companies specializing in the transit and high-speed rail projects envisioned under the stimulus act are based in other countries — Canada’s Bombardier and France’s Alstom, for example. Transurban Group of Australia, which is helping develop high-speed toll lanes along the Capital Beltway, is a world leader in developing toll roads.
Sanyo North America, an arm of the Japanese technology giant, has already broken ground on a new solar-panel plant in Oregon and is readying strategies to tap into stimulus-related business, according to company officials. The firm recently registered as a lobbying organization in Washington for the first time since 2001, Senate records show.
I’m not for our government to establish policies of “protectionism”, but as we all know when there’s money to be had and lobbyists are involved, congressional votes are many times purchased at the tax payer’s expense, in this case “jobs”.
Earnestly it’s our civil duty to become politically involved, perhaps more so than we ever have before, to insure our politicians subscribe to a stick code of ethics and we vote our choice by moral character instead of political party in the election two years from now.
Here could be the type of jobs other countries are perhaps attempting to take from us:
Made In America
Hear the story of Troy Galloway, an American whose job and neighborhood have been revitalized by wind turbine manufacturing.
An article published in Hoffington Post by Jeffery Sachs details our country’s problem in dynamic proportion and with crystal clear clarity regarding the plain, unchecked greed that has encompassed those few and selected individuals on Wall Street and residing in Washington.
At one time the word “Capitalism” was understood by all, but this aforementioned greed group of personalities decided among themselves to refine the meaning. It sickens me when I hear the word “Socialism” when used with our current economical affairs; why, because as the article states, we Americans perceive the older traditional meaning, whereas Wall Street and their allies are leading us to believe we are wrong and the President’s Economic Team is leading the country’s banking system into Socialism.
An excerpt from the article:
During the last 20 years Wall Street has had its way with us. On a bipartisan basis it provided the Treasury Secretaries, filled the regulatory agencies, paid itself unconscionable bonuses, and stuffed the campaign coffers. The greed knew no bounds. The distortions of public policy — right up to Greenspan’s infamous decision to leave financial regulation up to the firms themselves — have wrecked the world economy.
Truer words could never have been authored, our President was correct when he clearly spoke the words during his campaign “Change Must Come” and in this case to Wall Street and those who have backed and reinforced that fabled street for the past thirty years.
Another excerpt from this article:
The great scholars of capitalism, from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes, understood full well that a functioning economic system depends not on greed, but on moral sentiments and an acceptable social contract between the rich and the rest of society. The rich can make money, of course, but they must not flaunt it or consume it frivolously. Instead, they must invest their wealth for social benefit, whether in business or in philanthropy, or in both as in the case of history’s most celebrated capitalist-philanthropists, from Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. It is only the dangerously arrogant rich or the servants of the rich who believe that morals don’t matter in the great matters of finance.
Today as never before, if we as a nation are ever to hold our heads up high again, we must challenge our leaders and demand from them “That we the people control government, not those on Wall Street.
The article I’m quoting from is Capitalism and Moral Sentiments.
Lets us not forget these famous words spoken:
Gordon Gekko “Greed is Good”
Gordon Gekko “Greed is Good” http://www.forexsetups.com Trade like a professional. The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.
Gordon Gekko “Greed is Good” http://www.forexsetups.com Trade like a professional.
The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.
With more people losing their jobs and their health care existing programs should be expanded or new ones created where mobile medical care programs would get government assistance to provide remedial medical care to the uninsured or underinsured people. This would alleviate the problem in emergency wards of people with life threatening medical problems vying with non-life threatening aliments. I have found these programs that already exist that on the web as examples:
* Mobile Medical Office is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve access to care for underserved members of the Humbolt county in northern California:http://www.mobilemed.org/* Kids Mobile Medical Clinic is to improve access for underserved children to comprehensive services necessary to achieve better health care in the Washington D.C. area:http://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/body.cfm?id=1033* The Crossroads Medical Mission is a non-profit Christian ministry providing primary medical services to those in southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee who are 'falling through the cracks' of the current health care system:http://crossroadsmedicalmission.org/* Ronald McDonald Children's Pediatric Mobile Health Unit serving underprivileged communities in the Chicago area:http://www.luhs.org/rmch/community/mobile.htm* Virginia Garcia’s Mobile Clinic plays a critical role in the outreach and delivery of services to the migrant and seasonal farm worker population, as well as to other underserved populations in service areas such as Head Start children and vineyard workers in Oregon:http://www.virginiagarcia.org/mobile.html* Mission of Mercy operates its Free Mobile Health Clinics in Arizona, Maryland, and Pennsylvania:http://cme.asccp.org/mobile_health_services/* Early Bird Mobile Medical Clinic - Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s C.A.R.E. Network, intent upon increasing its screening services and ultimately lowering cancer mortality rates in its service area and beyond, now has the only mobile medical clinic in the area dedicated to comprehensive community cancer screenings and patient education in the Lousiana areas:http://www.marybird.org/content/early-bird-mobile-medical-clinic* Mobile Medical Clinic delivers primary care services to homeless families and individuals throughout Multnomah County, Portland, OR:http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/health/mobile/* Bates Mobile Medical Clinic provides comprehensive primary care diagnosis and treatment of both acute and chronic conditions to homebound or disabled patients in the Spokane, WA area:http://www.batesrx.com/mobile/* The Mobile Medical Clinic is a “doctor’s office on wheels” designed to deliver health care services, both preventative and routine, to patients of all ages, ranging from birth to the elderly age group in Ohio:* Grace Resource Center Mobile Medical Clinic in the Antelope Valley in California:
http://www.graceresources.org/MobileMedicalClinicVan.asp
2/14/09 AP
An examination of how the economic stimulus plan will affect Americans.
Taxes:
The recovery package has tax breaks for families that send a child to college, purchase a new car, buy a first home or make the ones they own more energy efficient.
Millions of workers can expect to see about $13 extra in their weekly paychecks, starting around June, from a new $400 tax credit to be doled out through the rest of the year. Couples would get up to $800. In 2010, the credit would be about $7.70 a week, if it is spread over the entire year.
The $1,000 child tax credit would be extended to more low-income families that don't make enough money to pay income taxes, and poor families with three or more children will get an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit.
Middle-income and wealthy taxpayers will be spared from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was designed 40 years ago to make sure wealthy taxpayers pay at least some tax, but was never indexed for inflation. Congress fixes it each year, usually in the fall.
First-time homebuyers who purchase their homes before Dec. 1 would be eligible for an $8,000 tax credit, and people who buy new cars before the end of the year can write off the sales taxes.
Homeowners who add energy-efficient windows, furnaces and air conditioners can get a tax credit to cover 30 percent of the costs, up to a total of $1,500. College students — or their parents — are eligible for tax credits of up to $2,500 to help pay tuition and related expenses in 2009 and 2010.
Those receiving unemployment benefits this year wouldn't pay any federal income taxes on the first $2,400 they receive.
___
Health insurance:
Many workers who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs will find it cheaper to keep that coverage while they look for work.
Right now, most people working for medium and large employers can continue their coverage for 18 months under the COBRA program when they lose their job. It's expensive, often over $1,000 a month, because they pay the share of premiums once covered by their employer as well as their own share from the old group plan.
Under the stimulus package, the government will pick up 65 percent of the total cost of that premium for the first nine months.
Lawmakers initially proposed to help workers from small companies, too, who don't generally qualify for COBRA coverage. But that fell through. The idea was to have Washington pay to extend Medicaid to them.
COBRA applies to group plans at companies employing at least 20 people. The subsidies will be offered to those who lost their jobs from Sept. 1 to the end of this year.
Those who were put out of work after September but didn't elect to have COBRA coverage at the time will have 60 days to sign up.
The plan offers $87 billion to help states administer Medicaid. That could slow or reverse some of the steps states have taken to cut the program.
Infrastructure:
Highways repaved for the first time in decades. Century-old waterlines dug up and replaced with new pipes. Aging bridges, stressed under the weight of today's SUVs, reinforced with fresh steel and concrete.
But the $90 billion is a mere down payment on what's needed to repair and improve the country's physical backbone. And not all economists agree it's an effective way to add jobs in the long term, or stimulate the economy.
Energy:
Homeowners looking to save energy, makers of solar panels and wind turbines and companies hoping to bring the electric grid into the computer age all stand to reap major benefits.
The package contains more than $42 billion in energy-related investments from tax credits to homeowners to loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and direct government grants for makers of wind turbines and next-generation batteries.
There's a 30 percent tax credit of up to $1,500 for the purchase of a highly efficient residential air conditioners, heat pumps or furnaces. The credit also can be used by homeowners to replace leaky windows or put more insulation into the attic. About $300 million would go for rebates to get people to buy efficient appliances.
The package includes $20 billion aimed at "green" jobs to make wind turbines, solar panels and improve energy efficiency in schools and federal buildings. It includes $6 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects as well as tax breaks or direct grants covering 30 percent of wind and solar energy investments. Another $5 billion is marked to help low-income homeowners make energy improvements.
About $11 billion goes to modernize and expand the nation's electric power grid and $2 billion to spur research into batteries for future electric cars.
Schools:
A main goal of education spending in the stimulus bill is to help keep teachers on the job.
Nearly 600,000 jobs in elementary and secondary schools could be eliminated by state budget cuts over the next three years, according to a study released this past week by the University of Washington. Fewer teachers means higher class sizes, something that districts are scrambling to prevent.
The stimulus sets up a $54 billion fund to help prevent or restore state budget cuts, of which $39 billion must go toward kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education. In addition, about $8 billion of the fund could be used for other priorities, including modernization and renovation of schools and colleges, though how much is unclear, because Congress decided not to specify a dollar figure.
The Education Department will distribute the money as quickly as it can over the next couple of years.
And it adds $25 billion extra to No Child Left Behind and special education programs, which help pay teacher salaries, among other things.
This money may go out much more slowly; states have five years to spend the dollars, and they have a history of spending them slowly. In fact, states don't spend all the money; they return nearly $100 million to the federal treasury every year.
The stimulus bill also includes more than $4 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start early education programs and for child care programs.
National debt:
One thing about the president's $790 billion stimulus package is certain: It will jack up the federal debt.
Whether or not it succeeds in producing jobs and taming the recession, tomorrow's taxpayers will end up footing the bill.
Forecasters expect the 2009 deficit — for the budget year that began last Oct 1 — to hit $1.6 trillion including new stimulus and bank-bailout spending. That's about three times last year's shortfall.
The torrents of red ink are being fed by rising federal spending and falling tax revenues from hard-hit businesses and individuals.
The national debt — the sum of all annual budget deficits — stands at $10.7 trillion. Or about $36,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S.
Interest payments alone on the national debt will near $500 billion this year. It's already the fourth-largest federal expenditure, after Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security and defense.
This will affect us all directly for years, as well as our children and possibly grandchildren, in higher taxes and probably reduced government services. It will also force continued government borrowing, increasingly from China, Japan, Britain, Saudi Arabia and other foreign creditors.
Environment:
The package includes $9.2 billion for environmental projects at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The money would be used to shutter abandoned mines on public lands, to help local governments protect drinking water supplies, and to erect energy-efficient visitor centers at wildlife refuges and national parks.
The Interior Department estimates that its portion of the work would generate about 100,000 jobs over the next two years.
Yet the plan will only make a dent in the backlog of cleanups facing the EPA and the long list of chores at the country's national parks, refuges and other public lands. It would be more like a down payment.
When it comes to national parks, the plan sets aside $735 million for road repairs and maintenance. But that's a fraction of the $9 billion worth of work waiting for funding.
At EPA, the payout is $7.2 billion. The bulk of the money will help local communities and states repair and improve drinking water systems and fund projects that protect bays, rivers and other waterways used as sources of drinking water.
The rest of EPA's cut — $800 million — will be used to clean up leaky gasoline storage tanks and the nation's hazardous waste sites.
Police:
The stimulus bill includes plenty of green for those wearing blue.
The compromise bill doles out more than $3.7 billion for police programs, much of which is set aside for hiring new officers.
The law allocates $2 billion for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, a program that has funded drug task forces and things such as prisoner rehabilitation and after-school programs.
An additional $1 billion is set aside to hire local police under the Community Oriented Policing Services program. The program, known as COPS grants, paid the salaries of many local police officers and was a "modest contributor" to the decline in crime in the 1990s, according to a 2005 government oversight report.
Both programs had all been eliminated during the Bush administration.
The bill also includes $225 million for general criminal justice grants for things such as youth mentoring programs, $225 million for Indian tribe law enforcement, $125 million for police in rural areas, $100 million for victims of crimes, $50 million to fight Internet crimes against children and $40 million in grants for law enforcement along the Mexican border.
Higher Education:
The maximum Pell Grant, which helps the lowest-income students attend college, would increase from $4,731 currently to $5,350 starting July 1 and $5,550 in 2010-2011. That would cover three-quarters of the average cost of a four-year college. An extra 800,000 students, or about 7 million, would now get Pell funding.
The stimulus also increases the tuition tax credit to $2,500 and makes it 40 percent refundable, so families who don't earn enough to pay income tax could still get up to $1,000 in extra tuition help.
Computer expenses will now be an allowable expense for 529 college savings plans.
The final package cut $6 billion the House wanted to spend to kick-start building projects on college campuses. But parts of the $54 billion state stabilization fund — with $39 billion set aside for education — can be used for modernizing facilities.
There's also an estimated $15 billion for scientific research, much of which will go to universities. Funding for the National Institutes of Health includes $1.5 billion set aside for university research facilities.
Altogether, the package spends an estimated $32 billion on higher education.
The Poor:
More than 37 million Americans live in poverty, and the vast majority of them are in line for extra help under the giant stimulus package. Millions more could be kept from slipping into poverty by the economic lifeline.
People who get food stamps — 30 million and growing — will get more. People drawing unemployment checks — nearly 5 million and growing — would get an extra $25, and keep those checks coming longer. People who get Supplemental Security Income — 7 million poor Americans who are elderly, blind or disabled — would get one-time extra payments of $250.
Many low-income Americans also are likely to benefit from a trifecta of tax credits: expansions to the existing Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and a new refundable tax credit for workers. Taken together, the three credits are expected to keep more than 2 million Americans from falling into poverty, including more than 800,000 children, according to the private Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The package also includes a $3 billion emergency fund to provide temporary assistance to needy families. In addition, cash-strapped states will get an infusion of $87 billion for Medicaid, the government health program for poor people, and that should help them avoid cutting off benefits to the needy.
Catherine Le Ruyet graciously hosted a Economic Recovery Meeting this evening that went very well. The nine of us introduced our selves, we watched the video of DNC Chair/Governor Kaine and of President Obama speak about the Economic Recovery meetings. Our group consisted of people from all political parties and from a variety of vocations coming together to voice options and discuss ideas. The results of our meeting will be forwarded toeconrecoverymeetings@gmail.comBy meeting, sharing ideas and spearing the word to others in our communities and our families WE CAN find common middle ground and voice that we want and need bipartisan results for things to start to change. We learned that as promised there will be transparency in government spending and they can be monitored onhttp://www.recovery.gov
************* Update ***************
Questions/Suggestions/Comments1. I think that there should be an incentive to companies who outsourced jobs out like tax breaks etc. to bring jobs back to America.2. Would it be possible to fund a teacher training corp to go out to schools and educate the teachers on recent research on major health issues such as obesity, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, recent dietary findings etc. (many of the issues stifled by the previous administration). A similar corp could be funded to update science issues such as global climate change and stimulate interest in science and math careers. Parent volunteers could also be trained at the same time in order to extend the outreach of these programs. We have a large retired population now with expertise in various areas that can be made good use of. In our little group that met last night we had two engineers, at least one scientist, some teachers and many other obviously capable people. My husband suggests a possible tax credit for community volunteers.3. Is it be possible to keep some of our military personnel that will be coming home from assignments oversees working on jobs here at home so that they don't add to the unemployment problem. The worst thing for them to come home to is unemployment. Emotionally they will be much better off if they can earn money for their families and continue to feel like they are making a valuable contribution, perhaps even overlay some of the horrors of war with the knowledge that they are capable of making positive contributions at home. Ideally this could be accomplished without a period of insecurity and sense of abandonment.4. Removing the health care insecurity would be the single most stimulating act that the government could do. A clean across the board single payer system would allow sharp young people who feel they have to stay glued to "safe" jobs that offer health care would be freer to start their own companies, manufacture and invent things at home ( If they can be sure their children have health care.). Our auto industry and other large companies could compete more equally with companies from other countries that do not carry the burden of health care. State and local government in danger of bankruptsy would have the burden of health care off their backs, be able to retain jobs.5. Thoughts about the bill, as I understand it to be.a. The Governor was correct in his statement about need to have Jobs as the first priority.b. Looking at past history of the House and Senate, I am concerned about “PORK".
c. 800 + Billion dollars is a shockingly high figure, but it will undoubtedly take a lot to dig our way out of the hole we find ourselves in.I am pleased to hear that there will be an individual (with staff) responsible to oversee the use of these funds, I hope this includes VISIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY (terms that seemed foreign to the previous administration).6. All transactions should be open to public scrutiny, but to make it work, the responsible individual must have a charter that allows him (or her) to exercise a line item veto to be used when basic criteria are not being met. Such action should be based on at least two overriding criteria: How Many Jobs, how soon, and at what Cost!! There must also be an fast, easy, and visible way to make necessary changes.7. As many programs as possible should be established to provide immediate relief while other undergo the planning, engineering, and reviews necessary to assure their effective implementation.8. These requirements seem be a logical extension of President Obama’s promise to review all Government programs; and determine how well they serve the public need and how efficient and effective they are. Followed by programs to fix those that are not effective or efficient, and drop those that are unnecessary. THIS LONG OVERDUE.
9. We would like to see on your website every person behind/backing/pushing each item in your recovery plan. Transparency is key!10. Right now there is no such thing as clean coal. Who in congress is backing this? 11. Nuclear Power is NOT clean energy! We should be decreasing our usage NOT increasing it!!! The disposal of nuclear waste is extremely hazardous to people and the environment! NO NEW Nuclear Power PLANTS!!!12. What companies will have the new job openings mentioned in your plan? How can we find out the who, what, where and when?
13. I think that since the arts and sports will likely get the axe in schools that maybe people could hold community events and volunteer their music, artistic, athletic abilities to children during the weekends, after school to fill in the void.
Just wanted to send out a quick notice about my event.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptmxq
It invites folks to shop at sites like:
http://madebysurvivors.com/
http://www.thehungersite.com, and it's companion sites, and
http://kiva.org/
Feel free to suggest others...
In an attempt to stabilize our Ohio economy we must first check our house to see what we have to offer, as the greatest system of business is the barterring system. Secondly we must eradicate the superficial, detrimental mentallities of ignorance, arrogance, and misinformation.
There are an unumerable amount of small commodities(from appliances to emaculate used cars) that a multitude of countries could utilize that we take for granted. Recognizing that many countries that have the resources to barter, because of existing problematic friction, we the people are forbidden by our goverment to do any business; when that same goverment does its own business behind the backs of its' constituents. We need the POWER to control our own community economy. A goverment for the people, of the people, and by the people will support sentient citizens trying to pursue better lives for their family, community, and country.
We are in a time that if we do not seek out the assistance of other humanbeings across the earth, our unemployment, crime rate, and depression rate will increase exponentially.
Help the common people to break down the financial and social impediments to establishing ourselves as business men and women with integrity,and not just total consumers. Consumers will only consume.
An international small commodities export business targeting countries with resources(gold,capital, diamonds, oil, etc...) that our communal economys could utilize for its' stabilization and continued unprecedented growth is where our success lies.
We are not communists, waiting for our goverment to tend to us, as if we are unsentient, infantile consumers. It is the old or orthodox way of doing things that has gotten us into the situation we are in now. We need change, or we will perish as the greatest consumers that ever lived.
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed” Mahatma Gandhi
Now, I’ve never claimed to be an economist. To be honest, I’ve never claimed to be much of anything except a debatably talented writer. I am, however, an ardent observer of all things—a trait necessary to become, I believe, a great writer, which I do hope to become someday. So I understand that writing about Our economy is wrought with potential pitfalls for me. Nevertheless, I feel it’s part of my responsibility to share my ideas about what's going on. After all, while many may not see me as qualified enough to write about these things, as I’ve recently lost my job, and my family’s retirement is tied directly to the stock market, I feel obliged to offer my perspective.From what I’ve gathered, a lot of what has been occurring lately is a direct result of years of Conservative led deregulation. For those of you incapable or unwilling to check out the Wikipedia link I provided, in short, deregulation has been a trend taking place since the 1970s whereby the rules, regulations and laws controlling various markets have been stripped away with the idea that markets need little to no regulation as they will eventually correct themselves. I’ve always doubted how effective deregulation would be because while markets as a whole will eventually regain their balance (i.e. the tech market, which collapsed in the 90s and has since rebounded), deregulation does not take into account the collateral damage that occurs in its wake—and by collateral damage, I mean Our jobs and savings.Let me offer the easiest example I can think of: energy. Many of you may remember a time when energy utilities were ALL government run. It guaranteed that all those who required energy (ALL of Us) would have access to it, and that delivery and pricing would be consistent and fair. The ideas behind deregulating the Energy Utilities Market were solid. Private companies could run these utilities better and more efficiently, and it would open the market to competition, eventually leading to lower rates.If you, like me, keep up with the news then you remember what happened with Enron, particularly when it comes to California’s Energy Crisis which, as it turns out, was more a result of the greed of companies like Enron and Reliant than it was about any real energy shortage. Even in markets like mine the competition has never arisen or is still overpriced, and prices continue to go up (about 70% in MD over the last five years).So, what does energy deregulation have to do with today’s economic crisis? Well, the trend to deregulate markets at all costs, the idea that markets could provide better oversight than government agencies, has led to the recent atmosphere of oversight so lax that we now find the country in crisis, not just where the real estate market is concerned, but in just about every American financial market. Every report I’ve encountered says that it will take at least another 18 months to finally see the light at the end of this tunnel. My wife called me today to let me know that her bosses IRA lost $8000 in value IN ONE DAY.You may not be frightened. Maybe you’ve got more than enough to retire on. Maybe you’re doing well enough that you don’t need a retirement fund. I’m happy for you. But most of Us in this country will be feeling the ripple effects of this economic quagmire for at least the next year. And I’m not implying that we should go back to the 60s and re-regulate everything. However, we do need to examine what regulations are going to be needed to prevent the greedy who want to heat up their $10,000,000 salaries into $100,000,000 salaries even if the rest of Us are the ones getting burned—something else to consider when you make your choice at the polls.
¿Wanna put your $$$ where your heart is?
