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POPSBailed-out Banks Sought Foreign Workers "...It is unclear how many foreign workers the banks actually hired; the government does not release those details. The actual number is likely a fraction of the 21,800 foreign workers the banks sought to hire because the government limits the number of visas it grants to 85,000 each year among all U.S. employers."
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POPSTreasury Changes Tax Code - Banks get Windfall More: "Section 382 of the tax code was created by Congress in 1986 to end what it considered an abuse of the tax system: companies sheltering their profits from taxation by acquiring shell companies whose only real value was the losses on their books. The firms would then use the acquired company's losses to offset their gains and avoid paying taxes. Lawmakers decried the tax shelters as a scam and created a formula to strictly limit the use of those purchased losses for tax purposes. But from the beginning, some conservative economists and Republican administration officials criticized the new law as unwieldy and unnecessary meddling by the government in the business world."
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POPSHealth insurers reinvent themselves as money managers "Federal tax rules for HSAs were liberalized in 2003, making them very attractive to well-heeled taxpayers. Commercial banks such as Bank of America and Mellon Bank, seeing the opportunity to collect management fees on the accounts, jumped into the business. "Every bank wants to increase its share of HSAs," said John Casillas, director of the Medical Banking Project, a Franklin, Tenn., organization that helps medical administrators develop financial service systems. "There's fees for managing the account, transaction fees, fees for investing the funds," Casillas said. "You're going to see many billions of dollars moving from premium payments to professionally managed investment funds under HSA rules. Some people think that banks are going to threaten health plans by replacing them in the marketplace.""
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POPSFinancial Rescue Efforts Miss Mark "Linneman also chided federal officials for instilling panic rather than confidence in the public. He described what he regarded as a steady stream of blunders, ranging from the Bush Administration’s sky-is-falling rhetoric to Congress’ rejection of the original proposal supported by party leaders. As the recession grinds on, the retail sector will take a hit from slower spending by consumers, even the more affluent people on the spectrum who are relatively unaffected. There will be a certain number of stores shuttered by weaker retailers; however, Linneman said, “The real problem is you don’t have many store openings. The hospitality and office sectors will also slow, and distribution centers will hold up fairly well, even though demand will eventually fall off there as well."
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POPSBush the arrogant Politically, these developments raise two questions: Which candidate to succeed Bush benefits most by the events of recent weeks? And which candidate, if either, would have the strength to roll back these expansions of presidential power if elected?" "These are not abstractions. They are the legacy of this grim epoch, one that should be equally offensive to conservatives and liberals. George Bush promised humility and delivered arrogance. The next president must not."
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POPSBanks love bailout, hate credit card curbs "A Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights would level the playing field by protecting consumers from questionable late feesand sudden rate hikes, and requiring clear disclosure of terms and conditions. That doesn't seem too much to ask of an industry that has no problem asking taxpayers to cover its bad bets. Enjoy the bailout, boys. This isn't over yet.
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POPSThe Crocodile - A Story "Even so, it was soon evident that the reasons these men had for courting my favor were foolish and ignoble: they seemed to think that if they were seen to be in my good graces, their enemies would fear them as much as they feared me. After some time passed, they realized I could not grant them what was not mine, nor anyone's, to confer. They did not blame themselves for their own error of judgment, or try to learn from it, as would any wise man or clever beast. Instead, among themselves, they decided they would try another approach altogether to achieve their means. They had other strategies, modern methods, and many resources at their disposal. They even began to say I was not anything much to fear. They began to trample through the marshes as they pleased. Can they truly be surprised at where they find themselves now? Have these men perhaps been brought to their senses at last by virtue of their present discomfort?"
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