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POPSPerino: Jobless should just return to the workplace The Bush administration’s refusal to extend a helping hand to those punished by the economy it created is nothing new: Last month, the White House threatened to veto a second stimulus package over opposition to an expansion of food stamps benefits.
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POPS Sen. Reid Cries 'Bankruptcy' In Front Of Reporters The SEC has been issuing subpoenas for an investigation into rumor-driven market manipulation. Of course, Harry Reid stood up in broad daylight to talk about a troubled insurer "with a name that everyone knows," so his contribution was merely obtuse. And predictably destructive. The steep drop in the share prices of insurance companies Thursday destroyed wealth for uncounted middle-class investors holding onto stock in companies still considered healthy. It calls to mind *Senator Chuck Schumer's public suggestion in July that troubled IndyMac Bank "could face collapse." It did, after a deposit run. Senator Schumer said criticizing his action was akin to blaming "the fire on the guy who called 911." The nation's shareholders would sleep better at night if some Members of Congress enrolled in Arsonists Anonymous. The $4 Billion Senator* http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121607771017452513.html?mod=article-outset-box
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POPSPelosi says $150B economic stimulus plan needed Holy Cow!!! Is there no end to this giving away our tax dollars? They haven't even won the White House yet and they're giving more of our $$ away. Can someone just calm down a few days and think things through? These people are only making things worse. Talk about scare tactics!!!
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POPSHow to recession-proof your family EXACTLY! 'Why does Suze Orman say people first, then money, then things?'" she says. "It means if we cared about people more than we cared about money, we would not be having what happened today, because the people who run the corporations, if they had cared about all of you, they wouldn't have created loans that you couldn't afford."
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POPSPost-bailout AIG spends $440,000 for "retreat" at a California resort Congressman Waxman also said that there was evidence that the former CEO changed the bonus schedule in order to insure that top executives would continue making multi-million dollar salaries, even as their company went broke. "Mr. Sullivan and the other top executives should have had their bonuses slashed due to poor performance," said Waxman. Sullivan received a $15 million golden parachute payment when he was let go in June, says ABC.
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POPSThe Health Care Issue So what would happen? The good news, such as it is, is that more people would buy individual insurance. Indeed, the total number of uninsured Americans might decline marginally under the McCain plan — although many more Americans would be without insurance than under the Obama plan. But the people gaining insurance would be those who need it least: relatively healthy Americans with high incomes. Why? Because insurance companies want to cover only healthy people, and even among the healthy only those able to pay a lot in addition to their tax credit would be able to afford coverage (remember, it’s a $5,000 credit, but the average family policy actually costs more than $12,000). Meanwhile, the people losing insurance would be those who need it most: lower-income workers who wouldn’t be able to afford individual insurance even with the tax credit, and Americans with health problems whom insurance companies won’t cover.
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POPSA strong condemnation based on voting record "We face a perfect financial storm,” Kucinich warned. “The elements are the deficit spending for the war of 3 to 4 trillion dollars, the trillion and more tax cuts, the war itself and the lack of serious investment in the country. We are being hollowed out. We are going to see more unemployment and more people losing their homes. With $700 billion we could have made a real investment in the country, in jobs, in infrastructure and in homes. Instead, we got robbed.”
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POPSObama: McCain's Health Plan 'Radical' Annenberg FactCheck had this to say about McCain's healthcare proposal: Workers would be taxed on the value of any employer-paid health benefits, partially offsetting the $5,000 credit for those now covered by such plans. Experts say a tax credit plan like this would likely cause companies to reduce or eliminate health benefits for their employees. Sounds great, John. Got any more crap you want to sell us?
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POPSBash the Bailout: Government is Not the Answer
......banking crisis, they make things worse. This is a long paper, but see p. 4 in particular. 10. One of the oldest forms of government intervention in the financial markets has been deposit insurance. Yet globally it destabilizes capitalism, impedes innovation and makes a bad regulatory regime worse. British economist Andrew Lilico explains how. 11. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron puts it bluntly: “The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place.” 12. Government has been becoming more intrusive when it comes to lending over the years. John Berlau looks at how they want to fingerprint anyone originating a home loan. The bailout bill is now law, but it does little or nothing to solve the problems government created. As long as they persist, the financial markets will be at serious risk. In the end, we may need to bailout the bailout.
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POPSThe Music Industry’s Last Stand Will Be A Music Tax The article (please read it all before you comment), basically states the idea of putting a $5-10 tax on all ISP Monthly bills. This tax would then allow you to download all the music, etc you want, DRM free without the fear of reprisals from the industry. The writer of the article seems to think this is a bad idea, however, IMO its a great idea. I know that not everyone downloads content illegally, but at least here in Canada, we all pay taxes for things we don't use or rarely use. many Canadians never get really sick or visit doctors, etc, yet they still pay taxes. Many Canadians work all their lives and never worry about being un employed, but we still pay "Employment Insurance" taxes. So maybe it would work here in Canada, and not in the US? Well, we will be better for it. Besides, what's $5 on a $80 cable & internet bill? Barely noticeable. (continued...)
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POPSDinner Bell Rings for Financial Feeding Frenzy AIG today revealed what many private-equity firms, banks and asset managers want to know about the company’s asset sales to pay back an $85 billion government loan: What’s for dinner? AIG CEO Edward Liddy put an end to the suspense today. Here is what AIG is putting on the block: the U.S. life, retirement and pensions businesses, the personal-lines property-casualty business and at least a minority stake in its foreign life insurance business. All of AIG’s non-insurance businesses, including aircraft leasing, consumer finance division, U.S. auto insurance, a reinsurance business and asset manager, are also likely to be put on the block.
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POPSAn Election Without Meaning Props, gossip, accusations, and public relations. It is impression management from a candidates’ perspective. How can we fool the most people into believing that we stand for something? It is billions of dollars of gravy for the media folks and continued profit maximization for the war machine, Wall Street, and insurance companies, no matter who is determined the winner in November.