The Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com) is reporting that if cap and trade becomes law, we could see another market meltdown similar to the subprime mess.
The carbon permits created by the legislation, if left unregulated, “would create whole new classes of financial assets, which financial firms could securitze, derivatize, and speculate on,” according to csmonitor.com. This market, the article claims, “is expected to become the world’s largest derivatives market.”
Well, having a banking insider in the Administration sure explains why there are differences in how this Administration handles these bankers as opposed to our auto industry!
Some change!
I guess it’s still true in Washington that it all comes down to money and the amount spread around! More on Larry Summers Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
ARRA – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – otherwise known as the Economic Stimulus Package, has now become the law.
In keeping his promises for an open government, President Obama has activated Recovery. gov, the live website where we will be able to track the progress of the stimulus act including projects in our own areas of the country.
Despite the challenges to the economic bill, and the lack of bipartisan support (only 3 Republicans Senators voted in favor, zero Republicans in the House voted in favor), the recovery program allocates dollars to green technologies, infrastructure repair for roads and bridges, science, and education.
Also included in the bill is a modernization of medical records; records will be computerized to help save time and money. Many medical records are still paper records with treatment instructions and drug dosages written by doctors in less-than-legible handwriting which is a source of confusion and, worse than that, danger to the patients. The money allocated in today’s bill will set up a system of computerized records which can be accessed anywhere, anytime, by authorized personnel, preventing duplication and potential overdosing of medicines.
Even though most of us would agree that anything that can make our health care safer and faster is a good idea, the Republican Conservatives are setting about a campaign to frighten Amercans away from this innovation.
Former Lieutenant Govenor of New York Betsy McCaughey (pronounced “McCoy”) wrote an article for Bloomberg claiming that the stimulus bill contains “hidden provisions” which would take medical treatment decisions out of the hands of medical providers and making the Federal Government the decider in who gets medical treatment and how much care they get.
It turns out, however, that McCaughey’s integrity on this issue is less than honorable because McCaughey is evidently on the take from drug companies and medical suppliers in exchange for her anti-Obama rants against medical records reform.
Even though McCaughey’s opinion became hard news on Fox News after being preached by Rush Limbaugh, the truth behind it all is more of a conspiracy to propagandize and frighten the American people away from much-needed modernization.
MSNBC’s Countdown With Keith Olbermann first aired the holes in McCaughey’s story by pointing out that she is funded by drug suppliers and other special interests.
Just last night in “Worst Persons” Olbermann calls McCaughey a “shill” for pharmaceutical special interests in exchange for her Bloomberg piece (see video below).
Despite these controversies, one fact is clear: the bill is now law and the economic recovery plan is now in process. No matter which side of this issue you happen to be on, whether you are pro-Obama or are less than enthusiastic about him, I’m sure you will agree that helping America recover from this economic catastrophe and getting people back to work is something we all want.
Recovery.gov is a way for us to track this recovery’s progress but, more than that, we can also respond and input our ideas directly to the President on what we like, or don’t like, about what’s happening. Being an American means being a participant in our future. Unfortunately, in recent years up until now Obama’s Administration, we Amercans have been discouraged from actually participating – that ability being more available to special interests and big money. Obama is keeping his word to us of “change” and, true to his campaign pledges, is making available legislation as well as the ability to share our ideas and opinions with him.
Rather than “smear” campaigns that just belittle those doing it and waste the time of the rest of us, we have a way now through Recovery.gov to hold President Obama and Congress to spending the nearly $800 billion wisely and making this program work.
By the way, Recovery.gov also has a link to the text of ARRA but here’s the link:
The House and Senate have tentatively reached a deal on the Stim Package today but will it work or will it just be another big-money expenditure for which taxpayers must pay the bill?
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada said that in order to reach the deal there was “a lot of give and take” but the final result shows that there was more giving to Republican obstructionists than anyone else.
This new version will cost taxpayers $789 billion, down from the $800-plus billion which the Senate approved earlier in the week.
Obviously absent from the announcement ceremony of this tentative plan was Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It might have been a scheduling conflict or it could be her way of expressing unhappiness with the final result.
Gone is much of the money for education and schools and in are Republican tax cuts which were inserted to maintain the three Republican Senate votes (and potentially garner more).
The purpose of this Stimulus Package was to originally emulate a “New Deal” program which would create immediate jobs: jobs rebuilding infrastructure like failing bridges and bad roads; modernizing our energy grid to become less dependent on oil; upgrading communication making high-speed internet available everywhere, and modernizing our schools so our kids have state-of-the-art science labs and computers. Programs like these would provide jobs across the country as well as inspire small business creation and innovation.
Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine said that this deal is “right sized” and asserted that “every dollar is spent efficiently and effectively” but many of her colleagues in both the Senate and the House may not agree.
Democrats are feeling there isn’t enough to jump-start the economy and Republicans still feel that this bill is too much. As I write this, breaking news is that Senate Democrats are not happy with Majority Leader Harry Reid because they feel he jumped the gun by shaking hands in agreement with the Republicans.
Maybe they’re right…instead of rushing to pass a bill, any bill, like Congress did with the Wallstreet Bailout, perhaps Reid in the Senate should review what we’re really getting in order to cater to a few obstructionists in the Repulican party who threaten filibuster. Reid should call them on it because, if they do filibuster, they will have to explain to the American People their actions.
Instead of Reid trying to prevent a filibuster by working with the Republicans to get 60 Senate votes, Reid should instead say “go ahead and filibuster if that’s what you want to do.” In trying to maintain only three Republican votes, Reid is making those three votes extremely powerful.
Those three Republican Senators can call the shots on both Houses of Congress and, like we witnessed already with this economic package, those three people can make demands on what goes in and what stays out of the bill.
This is too important and, furthermore, what Reid does on this bill may determine how legislation will be handled for the next four years.
By instead calling the Republicans on a filibuster, it puts the ball back in their court. If they do filibuster, they will have to have the support from their own party members to maintain the filibuster. With instantaneous news to our cell phones and live Senate coverage on C-Span, the American People will witness in real time their lawmakers reading newspapers and cartoons on the Senate floor to block any further discussion or legislation. And if the few obstructionist Republicans do convince the rest of their party’s Senators to go along with such a scene, it will not look good to the American people and the Republicans will pay the price in the 2010 elections.
The Economic Stim Package passed the Senate today 61 to 37, but don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet because now the hard work begins.
The bill was passed in the Senate mostly along party lines with only 3 Republicans voting for it; but those 3 Republicans are very important and their votes must be kept in the “aye” category when the bill comes back from the House which is expected to revise it.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she hoped there would not be a lot of wrangling and that they might be able to return the bill to the Senate within 24 hours, according to the NY Times. However, when Pelosi was pressed for a definite timetable of one day, she wouldn’t commit saying instead, “Well, I hope that is so,” according to the NY Times.
President Obama has his work cut out for him – with inflexible Republicans in the Senate who seem to have no solutions but are ever intent on obstructing progress PLUS House Democrats who are intent on “porking” the bill up for things that are not needed immediately.
Obama, however, appears to be up to the challenge!
Going back to basics, President Obama has re-entered the campaign trail – this time in favor of getting this country out of economic trouble. Yesterday, he was in a community in Indiana that has been hard hit by the Meltdown; and today he was in Florida in a community which has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, according to MSNBC’s Hardball.
His aim is not to brow-beat or pound the bully pulpit, but instead to just talk with residents of communities hurting by this financial crisis. At both events, yesterday and today, the crowd was not pre-screened or hand-picked but instead was on a first come basis. Furthermore, both counties in Indiana and Florida did NOT vote for Obama in the Election but instead supported McCain.
Instead of taking the Washington Way which means spinning the public while catering to the special interests and wealthy only, President Obama is taking it directly to the People, even those who did not vote for him. Obama is coming before everyday Amercans with absolutly no idea what they’re going to say to him or what they’re going to ask; the people attending have not been scripted or screened prior to the meeting. In that respect, Obama is taking a chance, but he is obviously strong enough and feels the Amercan people and our economy are worth his own risk of possibly being embarrassed.
Govenor Charlie Crist joined President Obama onstage today in Florida in a show of bipartisan support; let’s hope the Senate Republicans get the message.
Obama told the Florida audience that he would not allow Washington to continue its tired old ways of doing nothing. Saying that inaction “is not an option,” Obama promised results saying, “You didn’t send me to Washington to do nothing,” according to the NY Times.
President Obama, in a video message today, warned that we cannot delay on passage of the Economic Stimulus Package.
Saying that the American people “inherited a terrible mess” Obama warned that delay in taking action would put our jobs “at stake” and could result in America falling “short $1 trillion” in production this year.
Admitting in the video that Washington is “slow” President Obama said that “we must act boldly” by ridding ourselves of “worn ideas and tired theories.”
Obama cited that 2.6 million jobs have been lost this year already and unless something is done, it will get a lot worse. Addressing concerns about pork, Obama said that he will appoint an Inspector General and a “cabinet level oversight board” to make sure that the money goes where it’s supposed to go.
“More importantly,” President Obama said in the 4-minute video, “I’ll enlist all of you” … “because change never begins from the top down.” As soon as the recovery plan is signed into law www.recovery.gov “goes live and you’ll be able to see where your tax dollars are going,” Obama said.
For additional information on what the Economic Stimulus Package does, Obama referred to a video presentation by Virginia Govenor Tim Kaine who, after a brief introduction in the 13-minute video, answers questions from taxpayers about the program.
