● Obama's economic team considering new stimulus package... ● Kabul Bank called on Thursday for intervention by the United States to head off a financial meltdown.... ● Health insurance tax credit likely to affect small part of small-business workforce... ● Mixed reaction to new FEC rules on candidates, interest groups working together... ● Maryland Democrat Sen. Currie indicted on charges of taking bribes... ● Summer of Economic Discontent ... ● CBO Update... ● Obama administration appeals stem cell funding decision despite US Law... ● Gloom for Democrats as they look to November... ● U.S. troop deaths in Afghan war up sharply...
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When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Obama’s economic team considering new stimulus package

September 2nd, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Money Lost, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Stimulus, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Treason

White House considering major tax breaks for businesses, sources say

By Lori Montgomery – Thursday, September 2, 2010; 5:33 PM

With the recovery faltering less than two months before the November congressional elections, President Obama’s economic team is considering another big dose of stimulus in the form of tax breaks for businesses – potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars, according to two people familiar with the talks.

Among the options are a temporary payroll tax holiday and a permanent extension of the research and development tax credit, say people familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to describe private deliberations.

Permanently extending the research credit would cost roughly $100 billion over the next decade, tax experts said. And depending on its form and duration, a payroll tax holiday could let businesses keep more than $300 billion they would otherwise owe the Treasury.

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Kabul Bank called on Thursday for intervention by the United States to head off a financial meltdown.

September 2nd, 2010 · Democrats, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Non-Transparency, Tax Dollars, Taxes, War on Terrorism

Nervous Afghans pull money from Kabul Bank, raising fears

By David Nakamura and Andrew Higgins Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 2, 2010

KABUL – With Afghans clamoring to pull their cash from their nation’s biggest bank, the United States risks a politically perilous decision: whether to step in to help shore up a wobbly bank critical not only to Afghanistan’s economy but also to the battle against the Taliban.

A swarm of customers at the headquarters of Kabul Bank in the Afghan capital on Wednesday raised the prospect of a full-scale bank run that would further alienate dispirited Afghans from their government and imperil American efforts to contain the insurgency.

The tumult in Kabul and reports of crowds at other branches suggested that a decision this week by the Central Bank to purge the management of Kabul Bank and rein in its freewheeling ways – which included disastrous property speculation in Dubai – could backfire and set off the very crisis officials hoped to avoid. President Hamid Karzai’s brother Mahmoud, who used to run an Afghan restaurant in Maryland, owns 7 percent of Kabul Bank.

Afghan officials, struggling to prevent panic, insisted Wednesday that Kabul Bank and its rivals, some of which are perhaps even more fragile, are not in danger of collapse.

David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, praised the Central Bank’s leaders for acting “aggressively, decisively and as a bank regulator should act under the circumstances.” He said the Treasury Department is “confident” that the Central Bank “has the expertise to handle the situation with Kabul Bank.”

Treasury has assigned a small team of experts to work with the Central Bank on the matter.

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Health insurance tax credit likely to affect small part of small-business workforce

September 2nd, 2010 · Democrats, Federal Spending, Healthcare, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Obama Exposed, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Small Business, Tax Dollars, Taxes

By N.C. Aizenman Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 2, 2010; 12:09 AM

About 16.6 million workers are employed by small businesses that are eligible for health insurance tax credits under the new health-care law, according to estimates that were to be released by a nonpartisan research foundation Thursday.

However, the report by the Commonwealth Fund estimated that only 3.4 million of those workers are at firms that would take advantage of the tax credit. For the most part, those are firms that already offer their employees health insurance.

Those firms that do not offer coverage are unlikely to consider the tax breaks enough of a financial incentive to start doing so, according to the report’s authors.

Still, the authors stressed the potential stimulus benefits of the tax credits, which apply beginning this taxable year and will increase in value in 2014 from as much as 35 percent of an employer’s premium contribution to as much as 50 percent. (The lower the wages and number of workers at a small business, the greater the size of the tax credit it is eligible for.)

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that by 2016, the last year for which the tax credits will be available, they will have reduced health insurance premiums for small business by 8 to 11 percent.

At that point, small businesses and their employees will be able to buy comprehensive insurance on state-based exchanges, which will be established in 2014 and are expected to offer more affordable rates than available in the current market.

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Mixed reaction to new FEC rules on candidates, interest groups working together

September 2nd, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Ethics, Greed

By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 2, 2010; 12:27 AM

After years of wrangling, the Federal Election Commission has issued new rules aimed at clearing up the question: When is it illegal for an interest group to coordinate with a political candidate?

But it’s not clear if anyone likes the FEC’s answer.

By a vote of 5 to 1, the commission decided last week that any ads or other messages that contain the “functional equivalent of express advocacy” for or against a congressional candidate should be considered subject to FEC campaign finance restrictions.

Some campaign finance reformers, however, say the rules don’t go far enough and leave loopholes allowing broad coordination between candidates and outside groups that support them. The rules also appear to do little to clarify what kinds of cases might run afoul of the limits, almost ensuring further litigation.

The issue is important because deciding whether an interest group is acting in coordination with a party or a candidate is crucial in determining whether it must abide by contribution limits and other oversight from the FEC.

The issue is even more relevant in the wake of January’s Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, which found that corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money in an election – as long as they are not coordinating with a candidate.

Consider one high-profile example in the news this week: Joe Miller, the political novice who beat Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska GOP primary, benefited from about $600,000 in independent expenditures by the California-based Tea Party Express. To spend that much, however, the group could not coordinate directly with Miller’s campaign.

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Maryland Democrat Sen. Currie indicted on charges of taking bribes

September 2nd, 2010 · Accountability, Corruption, Defense, Democrats, Ethics, Greed, States

"I committed no crime"

By Maria Glod and John Wagner Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 2, 2010; 12:10 AM

Longtime Maryland Sen. Ulysses Currie, one of the most powerful and popular figures in the General Assembly, was indicted Wednesday on charges that he took more than $245,000 in bribes to use his position and influence to do favors for a grocery chain.

The 48-page indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, comes after a years-long FBI investigation into consulting work Currie (D-Prince George’s) did for Shoppers Food and Pharmacy. Over six years, the indictment alleges, Currie took action to help Shoppers sell liquor at one store, save money in the construction of another store and buy land. Two former Shoppers officials also were indicted by the federal grand jury.

Shoppers hired Currie to work as a consultant focusing on public affairs, minority recruitment, and outreach and community relations. But in reality, prosecutors allege, Shoppers paid him to use his Senate seat to benefit the company’s business and financial interests.

Currie, 73, highlighted his actions in a paper he wrote in September 2007, hoping to justify continued payments from the grocery chain, the indictment says. He called the document “Accomplishments on Behalf of Shoppers.” He wrote that he was “in a unique position to assist Shoppers in expanding its mission and increasing its bottom line” and that he would bring the company “many more opportunities,” court papers say.

Currie declined to comment. His attorney, Dale P. Kelberman, said in a statement that the charges are unfounded.

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Summer of Economic Discontent

September 2nd, 2010 · Change of Power, Deception, Democrats, Dissention, Ethics, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Government, Greed, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Unemployment

The administration’s ‘summer of recovery’ has fizzled in almost every way imaginable. The growth rate is less than half what it was at this stage after the 1974-75 and 1981-82 recessions.

By Michael Boskin

The Obama administration’s “summer of recovery” has morphed into a summer of economic discontent amid anxiety over the weakening economy. The greater than 4% growth and less than 8% unemployment envisioned by the president’s economic team are nowhere to be seen. Almost everything that is supposed to be up—the economic growth rate, the stock market, bond yields—is down. And almost everything that is supposed to be down—unemployment-insurance claims, new mortgage delinquencies—is up.

Sometimes a weak early recovery gathers strength after a year or so, as in 2003 when the second round of the Bush tax cuts helped double growth to 3.8% from 1.9%. But there are serious headwinds to stronger growth: household deleveraging, unresolved toxic assets, and most government economic policies headed in the wrong direction. While the base case outlook is still slow recovery, a double-dip recession or a Japanese-style lost decade is more plausible than a few months ago. This explains why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke felt compelled last week to reiterate that the Fed will use more of its (in my view, weak) ammunition should the economy falter further.

How bad is it? In the data for the last few weeks and months, real personal disposable income was flat; core capital goods orders, a precursor of business capital spending, declined 8%; new home sales fell 12.4%, existing sales 27%, despite record low mortgage rates; single-family housing starts declined 4.2%; building permits, foreshadowing future construction, fell 1.2%; initial jobless claims spiked to over 500,000, leading forecasters to expect at best meager short-term private-sector job growth; the Kansas City, Philadelphia and New York Fed manufacturing indexes fell; and the trade deficit increased, as exports fell and imports rose.

These weak backward-looking data were accompanied by big downdrafts in forward-looking financial markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq over 6% in August—partly retraced yesterday—and the 10-year U.S. bond yield, at 2.47%, was back to its lows of March 2009. Real GDP growth slowed from 3.7% in the first quarter to just 1.6% last quarter.

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CBO Update

September 2nd, 2010 · CBO Update

The following has been added to CBO’s Web site:

  • H.R. 5710, National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2010
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on July 28, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11844
  • S. 1596, Gold Hill-Wakamatsu Preservation Act
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on August 5, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11846
  • S. 3313, Sloan Hills Withdrawal Act
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on July 21, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11847
  • S. 999999, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010
    Paygo Table for the bill statutory Pay-As-You-Go Effects as reported with Managers Amendments Incorporated on August 5, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11848
  • S. 1346, Crimes Against Humanity Act of 2010
    Paygo Table for the bill statutory Pay-As-You-Go Effects with an Amendment provided to CBO on August 5, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11845

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Obama administration appeals stem cell funding decision despite US Law

September 1st, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US

The Obama administration on Tuesday formally challenged a court order barring the federal government from funding human embryonic stem cell research.

The Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to suspend a temporary injunction he issued last week blocking the funding and filed a notice of plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Lamberth, ruling in a lawsuit filed by two researchers working on alternatives to the cells, said the funding violated a federal rule that prohibits federal tax money from being used for research that involves the destruction of human embryos.

“The government is seeking a stay of the court’s injunction to prevent the irreparable harm and financial harm that could occur if these lifesaving research projects are forced to abruptly shut down,” Justice Department spokesperson Tracy Schmaler said in a statement. “The great potential for significant additional medical breakthroughs is at risk if this research is halted pending the appeals process.”

Lamberth’s injunction “causes irrevocable harm to the millions of extremely sick or injured people who stand to benefit from continuing research, as well as taxpayers who have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this research through public funding of projcts which will not be forced to shut down,” she said.

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Gloom for Democrats as they look to November

September 1st, 2010 · Accountability, Change of Power, Congress, Obama Exposed, Republicans

By Dan Balz Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 31, 2010; 11:39 PM

The Gallup organization dropped a bomb on the political world this week. In shorthand, the pollsters said Monday that if the midterm elections were held now, Republicans would take control of the House – and probably by a comfortable margin.

On Tuesday, James Campbell, a professor of political science at the University of Buffalo, weighed in with a prediction based on his modeling of the political climate. He said that Republicans are poised to gain 51 or 52 House seats, at least 11 more than needed to depose the Democrats.

Election Day is still two months away, but the twin findings added to the fear among Democrats that their House majority – and possibly their Senate majority as well – is in jeopardy.

For decades, Gallup has asked voters the following question: “If the elections for Congress were being held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for in your congressional district?”

This week’s survey produced the largest lead for the Republicans in the history of asking that question: 51 percent to 41 percent. Ninety-six percent of Republicans said they would vote for the GOP candidate, while 88 percent of Democrats said they would support the Democrat. Independents, who helped power Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008, split 48 percent to 31 percent for Republicans.

This measurement (known as the generic ballot question) has sometimes been considered an imperfect or misleading indicator of House election results. Gallup begs to differ. Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup poll, said that Gallup’s final survey of likely voters before Election Day has been an accurate predictor of the two parties’ share of the national vote in House elections. The national vote, in turn, he added, is an excellent predictor of seats won or lost.

Four years ago, when Democrats won control of the House, the final Gallup survey of likely voters gave Democrats an advantage of seven percentage points over Republicans. Their actual share of the national two-party vote was eight points more.

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U.S. troop deaths in Afghan war up sharply

September 1st, 2010 · Deception, Defense, Foreign Policy, Obama's Scheme, Politics, Selling Out the US, Treason, War on Terrorism

By David Nakamura Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, September 1, 2010

KABUL – Twenty-two American troops have been killed in Afghanistan over the past five days, a spike that follows record-high death tolls for U.S. forces in June and July.

Five of the troops were slain Tuesday, including four who were killed by two improvised bombs in the east and one who died in an insurgent attack in the south, according to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The deaths brought the number of U.S. troops killed in August to 55, according a count by the Associated Press – significantly fewer than the 66 who died last month and 60 in June. Roadside bombs along military routes have been responsible for most of the deaths, as international forces penetrate deeper into areas controlled by Taliban insurgents.

Also Tuesday, gunmen opened fire on a bus in Kabul carrying employees of the Afghan Supreme Court, killing three and wounding several others, ISAF officials said.

Asked by The Washington Post about the jump in U.S. deaths in recent days, James Judge, an ISAF spokesman, responded via e-mail: “Historically, August usually yields somewhat higher numbers as it tends to be the insurgents’ last push before the winter months. With elections coming up, the numbers may remain somewhat elevated through September. Additionally, the troop surge has increased troop totals to approximately 147,000. With these additional forces, we are actively pursuing the enemy in areas traditionally held by insurgents.”

Judge noted that despite the bloodshed of the past few days, “overall for August, deaths due to IEDs are well under last year’s figures.”

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