Great Recession

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Republicans And Wall Street Bankers Attempt To Destroy It!

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The Republican Party is in full attack on the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau passed by the Democrats into law after a long battle, in which Elizabeth Warren became the number one target of the opposition party, and was unable to be named head of the new agency she helped create.

Instead, Elizabeth Warren is running for the US Senate, and in her place, former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray was nominated to head the new agency.

But instead of Barack Obama appeasing the opposition by Warren’s withdrawal, the Republicans have now gone ahead and prevented a vote on Cordray’s nomination, which would get a majority if the 60 vote filibuster requirement for a vote was possible, but instead the vote was 53-45.

Interestingly, the one Republican vote for Cordray was from Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who faces Warren in his Senate reelection battle next year, and obviously wanted to cover his rear end, particularly with some polls now showing Warren leading Brown, who has been called the “darling” of the Wall Street bankers in regards to campaign contributions!

President Obama denounced the Senate vote, and is considering a recess appointment to get Cordray into the position. Meanwhile, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch claims the bill is harming the banks, as if they do not make enough profit, and have not done great harm to millions of homeowners and those who use their credit cards, with illegal, unethical, and immoral actions!

Obama needs to declare greater war on the banks, as they are the greatest evil that exists in America, and the most responsible for the economic collapse we are involved in, and some of these Chief Executive Officers and their underlings need to be prosecuted and go to prison for a long time for their reprehensible white collar crimes that have destroyed so many people!

The Attack On The Food Stamp Program

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The Food Stamp program of the Agriculture Department has been the lifeline for millions of Americans, more so now than ever before, with the terrible economic conditions since the Wall Street crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession!

And yet, conservatives and Republicans condemn the Food Stamp program, and Newt Gingrich calls Barack Obama the “Food Stamp” President derisively.

One would think the Food Stamp program is abused, which is an urban myth!

No one becomes rich on the Food Stamp Program! It is only $130 a month per person on it, far from enough for anyone to eat for a full month. A person to be eligible must make under $11,000 per year, or under $22,000 per family.

It is also interesting to point out that half the recipients of food stamps are children, and ten percent are elderly. And 68 percent of the recipients are white, while most of the rest are African American, with only small numbers of Hispanic, Asian American, or native American participation in the program.

The Food Stamp program issues credit cards that can only be used for certain food items, not liquor and cigarettes, for instance!

It is no fun for anyone to be on food stamps, and it does not mean that anyone is gaining full nutrition monthly on $130 per person for the month.

The conclusion is that there are conservatives and Republicans who would rather have people starve, than feed children and adults who are living in squalid conditions in poverty.

This is Scrooge to the extreme, and disgraceful behavior!

Congressman Barney Frank To Retire: A Major Figure In The History Of The House Of Representatives

Ronald 3 Comments

It is a well known fact that most Congressmen, members of the lower chamber of Congress, never become significant, well known, accomplished, and memorable in the long run of our history.

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank is one of those exceptions, and he announced today that he was retiring after 32 years, 16 terms, in the House, from the Boston area.

Always outspoken and controversial, and willing to “get in one’s face”, Frank has his detractors who literally hate him, and his admirers, who love him, and consider him a giant figure in the House who has been trashed by conservative and Republican propagandists.

This author sides with the latter view, as Frank, despite being blamed wrongly by the RIght for the Great Recession, particularly in housing, actually set out to promote regulation of the financial industry, but was stopped by the Bush Administration from meaningful control over banks and corporations.

A lot of lying is going on, making Frank the villain, and a lot of it is centered, no matter what the critics say, on the fact that Barney Frank was the first openly gay member of the House, proud of his homosexuality, and not willing to be bullied by his critics, and instead willing to fight with words and actions!

Frank has been an inspiration to many people, and he will not be forgotten in history, but instead will be one of the most historic figures in the history of the House Of Representatives, almost as if he had been Speaker of the House!

What Progressives Have To Be Thankful For On Thanksgiving Day 2011

Ronald 1 Comment

On this Thanksgiving Day, progressives have a lot to be thankful for, including:

1. We are witnessing the return home of our soldiers from Iraq after eight and a half years in combat, and the sad loss of about 4,500 brave men and women in a war that was unnecessary and helped to strengthen the more dangerous nation, Iran.

2. We have witnessed the development of the weakest Republican Presidential field in history, more an embarrassment than a legitimate field of candidates for the Oval Office, trying to outdo each other in their flubs and lack of concern for the average American.

3. We are fortunate to have as our President a man who, despite obvious shortcomings in some areas, has a record of accomplishment in national security and foreign policy that no Republican candidate can match.

4. We have a President who has gone the extra mile in trying to promote the interests of the middle class economically, instead of Wall Street, the corporations and the top two percent, all of which are obviously being supported by the Republican Party without any apologies. When the history of the Great Recession, the worst economic times since the Great Depression are written, the opposition party will NOT look good, any more than they did in the 1930s.

5. Finally, we can be thankful that by the Republican stubbornness on the budget and their greater loyalty to Grover Norquist than to the American people, the end result will be the automatic cutting of trillions of dollars by LACK OF ACTION by January 1, 2013, AND the END of the Bush Tax Cuts, and therefore a rise in taxation on those who have benefited for the past ten years on the backs of the American people. Tax rates will go back to the Clinton era rates, when we had the greatest economic conditions ever in our history, and fairness in taxation will return, while rational, reasonable budget cuts will also take place.

The Republican Party, by their obstructionism, will have slain themselves, so we must thank John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell for giving a campaign issue to the Democrats and Barack Obama.

This is a great moment for progressives, as Barack Obama has made clear that he will veto any attempt to keep the Bush tax cuts! Hallelujah, and now, let’s go and celebrate Thanksgiving!

The Dangers Of Political Extremism: Assassination Of Political Leaders

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Today is a day to dwell on the dangers of political extremism, the kind of rhetoric that we have been witnessing more than ever since the Great Recession occurred in 2008 and after. The election of the first African American President in 2008 has added to the cauldron.

The chasm between the political parties is wider than ever, and the hot rhetoric displayed on much of talk radio and Fox News Channel is more intense than ever, and will, unfortunately, get worse as the heat of the Presidential campaign intensifies.

Political extremism of the past led to political assassination in American history, as witness:

Abraham Lincoln, murdered at the end of the Civil War, April 14, 1865, by a Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth.

William McKinley, murdered by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, on September 14, 1901.

John F. Kennedy, murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, a supporter of Fidel Castro and Cuba, 48 years ago on this date, and being commemorated today.

Martin Luther King, Jr,, murdered by a racist, James Earl Ray, on April 4, 1968.

Robert Kennedy, murdered by an Arab sympathizer, Sirhan Sirhan, on June 5, 1968.

These five assassinations, along with the assassination by mentally ill people of James Garfield and Huey Long; and the attempted assassinations of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan are constant warnings of the dangers of violence once passions are aroused to a dangerous level.

When one considers that an individual was recently arrested for having shot at the White House, and perceived as a danger to President Barack Obama, it makes one feel a chill go through his spine, this on top of a similar incident under Bill Clinton.

Our nation’s leaders are under constant threat, and we need to tone down our rhetoric in memory of the death of John F. Kennedy nearly a half century ago, as we do not want to go through the horror and pain of such an event ever again!

Police Brutality at University Of California-Davis Against Peaceful “Occupy” Demonstrators: Must Be Condemned And Prevented From Happening Again ANYWHERE!

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The shocking action of police at the University of California-Davis against peaceful, nonviolent “Occupy” demonstrators, utilizing pepper spray into their faces, debilitating them, and sending eleven to the hospital, must be condemned by all decent citizens, and prevented from happening ever again ANYWHERE in America!

The police involved must be fired and prosecuted, and the Chancellor who allowed these actions needs to resign!

The right wing is spreading the myth that the “Occupy” demonstrators at Wall Street and in hundreds of other demonstrations all over America are a bunch of bums, drifters, drug addicts, and petty criminals, and that there are widespread crimes, property damage, and sexual activity taking place. Also, it is being claimed that these are just people who want a handout, and don’t want to work.

This is an outrage to attack Americans who have become victims of the Great Recession, and that is most of us in some form, who wish to use their First Amendment rights to call for action against the one percent who control the economy and dominate the national income, with greater stratification than at any time in American history.

If the police and law enforcement authorities are going to react like the Southern states acted toward civil rights demonstrators in the 1950s and 1960s, then there is the danger of a much more violent action, which would be highly regrettable, and is no solution to the issue.

The “Occupy” demonstrators all over the country include students who see no future with their skyrocketing education costs and lack of job opportunities; senior citizens who have seen their pensions and 401 Ks decimated; middle class homeowners who have been foreclosed on, after losing their employment; veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have few opportunities after sacrificing for their country; and every day average Americans who insist on a sense of fairness and equal opportunity for all, not just the wealthy and corporations!

If mayors and college administrators decide to use police in a forceful way against peaceful demonstrators, they should be forced out as working against American traditions of the right of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition for the redress of grievances!

And those conservative talk show hosts who condemn these demonstrators and condone police violence against them need to be boycotted by all decent Americans, who are tired of their backing of the wealthy and the corporations!

Newt Gingrich, The Hypocrite: The Nerve To Condemn “Occupy Wall Street” As People Who “Need To Bathe And Get A Job”

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Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, and front runner for the GOP nomination in many polls, has often said he regrets actions and statements he has made in his past.

Well known for his lack of ethics and no morals at all, Gingrich claimed by becoming a Catholic that he had reformed, and that has turned out to be a lie!

Gingrich, now that he is surging in the polls, is showing his ugly, hypocritical side again and again, reminding us that a “leopard does not change its spots!”

He says liberals, progressives and the left have lost their “moral compass”, an ironic thing for a man to say who has been an adulterer multiple times, and has been shown to have been involved in ethical violations in the House of Representatives leadership, and to have lied incessantly!

He also, as stated earlier in another entry, suggests that young children who are poor should clean their schools, in place of janitors, advocating a return to child labor.

And he has the nerve to state that the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrators in New York City and elsewhere “need a bath and to get a job”, as if these people are not facing the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, and the fact that there are not anywhere near enough jobs with millions of layoffs since 2008!

This man sounds like Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL, but even more hardhearted and nasty and mean and vindictive!

The nerve of Newt Gingrich who has lived off the public dole as a government employee for so long, and then as a lobbyist and propagandist ever since, to condemn principled people who are being labeled as “losers” by the privileged and those fortunate enough not to face the horrors of long term unemployment!

Even if one is NOT religious, one should never forget the saying” “There but for the grace of God go I!”

The “Near Poor”: A New Category Of Poverty

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In the past, we have known that poverty existed, and the fact that about 49 million people, one out of six in this country, are in that sad state, a large percentage of them being children.

But now the Census Bureau, through gathering of new data, has come up with a new category, the “near poor”.

This category is approximately 51 million people, making for a total of about 100 million people, one out of THREE, who are either in poverty or in “near poverty”!

Of course, the “near poor” are better off than those defined as “poor”, in the sense that they work and own a car, but they own a car with a lot of mileage, do not make enough to have a sense of “getting ahead”, and often do not have health care coverage, which means if they get sick or have an accident, it sets them back with heavy bills that can push them over the line into poverty.

There is no room for error among this group, as they teeter on the verge of bankruptcy from unexpected bills that may crop up, and they are unable to have much hope about the future.

One third of the “near poor” are elderly, and 39 percent are children. The “American Dream” is not coming through for these people at both ends of the age spectrum! The group of 51 million people is just “scraping by”, and there is a sense of hopelessness.

If one has an income under $50,000 in major metropolitan areas, he or she fits into this group if part of a family of four, and they have suffered from a decade of flat wages, as well as the economic collapse of the Great Recession. The fact that many live in the suburbs is misleading, as we are witnessing the growing poverty of many suburban communities, and the foreclosures on many homes, decimating what were once middle class neighborhoods.

As the saying goes, there is no “wiggle room” for this category of “near poor”, as they struggle every day to stay “above water”, with the danger of “drowning”, falling into poverty.

The Collapse Of The Middle Class: Threat To American Stability

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Growing income inequality is turning many middle class neighborhoods into slums or ghettos, as poverty spreads rapidly, accelerated by the Great Recession, which began in 2008.

A Stanford University study demonstrates this reality: In 2007, only 44 percent of families lived in middle class neighborhoods, down from 65 percent in 1970. And one third of families lived in neighborhoods of affluence or poverty, up from just 15 percent in 1970.

The affluent are being segregated from the declining middle class, and becoming less willing to support broad based schools, parks, and public transportation projects that benefit the general public. Fourteen percent of families now live in affluent neighborhoods, compared to seven percent in 1970.

The effects of the growth of poverty is that children from poverty backgrounds have less access to quality education and support networks to encourage accomplishment and work goals.

This reality is showing up in educational accomplishments, as the standardized test scores now show a gap of 40 percent, a bigger gap than four decades ago. And college completion of children from high income families is more than half the population, up about one third from twenty years ago, and less than ten percent among low income families, up from five percent.

As everyone should know, education is the bridge to success and social mobility, so this Stanford study is extremely troubling for the long run of social stability in America.

This is one of the major reasons for the Occupy Wall Street movement, as it is manifesting itself, not only in New York City but all across the nation.

Three Years Since Election Of Barack Obama And One Year To Next Presidential Election!

Ronald 1 Comment

Three years ago last evening, at around 11 pm Eastern time, Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States, a truly historic moment in American history! And tomorrow, it will be exactly one year to the next Presidential election!

It has been a very eventful, tumultuous three years, and many have been disappointed that all of the problems left by the Republican party control of Congress for 12 years and control of the White House for eight years under President George W. Bush, have not been resolved overnight.

Of course, it was truly unrealistic to believe that we would overcome the economic disaster of the Great Recession magically in three years.

But a lot of progress has been made, and in foreign policy and national security, Barack Obama has had an amazing three years.

Also, socially, we have seen great progress in promotion of human rights and the taking of the proper stand for workers, women, gays, and other groups that have not had a fair shake in the past in our country.

Barack Obama may have made people think he could walk on water, but the reality is that progress in many areas, including health care, education, constitutional law, and the environment has been made, but still leaving room for improvement.

To believe that any of the Republicans running for President offer a better future is to dwell in nonsensical dreaming!