Meet The Most Important Consumer Rights Bill That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Meet The Most Important Consumer Rights Bill That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: pIn 1925, Congress enacted what they thought was a modest law enabling sophisticated businesses to agree to resolve their disputes through private arbitration. Decades later, the Supreme Court transformed it into something completely different — enabling corporations to force workers and consumers into signing away their right to appear in a real court, and shunting [...]/p

WATCH Elizabeth Warren: Students Should Get ‘Same Deal’ On Interest Rates As Big Banks | Alternet

WATCH Elizabeth Warren: Students Should Get ‘Same Deal’ On Interest Rates As Big Banks | Alternet
"Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced her first bill in the Senate today, the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, which would prevent Stafford loan interest rates from doubling this summer by dropping rates for one year from 3.4 percent to 0.75 percent, the rate at which the government loans money to big banks through the Federal Reserve discount window. If Congress fails to act by July 1 this year, interest rates on Stafford loans reserved for undergraduates will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent."

Elizabeth Warren Introduces Bill To Give Students Same Rates As Big Banks

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How Your Tax Dollars Fund Bad, Low-Wage Jobs and Help Fuel Inequality | Alternet

How Your Tax Dollars Fund Bad, Low-Wage Jobs and Help Fuel Inequality | Alternet
"The vacuous, cheerful expression of the Walmart smiley face has long been associated with the paradoxically dark reality of low-wage work. With the recent fast-food worker walkouts in New York, the golden arches may go down, too, in the annals of class-war symbology. But a  report released Wednesday by the public policy organization Demos, reveals that there is one employer responsible for creating more low-wage jobs than Walmart and McDonald’s combined: Us."

Congress: Still Corporate. Still Criminal. Still Captured.

Congress: Still Corporate. Still Criminal. Still Captured.
"Here is the complete list of the Financial Services Committee members. The official twitter for the Republicans on the Committee is @FinancialCmte, and the twitter for the Democrats is @FSCDems. Wall Street still runs things, but it is worth letting our captured Congressmembers know that we are fully aware that Wall Street also owns them."

Our Elections Really Are Rigged—by Gerrymandering and Districting Abuses | The Nation

Our Elections Really Are Rigged—by Gerrymandering and Districting Abuses | The Nation
"Partisan redistricting—not just classic gerrymandering but a variety of structural factors—assures that the vast majority of congressional districts in the vast majority of states produce predictable results. Even if the candidate of the dominant party is flawed, even if a challenger has financial advantages, FairVote executive director Rob Richie reminds us that “partisanship is the dominant factor in determining election outcomes"."

PERRspectives: New House GOP Debt Ceiling Blackmail Demand? No Deficit Reduction!

PERRspectives: New House GOP Debt Ceiling Blackmail Demand? No Deficit Reduction!
"The latest GOP extortion couldn't come at a worse time. After all, the federal budget sequester which began in March is already slowing economic growth and costing American jobs. Meanwhile, the CBO and analysts like Goldman Sachs have forecast that Uncle Sam's rapidly shrinking annual budget deficits will soon put U.S. national debt levels on a sustainable path. (That reality even prompted House Speaker John Boehner and Budget Committee Chairman to admit that "we have no immediate debt crisis.") Now, two years after the GOP's first debt limit blackmail hammered consumer confidence and job growth, Republicans are preparing a new ransom note."

Seven Times Senate Republicans Demanded The Budget Process They Are Now Obstructing

Seven Times Senate Republicans Demanded The Budget Process They Are Now Obstructing: Senate Democrats passed a budget for the first time in four years earlier this year, a move that would seemingly please the Republicans who spent the last four years reminding everyone of the fact that the Senate hadn’t done so. But now, with the House and Senate sitting on differing budget proposals, Senate Republicans have [...]/p

Indispensable Guide: Where to Shop to Avoid Buying from Businesses that Endanger Workers | Alternet

Indispensable Guide: Where to Shop to Avoid Buying from Businesses that Endanger Workers | Alternet
"responsible shoppers want to avoid supporting companies that don't care about their employees. Here's how."

Opting Out of Wall Street and Building Sustainable, Resilient Communities: Remaking Finance, Part III

Opting Out of Wall Street and Building Sustainable, Resilient Communities: Remaking Finance, Part III
"Almost all Americans experience the predatory practices that have put the population in debt in order to meet basic needs for housing, education and health care."

Disaster Capitalism Strikes as Hedge Funds Circle Near-Bankrupt Municipalities Like Vultures | Common Dreams

Disaster Capitalism Strikes as Hedge Funds Circle Near-Bankrupt Municipalities Like Vultures | Common Dreams
"In Detroit, a once bustling city at the center of the US economy, the hedge fund vultures are circling.
But first, a moment of background, employing Naomi Klein's contemporary classic The Shock Doctrine, which tells the story of how purveyors of aggressive capitalism take advantage of crises and public vulnerability in order to push through neoliberal policies and profit-motivated financial arrangements."

Corporate Cowards Divert Shareholder Funds into “Dark Money” | Common Dreams

Corporate Cowards Divert Shareholder Funds into “Dark Money” | Common Dreams
"Why do corporations need a middleman? Because the ads are so partisan and vicious that they would appall and anger millions of customers, employees and shareholders of the corporation. So, rather than besmirch their own names, the corporate powers have meekly retreated behind the skirt of Republican political outfits like the Chamber."

10 Reasons Austerity Is a Crock | Alternet

10 Reasons Austerity Is a Crock | Alternet
"When we allow our economy to operate below full employment (as now), we are sacrificing trillions of dollars in lost output and income each year. We can never go back and recover it.  It is gone forever.  You’ve seen the debt clock?  Here’s the lost output clock."

America's No Worker's Paradise: In 49 of 50 States, You Can Be Fired For Any Reason | Alternet

America's No Worker's Paradise: In 49 of 50 States, You Can Be Fired For Any Reason | Alternet
"Outside of Montana, you can be fired for the color of your shirt, or even for refusing to fetch your boss a cup of coffee."

Now They Want to Take Away the 8-Hour Day and 40-Hour Week

Now They Want to Take Away the 8-Hour Day and 40-Hour Week
"Republicans are trying to pass an "alternative" to overtime pay. This is really about taking away the eight-hour workday and 40-hour workweek. Will weekends be next? What about an "alternative" to paying workers at all?

House Republicans are pushing a bill that takes away extra pay for overtime, substituting "comp" time instead."

Republican Court Says Employers Have A Constitutional Right To Keep Workers Ignorant Of Their Rights

Republican Court Says Employers Have A Constitutional Right To Keep Workers Ignorant Of Their Rights: Warning labels and notices are a common feature of American life. Federal law requires most groceries to display detailed information about their ingredients, calorie content, and other nutritional facts. Federal fuel economy labels inform car buyers how quickly their new vehicle will burn through gas. Surgeon general warnings inform smokers of the dangers presented by [...]/p

On Day Stock Market Sets New Record, Conservative Group Floats Impeaching Obama For ‘Wrecking The Stock Market’

On Day Stock Market Sets New Record, Conservative Group Floats Impeaching Obama For ‘Wrecking The Stock Market’: Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 15,056, an all-time record. For one conservative group, this can only mean one thing: it’s time to impeach President Obama. That was the message Capitol Hill Daily, a conservative publication based out of Baltimore, sent to Citizen United’s listserv today. They accused President Obama of “wreck[ing] the [...]/p

Republican Senate Nominee Funded Primarily By Wealthy Investors

Republican Senate Nominee Funded Primarily By Wealthy Investors: Gabriel Gomez, the Republican nominee to fill John Kerry’s open Senate seat in Massachusetts, often invokes his background in the private sector as a private equity investor. Perhaps as a result, his campaign has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from other venture capitalists, investors, and bankers — people likely to [...]/p

How Sequestration Is Devastating Programs That Aid Senior Citizens

How Sequestration Is Devastating Programs That Aid Senior Citizens: Last week, ThinkProgress spoke to directors of Meals on Wheels programs across the country, and they detailed how sequestration is cutting meal delivery and on-site meal services to needy seniors who may now have to go hungry. Since then, stories about sequestration’s harmful cuts to seniors have continued to pour in from across the country. [...]/p

Moody’s Playing Dangerous Games With Public Pension Funds

Moody’s Playing Dangerous Games With Public Pension Funds
"The bond-rating agency Moody's made itself famous for giving subprime mortgage backed securities triple-A ratings at the peak of the housing bubble. This made it easy for investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to sell these securities all around the world. And it allowed the housing bubble to grow ever bigger and more dangerous. And we know where that has left us.

Well, Moody's is back."

SCOTUS Loves Corporations...

Why ‘Flexibility’ Is An Unworkable Solution For Sequestration Budget Cuts

Why ‘Flexibility’ Is An Unworkable Solution For Sequestration Budget Cuts: In response to the outcry from business travelers, the airline industry, and others affected by growing flight delays, Congress stepped in last week to provide the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with “flexibility” to move funding around within the agency to avert scheduled furloughs of air-traffic controllers necessitated by the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. [...]/p

Sequester Cuts to Emergency Unemployment Insurance Compensation will likely cost around 30,000 jobs | Economic Policy Institute

Sequester Cuts to Emergency Unemployment Insurance Compensation will likely cost around 30,000 jobs | Economic Policy Institute
"These cuts cause damage in two ways. Most obviously, they mean that unemployment insurance benefits now provide a weaker lifeline to the long-term unemployed and their families, despite the fact that job opportunities have improved very little since the unemployment rate peaked near the end of 2009. Less well understood is the fact that cutting unemployment insurance benefits will reduce spending in the economy and thereby cost jobs."

ALEC's Latest "Transparency" Move: Asserting Immunity From Freedom of Information Laws

ALEC's Latest "Transparency" Move: Asserting Immunity From Freedom of Information Laws
"ALEC legislators cannot have it both ways. They cannot use public money to attend ALEC meetings -- as the Republican-led South Dakota legislature recently approved -- or claim that accepting corporate-funded flights and hotel rooms for ALEC travel are part of their legitimate work responsibilities, then conspire with ALEC to hide documents and information from their constituents that should be accessible under freedom of information laws."

Budget Austerity Proved a Joke, But the US and Europe Won't Change Course | Common Dreams

Budget Austerity Proved a Joke, But the US and Europe Won't Change Course | Common Dreams
"It appears that the Reinhart-Rogoff battles over their faulty data about government debt have flamed out. Even the inventors of the 90% debt cliff are now anxious to portray themselves of cautious supporters of expansionary fiscal policy. This should mean that sober policy types everywhere can turn to the immediate problem of reducing unemployment with more expansionary fiscal policy.

Unfortunately, this does not appear likely to happen. Even though the case against fiscal policy has been blown to smithereens, there is little impulse in the United States or Europe to change course."

Your Retirement for a Bottle of Champagne: How Wall Street Fraudsters Ripped You Off, Again | Alternet

Your Retirement for a Bottle of Champagne: How Wall Street Fraudsters Ripped You Off, Again | Alternet
"To recap: Bank hustlers manipulated the world’s most important set of benchmark interest rates and thereby impacted the prices of upward of $500 trillion worth of financial instruments. The LIBOR scam devastated state and municipal budgets, squeezed pension yields and ripped off bank shareholders. In a case of jaw-dropping fraud, greedy traders rigged up the benchmark so that they could cash in on bets on derivatives, while banks submitted fake numbers to make themselves look financially healthier. One Barclays official was fond of fudging numbers in exchange for champagne. “Dude…I owe you big time!” gushed a trader in an email to Barclays’ Mr. Fix-It. “Come over one day after work and I'm opening a bottle of Bollinger."

That’s right. A bottle of bubbly for a scam that screwed your grandma on her retirement savings."

Why It's Going Cost a Lot of Money to Cut Meals on Wheels' Budget—Sequester Takes America Further Down the Hole | Alternet

Why It's Going Cost a Lot of Money to Cut Meals on Wheels' Budget—Sequester Takes America Further Down the Hole | Alternet
"Cutting Meals On Wheels doesn’t save the government a dime, it costs $489 million a year. Cutting IRS obviously increases the deficit because it lowers tax revenue. Other cuts also increase spending. All obviously hurt the economy. Tell me again, what’s the justification for this? Repeal this foolish and unjustified sequester."

Banks Sued For Flagrant Violations

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Wisconsin Bill Would Treat Organic Milk, Sharp Cheddar, Brown Eggs as "Junk Food"

Wisconsin Bill Would Treat Organic Milk, Sharp Cheddar, Brown Eggs as "Junk Food"
"Wisconsin ranks 44th in the nation for new job creation. Rather than rolling up their sleeves and finding new and innovative ways to help create jobs, the Wisconsin legislature is spending its time telling people needing food assistance what they should be eating. AB 110, which will be up for a vote in the Assembly on Tuesday, May 7, is geared toward limiting "the amount of food stamp benefits that could be spent on junk food." But some of the fine print of the bill, bizarrely, would ban people from choosing more healthy and less expensive options for their families. The bill is one of many being considered that are unduly punitive of the poor."

Who’s Murdering Small Business in America?

Who’s Murdering Small Business in America?
"So, Conservatives can try to blame Obama, smokestack regulations, and Obamacare for the death of small business in America all they want, but anybody who knows history knows otherwise.

Reaganomics killed small business."

Florida Legislature Tells Poor People to F*ck Off and Die

Florida Legislature Tells Poor People to F*ck Off and Die
"As I predicted awhile back, Kochheads in Florida have managed to step between poor people and health care by yanking puppet strings in the Florida legislature to block Rick Scott's proposed Medicaid expansion. See how that works? Rick Scott looks magnanimous because AFP and the Florida legislature gave him cover to pretend like Medicaid would be expanded."

Neither Admit Nor Deny: Big Business Allowed To Pay Millions to Avoid Jail | Common Dreams

Neither Admit Nor Deny: Big Business Allowed To Pay Millions to Avoid Jail | Common Dreams
"Record fines adding up to $36 billion have been paid out in the last 12 years by multinational corporations to the U.S. government to settle charges of corruption and fraud. But are they getting away with a slap on the wrist to avoid prosecution for major crimes?"

How Taxes Fund the Outrageous Pay of "Fix the Debt" CEOs Pushing Austerity on the Rest of Us | Alternet

How Taxes Fund the Outrageous Pay of "Fix the Debt" CEOs Pushing Austerity on the Rest of Us | Alternet
"This scheme deserves the admiration of con artists everywhere."

5 Ways That Raw, Unregulated Capitalism Is Acting Like a Cancer on American Society | Alternet

5 Ways That Raw, Unregulated Capitalism Is Acting Like a Cancer on American Society | Alternet
"Unregulated capitalism is out of control. Like a  cancer, it has become "something evil or malignant that spreads destructively," with tumors growing in several once-healthy parts of the American body."

Hypocrites With Fat Wallets: CEOs Want It All

Hypocrites With Fat Wallets: CEOs Want It All
"America’s top corporate executives love lecturing the rest of us about ‘fiscal responsibility.’ They want us to expect less from government. But they expect more, and a new report shows how they’re getting it."

How the Rich Benefited From the Recovery (While Most of Us Got Nothing) - Truthdig

How the Rich Benefited From the Recovery (While Most of Us Got Nothing) - Truthdig
"The richest Americans made trillions during the so-called economic recovery from 2009 to 2011, while most everyone else’s net worth dropped, according to a recent Pew Research Social & Demographic Trends analysis of newly released Census Bureau data."

Big Oil's (Taxpayer Subsidized) Big Profits | Common Dreams

Big Oil's (Taxpayer Subsidized) Big Profits | Common Dreams
"The revenue lost from giving favorable tax treatment to companies that continually post record profits could more than pay for the safety net programs. But, we live in a political reality where the priorities of the affluent dominate priorities and policy making. And so, the result is that Washington throws money at oil companies, pays for their misdeeds, and leaves struggling households to fend for themselves."

Mushroom Clouds, Collapsing Buildings: Why We Need Unions

Mushroom Clouds, Collapsing Buildings: Why We Need Unions
"What's needed is a recognition that every life is worth fighting for, in every field and factory and mine on the planet. It's fought with the understanding that better-paid workers buy more goods and raise the global standard of living, no matter where they live. The stories from Texas and Bangladesh shouldn't just horrify us. They should galvanize us into action. They aren't complete until we choose to live them ourselves."

The Rich Have Gained $5.6 Trillion in the 'Recovery,' While the Rest of Us Have Lost $669 Billion | Alternet

The Rich Have Gained $5.6 Trillion in the 'Recovery,' While the Rest of Us Have Lost $669 Billion | Alternet
"Oh, are we getting ripped off. And now we've got the data to prove it. From 2009 to 2011, the richest 8 million families (the top 7%) on average saw their wealth rise from $1.7 million to $2.5 million each. Meanwhile the rest of us --  the bottom 93% (that's 111 million families) -- suffered on average a decline of $6,000 each.

Do the math and you'll discover that the top 7% gained a whopping $5.6 trillion in net worth (assets minus liabilities) while the rest of lost $669 billion. Their wealth went up by 28% while ours went down by 4 percent. It's as if the entire economic recovery is going into the pockets of the rich. And that's no accident. Here's why."

Sequestration Devastates Education Programs, But Congress Fails To Notice

Sequestration Devastates Education Programs, But Congress Fails To Notice: For two months now, Congress has ignored reports about how the sequester is causing kids to be kicked off Head Start and seniors to lose their Meals on Wheels services. But after just a few days of reports that passengers had to wait longer before boarding their flights, Congress rushed to pass a last minute [...]/p

The Economic Elephant with Robert Reich

Automatic Cuts To The IRS Will Increase The Deficit

Automatic Cuts To The IRS Will Increase The Deficit: While sequestration was meant to be a last resort, it was originally created to force lawmakers to take action to reduce the deficit. Yet now that it’s gone into effect there are some parts that will likely do the opposite. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will take a hit just like all other agencies, and [...]/p

Confronted By Furloughed EPA Worker, Ryan Edits Out His Responsibility For The Sequester

Confronted By Furloughed EPA Worker, Ryan Edits Out His Responsibility For The Sequester: RACINE, WI — At a town hall meeting on Wednesday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) was confronted by one of the more than 1 million federal workers affected by across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. David Novak, who works for the Environmental Protection Agency in Wisconsin, confronted Ryan over the impact the sequester is having: For [...]/p

The Loss Of Government Jobs Is Holding Back The Economy

The Loss Of Government Jobs Is Holding Back The Economy: The jobs report out this morning was full of good news: unemployment fell to 7.5 percent as the economy added 165,000 jobs, while big upward revisions to the past two months’ jobs numbers were added. The private sector carried those figures, adding 176,000 jobs in April. Yet the number was dragged down by the loss [...]/p

How a Much-Heralded Bank Reform Proposal Could Actually Blow Up the American Economy | Alternet

How a Much-Heralded Bank Reform Proposal Could Actually Blow Up the American Economy | Alternet
"But there’s more to this bailout bill than meets the eye – much more than many progressive cheerleaders realize. Some things in the bill could hurt us, and even increase overall risk in the financial system."

4 Ways the Payday Loan Industry Sucks Billions From Local Economies (Hard Times USA) | Alternet

4 Ways the Payday Loan Industry Sucks Billions From Local Economies (Hard Times USA) | Alternet
"The good news is that the payday loan industry appears to be shrinking nationally, as the interest payments in the 33 states that allow these bloodthirsty loans have fallen from $6.8 billion in 2007 to $3.3 billion in 2011, a new study by consumer groups found.

But the bad news is that this industry—whose short-term loans have outrageous interest rates that are disguised as fees—is still sucking billions from poor people. And the ripple effect of payments is depleting hundreds of millions from local economies, undermining job creation and pushing people into bankruptcy"

How Wall Street Defanged Dodd-Frank | The Nation

How Wall Street Defanged Dodd-Frank | The Nation
"Indeed, some 3,000 lobbyists had swarmed the Capitol in hopes of killing off pieces of the proposed bill—nearly six lobbyists for every member of Congress."

Big Banks Are Knee-Deep in the Dirty Money-Laundering Business | Alternet

Big Banks Are Knee-Deep in the Dirty Money-Laundering Business | Alternet
"Money-laundering issues at U.S. and UK financial firms shed light on role of rich nations and elite banks in the offshore world."

Big Oil Profits—and Tax Breaks—Remain High Despite Sequestration Cuts

Big Oil Profits—and Tax Breaks—Remain High Despite Sequestration Cuts: Despite the severe budget cuts facing many middle-class programs, the five biggest oil companies continue to rake in tens of billions of dollars in profits, while still receiving unnecessary and wasteful tax breaks. Middle-class families have gotten some relief at the pump this spring due to declining gasoline prices. AAA reported that U.S. drivers paid [...]/p

California Insurance Commissioner Blasts Insurance Giant For Its ‘Unwarranted’ Rate Hikes

California Insurance Commissioner Blasts Insurance Giant For Its ‘Unwarranted’ Rate Hikes: California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Wednesday slammed UnitedHealth Group — the nation’s largest private insurance company — over its decision to cut benefits and raise premiums for health plans used by close to 5,000 California small businesses. The combination of cuts and hikes would amount to a nearly eight percent rate hike for small [...]/p

May Day: Demanding Workers' Rights

'Deficit Hawk' CEOs Pocket Hundreds of Millions with Tax Loopholes | Common Dreams

'Deficit Hawk' CEOs Pocket Hundreds of Millions with Tax Loopholes | Common Dreams
"The study, Fix The Debt CEOs Enjoy Taxpayer Subsidized Pay—by the Institute for Policy Studies and the Campaign for America's Future—reveals that thanks to a tax loophole which allows corporations to deduct unlimited amounts off their income taxes for the expense of executive stock options and other so-called “performance-based” pay, Fix the Debt member firms have raked in over a billion dollars of taxpayer-funded bonuses."

Budget Office: Principal Reductions Would Save Taxpayers Billions, Reduce Unnecessary Foreclosures

Budget Office: Principal Reductions Would Save Taxpayers Billions, Reduce Unnecessary Foreclosures: Giving government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the authority to allow homeowners to reduce the amount of principal they owe on their mortgages would save taxpayers billions of dollars while reducing the number of foreclosures and delinquencies, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The report was done at [...]/p

Exposed: How Murdoch, Bill Gates and Big Corporations are Data Mining our Schools

Exposed: How Murdoch, Bill Gates and Big Corporations are Data Mining our Schools
"Starting next year, those scores, along with students' personal information – race, economic background, report cards, discipline records and personal addresses – will be stored in a database designed by Wireless Generation, a subsidiary of media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

That's right, Rupert Murdoch can read your child's report card anytime he likes and he knows where your kid is sleeping."

Questions the Senate Should Ask At Today's Briefing on the Aaron Swartz Prosecution | Common Dreams

Questions the Senate Should Ask At Today's Briefing on the Aaron Swartz Prosecution | Common Dreams
"Today, the Justice Department will brief the Senate Judiciary staff on the prosecution of the late activist and Internet pioneer Aaron Swartz, who died in January. Swartz has become a lasting symbol for how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) can be twisted by authorities to mete out draconian punishments and turn millions of Internet users into criminals."

6 Insidious Ways You’re Getting Ripped Off, and How to Fight Back | Alternet

6 Insidious Ways You’re Getting Ripped Off, and How to Fight Back | Alternet
"In the wake of the financial crisis, there was a moment of hope that predatory businesses would no longer be able to pick at our bones like vultures. Instead, we've seen Dodd-Frank weakened and stalled, and the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stymied at every turn. In the latest round, Republicans are thwarting the confirmation of Richard Cordray to lead the Bureau. Meanwhile, we continue to get fleeced. Here are a few egregious scams to watch out for, along with ways to protect yourself."

Join Occupy Wall Street on May Day and Stand for Justice

Join Occupy Wall Street on May Day and Stand for Justice
"It's May Day, and Occupy Wall Street will be acting in force across New York City."

Banks on the Run and the Homeowners Underwater | Common Dreams

Banks on the Run and the Homeowners Underwater | Common Dreams
"Wells Fargo made $19 billion in profits last year and record profits last quarter. None of this would have been possible without the bank bailout and continued borrowing of taxpayer money at zero percent interest from the Federal Reserve (which Wells Fargo and the other big banks then turn around and loan to state and local governments at much higher rates)."

Another Government Is Necessary: The People Can Rule Better Than the Elites

Another Government Is Necessary: The People Can Rule Better Than the Elites
"More people are taking action in their communities to meet their basic needs because of government corruption at all levels that protects the status quo when urgent change is needed. People are moving on many fronts to challenge the system and create the world they want to see."

As Obama Nominates Key Regulator, Misinformation About Cause Of Housing Crisis Spreads

As Obama Nominates Key Regulator, Misinformation About Cause Of Housing Crisis Spreads: Today, President Obama announced that he will nominate Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to be the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the agency that regulates housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As a veteran of the House Financial Services committee, Watt is qualified to lead the agency. Among his accomplishments on the [...]/p

ALEC Covering Tracks in Advance of Oklahoma Meeting

ALEC Covering Tracks in Advance of Oklahoma Meeting
"Despite ALEC trying to spin itself as a "transparent" organization, ALEC records have miraculously been disappearing from legislative offices and the organization is engaged in a box drop dodge to avoid disclosure. But while ALEC legislators are meeting behind closed doors with corporate lobbyists, citizens will be rallying in the streets raising awareness about how ALEC’s agenda favors large corporations at the expense of average Americans."

House Finance Chair Goes on Ski Vacation with Wall Street

House Finance Chair Goes on Ski Vacation with Wall Street
"Donors working in various financial industries are Hensarling's biggest supporters, giving him over $1 million in the last election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The congressman's office did not respond to requests for comment."

'The Gilded Age' Statistics Corporations Don't Want Workers, or Anyone, to See | Common Dreams

'The Gilded Age' Statistics Corporations Don't Want Workers, or Anyone, to See | Common Dreams
"If there's one thing about what many are calling the "The New Gilded Age," it's that well-known corporations—not to mention less well-known, but extremely powerful ones—will fight extremely hard to keep secret just how lopsided the economic disparities have become in recent decades between low-paid workers in the society and the executive and ruling class that have reaped the words of a globalized, top-heavy economy."

Dangerous targets: Why setting a specific deficit reduction target would worsen the economic and fiscal situation | Economic Policy Institute

Dangerous targets: Why setting a specific deficit reduction target would worsen the economic and fiscal situation | Economic Policy Institute
"In the near term, we should at least stop harming the economic recovery through fiscal contraction; more concretely, the sequester should be repealed, even if no offsets can be found. In the long term we should preserve public investment and concentrate efforts on the real driver of deficits: too-fast growth of per capita health costs driven by our private health care system."

Irish Banks Were Bailed Out To Make Bill Gates Whole

Irish Banks Were Bailed Out To Make Bill Gates Whole
"The math goes like this: Bank bailouts = billionaires made whole at the expense of working people. Corporate profit increases = billionaires made richer at the expense of working people.

The next time you hear something about the Gates Foundation's benevolence, remember that math."

Theft is Legal for Big Banks- and Your Money Will Never Be Safe | Alternet

Theft is Legal for Big Banks- and Your Money Will Never Be Safe | Alternet
"The new rules for keeping the too-big-to-fail banks alive: use creditor funds, including uninsured deposits, to recapitalize failing banks.

But isn’t that theft? Perhaps, but it’s legal theft."

Top GOP Congressman Takes Wall Streeters On Ski Vacation

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