Saturday, January 31, 2009

Harvey Wasserman blows the whistle on a stealth attack by the Nuclear industry on night of Jan 27


Tell the Senate and President Obama, "No, thank you, to the Nuclear Industry and Coal Industry. We want safe, alternative energy and soon - not later! We want a Stimulus Bill that produces truly green jobs now!"

Harvey Wasserman blows the whistle on a stealth attack by the Nuclear industry on night of Jan 27

by: Karita Hummer

Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 23:39:08 PM EST

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3469

Tell the Senate and President Obama, "No, thank you, to the Nuclear Industry and Coal Industry. We want safe, alternative energy and soon - not later! We want a Stimulus Bill that produces truly green jobs now!"

According to Harvey Wassserman, the Nuclear and supposed "Clean Coal" industries are to be awarded a provision of $50 billion for building such things as nuclear reactors that wouldn't be able to be licensed before two years from now. Aside from how dangerous the nuclear and supposed "clean coal" alternatives are, the earmarked billions for these industries wouldn't even help the job situation or our economy generally, in the short run as so many suggest we need. Harvey Wasserman gives real pause for thought and urges us to mobilize to fight this nuclear industry incursion and yet another attempt to take from the public purse, with the real possibility of hurting the public, not only financially, but physically, as well.

Follow Wasserman's advice and mobilize boldly!

Here is Harvey Wasserman's very important piece, re-posted from Common Dreams: http://www.commondreams.org/pr...

A $50 Billion Nuke Power Bomb Is Dropping Toward Obama's Stimulus Package

by Harvey Wasserman

Published on Saturday, January 31, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
A $50 Billion Nuke Power Bomb Is Dropping Toward Obama's Stimulus Package

by Harvey Wasserman

The desperate, dangerous nuclear power industry has dropped a $50 billion stealth bomb meant to irradiate the Obama Stimulus Package.

It comes in the form of a mega-loan guarantee package that would build new reactors Wall Street wouldn't finance even when it had cash. It will take a healthy dose of citizen action to stop it, so start calling your Senators now.

The vaguely worded bailout-in-advance provision was snuck through the Senate Appropriations Committee in the deep night of January 27. It would provide $50 billion in loan guarantees for "eligible technologies" that would technically include renewable sources and electric transmission. But the handout is clearly directed at nukes and "clean coal."

The Stimulus Package is explicitly meant to create jobs within the next two years. But according to sources at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, no new reactors could be licensed for construction within that time. Nor could any new coal plants. And thus the funds in this rider are to "remain available until committed." That means their "stimulus" might not go into effect for many years.

But the nuclear industry does have the ability to spend large sums of money on "site preparation" and other busy work prior to being licensed. Though the guarantees could technically be used for truly green sources such as wind and solar, the provision's backers, including Senators Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Thomas Carper (D-DE), have made it clear that this money is meant to go for new reactor construction.

In late 2007, nuclear power's Congressional Godfather, then-Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), stuck a similar $50 billion loan guarantee package into that year's energy bill. A grassroots uprising, joined by virtually all national environmental organizations, helped defeat the package. Among other things, the fight inspired a music video from Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Keb Mo and Ben Harper (www.nukefree.org [1]).

In late 2008 the industry came back again with a blank check package that went down in flames along with the stock market.

Still unable to get private financing, the industry is back yet again. In the interim, the projected cost of building new reactors has soared to more than $10 billion each, and continues to climb steadily. Many of the previous generation of reactors came in hugely over budget. According to the Nuclear Information & Resource Service, one DOE study places the overall average overruns at 207%. But reactor projects such as Seabrook, in New Hampshire, New York's Shoreham, Pennsylvania's Beaver Valley, California's Diablo Canyon, and many others, far exceeded that.

The Congressional Budget Office now predicts that half the nuclear utilities using such a loan program will go into default. Some $18.5 billion in loan guarantees has already been approved, apparently for such use. But its legality is being hotly disputed, and the money has not been distributed by the Department of Energy.

Washington insiders believe this latest attempt at a pre-arranged bailout has again come from Domenici, who has stayed in Washington to lobby for his radioactive benefactors after apparently retiring from the Senate in January.

This guarantee package was not part of the Stimulus Package that passed the House. Its secretive, late night inclusion on the Senate side is reminiscent of how former Vice President Dick Cheney did business for the fossil/nuclear corporations that funded much of the Bush Administration. The reappearance of this kind of back door dealing has not been well received, especially in the House.

Numerous national groups, including the Nuclear Information & Resource Service (www.nirs.org [2]) are providing sign-ins for sending e-mails to the Senate. They also urge that you call your Senator at 202-224-3121.

Time is fast slipping by for the nuke power industry. As the popularity of renewables and efficiency escalates, the most obvious source of new jobs and prosperity has become truly green technologies. Atomic power has long since been priced out of the market. Only massive federal and ratepayer subsidies could bring it back, to the direct detriment of the revolution in renewables.

Defeating this latest money grab will help drive another nail in the coffin of the 20th century's most expensive failed technology. It is an essential step toward a truly green-powered future.

Harvey Wasserman's SOLARTOPIA! Our Green-Powered Earth, is at www.harveywasserman.com [3]. He edits the NukeFree.org [4] web site, and is senior editor of www.freepress.org [5], where this article first appeared.

Thanks to Harvey Wasserman and Common Dreams for their efforts to keep us safe and healthy in every way possible. Heads up!, Everyone. fight back. Stay safe and healthy. Contact your Senator.

Karita Hummer

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Eddie C's Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots wins him Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

Eddie C is awarded Karita Hummer's Silver Pen award for his excellent work in explaining the banking mess for which now we all must pay, and pay dearly, in blood, sweat and tears, and in some cases, ruin. His essay helps explain the banking meltdown in a remarkably clear way that makes it ever so more understandable, in a way for a citizen activist to know what they must demand from his or her government. Thank you, Eddie C KH

Here, in my opinion, is the heart of the problem that Eddie C describes so well.


Greed, greed and more greed, at our expense! KH






A Quote from: Eddie C,

Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots(+)

by: Eddie C



"It is not that our elected officials are bad people but the history of lobbyist influence is the root of this nation's financial crisis. And because of the fact that our representatives fell over themselves to bailout the banks with taxpayer dollars our own money is now increasing banker influence in Washington. Just like another financial crises issue Fanny May and Freddie Mac, taxpayer dollars have found another way to influence decision making on Capital Hill.

There is no doubt that the banks have been winning and the people have been losing for decades and it has served no one but the banking big wigs and the representatives cashing their campaign donations. The shareholders have gotten screwed, the taxpayers are getting the shaft and regulatory improvements are uncertain. Our elected officials won't admit it but their own deregulation has caused pain and suffering throughout the entire world and now it should be the people's turn." Eddie C


This makes me recall the statement that Hillary Clinton had so singularly fatuously made on the campaign trail during the primary, that lobbyists were just people. Yes, indeed, people - greedy people. KH

And the answer to such greed is "Change Congress". Join Change Congress in going on strike, as in quit donating to people who take lobbyist money, as recommended by Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi, founders of Change Congress.



Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3458

Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots (+)

by: Eddie C

Fri Jan 30, 2009 at 01:52:06 AM EST


[
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(on banking, sunshine, and regulation... - promoted by poligirl)

I'm sure most people here know who Paul Volcker is but have you heard of the Group of Thirty and the 18 Recommendations released prior to the inauguration called Financial Reform: A Framework for Financial Stability?

I know that economics is a boring topic. I keep nodding off over the keyboard myself. But restoring confidence in the U.S. market is all about our being able to pay our bills again. Those recommendations are vital to the continuity of an economy in our nation. Guidelines that will have an enormous impact on the future of this nation and how we live.

Below the fold is a diary that first explains some of the challenges these reforms face, followed by an explanation of Mr. Volcker's guidelines. Then there is a look at the government that protected Americans compared with the one that did not. There is also an objective look at the present government and Mr. Volcker followed by the forces that stand against real banking reform.

Please read it and please recommend this diary because if we don't have Paul Volcker's back then perhaps nobody does and business as usual will continue.

Eddie C :: Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots
The Questions

The American banking crisis may not have a singular cause nor can one action fix the mess this nation faces but the extremely positive effects of regulating the banking industry once again are undeniable.

There is a big problem with Ben Bernanke's sly metaphor.

"I think it's very important for us to try to put out the fire. I think it's good advice in general, that if there's a fire burning, you try to put it out first, and then you think about the fire code."

And that problem is the history of our government. If they do manage to throw enough of our taxpayer dollars to make it appear that the formerly free market banks are functioning again the political will to restore those fire codes will be gone. Since the maturation of lobbyist influence there is no history of our government attempting to fix a big campaign donation sector unless that sector is on fire.

It is not that our elected officials are bad people but the history of lobbyist influence is the root of this nation's financial crisis. And because of the fact that our representatives fell over themselves to bailout the banks with taxpayer dollars our own money is now increasing banker influence in Washington. Just like another financial crises issue Fanny May and Freddie Mac, taxpayer dollars have found another way to influence decision making on Capital Hill.

There is no doubt that the banks have been winning and the people have been losing for decades and it has served no one but the banking big wigs and the representatives cashing their campaign donations. The shareholders have gotten screwed, the taxpayers are getting the shaft and regulatory improvements are uncertain. Our elected officials won't admit it but their own deregulation has caused pain and suffering throughout the entire world and now it should be the people's turn.

Foreign investors upon whom this "too big to fail" nation has grown so dependent are watching in utter disgust. When shareholders see that the bailed out financial industry still paid $18.4 billion in bonuses after a disastrous 2008 they know their money can't be trusted there. With those bankers transforming our tax dollars into bonuses now Democratic representatives including our new president are discussing "fixing" Social Security while offering a stern word or two to the bankers. Can you find any sort of representation in that?

Just like the Great Depression this is a crisis of confidence and much of that lost confidence is in our government's ability to fix that which they broke. There is no Franklin D. Roosevelt this time. Unfortunately Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are not on top of this, our media that generates a great deal of income from banks won't present this and not repairing the damages caused by deregulation represents the path of least resistance.

The Answers

On January 15 an economists' forum named the Group of Thirty released a report called Financial Reform: A Framework for Financial Stability.

The report addresses flaws in the global financial system and provides 18 specific recommendations to: improve supervisory systems by redefining the scope, boundaries, and structure of prudential regulation; enhance the role of the central banks; improve governance practices and risk management; address pro-cyclicality via capital and liquidity standards; enhance accounting practices; strengthen the financial infrastructure; and increase coordination internationally.

Paul Volcker, the head of President-elect Barack Obama's special economic recovery advisory board was the lead author.

"The issue posed by the present crisis is crystal clear," said Volcker. "We [must] restore strong, competitive, innovative financial markets to support global economic growth without once again risking a breakdown in market functioning so severe as to put the world economies at risk."

Mr. Jacob Frenkel, another Chairman of the Group of Thirty and a Vice Chairman of of one of the largest corporations that received a government bailout, pointed out that we can't get out of this U.S. government induced mess until investors can believe again.

"Financial markets today are fragile and highly vulnerable. These conditions require that policy initiatives must focus on restoring stability and rebuilding confidence in the system as a whole. For confidence to be fully restored, markets must be reassured that there is a coherent agreement on a comprehensive reform of the regulatory and supervisory system. We believe that policymakers must adopt changes that improve prudential regulation and supervision. We must also improve risk management, enhance transparency, strengthen the market infrastructure, and assure a greater degree of international consistency and coordination among regulators and supervisors."

Talk about Change We Can Believe in. Reading through the pdf. presentation the recommendations are almost all about government regulation and banking enforcement but the sweeping new regulations cover almost everything. Unlike our politicians the report acknowledged charges that flaws in the U.S. financial system are to blame for starting the current global economic crisis and emphasizes the fact that banks, having become too big to fail, have become a threat to our own national security.

The Group of Thirty calls for simplification of banks and restoring the division between banks and brokerage houses just like we had ten years ago. There is a call for higher standards of transparency in both banks and brokerage houses. It calls for something most Americans once thought we had, strict regulation of money market mutual funds.

A call for one government agency scrutinizing all capital including money market accounts, mutual funds, even private hedge funds that rely on borrowed capital, financial derivatives, over the counter trades and all of those credit default swaps that are still ticking like a $47 billion time bomb.

Close regulation and supervision by one government body of all investments may sound a bit Homeland Securityish but a central agency looking out for systemic risk would put an end to regulators pointing their fingers at other government bodies. This nation regulatory agencies have descended from concrete regulations to a mix between "supervisory guidances" and "sound asleep." The Securities and Exchange Commission has proven to be totally worthless and Barack Obama's choice to clean it up must be a joke.

Confidence through subjecting private pools of capital to public scrutiny, paying greater attention to liquidity and risk management practices with executives being forced to produce reliable financial stability reports regularly or "new parameters for a firm's risk tolerance." There is a call for the government to be given a place in the board rooms and they ask for responsible and balanced board membership including an accounting background presence in board rooms.

Although there is already a clash in the Obama administration there is a call for common international standards of accounting, a single set of global accounting standards to be administered by the International Accounting Standards Board. Restoration of confidence in rating agencies is also stressed, so companies that declare bankruptcy with an AAA rating will be a thing of the past. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be transformed entirely into government agencies or regulated as independent mortgage brokers to remove government conflicts of interest.

Even the two issues that our television news media and many of our elected officials seem to think this crisis of confidence are all about are addressed. The recommendations call for setting guidelines on executive pay and separating hedge funds from clearing houses so there won't be another Bernie Madoff scandal.

This may all seem so radical after decades of propaganda from supply side pundits and our our elected officials becoming paid advertisements for the banking industry but it is not. Not too long ago rules for banks watched out for the people.

Good Government

On June 16, 1933 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Glass-Steagall Act it ended the banking insanity that was judged to be the primary cause of the Great Depression.

It was enacted as an emergency response to the failure of nearly 5,000 banks during the Great Depression. The act was originally part of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT's NEW DEAL program and became a permanent measure in 1945. It gave tighter regulation of national banks to the Federal Reserve System; prohibited bank sales of SECURITIES; and created the FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION (FDIC), which insures bank deposits with a pool of money appropriated from banks.

On that day in 1933 consumer banks were transformed into unexciting dependable institutions that oversaw the flow of capital for six decades of American growth. Separated from the investment banks that would ride the economic roller coaster through those decades the consumer banks were a rock of solid footing.

Strict banking regulations saw this nation emerge from the Great Depression, World War II and the Baby Boom that followed. The nation grew through the Korean conflict, Cold War and the War in Viet Nam with the restricted banks financing the people's needs through it all with hardly a problem. Compared to today these were very good times as far as personal finance was concerned.

Enhanced by the solid performance of the banks the politicians continued to show good judgment and solidified the two Glass-Steagall Acts as late as 1956 when the Bank Holding Company Act was passed.

The debate that government regulations went too far was not an unsound argument. Banks were judged as a hindrance to American savings. Interest rates were artificially low and the dependable dividends to shareholders were often twice as high as banks highest saving rates. Investors saw no reason that banks should not be allowed to become to big to fail and because of the regulations restricting growth banks also traded at artificially low price to earnings ratios. But while the voice of conventional bankers that wanted the growth (and paychecks) of the investment bankers grew louder,claiming those regulations were "outdated, unfair, and unworkable regulations" our financial system was the envy of the entire world.

Bad Government

The American financial system is no longer the envy of the entire world. Now the American banking system deserves credit for the global financial meltdown. There is plenty of blame to go around but the history of the Great Depression was repeated by our elected officials in a deregulation orgy.

A PBS FrontLine chronology called the long demise of Glass-Steagall describes the unraveling of our once trustworthy banking system.

Beginning in the 1960s, banks lobby Congress to allow them to enter the municipal bond market, and a lobbying subculture springs up around Glass-Steagall. Some lobbyists even brag about how the bill put their kids through college.

Through the 1970's as investment banks encroached on commercial banks, still more lobbyist put many more kids through college the bankers began chipping away at regulations. The 1980's began with a good president signing the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act but there was bad on the horizon. The Regan administration set the stage for totally undermining the the safety net signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In December 1986, the Federal Reserve Board, which has regulatory jurisdiction over banking, reinterprets Section 20 of the Glass-Steagall Act, which bars commercial banks from being "engaged principally" in securities business, deciding that banks can have up to 5 percent of gross revenues from investment banking business. The Fed Board then permits Bankers Trust, a commercial bank, to engage in certain commercial paper (unsecured, short-term credit) transactions. In the Bankers Trust decision, the Board concludes that the phrase "engaged principally" in Section 20 allows banks to do a small amount of underwriting, so long as it does not become a large portion of revenue. This is the first time the Fed reinterprets Section 20 to allow some previously prohibited activities.

Even in 1987 Paul Volcker got it and everything he suspected proved true.

In the spring of 1987, the Federal Reserve Board votes 3-2 in favor of easing regulations under Glass-Steagall Act, overriding the opposition of Chairman Paul Volcker. The vote comes after the Fed Board hears proposals from Citicorp, J.P. Morgan and Bankers Trust advocating the loosening of Glass-Steagall restrictions to allow banks to handle several underwriting businesses, including commercial paper, municipal revenue bonds, and mortgage-backed securities. Thomas Theobald, then vice chairman of Citicorp, argues that three "outside checks" on corporate misbehavior had emerged since 1933: "a very effective" SEC; knowledgeable investors, and "very sophisticated" rating agencies. Volcker is unconvinced, and expresses his fear that lenders will recklessly lower loan standards in pursuit of lucrative securities offerings and market bad loans to the public. For many critics, it boiled down to the issue of two different cultures - a culture of risk which was the securities business, and a culture of protection of deposits which was the culture of banking.

1987 was the same year that a former director of J.P. Morgan Alan Greenspan became the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board but his lust for banking deregulation had only just begun and the Savings and Loan disaster did not have such a disastrous effect on the commercial banks. Consider the last housing crisis that started off in 1987 and in the early 90's did leave the recently deregulated Savings and Loan associations insolvent creating quite a mess in this nation's financial industry. That was not seen as a signpost by our elected officials?

1990 should have been another signpost of disaster but the indications were ignored. Even though commercial banks were only allowed to have ten percent of assets in unsafe waters the junk bond crisis of 1990 did threaten the nation's banking industry, causing insolvency and liquidity problems.

It wasn't like there were no signposts yet our elected officials continued down the road to deregulation. On November 12, 1999 banking lobbyist did more than just put their kids through college as our elected officials cashed all of those campaign finance checks from Sanford I. Weill and his kind while guaranteeing the present financial melt down.

A lot of blame has sloshed around for the sub-prime meltdown, from greedy borrowers to greedy mortgage brokers to Alan Greenspan, but if you want the real culprit, it was the repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act. On November 12, 1999, the champagne must have been shooting from the walls at Citigroup, which had worked behind the scenes for over 30 years to get the act overturned. After recovering from their hangover, they and their banking buddies went on a sub-prime lending orgy.

It was a ten year downside that helped create Bush's false economy and prevented the necessary market correction that should have come after the end of the tech bubble. The banks were free to create a housing bubble. Since turnover in Congress is very slow America are depending on many of the same people to fix this problem of their own creation.

An even larger number of these so called representatives are still in office from the days when they were telling Americans that the only problems the banks had was deadbeat consumers. Then the Credit Card Congress offered a "law that was literally written by the credit-card industry" called The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 but they forgot the consumer protection part.

It is hard to believe in people who have so few qualms about the corporate kickbacks known as campaign finance in this nation. Those same people who for years have been getting letters from the working poor for years about $45 late fees and $45 over limit fees added to their 30% A.P.R. credit cards but felt no urge to do anything about it.

The Present Government

Everyone wants to believe that the 111th Congress will be above all that but as the Senate proved last week with foreclosures up 81% for 2008 and actually increasing in December, they still had more TARP money for the supply side and so little for the ailing demand side.

There is certainly confidence that Barack Obama will put this TARP money to better use but with everyone asking "What happened to the first $350 billion?" Democrats are saying "We were in a hurry." This time Barney Frank was not in such a big hurry but the Senate crushed oversight of the next infusion of TARP and even thought we have a good president virtual cart blanche is another bad sign.

It is good and there is much hope in the fact that Barack Obama has surrounded himself with people like Warren Buffet and Paul Volcker but these Group of Thirty recommendations have to go through the same government that put this nation here in the first place.

Back in November when Barack Obama selected one of the most experienced men in the financial world as the Chairman of this new Economic Recovery Advisory Board that will be staffed by people from outside of government the nation and the world was reassured. Now these recommendations are being taken by some as another sign of a promising future.

Obama has pledged to present a package of reforms to prevent another round of the financial crisis that began in the United States, ahead of a summit of world leaders in London this April. Observers saw in Thursday's report potential building blocks of Obama's plan. Observers saw in Thursday's report potential building blocks of Obama's plan. Although issued by the Group of 30 -- an organization of international economists and financial policymakers -- its lead author is Paul Volcker, the chairman of the Federal Reserve during the Carter and Reagan administrations who will serve as a special adviser to the Obama White House. Part of Volcker's role is to help mastermind what could become the biggest overhaul of the U.S. financial system in decades.

"I think this is a clear sign that the new administration is going to push for a major overhaul, for major structural reforms of the regulatory system," said Steven Schrage, the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Having this highly esteemed group backing that proposal is going to put pressure to present those changes before [the] April summit."

But and it is a very big but in this campaign finance focused nation.

The report's recommendations may find support among those in the United States and Europe who have called for tighter regulation over the financial system in the wake of the current economic crisis. But elements of the plan were already opposed Thursday by some in the financial industry, where some worry that the push for tighter government regulation may go too far.

Most newspapers make this framework that seems to be an answer to the gross mismanagement of this nation and the stresses placed on the entire world by the previous leadership sound like a done deal. Bloomberg which explains this regulatory crackdown quite well offered;

"The worst Wall Street financial crisis has gone global, and not a regulator worth his salt will back down from tightening up the regulatory regime," Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report was released. "Volcker has Obama's ear and there is no doubt that the U.S. will be on the same page as most of these G-30 recommendations for greater financial- services regulation."

But this is a complicated maze and would encounter so much resistance that unless everyone is talking about it the turf battles between different parts of the federal regulatory structures and the herd of cats that represent our interest not to mention the concerted efforts of the banking industry will do exactly what has been done so far. Regulation goes on the back burner and money gets handed out.

And of course this is an independent study that is not necessary the opinion of Barack Obama. As pointed out in the report it "does not reflect the official views of those in policymaking positions or in leadership roles in the private sector" and Paul Volcker's own words.

Volcker said he would press the new administration to consider the measures, "but it's up to the administration to decide what they want to do."

And there are signpost in the Obama administration too. Paul Volcker is not the only man who has Obama's ear.

The president-elect's choices for his top economic advisers - Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers as senior White House economics adviser and Peter Orszag as budget director - are past protégés of Rubin, who held two of those jobs under President Bill Clinton. Even the headhunters for Obama have Rubin ties: Michael Froman, Rubin's chief of staff in the Treasury Department who followed him to Citigroup, and James Rubin, Rubin's son.

Remember when Clinton ran on Robert Reich economics but gave the nation Robert Rubin instead?

Rubin helped precipitate the Asian financial crisis which has inflicted untold suffering on tens of millions, orchestrated the bailout of foreign bankers and investors in connection with the Mexican and Asian financial disasters, and crafted or helped implement domestic policies that ensured the overwhelming portion of benefits from economic growth would go to the rich -- but none of this managed to sully the reputation of the Secretary Rubin.

Rubin never met a deregulation he didn't love and not only did he pave the road to ruin, he still has a high place in Democratic economics even though he brokered himself a deal with the main benefactor of banking deregulation as he pushed it through.

Dubbed by Clinton the "greatest secretary of the Treasury since Alexander Hamilton," Rubin left the administration and joined Citigroup, the nation's largest financial conglomerate, whose very existence was made legal by the deregulation measures he had convinced Clinton to accept. According to The Wall Street Journal, Citigroup has so far paid Rubin more than $100 million to serve as chairman of its executive committee, and leaves him free to serve as a key economic adviser to Barack Obama.

If Barack Obama does intend to enforce the the advise of Paul Volcker he will face another challenge. These recommendations would be a tough decision for a new president that may cost political capital. The economy of the two banking frontier states, South Dakota and Delaware, would be devastated if national regulations are enforced. Many of these banking and finance schemes created many jobs. With a nation bleeding jobs, a regulated financial industry would be a smaller employer.

For instance Paul Volcker's study calls for oversight of those modified derivatives called credit default swaps. These unregulated insurance policies that are the same as taking out insurance on your neighbors house would not be made illegal. But the Group of thirty calls for underwriters to have adequate funds to cover these credit default swaps just like conventional insurance policies. Since the founders of these schemes don't have approximately $47 trillion laying around that market would dry up and all those jobs would be lost.

The fact that those credit default swaps can only be estimated to be $47 trillion is testament to how bad our government has become. The government doesn't know what is outstanding and doesn't want to know. What is known is that when Leahman Brothers went from investment grade bonds to bankruptcy overnight ten time the value of Leahman Brothers bonds were outstanding in CDS's. At the time American corporations had about $6 trillion in outstanding debt and there was $58 trillion of Credit Default Swaps being wagered on that debt.

It was an insane asylum of legalized gambling and our government still does not care to put a stop to it. with that as an example, the 18 recommendations that would virtually restore the Glass-Stegall Act and address the banking schemes invented since Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed that bill is a very tall order.

On Paul Volcker

With only a few newspaper stories floating around the supply side economist didn't even have to come out against Paul Volcker but since just about ever newspaper story stresses that Volcker has Obama's ear, they may. At least they will if any of his recommendations are taken seriously. Since there have already been stories about how FDR extended the Great Depression I'm sure the economist on the banking payroll will be claiming the Paul Volcker extended the recession of the 1970's and 80's.

Paul Volcker is old school. So old that he spent more of his life in the real banking regulation era as oppose to the bubble era that most of us know. At eighty-one he's been around since before many of today's media economist were born and in his long history where he held far more important jobs than his present one Mr. Volcker earned many decades of praise.

About the best assessment I can find of this market icon are his own words in an old speech he made before Bush's eight years of insanity. An excerpt of this speech that was made on January 27, 2000 in Bangkok, Thailand, a country that now seems to have a more stable economy than the United States, points to great strength of character.

As one concerned with banking supervision and the structure of financial markets for many years in my own country, I welcome that emphasis. The often expressed concerns about the importance of open and fair business practices, of respect for the rule of law and open competition are at least as relevant.

In that connection, I can't refrain from expressing a point that seems to me crucially important for any market-oriented economy. It is a particularly critical point for nations without a long and strong tradition of financial stability.

A strong central bank, well insulated from partisan politics, professional in its staffing and fiercely protective of its integrity, is an invaluable national resource. With nationally and internationally recognized leadership and an established record of continuity, a strong central bank will command respect for its policies and enhance confidence in a nation's currency, invaluable assets at a time of crisis.

That may seem a rather parochial point by an old central banker. But it is a lesson that has been taken to heart in recent years by most countries, large and small, right around the world. A world of convertible paper currencies, a world that has long since abandoned the discipline of gold, and a world in which money can move so freely, necessarily requires high confidence in its basic monetary institutions.

Some feel that a dose of Volcker style sanity may have dashed Jimmy Carter's hopes of reelection but he is a tough minded disciplinarian who has always worked for "responsible budgetary and monetary policies," always worked for financial system based on a stable foundation, stood up against the shadow banking system and commands the respect of both Democrats and Republicans.

"Without Paul Volcker's toughness and guts, we may never have broken the grip of rising inflation and declining productivity that plagued the United States during the 1970s," former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt wrote in the foreword of Joseph Treaster's 2004 biography "Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend."

Another glowing review points out;

Volcker is the larger-than-life former Federal Reserve chairman who held the post from 1979 to 1987. He crushed inflation in the early 1980s and ushered in two decades of economic prosperity.

The Resistance

Since the inauguration Mr. Volcker has not seemed larger-than-life. Ever since those 18 serious methods of fixing the financial crisis he has gone pretty unnoticed. No surprise there since the work of this man is the sort of thing our present media and government would have an allergic reaction to.

Cynics may refer to it as a case of regulating the barn door after the horse has died but Mr. Volcker's voice of reason should be very reassuring. The only problem is that most cynics did not hear about these recommendations. With almost nobody talking about Paul Volcker there is little hope.

The timing of these 18 recommendations could not have been worse. With The Obama Express, the outgoing prez patting himself on the back and the Miracle on the Hudson not even PBS got around to this story in a television dependent nation. CNN and MSNBC doesn't have a clue what news is and even Keith has been busy with other stories.

CNBC with all of their banking and brokerage commercials plus their endless line economist that haven't been right yet waiting to offer "We need to be careful about overacting" ignored the story all day. Because it was only seen in a few newspapers Fox News didn't even need to spin the information to protect bankers.

Had the recommendations from the Group of 30 made headlines in the financial newspapers and been features on finance channels it would have had the same result as back in November when Barack Obama selected one of the most experienced men in the financial world as the Chairman of the new Economic Recovery Advisory Board, a market rally. The Economic Recovery Advisory Board that will be staffed by people from outside of government reassured the nation and the world.

In a capitalist nation where the capital is so messed up this news should have more impact.

"But I like to think the crisis is an opportunity," Volcker added. "It's an opportunity to do some things that in ordinary circumstances, in quieter circumstances, would not begin to be possible."

Now two weeks have passed and there is still so little information about those 18 recommendations. This week on the Sunday morning news cycle almost ever discussion was about the failing economy. There was some talk of nationalization of banks because of what is going on in Great Britain. There was much talk about federal aid money and how it is being spent. Did you see any serious talk about banking regulation?

The Fed is calling for "all available tools" but not that one. A stimulus plan passes the house but when will there be time for reassurance? When regulations do make the news all we hear is nonsense. If these recommendations don't see a great deal of sunshine from the progressive blogs, they may just be dead on arrival.

Besides the fact that Helicopter Ben sat before Senate Banking Committee on September 23 to tell Senators that they need to be very respectful of the banks when giving taxpayers money away or the banks might not accept the cash, he should have erased all confidence anybody gave him when he claimed that the Office of the Inspector General at the Federal Reserve was "very effective."

A month later Robert Auerbach, a former banking committee investigator pointed out the need for oversight.

The billions of dollars taxpayers are paying to bail out banks, especially the trillion-dollar superbank financial holding companies, should not obscure the need to fix underlying and continuing causes of the financial crisis. Under Alan Greenspan's leadership of the Federal Reserve Bank, the nation's central bank, it had a defective bank examination process. ...One root cause of poor regulation of banks by the Federal Reserve is the underlying conflicts of interest at the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Two-thirds of the board of directors in each of these Fed banks are voted onto the boards by the banks in the district. So the bankers are charged with regulating themselves.

After all of this banks are still regulating themselves and with elected officials making suggestions about how the banks should regulate themselves better things don't look good. When the best our new president can do is offer a tongue lashing to those bankers who wrote themselves $18.4 billion in bonuses for 2008 things are looking really bad.

But the biggest problem these rules face is lobbyist talking down our representatives so they will say the same thing as people like Scott Talbott and those always wrong economic pundits. Campaign finance is the reason we pay for half the military in the world, the reason we have 49 million Americans without health insurance and the reason many baby boomers who have been saving for a rainy day no longer have a retirement pot to pee in.

There will most certainly be some action taken at some point but the service of the American people is doubtful. Making our representatives in both the House and the Senate aware that Americans know about and want these regulations is a worthy effort. A few opinions about the Group of 30's recommendations at Change.gov won't hurt neither. And these regulations getting a whole lot of sunshine here in the blogosphere would be helpful too.

The notion that the U.S. government cannot do two things at the same time is false. As they smother this fire in taxpayer money they should be restoring that fire code. For the most part they are not even discussing restoring regulating the hand that feeds them and what seems to be going on is our leadership desperately seeking a new bubble, a new false economy with even less air than that housing bubble we are trying to recover from.

"The pervasive and deep-rooted financial crisis has amply demonstrated that our financial system is broken and it requires thorough-going repair."
-Paul Volcker

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Transport Stimulus: Doing It Right by: BruceMcF receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award


Bruce McF receives another Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for yet another outstanding piece that connects the dots on green jobs and rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure (e.g. New Orleans!). Bruce McF is erudite and thorough, through and through, and has put much research and thought in to this marvelous piece, as he always does in his writing. He inform us all, so we can push for how to rebuild America, by doing it in a way that is for the common good. What could be more important than publicly investing in something that helps our economy, builds jobs, attacks global warming, rehabilitates crumbling cities, and gives us all a better quality of life, enabling access for us all to places of national beauty and pride. Well done article. KH

Transport Stimulus: Doing It Right

by: BruceMcF

reposted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3441

Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 11:27:34 AM EST

(the Midnight Oil for you... - promoted by poligirl)

Adapted from an entry at Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence

OK, so, to make an egregiously long story merely excessively long, a very strange thing happened on the road to the Stimulus Package. As Rep. Oberstar told the U.S. Conference of Mayors:

That is why we set forth this $85-billion initiative from our committee. It's been reduced in the final going. We expect that it'll come out somewhere around $63 billion, but $30 billion for highways.

The reason for the reduction in overall funding ... was the tax cut initiative that had to be paid for in some way by keeping the entire package in the range of $850 billion.

As I described in Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong, actual effective stimulus spending was shortchanged -- and in particular spending with substantial long term economic and strategic benefits -- to "pay for" tax cuts.

In reality, if we want to be able to "afford" tax cuts, what we need first and foremost is growth, and economic growth requires effective government investment in the infrastructure of a New Energy Economy.

Energy Independent Transport has a strategic defense imperative, and a long term economic development imperative, on top of the substantial transport benefits and, in the Stimulus Bill as it stands, a substantial and primarily untapped potential for short-term stimulus.

And "not enough shovel ready projects" was reportedly the word from the last days of the Bush Transportation Department.

Now, it is quite true that some "sexy" rail transport projects really aren't shovel ready. It will take six years to electrify our main freight rail lines and provide 110mph Rapid Passenger Rail to most of the country. Bullet trains in California and the Northeast Corridor (NEC) will take fifteen to twenty years. These require medium to long term plans and funding.

But the bulk of the previous post was digging into the details, and finding out that we know for sure that there are untapped, shovel ready projects out there.

The question here is, how could this be done right?

Here's an idea. Suppose we set up accounts for the responsible local authority for transit to be spent on any qualifying project from a list of Energy Independent Transport projects. Fund it at the level of $100 per person -- roughly $30b total. And funds that have not been spent in a year get re-allocated to authorities that funded qualifying projects.

Some of those local transit authorities will be "Transit Authorities" (which do exists in quite a lot of places). Where there is no local transit authority, that will be the incorporated municipality or county. In Native American treaty reservations, it seems like it will be a First Nation council of some form.

If Congress sets its mind to it, it can work out a way to specify the local transit authority. And no bailing out and saying some localities cannot be trusted, and the money goes to the State Department of Transportation on their behalf ... we have just seen that the majority of State Departments of Transportation either do not understand the importance of putting forward shovel-ready Energy Independence Transport projects ... or do not really understand the needs out where the wheel hits the rail.

And if Congress sets its mind to it, it can work out a list of Energy Independence Transport projects. One thing that makes it easier is that it doesn't have to prioritize them, or decide relative levels of funding. The local authorities will do that. Just list projects that won't be a waste of the stimulus dollars on the obsolete transport systems of the 20th century, and we will be fine.

Some ideas to get the list started:

  • Operating subsidies to reduce public transport fares below 2008 levels to the end of 2010
  • Operating subsidies to increase public transport services beyond 2008 levels to the end of 2010
  • Purchase of Electric and Pluggable Hybrid Electric public transport vehicles
  • Capital backlog on rail transport and transit
  • Investment in Rail/Bus interchanges
  • Equal Access to Bus Stops
  • Building Sidewalks
  • Building Pedestrian and Cycle bridges over State Routes, US Routes, and Interstates
  • Bike parking and Bike Lockers at public facilities and public transport stops
  • Fully paved and physically grade separated cycleways
  • Electrification of rail corridors
  • Electrification of trolleybus routes

... add to the list yourself.

But whatever is on the list ... make the funds "use it in a year or lose it" ... and you will see the bulk of the funds spent in the first year. And if you don't ... well, obviously the second year the funds will get to the transit authorities who have a demonstrated ability to find shovel-ready projects.

I expect that we would quickly learn how many "shovel ready" Energy Independence Transport projects there really are out there.

Read About It (1983)

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Monday, January 26, 2009

jamess's Union Busting 101: Pay no attention to that Man behind the Curtain. receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award



jamess, wins Karita Hummer's silver pen award for a topic of utmost importance to workers at the height of economic angst in the country, and telling this story as it needs to be broadcast around the country. What better place to do it than here on the internet, where deomocracy is being best preserved. jamess is an perfect example of a citizen journalist who is careful, thorough, informative, fair who writes with great conviction. KH

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3435

Union Busting 101: Pay no attention to that Man behind the Curtain.

by: jamess

Sat Jan 24, 2009 at 14:46:02 PM EST

(EFCA must pass... - promoted by poligirl)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Randy Johnson explains their "Organization's" concerns about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA):

The Card Check Reality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Randy Johnson is Chamber of Commerce's vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits.

Randy Johnson:

"The Employee Free Choice Act ... would take away the Right to a 'Secret Ballot' Election in the Workplace. It is True, as the Unions are saying, that 'technically' it doesn't eliminate it. Why is that? Well, a Union could still choose to have a 'Secret Ballot' Election, technically. Mr Miller we agree with you on that -- ah But, When would a Union do that, if they get a Card Check Majority? So it effectively takes away the right to a 'Secret Ballot' Election, and substitutes for that a 'Card Check' process. ..."

Huh? "Technically True" -- which really means it's NOT really True? AND THAT means you just can't trust Unions, because they really want to take away Workers Rights? Wait minute, go over that again spin-meister ... Unions just are Bad, period, Trust you!?

Excuse Me?

Here's a news flash for you Randy Johnson, Unions are subject to the same Labor Laws to Protect Worker Rights that Employers are!

If only the Chamber of Commerce, and its members, were ACTUALLY SO Concerned about protecting Worker's Rights, as your "Secret Ballot" Outrage pretends to be ...

Well, according to that Lobbying front group, for well-financed (and secretive) Big Business interests ...
The State of American Business 2009
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce stands ready to join with our new leaders and all Americans to revitalize the greatest engine of growth and opportunity the world has ever known--American free enterprise.

Nevertheless, when necessary, the Chamber will challenge proposals advocated in Congress or by the new administration that would damage the economy's capacity to recover, grow, and globally compete. For example, we will strongly oppose the elimination of secret ballots and forced arbitration in union organizing drives, new workplace regulations that would destroy jobs, unworkable environmental and health care mandates, and isolationist policies that shut off trade.

(emphasis added)
http://www.uschamber.com/sab/d...

Hardly sounds like "the Chamber" cares about the issues that Labor stands up for, like UHC, Fair Trade, and Environmental Standards, now does it?


Now here's a Union Organizer perspective on EFCA (with the video edited to rally those flag-waving, anti-EFCA sentiments)

Behind the scenes of labor's EFCA agenda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Why We Need EFCA
Despite its paltry membership, the U.S. labor movement remains the nation's most potent force for progressive change and the most effective vehicle for electing Democrats.
Peter Dreier and Kelly Candaele -- Dec 2, 2008

If unions are good for workers and good for the economy, why are so few employees union members? Business leaders argue that employees' anti-union attitudes account for the decline in membership, which peaked at 35 percent in the 1950s. In fact, a recent poll found that 58 percent of non-managerial workers would join a union if they could. But they won't vote for a union, much less participate openly in a union-organizing drive, if they fear losing their jobs for doing so.

And there's the rub. Americans have far fewer rights at work than employees in other democratic societies. Current federal laws are an impediment to union organizing rather than a protector of workers' rights. ... Under current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regulations, any employer with a clever attorney can stall union elections, giving management time to scare the living daylights out of potential recruits.

According to Cornell University's Kate Bronfenbrenner, one-quarter of all employers illegally fire at least one employee during union-organizing campaigns. In 2005, over 31,000 workers were illegally disciplined or fired for union activity.
...
Big business spends hundreds of millions a year to hire anti-union consultants to intimidate workers from participating in or showing support for union campaigns. Employers can require workers to attend meetings on work time during which company managers give anti-union speeches, show anti-union films, and distribute anti-union literature. Unions have no equivalent rights of access to employees. To reach them, organizers must visit their homes or hold secret meetings. This is hardly workplace democracy.

(emphasis added)
http://www.prospect.org/cs/art...



Chamber of Commerce: Big-Business Umbrella Group's Anti-Union Agenda

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Chamber has an annual budget of $150 million[2] and 300 staff members.[3] With President Thomas J. Donohue at the helm, annual contributions to the Chamber from its largest corporate members rose from $600K to $90 Million in less than a decade.[4]
...
Although an increasing number of its member organizations pursue cooperative and socially-responsible labor relations, the Chamber continues to advocate against unions, and appears to be ramping up its attack.

In 2004, the Chamber spent $24.5 million lobbying the federal government.[8]
...
The Chamber recently filed amicus briefs in two significant cases before the National Labor Relations Board to argue for rulings that limit the ability of workers to form unions. One case could define millions of workers as supervisors, revoking their right to organize, and the other could effectively quash the card check method of organizing.[15]

(emphasis added)
http://www.americanrightsatwor...

While the Chamber of Commerce Ads may claim to protect Worker's Rights, their actions behind the scenes point to an altogether "different agenda" ... Busting up Unions, is usually something best done "in the Shadows", and behind closed doors ... under the "guise of concern" ...

Union Busting 101 - "Who Are They?" - Episode 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Union Busters like to hide behind the all-purpose "umbrella specialty" otherwise known as "Labor Relations Consultants".

And they know how to prey on a Worker's worst fears ...

Union Busting 101 - Episode 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Here's the main page, from the Union Busters Playbook:

Techniques Used by Companies to Deny You Your Choice for Union Representation

Companies use Supervisors as Frontline Soldiers: Supervisors, who themselves have no legally protected right to be represented by a union, are used by the Company to deliver anti-union letters, speeches, and informal chats prepared by anti-union consultants. Supervisors are essentially used to do the dirty work for management.

One-on-One Meetings: During organizing drives, 78 percent of workers are forced to attend closed-door or isolated meetings with supervisors. These aren't friendly impromptu chats, but well-planned meetings to decipher employees' feelings about the union and persuade them against the union.

Captive Audience Meetings: So-called 'captive audience' meetings are held for employees during work hours to disseminate propaganda against union representation and to attempt to discredit the union. Employees are almost always required to attend, but those employees considered to be union organizers may be intentionally uninvited to the meeting. Often, the meetings are rigged so that workers who are already against the union are assigned to ask questions to sow misinformation.

Delay: Anti-union consultants often attempt to delay union representation elections by legal maneuvers so they have more time to implement other tactics needed to increase tension, dissension and the employer's chance of winning the election.

Divide & Conquer: Anti-union consultants create opportunities and craft persuasive messages to make employees feel that there is a tense division among staff concerning the union election. They may go so far as to pit one group of employees against each other.

Letters, letters, letters: The specialty of the anti-union consultant is hammering out materials-cartoons, leaflets or management correspondence-to build a case against the union. 92 percent of companies involved in organizing drives mail anti-union materials to employees' homes.

Love offerings: In order to convince employees that they don't need a union, anti-union consultants may advise clients to provide indirect bribes, like unexpected increases in wages or benefits or 'feel good' measures like free food and lottery tickets.

(emphasis added)
http://www.buwcouncil.org/tech...

There are even high-priced Seminars to train Management in the shady "Techniques of Union Busting" (assuming you have the "credentials" to attend, as Art Levine found out:)

Unionbusting Confidential
To keep out organized labor, you need the union-busting law firm Jackson Lewis
By Art Levine -- Sep 24, 2007

... As it turned out, the two men who had purged Richard would be our seminar leaders. The older man in pink was Michael J. Lotito, a 30-year veteran of anti-union legal wars. The younger was Michael Stief, III, a protégé and fast learner. I soon saw they knew their turf well. "We're not moralists," explained Lotito. "We're lawyers."

Once the seminar got underway, I learned that all of us were doing the right thing in resisting unions. "We believe that the union is irrelevant for the 21st century," declared Lotito. Unfortunately, "unions have new weapons." To make his point, he waved a clipping from the New York Times describing some recent public relations woes of Wal-Mart.
...
One of the first things I learned from Lotito and Stief was to try to come across as respectful of labor's concerns. "The goal is not to be union-free," explained Stief. "It's to be issue-free." We were advised to institute an open-door policy with employees, encouraging them to air any grievances or concerns fully. Not only would this keep them happy, it would help us to sniff out whether there was unionization afoot.

Lotito informed us that his father had been a New York dockworker. "Back then, in 1935, [unions] made perfect sense," Lotito said. "Did they have legitimate issues about how they were treated in the workplace? Yes! There was no safety, no security, no benefits." But they, he explained, were a lot different from today's whiners. "We didn't have employees say: It's my God-given right to have health insurance."
...
What if we simply wanted to fire union organizers? That was possible to do, said Stief, as long as you were careful to do so for other reasons. "Union sympathizers aren't entitled to any more protection than other workers," he explained. But the firing could not be linked to their union activity.
...
Lotito introduced a segment called "You Can Say It." Could we tell our workers, for instance, that a union had held strike at a nearby facility only to find that all the strikers had been replaced -- and that the same could happen to the employees here? Sure, said Lotito. "It's lawful." He added, "What happens if this statement is a lie? They didn't have another strike, there were no replacements? It's still lawful: The labor board doesn't really care if people are lying."

(emphasis added)
http://www.inthesetimes.com/ar...


So what tools do pro-Labor organizers have?

How about Common Sense? How about the Truth?
(sometimes "plain talk" can go a long ways ...)

Al Franken on the Employee Free Choice Act

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Al Franken:

"I support the Employee Free Choice Act because it will give more workers the opportunity to join a Union, without Intimidation. ...
The National Labor Relations Board is responsible for preventing the intimidation of workers, whether it be by Unions OR by Employers. Since President Bush started packing the NLRB with anti-union nominees, the NLRB has gotten real good at the former, and real bad at the latter.

Unions absolutely have the responsibility to organize without intimidation, and when this Bill passes, they will have the same responsibility. BUT, the balance between Labor and Management has been heavily tilted in Management's favor, and the Employee Free Choice Act will help even the playing field. Thank you."

(emphasis added)

Thanks Al! Progressives can't wait til you finally make it to the Senate Floor, and shake things up there, with more "plain talk"!

What tools do pro-Labor organizers have on our side?

How about the Law? (Existing Laws, which already "hold Unions in check"!)

If only the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could be "instructed" to Protect Worker's interests plainly, and not thwart them? (Maybe the new Administration, can provide "a Revised Playbook" here too, eh?)

NLRB: How Do I File A Petition or Remove A Union?

NLRB: How Do I File a Charge Against An Employer or a Union?

NLRB: Employee Rights

The National Labor Relations Act extends rights to many private-sector employees including the right to organize and bargain with their employer collectively.
...
Examples of Your Rights As An Employee Under the NLRA Are:

* Forming, or attempting to form, a union among the employees of your employer.
* Joining a union whether the union is recognized by your employer or not.
* Assisting a union in organizing your fellow employees.
* Refusing to do any or all of these things.

The NLRA forbids employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of rights relating to organizing, forming, joining or assisting a labor organization for collective bargaining purposes, or engaging in protected concerted activities, or refraining from any such activity. Similarly, labor organizations may not restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of these rights.

(emphasis added)
http://www.nlrb.gov/Workplace_...

So tell me again Randy Johnson, from the Chamber of Commerce, just HOW IS IT that the so-called "loss of the 'Secret Ballot' is going to infringe on my Worker Rights", again? (Seems we already have Laws on the book to deal with your faux "worker harassment concerns".)

Unions are subject to the same "non-coercion" Laws, as Employers are suppose to be. SO, "Exactly WHO, is zooming who, here"?

And Answer me Readers, a few Questions: Who is looking out for you, and your family? Those millionaire CEO's, or the Union, of your fellow workers?

And WHO is it, that looks at the "pink slip" as a perfectly legit way to "cut costs", in hard times? (To avoid cutting a few of those CEO "Golden Parachutes" strings, instead?)

It seems that the Workplace, is too often the last place where "Human Rights", and Common Sense, and Fairness get applied, for the benefit of all, instead of just the select few? And sometimes disastrously so, as the Sago Mine incident, painfully demonstrated ... the consequences of ignoring "Worker Rights" -- rights which the GOP is often all too eager to ignore as well.


Could it be that All-Mighty "Greed" has had the upper hand for far too long in this Country?

And look what all that "Greed" has finally wrought ...

A safe and secure Future for all?
-- NOT, hardly! ... anything but!

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

Pax Christi asks "What should Obama do first?"

cross-posted from: Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3428

Pax Christi asks "What should Obama do first?"

by: Karita Hummer

Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 02:01:52 AM EST

(Now, let's get down to business... - promoted by poligirl)

1-1229201389yLhjMr. President, we ask you!

Pax Christi has asked its members on Facebook: "What should Obama do first?"

Never shy at response, I offered my wishes, hopes and prayers there for Obama's first acts. This was my reply:

1. Obama should close Guantanamo and commit to International Law. He should end the War in Iraq. He should set up an international conference to deal with the Palestine/Israel conflict.*1
2. He should review the abuses of the (Bush) Administration and consider if crimes were committed regarding torture, wiretapping and civilian injuries in Iraq. *2
3. He needs to address Darfur. He needs to address the refugee crisis the Bush Administration inflicted on Iraq, and provide American remedies for the crisis we caused.
4. He also should investigate past election abuses and determine if crimes were committed in the execution of electoral processes. Old crime should not be swept under the rug.
5. He should commit to the Global Marshall Plan*4.. He should establish a Poverty Cabinet position and a department to address poverty in the world and here toward the end of eradicating poverty here and in the world. 4
6. He needs to strongly support unions right to organize and worker right to choose to join a union.
7. He should consider a Dept. of Peace.
8. He needs to set up a Watchdog Oversight mechanism for Lobbyists.

Now that I think of it further, I would suggest that President Obama:

9. act boldly to initiate big infrastructure(as in building and digging and services, like Universal Health Care projects that resolve unemployment and global warming reduction at the same time - as among the biggest imperatives he has before him. *9

What would be on your wish list?

More below...

That's all for now, Mr. President! So glad we have an ear in the White House.

Karita Hummer

For an abundance of information on solutions and remedies, and for ideas on how to advance and collaborate on such solutions, here are references for my wish list above:

*1. On Gaza: http://www.spiritualprogressiv...
*2. On Imperial Presidency and High Crimes: Elizabeth Holtzman, Holding Bush Accountable, The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/2...
and John Dean, John Dean: Will Obama Investigate Bush War Crimes? , the Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/2...
*3 on Refugee Crises (of our making or that of others: International Rescue Committee http://www.theirc.org/, Catholic Relief Services, http://crs.org/ and Amnesty International, http://www.amnesty.org/
*4 On Election Theft and Electoral Reform and not letting high crimes of election theft go untried and unpunished and uncorrected, Velvet Revolution, http://www.velvetrevolution.us... Harvey Wasserman, A "Ten-Point Solartopian Starter Agenda for the Age of Obama", sub-section,"Universal Hand-Counted Paper Ballots", http://www.commondreams.org/vi... {{Harvey's total list with some surprises is great.}}
Wikipedia has an enormous list of election reform groups and th national ones include:

http://activism.wikia.com/wiki...

[edit] United States
[edit] National Election Activist Groups

* 51 Capital March
* Alliance for Democracy
* Americans Coming Together
* Answers.com
* Audit the Vote
* Backbone Campaign
* Ban The Machine
* Baker-Carter Commission
* BlackBoxVoting.com
* Black Box Voting.org
* BradBlog.com
* Bush Cheated '04
* Citizens Act
* Citizens for Ethics
* Citizens for a Fair Vote Count
* Coalition Against Election Fraud
* Coalition for Visible Ballots
* David Cobb for President
* Code Pink
* Common Cause
* Computer Scientist for Social Responsibility
* Constitution Project
* Count Every Vote
* Dean People
* Democracy for America
o Election Reform Discussion Group
* Demos
* Election Assessment
* Election Line
* Election Science Institute (formerly VoteWatch)

* Electoral Integrity
* Electronic Frontier Foundation
* Electronic Privacy Information Center
* Electronic Vote and Democracy
* ExitPollz
* Fair Elections
* Fair Vote
* Help America Recount
* Hunger for Democracy
* Instant Runoff National List - Working to implement IRV everywhere in the United States
* Investigate the Vote
* Juice for Justice
* Just a Fly on the Wall
* League of Women Voters
* Left.org
* Lynn Landes - Voters Newswire
* Mercury Coalition for Honest Elections
* MoveOn
* National Ballot Integrity Project
* National Committee for Voting Integrity
* National Network for Election Reform
* National Voters Rights Coalition
* National Voting Rights Institute
* No Confidence Resolution
* No Mandate
* Nov2Truth.org
* Nov3.us
* Open Voting Consortium
* Perfect Voting System
* People For the American Way
* Project Vote Smart
* SAVE Democracy
* Solar Bus
* Stolen Election 2004
* This Time We're Watching
* True Majority
* Truth in Voting
* US Counts Votes
* US Voting Integrity Project
* Vote America
* Velvet Revolution
* Verified Voting
* Voice 4 Change
* Vote Scam
* Vote Trust USA
* Voters For Open & Transparent Elections
* VOTERGATE Resource Center
* Voters Unite!
* We Do Not Concede Coalition
* Where's the Paper?
* Working Assets: Work for Change
* Email National Coalition for Verified Voting

With that many groups(above)working on the problem of election reform (there is a recognition of the enormity of the problem and many solutions among them, to be sure.KH
*5. On Poverty and Global Marshall Plan:
Half in Ten: http://halfinten.org/ and
http://www.spiritualprogressiv...
*6 On Unions, Organizing and Joining Working America
http://www.workingamerica.org/ and for a total potpourri of Union information, go to: http://www.aflcio.org/
Esther Kaplan, Can Labor Revive the American Dream?, The Nation, http://www.thenation.com/doc/2...
*8 On Lobbyist Reform and oversight Obama should run (and we all should) to Change Congress and join with Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi in their efforts for lobbyist reform: http://change-congress.org/
*9. Environmentally Sound Jobs Creation: Bruce McF, "Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong" with commentss, Progressive Blue Blog, http://www.eenrblog.com/showDi...

PLUS

Green Jobs
, Half in Ten, http://halfinten.org/category/...
Green for All: http://www.greenforall.org/?gf...

OK, enough of the problems and solutions, let's get to work on them in the Obama Administration and in Congress! Let's hear it for Progressive Law and Order. K.H.

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Monday, January 19, 2009

BruceMcF receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong

Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong (+)

by: BruceMcF, Repeat Recipient of Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

Kudos to BruceMcF for this article of such great import at this juncture in our land, when we need jobs, fair commerce, and environmental value in all things economic! Bruce, as always is thorough with his guidance and advice on infrastructure. Thank you, Bruce!


cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3406

Sat Jan 17, 2009 at 20:53:58 PM EST


[subscribe]
(on transportation and the economy... - promoted by poligirl)

Burning the Midnight Oil for Energy Independence (crosspost links at the blog)

There is this big emphasis on "shovel ready projects" in the Stimulus Bill ... but now that the details are coming out, we can see that in transport, its just a load of horseshit used as an excuse for supporting business as usual.

The headline numbers are $30b highway spending, $10b for public transport and rail:

  • Transit Capital Assistance, $15.9b in shovel ready projects, $6b in funding
  • Amtrak, more than $10b in capital backlog, $0.8b in funding
  • Fixed Guideway Infrastructure Investment, $50b capital backlog, $2b in funding
  • Capital Investment Grants, $2.4b in already approved projects, $1b in funding

I got a "shovel-ready" project for you ... shoveling out the bullshit from the Bush Administration Department of Transport and replacing the pandering to the oil companies with a concern for America's Economic Future.

BruceMcF :: Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong
The Details, Wherein The Devil Lies

Take the following details, wherein the devil always lies. Under the summary description, "$10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption" ... which is fishy right there, since everybody knows there are more than $10b in deferred maintenance to get passenger and freight rail in this country, and more than $10b in freight bottlenecks, many of which have been "studied" to death (since Yet Another Study is much cheaper than funding capital works) ... and we see the following specifics (emphases added):

Capital Assistance to States-Intercity Passenger Rail Service Recovery Funding: $300 million

The Capital Assistance to States-Intercity Passenger Rail Service program provides grants on a discretionary basis to states to fund necessary capital improvements to improve intercity passenger rail service. Over the last 10 years, ridership on intercity routes that benefit from state support has grown by 73 percent. Grants under this program are awarded to the most meritorious projects as measured against statutory criteria. The FY 2008 grants demonstrated the demand of this program. Applications were greatly oversubscribed even though applications were required within 90 days of the start of this new program. AASHTO has estimated intercity passenger rail corridor investment needs during the 2007-2012 timeframe as totaling $18.502 billion.


No detail on the number of "shovel ready" projects, but AASHTO annual investment needs estimated at roughly $3b annually, allocation of 10% of that.
Amtrak Capital Grants Recovery Funding: $800 million

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) provides intercity passenger rail service over a system of approximately 20,000 miles in 46 states. It also owns and maintains the most intensively used segment of railroad in the U.S., the Washington, D.C. - New York City - Boston, Northeast Corridor (NEC), which is an integral part of the intercity passenger transportation system in the most densely populated section of the U.S. The NEC carries a majority of air/ rail trips between Washington and NYC. The NEC also hosts commuter and freight rail systems serving the major cities of the Northeast. Amtrak has been consistently undercapitalized during its 37 year existence, and its infrastructure is aging. Recent estimates by the Department of Transportation's Inspector General of Amtrak's capital backlog, just on the NEC, exceeded $10 billion. As a result of aging infrastructure both the speed and capacity of NEC rail passenger operations are limited.


A backlog in excess of $10b, funding of under 8% of that.
Transit Capital Assistance Recovery Funding: $6.000 billion

These funds will be used to purchase buses and equipment needed to provide additional public transportation service and to make improvements to intermodal and transit facilities. The Department of Transportation's 2006 Conditions and Performance Report indicated there is an annual investment gap of $3.2 billion to maintain our transit systems and an annual gap of $9.2 billion to begin to improve our transit systems. In addition, a January 2009 survey of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) identified 787 ready-to-go transit projects totaling $15.9 billion. Funds will be distributed through the existing urban and rural transit formulas. $5.4 billion will be distributed to urban communities and $600 million will be distributed to transit agencies that serve rural communities. It is estimated that over 165,000 jobs will be created by this investment.


$15.9b ready to go projects, funding at 38% of that.
Fixed Guideway Infrastructure Investment Recovery Funding: $2.000 billion

These funds will be used for capital projects to modernize or improve existing fixed guideway systems, including purchase and rehabilitation of rolling stock, track, line equipment, structures, signals and communications, power equipment and substations, passenger stations and terminals, security equipment and systems, maintenance facilities and equipment, operational support equipment including computer hardware and software, system extensions, and preventive maintenance. Funds will be distributed through the existing fixed guideway formula. It is estimated that the state-of-good-repair capital backlog for existing fixed guideway systems is nearly $50 billion.


Capital backlog of $50b, funding at 4% of that.
Capital Investment Grants Recovery Funding: $1.000 billion

These funds will be used for light rail lines, rapid rail (heavy rail), commuter rail, automated fixed guideway system, or bus-way/high occupancy vehicle (HOV) facilities. These projects help relieve congestion in major metropolitan areas and reduce the carbon footprint caused by automobile travel. Funds will be distributed on a discretionary basis and will assist the advancement of full funding grant agreement projects that are already in construction as well as final design projects that are nearly ready to begin construction. The Federal Transit Administration has documented more than $2.4 billion in pre-approved funding that could be advanced to 19 projects across the country to construct New Starts and Small Starts projects. It is estimated that this investment will create nearly 35,000 new jobs.


$2.4b in pre-approved projects (but, it would seem, not yet funded), funding at 42% of that ... and that's just what the Bush Dept. of Transport has identified.

"More Asphalt" Sure Is The Change Someone Can Believe In

Now, for comparison, what is the ratio of funding to "shovel ready" projects for highways?

Highway Infrastructure Investment Recovery Funding: $30 billion

The Department of Transportation's 2006 Conditions and Performance Report indicated there is an annual investment gap of $8.5 billion to maintain our current systems and an annual gap of $61.4 billion to improve highway and bridges.

... Twice last year, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) surveyed State transportation departments and reported on the number and dollar value of additional highway projects that each State could undertake quickly if supplemental Federal funds were made available. The results of AASHTO's December 2008 survey showed that all 50 States combined had over 5,100 projects totaling more than $64 billion that could be under contract within 180 days after enactment of Federal economic recovery legislation. These projects would include resurfacing and pavement preservation projects, traffic signal system upgrades, bridge projects, and intelligent transportation systems.


In other words, roughly 42% of the annual funding gap and roughly 50% of identified shovel ready projects.

(Appropriations Committee Report on Recovery Bill (pdf), pp. 69-71)

The Appropriations Committee can natter on all it wants about the glories of roadworks, but this country passed our peak oil production about forty years ago and is now addicted to petroleum imports for more than half of our petroleum needs, while a much larger part of the operating costs of the rail and bus transport system are the wages of the people working on the system. Those non-highway appropriations have a strategic defense imperative, and a long term economic development imperative, in addition to transport benefits that outweigh the benefits of yet another roadwork project, and yet are underfunded compared to highway construction.

We are spending $2.4b on the chimera of "clean coal", just to buy protective cover for the real sustainable energy spending ... and there is just $1.1b on regional rail transport.

Even worse, there is $0.0b on improvements in regional freight rail transport.

And the 100% federal funding allowed under the stimulus plan would allow us to make short term investments with long-term benefits all across the country ... this is not just a matter of the Northeast Corridor and California. For example, there is a massive freight logjam in Chicago. As the Metropolitan Planning Council notes:

A new state capital plan would mean new investments in metropolitan Chicago 's freight rail system. Trains currently crawl through the region at average speeds of 12 mph and frequently block traffic at hundreds of intersections in the south and southwest suburbs alone. Modernizing our freight rail network not only would reduce delays for train commuters, drivers and transporters but also would accommodate commuter rail and spur economic opportunities in adjacent communities. The entire region would benefit from much-needed freight capital expenditures.

Investing in freight rail throughways in Chicago is an investment in the productivity of our national economy. And there are "shovel ready" projects. And Stimulus Funding? $0.0b, because we rely on State Departments of Transport with their heavy highway bias to come up with projects, so urgent national transport priorities are set on the back burner to pander to entrenched constituencies to entrenched state bureaucracies.

What in the Hell Happened to Changed We Can Believe In?

I want to stress that this is not a general whinge about the stimulus. The Energy Infrastructure part of the stimulus is excellent and the sustainable energy production part of the stimulus is OK ... far too much to the chimeras of clean coal and liquid biofuels, but on the balance, from what little I can tell, OK.

But for the Transport part of the stimulus ... WTF?

Well, its no surprise ... this is one last "surprise in the punchbowl" from the Bush Department of Transportation. From the California HSR blog:

Rep. Jim Oberstar, chair of the House Transportation Committee and passionate rail advocate, has been rather outspoken in his anger about the underfunding of transit in the proposal. He explains what may have happened to make the stimulus plan so weak:
Basically CBO got numbers from the Bush administration DOT that said it was not possible to spend money on these projects within 90 days, meaning they're not "shovel ready". Oberstar explains that's BS and it's ridiculous to be taking numbers from the Bush folks at DOT that are getting ready to high-tail it out of town. He's really mad about this and I know he's going to fight to get more spending on infrastructure.

Take this fight to your Congressperson ... phone, mail ... you known the drill. We can't afford let the Bush Department of Transport get away with one last act of sabotage against our nation's Energy Independence and, of course, the global climate as a whole.