Corporatism

Crash You Heard? Temple of Corporatism Falling

Not only has it failed - it has failed miserably. Now, as in 1929, it will take decades of high taxes and hard work just to clean up the mess it has left us with. But something good could also come of it.

On that recent Sunday evening, I read online that Lehman Brothers was going into bankruptcy. I instinctively knew that was it.

I told my sister and my wife that the stock market was going to crash the next day. It did.

Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade, Politics

Top 5 Reasons to Vote Against Wall Street's $700 Billion Bailout

There's news this Sunday afternoon of a congressional deal to bailout Wall Street fat cats with $700 billion of taxpayer cash (you can read the draft legislation here). Though the deal negotiated between congressional leaders and the White House is better than what Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson originally proposed early last week, it remains an insulting atrocity, having omitted even basic aid to homeowners, bankruptcy reforms and any modicum of future financial industry regulation.

Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade, Politics, Bailout

Human Rights Advocates: Oil Companies' "Self-Policing" a Dismal Failure

WASHINGTON - The intersection of human rights, the environment and corporate responsibility was highlighted today at a Capitol Hill hearing featuring activists from Burma and Nigeria who underlined the failure to date of "voluntary" controls over major oil companies operating in their countries.

Posted in Corporatism, Energy, Human Rights, Oil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2008
12:28 PM

CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020;
or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

Corporate Power: Is Regulation Enough?

WASHINGTON - September 23 -

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Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2008
11:57 AM

CONTACT: Campaign for America's Future
Toby Chaudhuri or Rachel Perrone at 202-955-5665

New Ad Questions Financial Bailout Without Conditions

Ad Campaign Asks What Public Gets in Return for $700B Bailout;

Points to Regulation, Oversight, Homeowner Support, CEO Salary Controls

WASHINGTON - September 23 - With people across the country calling for greater oversight of the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial markets, a new ad in The New York Times and on several blogs today asks pointed questions that need to be answered before Congress hands the administration massive amounts of taxpayer money and unlimited power.

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Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade, Politics

EPA Won't Limit Toxic Pollutant In Drinking Water

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country.

EPA reached the conclusion in a draft regulatory document not yet made public but reviewed Monday by The Associated Press.

The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.

Posted in Corporatism, Environment, Water

Mobile Phone Use 'Raises Children's Risk of Brain Cancer Fivefold'

Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates.

The study, experts say, raises fears that today's young people may suffer an "epidemic" of the disease in later life. At least nine out of 10 British 16-year-olds have their own handset, as do more than 40 per cent of primary schoolchildren.

Posted in Corporatism, Environment, healthcare

GOP: Lose Your Home, Lose Your Vote

Senator John McCain was a foot soldier in the deregulation revolution, which triggered the current banking crisis and the wave of foreclosures. In Michigan, his party wants to deny the right to vote to victims of the GOP's misguided economic policies and the sleazy banking practices they encouraged.

Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade, Politics, Voting

The Bailout and CEO Pay: What's 'Excessive'?

Everyone knew this bailout was going to be big. Now the bailout has become even bigger.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is not just talking about bailing out mortgage lenders and traders any more. The federal government, Paulson now envisions, will be buying up all sorts of troubled investments. Even foreign banks will be able to get in on the bailout action.

Meanwhile, a host of power-suited vultures are hovering overhead, anxiously awaiting federal contracts to manage -- for a handsome fee, of course -- all the bad debts the Treasury starts buying.

Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade, Politics

Global Priorities: Feeding Markets, Starving the Hungry

The world's private-sector giants have stepped on a financial minefield. In the past six months, three of America's top five investment banks have disappeared. The remaining two - Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs - are gasping for breath. While Morgan Stanley is considering merger options, the stocks of Goldman have slumped.

Strong tremors were felt all over the world.

Posted in Corporatism, Economy/Trade, Food/Water, Human Rights, Politics, Inequality, Privatization