Bailout

Kucinich Continues Investigation of Bail-Out Bonuses

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:39:49 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2008

Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy is pressing his efforts to head off an avalanche of Wall Street bailout bonuses. Recent reports indicate bonuses and other compensation packages paid by financially troubled firms receiving government assistance could reach into the tens of billions of dollars.

Ordinary Americans Left Out of Bailout

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:44:54 -0400

by Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger

Mark Seifert tours reporters around streets more reminiscent of Baghdad than Cleveland, Ohio. They are deserted. The homes are boarded up, covered in graffiti. Once residential neighbourhoods, they are now hangouts for drug dealers.

At the end stands a nice little ranch with a kept garden. It's the home of an elderly couple who have lived here for decades. Their mortgage is paid off but the value of their home has depreciated by half. They cannot sell. They have nowhere to go.

Thousands To Protest On Wall Street Against Bailout

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:07:30 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2008

Bail Out People Not Banks

For list of local actions around the country, see http://www.stopforeclosuresandevictions.org/oct24-272008orgcents.shtml

On Friday October 24, thousands of people will converge on Wall Street to participate in a "Bailout the People - Not the Bankers" protest rally. The protest, organized by the newly formed Bailout the People Movement will take place between 3:00 and 6:30 pm at Federal Hall, 26 Wall Street, near the New York Stock Exchange.

Now Is the Time

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:52:53 -0400

by Sen. Bernie Sanders

These are frightening and unusual times. The world of finance and the overall economy are both in perilous condition. Almost every day a new crisis erupts. The stock market has plunged dramatically, and is more volatile, than at any time in memory. Loans between banks have dried up. Major financial houses have either failed or merged. Government bailout follows government bailout.

Any Pay Cuts on Wall Street Yet?

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:59:31 -0400

by Dean Baker

Congress assured us that there would be no more big paychecks for incompetent Wall Street bankers when they passed their bailout bill. They told us that the tough pay provisions would put an end to the multi-million dollar payouts to these folks.

Last week, Secretary Paulson mailed $150 billion in checks to the big banks. From that point forward, the CEOs and all the other top executives of these banks are now our dependents. They are living off the tax dollars of school teachers in Iowa, truck drivers in Montana, and even Joe the Plumber.

Chomsky On The Economy

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:31:14 -0400

by Paul Jay

In part two of their interview, Paul Jay asks Prof. Noam Chomsky to weigh-in on the dominant subject of the day, the economic crisis. While Prof. Chomsky agrees that the current crisis is a very serious one that will have broad implications for the broader society, he points out that the foreseeable Medicare-induced economic crisis will "dwarf" the current one in magnitude.

Rewrite Bailout Rules on CEO Pay

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:51:46 -0400

by Sarah Anderson and Sam Pizzigati

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has executed two fairly slick about-faces since Congress passed the $700 billion Wall Street bailout two weeks ago.

The first makes eminent sense. The second should outrage you.

Let's start with Paulson's positive turn. His original bailout plan would have had the Treasury rush to spend billions buying up toxic mortgage-backed securities. His new plan instead will spend the bailout's first $250 billion buying up part-ownership in America's biggest banks.

The Rising Body Count on Main Street

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:23:24 -0400

by Nick Turse

On October 4, 2008, in the Porter Ranch section of Los Angeles, Karthik Rajaram, beset by financial troubles, shot his wife, mother-in-law, and three sons before turning the gun on himself. In one of his two suicide notes, Rajaram wrote that he was "broke," having incurred massive financial losses in the economic meltdown.

Kucinich Questions Wall Street 'Bonuses'

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:53:38 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2008

Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, said today he will direct his staff to immediately begin canvassing Wall Street firms which have been recipients of any portion of the $700 billion in federal bailout monies to determine the extent to which those firms are distributing bonuses to firm members. Kucinich has been one of the leading opponents of the $700 billion bailout passed by Congress last month.

Crisis Inspires Rethinking of 'Reaganomics'

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:20:09 -0400

by Sam Zuckerman

Big government is staging a comeback.

When Ronald Reagan entered the White House in 1981, he famously declared, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Since then, conservative small-government ideas built on a foundation of deregulation and low taxes have dominated the debate over what role Washington should play in the economy.