Lieutenant Governor Highlights Funds Available To Spur Small Business

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Small Business Loans, Bonding Assistance, and Energy Efficiency Financing Can Help Jump-Start Small Businesses

Lieutenant Governor Matthew Denn urged Delaware small businesses today to take advantage of several funding opportunities related to the federal economic stimulus effort. Lieutenant Governor Denn has been asked by the Governor to oversee implementation of the federal stimulus package in Delaware.

The opportunities involve small business loans that can be obtained on favorable terms, assistance with gaining performance bonds that can allow small businesses to bid on construction work, and financing of energy efficiency improvements in businessplaces.

“We believe that small business will be the engine that helps bring our economy back,” Denn said, “and for that reason we have been trying to publicize these opportunities as they have become available. We are redoubling our efforts now, because some of these opportunities may be expanding due to recent interest in Congress in increasing small business loan funds.”

The opportunities are:

· The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has expanded the availability of federally subsidized business “microloans” of up to $35,000. These loan funds are available in Delaware from the First State Community Loan Fund (302-652-6774), and they are available to small businesses that might not otherwise qualify for traditional commercial financing.
· The federal Small Business Administration guarantees small business loans (“7(a) loans”) that small businesses can seek through local private banks, which can be substantiallylarger than the microloans. ARRA made the terms of these loans even more favorable, and although ARRA funds are expiring, the SBA is allowing businesses to be put on a waiting list for lower-cost 7(a) loans that would be made available by proposed new federal funding. Traditional 7(a) small business loans, which also have favorable terms, are available now. The Delaware SBA office can be reached at 302-573-6294.
· The SBA offers a surety bond guarantee program, which helps small businesses to purchase bonds necessary to perform work such as construction projects. The SBA guarantees the surety bonds, which are purchased by small businesses from a number of companies licensed to issue such bonds in Delaware.
· For businesses that install energy efficiency equipment in their businessplace that would previously have qualified for a federal tax credit, those credits have been converted by ARRA into up-front payments from the United States Treasury. This will make it possible for businesses to finance energy efficiency improvements. Details regarding the energy efficiency subsidy can be found at http://treasury.gov/recovery/1603.shtml
· The SBA is also subsidizing Certified Development Company loans, which can be used for the acquisition of real estate and other fixed assets by small businesses. As with the 7(a) loans, the SBA is allowing Certified Development Companies to join a waiting list for new federal funding to obtain favorable terms for these loans.

Some Delaware businesses have already taken advantage of these federal programs. For example, Masley Enterprises—a local company that manufactures fire-resistant gloves—received a Small Business Administration loan this year that enabled it to fill a major order from the United States Military, and to expand its local workforce from four employees to 37 employees.

For more information on loans and help available, please call the Small Business Administration Delaware District Office, at 302-573-6294 and call First State Community Loan Fund at 302-652-6774.

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TARP On Steroids And The Windfall Tax On Bankers Examined

Regardless of a "TARP on Steroids" warning about handing the Federal Reserve unfettered power to prop up Too Big To Fail banks, The Nation's William Greider fears its too late to stop it.

And there's a lot of talk about the UK and France imposing a windfall tax on banker's bonuses, but Market Watch sees all the ways the bankers will be able to wiggle out of paying it ~

the Labour government [is] slapping a ridiculous, political, one-time tax on banker bonuses this week. The tax is expected to hit some 20,000 bankers in the City of London, and will tap 50% of any bonus over 25,000 pounds. Chancellor Alistair Darling estimates it will raise about 550 million pounds ($900 million), which works out to less than 5% of Goldman Sachs' potential bonus pool this year (even after the management committee drops out).

There's no doubt bankers have earned a slap in the face for their appalling behavior since the financial crisis began, and governments such as in Britain and France, as well as the U.S., are right to have expected more from them after the trillions of dollars spent to prop up the industry last year. But a political swipe the likes of which Darling hit them with on Wednesday really won't do anything other than to make London less attractive as a financial center.

Banks can defer bonus compensation to escape the new British regulation, which runs through early April next year, or they might have already paid them out. They can keep bonuses low and then double-up next year, or they can pay in other forms, like stock. The new rules also don't even take into account guaranteed bonuses, which really are the crux of the problem and of public outrage. So how bad will London really suffer? Judging from the gains in British shares the last two days, probably not much.

At one point, a decade ago, when the European Union decided to place the central bank, or ECB, in Frankfurt, there were real concerns it might become a threat to London as a financial center. The German banks had bought a bunch of London's leading investment banks, time-honored names like S.G. Warburg and Kleinwort Benson, and the Deutsche Boerse was eating the London Stock Exchange's lunch in terms of offering futures trading and derivatives activity.

The Internet bubble and the subsequent real estate bubble changed all that, as the American investment banks took over London's financial district and the city thrived until the Northern Rock building society's collapse heralded the start of the financial crisis in late 2007. For all its charm, Frankfurt is still a much smaller version of a financial center than London or New York. London has more than 600,000 jobs in the City, about as much as the entire population of Frankfurt.

But hey, with governments in London and in Washington - and Paris - going after any banker they can these days, there are worse places for a banker to flee too. Now that Dubai's out of the picture, and Hong Kong's too expensive again, maybe Frankfurt's worth a second look. After all, the beer is better, the Christmas markets are wonderful this time of year, and it's closer to the best skiing in Europe. What more could a spoiled banker ask for?

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Nuke Power Lobbyists Want Their Very Own Congressional Slush Fund: The Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA)

The Sun (UK) has some spectacular photos and all the early speculation about the UFO over Norway that turned out to be a failed Russian nuclear missile launch.

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In more depressing news, Mother Jones poses this question ~ Will the cost of passing a climate bill be a massive, taxpayer-funded nuclear bailout?

The nuke power industry is so fraught with risk it can't get private funding ~

In July 2007, six of the nation's largest financial firms—including Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and Goldman Sachs, companies hardly averse to risky investments—informed the DOE in a letter that nuclear projects would not find financing because they were too chancy. Unless, of course, the agency (which had interpreted the new law to mean 80 percent of project debt) would rewrite the rules so that 100 percent of the debt was covered—foisting almost all of the risk on taxpayers.

So, by pretending that nuke power is clean energy, the industry is trying to ride the green energy movement by ~

lobbying for a Senate bill to create a Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) within the Department of Energy (DOE) that would have the authority to award a virtually unlimited number of loan guarantees—without congressional review. "It's a nuclear slush fund," says Michele Boyd, director of Physicians for Social Responsibility's safe energy program, "though the way the bill is written, even many Senate staffers don't know it."

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Washington Post Interviews Jack Markell About New DEM Governor Association Chairmanship: Did Anyone Else Even Want The Job This Year?

Via twitter ~

BSelander
Wash Post: The Rising - Jack Markell, risk-taker

Interestingly, Jack tells Chris Cillizza that it's his staff who are encouraged to take the risks...as long as they are successful.

hmmmm...

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MoveOn.Org Asks For Your Calls To Kaufman And Carper Today: No HCR Compromise Without Competition

From the inbox ~

How could they?
Senate Democrats have just announced a tentative health care deal that doesn't appear to include a real public health insurance option.1 Instead of pulling out all the stops, they've bargained away the heart of health care reform—allowing conservative senators like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson to hold the process hostage and protect Big Insurance.

And sure enough, the insurance companies are reportedly thrilled with these terms. "We WIN," one industry insider said during the negotiations. "No government insurance competitor."2

If the health care bill doesn't include a public option, it'll be a huge giveaway to the insurance companies. But the deal isn't final yet, so we need to send an immediate message to Congress and President Obama that any health care bill without a real public health insurance option is simply unacceptable.

So we've set a goal of making 21 calls to Senators Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman's offices from people in Newark. Can you call and tell them that reform must include a public option, and urge them not to give in to conservatives and Big Insurance?
Here's where to call:
Senator Tom Carper - Phone: 202-224-2441

Senator Ted Kaufman - Phone: 202-224-5042
Then, please report your call by clicking HERE

Details are still emerging about this new deal. According to The Washington Post, "the government plan preferred by liberals would be replaced with a program that would create several national insurance policies administered by private companies."3 But half-measures simply won't cut it: we desperately need a real public option in order to hold private insurance companies accountable. That's far more important than appeasing Joe Lieberman and his friends in the insurance industry.

And this fight isn't over yet, no matter how many times the media tries to declare the death of the public option. It'd only take one or two senators to unravel this deal, and progressive senators Russ Feingold and Bernie Sanders both indicated last night that their support can't be taken for granted.4

So to win, we've got to send a powerful message to congressional Democrats and President Obama that we won't accept this deal. Instead of giving up on the public option, they ought to show real leadership and ratchet up the pressure on Lieberman and any Democratic senators who are threatening to filibuster.

Sources:
1. "Senate may drop public option," The Washington Post, December 9, 2009; "Democrats Agree to Tentatively Trade Opt-Out for Trigger, Medicare Buy In, and More," Talking Points Memo, December 8, 2009
2. "Insurance industry insider: 'We win'," Politico, December 7, 2009
3. "Senate may drop public option," The Washington Post, December 9, 2009
4. "Feingold Statement on Negotiations On The Public Option," Office of Senator Russ Feingold, December 8, 2009; 'The Ed Show' for Tuesday, December 8, 2009, MSNBC, December 8, 2009

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ACORN: So Much More Than A Cookie

Lauren Monica wrote ~

The Right's obsession with Acorn is getting ridiculous day by day. On Monday, the White House was hosting a Christmas Ball for members of congress. The Scandal broke when the White House decided to serve Acorn Cookies to their guests. Acorn ? Representant Steve King(R-Iowa), one of the fiercest crusaders against the ACORN was upset that the White House even thought of serving Acorn Cookies.

Apparently bothered by the cookies, Rep. Steve King tweeted : At the WH Christmas Ball Monday night, they served ACORN cookies And linked this picture of the said cookie

Delaware ACORN, as John Kowalko recently noted, was an integral part of our state's nation-leading statewide foreclosure mediation modification program (the failure of which could be laid at the feet of a Congressional vote which stripped ACORN's funds out from under the Delaware programs' outreach workers). [or more accurately, our foreclosure modification program is failing because it contains no provisions for door-to-door outreach]

Media Matters and others have covered the independent investigation that has cleared ACORN. The Daily Kos had a diary up about it and Talking Points Memo's Peter Dreier ripped out a roaring post over it too ~

...ACORN has found itself embroiled in controversy after some of its employees in different offices were recorded (with hidden video cameras) talking to a couple posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend.

Since last year, ACORN has been under attack by conservative media outlets like Fox News, Republican Party operatives, and business groups. First they accused ACORN of engaging in widespread "voter fraud," a bogus accusation which nevertheless got repeated so often -- by the mainstream media as well as ACORN's enemies -- that many Americans believe it is true. In recent months, ACORN has been under scrutiny for the actions of several staffpersons who listened -- and in some cases provided advise -- to the couple seeking to "sting" and embarrass ACORN.

The accusations put ACORN in a situation similar to a man who is asked, "when did
you stop beating your wife?" Even though the accusations weren't true, ACORN was
put on the defensive, and lacked the resources to respond effectively to the onslaught of negative publicity. The controversy caught ACORN off-guard, trapped in a web of false accusations that has led some philanthropic foundations to cut off ACORN's funding. Congress, too, voted to cut off federal funding for ACORN, which had used federal funds to counsel families facing foreclosure and seeking to purchase homes.

In October, ACORN asked Scott Harshbarger -- former Massachusetts Attorney General and former president of Common Cause - to review ACORN's situation and make recommendations. In his 47-page report, Harshbarger said: "While some of the advice and counsel given by ACORN employees and volunteers was clearly inappropriate and unprofessional, we did not find a pattern of intentional, illegal conduct by ACORN staff; in fact, there is no evidence that action, illegal or otherwise, was taken by any ACORN employee on behalf of the videographers."

Harshbarger's report concluded that ACORN grew too quickly and did not create a management structure necessary to oversee its large operation, which involved both community organizing and the provision of free homeownership and tax counseling for low-income residents, with chapters in over 70 cities. Harshbargersaid the ACORN's decentralized structure and lack of centralized training and oversight of local offices, left it "vulnerable to public embarrassment."

Harshbarger noted that the videos, made by two conservative videographers under the guidance of right-wing activist Andrew Breitbart, were doctored and distorted, making it difficult to determine what actually occurred. The videographers refused to provide Harshbarger with the original videos or to talk with him for his report.

...After Harshbarger released his report, various progressive groups -- including SEIU, People for the American Way , the Alliance of Justice, the Campaign for America's Future, NAACP, U.S. Action, and others -- expressed support for ACORN and for the recommendations in the Harshbarger report.

ACORN is hoping that Harshbarger's report will help it regain the support of its philanthropic funders and its allies in Congress. People concerned about poverty and inequality in the United States can ill afford to lose ACORN. Its organizing --door-knocking in poor neighborhoods to identify problems and mobilize residents - not only helps the poor but is also one of the best training grounds for new young organizers. Most of its budget goes into (relatively low) salaries for organizers, researchers, and counselors.

By any measure, ACORN has been remarkably successful as a voice for low-income Americans on a wide range of issues. This is no time for ACORN's philanthropic and political allies to abandon the organization. Particularly during a deep recession --when poor Americans desperately need a voice in the corridors of power -- we need ACORN now more than ever.

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Delaware DEM Doesn't Speak For All The Delaware Liberals; Somebody Tell That To FireDogLake

On a State Blog HCR Roundup, FDL catches DE DEM's I'll Take It (Senate compromise) Attitude ~ comment rescue ~

Delaware Liberal can kiss my ass. He sounds like he just fell outta the Huffington comments section – always wrong, about damn near everything. He sounds like such a spineless putz. In other words, he’s a true Obama ‘man’.
Remind me to stay away from Delaware, it might be catchy?

tee hee, I love it when actual progressives get a load of how Delaware DEM rolls.

Reading Howard Dean, you can see that while he is excited about the prospect of a Medicare expansion, he is reserving judgement. I personally like this kind of attitude ~

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Kaufman Joins With Freshman Senators On Health Care Cost Containment, Regulatory, Fraud And Delivery Reform Amendments

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Kaufman Joins Fellow Freshmen Democratic Senators to Announce Health Amendments; Package includes Kaufman provision on health care fraud

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) joined ten of his fellow freshmen Senators today to introduce a package of amendments that will broaden and accelerate efforts to encourage innovation and lower costs for consumers across the U.S. health care system. The package includes a Kaufman provision to increase penalties for health care fraud and enhance enforcement against its perpetrators.

Since Labor Day, these freshmen Democrats have gathered six times to deliver back-to-back Senate floor speeches on the need for common-sense health reform. The eleven Democratic freshmen are Sens. Kaufman, Mark Begich (AK), Michael Bennet (CO), Roland Burris (IL), Kay Hagan (NC), Paul Kirk (MA), Jeff Merkley (OR), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Mark Udall (NM), Tom Udall (CO) and Mark Warner (VA).

“So much of what is broken in our present health care system revolves around basic inefficiencies that drive up costs, while simultaneously driving down quality,” said Kaufman in a speech on the Senate floor. “Even worse – inefficiencies in the system often give way to the waste, fraud and abuse that drains somewhere between $72 and $220 billion annually from doctors, patients, private insurers and the state and federal government – significantly increasing health care costs for Americans.”
Below is a summary of the specific amendments:

Working More Closely with the Private Sector on Cost Containment These amendments transform payment systems and improving quality to require the public and private sectors to move forward together on the shared goals of cost containment, improved quality, and delivery system reform

CMS Innovation Center: We give the new Innovation Center explicit authority to work with private plans to align Medicare, Medicaid and private sector strategies for improving care.

Independent Medicare Advisory Board: We broaden the scope of the new Independent Medicare Advisory Board to look at total health system spending and make nonbinding, system-wide recommendations.

Quality and Value in Private Insurance: We require the Secretary to consult with relevant stakeholders to develop a methodology for measuring health plan value, which would include the cost, quality of care, efficiency, actuarial value of plans. Developing the tools to assess health plan value will help consumers and employers make better apples-to-apples comparisons when they shop for health insurance and get the best value for their health care dollar.

Stepping-up the Commitment to Reduce Regulatory Barriers and Fight Fraud These amendments require the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to aggressively pursue streamlined regulations and anti-fraud initiatives to ensure that all sectors of the health care system work together to improve value.

Administrative Simplification: We require HHS to develop standards that will allow efficient electronic exchange and streamlining of information among patients, providers and insurers.

Health Care Fraud Enforcement: We direct HHS to better utilize technology to prevent health care fraud. We direct the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase penalties and enhance enforcement of health care fraud.

Eliminating Legal Barriers to Care Improvement: In tandem with this package, the freshman Senators will be requesting that the U.S. Government Accountability Office study current laws and regulations to identify barriers to implementing innovative delivery system reforms. We also will request that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission work together to provide clearer guidance to providers who wish to enter into innovative collaborativearrangements that promote patient-centered, high quality care.

Aggressively Moving Toward Delivery System Reform These amendments allow HHS to experiment with promising new models to further lower costs, increase quality and improve patient health.

Value-Based Purchasing: We require Medicare to implement pay-for-performance for more providers sooner, adding hospices, ambulatory surgical centers, psychiatric hospitals and others.

Broader Payment Innovation: We allow a broader, more flexible transition to new payment models for Accountable Care Organizations (ACO).

Medicare System Upgrades: We require HHS to modernize data systems so that valuable Medicare data can be shared in a reliable, complete, and timely manner.

Good Quality Everywhere: We promote greater access to tele-health services, strengthen the provider workforce and the availability of high-quality hospital services to bolster health care access for Americans in underserved and rural regions.

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Frieda Berryhill Writes: Better Late Then Never

IN the late 1970’s I intervened in DP&L’s proposal to build a nuclear power plant in Delaware . I filed for intervention in the TMI restart. I travel from Massachusetts to South Carolina to participate in events. I testified before DOE, NRC and various States PSC proceedings. It is impossible to calculate the cost in time and money I devoted in almost 40 years to defeat this deadly and costly way of producing electricity.
So please allow me a bit of “gloating” as I ask you to PLEASE read today’s NY Times, by reminding you that I said the same things 30 years ago !!
Thank you very much for your continued support !!!!

The New York Times ~

“the cleanliness of nuclear power is nonsense. Not only does it contaminate the planet with long-lived radioactive waste, it significantly contributes to global warming.

While it is claimed that there is little or no fossil fuel used in producing nuclear power, the reality is that enormous quantities of fossil fuel are used to mine, mill and enrich the uranium needed to fuel a nuclear power plant, as well as to construct the enormous concrete reactor itself..

Indeed, a nuclear power plant must operate for 18 years before producing one net calorie of energy. (During the 1970s the United States deployed seven 1,000-megawatt coal-fired plants to enrich its uranium, and it is still using coal to enrich much of the world uranium.)….

From a medical perspective, nuclear waste threatens global health. The toxicity of many elements in this radioactive mess is long-lived……

And so it goes !!!

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Joan Deaver Writes: Update Of What We Think Is Needed In Sussex County

Dear Friends,
After being on Sussex County Council for a year I see the following issues that need attention. This is a work in progress and I am asking for input from the citizens of this county. I am sure there are more.
GOALS FOR SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL as RELATED to me by my CONSTITUENTS.

• • Adopt practical & fair regs for homeowners living on leased land;
  • The County manage its own stormwater. We have had homes flooded and for years the state conservation district does not seem to be able to do the job. Find ways to bring the people into the land use process at every level.
  • Adopt ordinances required under our land use plan (1 year overdue); From a constituent: “I would like to see a real master plan for zoning that is adopted with hearings and is followed. I would like that master plan to show DelDOT proposals for roads. I think people moving in here have a right to know what to expect in the future.“
  • New development must have adequate infrastructure to support it;
  • Have a planning department with certified land use planners in it;
  • Have evening council hearings so that more people may attend them;
  • Adopt a law for widespread notice of potential land use changes.
  Surrounding property owners must be notified by first class mail 30 days
  prior to the scheduled hearing. This is especially for nonresident
  property owners who have no opportunity to read the ad placed in local papers who by the absence can't read the posting on the property in question.
  • Post detailed agenda items such as addresses & brief description of projects, in advance of hearings;
  • Have a list on the County website of all applications for all land use changes when submitted, with a status on all until completion;
  • Require that plans be complete ten days before all hearings so that the people know what is being considered at the public hearing. No last minute changes.
  • Council hears applications for land use changes only AFTER P & Z Commission votes if not, then why have a P& Z Commission? (The P & Z commissioners are not professional planners.)
  • Have a time limit at public hearings for presentations by applicants’ attorneys, and/or reps so that the people don’t have to wait an undetermined amount of time to be heard.
  • Create a County Board of Ethics w/rules for recusing, requirements to report gifts & other favors from applicants & require candidates and officials
  to complete an ethics questionnaire about any possible connections that may create a conflict of interest.
  • Require that trees that are removed for development are replaced, or funded for replacement on a 2 for 1 basis.
  • Let DNREC regulate buffers around waterways—stop the lawsuit;
  • Update drinking water ordinance to state standards;
  • New minor subdivisions on roads would have an expiration date. From another constituent: "...stop approving projects that violate the law of the State of Delaware and build on Unmarked Human Remains and archaeological sites"
  · Require a County permit before demolishing a structure. None is required at this time.

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Senator Kaufman Surprises With Conservative Vote To Suppress Gender Equality In Health Care Insurance Coverage

Well, color me astonished: Ted Kaufman did not side with gender equality in health care yesterday. What other nasty surprises might be in store from the Junior Senator from Delaware?
The NYT reports on the defeat of Ben Nelson's amendment ~

...This is the first thing we’ve won in years,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California. “A majority saw it was not right to say that a woman could not pay for abortion or abortion coverage herself if her insurance company received any federal dollars.”

The health care bill would provide federal subsidies to help low- and moderate-income people buy insurance. The anti-abortion proposal, offered as an amendment by Senators Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, and Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, would have barred any health plan bought even partly with federal subsidies from covering the procedure.

...Besides Mr. Nelson, the Democrats who voted for the ban on abortion coverage were Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Kent Conrad and Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota, Ted Kaufman of Delaware and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

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Maryland-Delaware Agreement Part Of Mid-Atlantic Pact To Lead Nation In Generating Off-Shore Wind Power

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Markell Praises Maryland’s Agreement to Purchase Energy from Delaware Wind Farm
Announcement strengthens growing regional efforts to create jobs, promote energy independence

DOVER –Maryland’s agreement to purchase power from the planned wind farm off the coast of Rehoboth Beach is the latest step in the region’s efforts to make off-shore wind power a reality, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said today. Maryland joins Delmarva Power in having an agreement to purchase power from the wind farm, which is expected to be the first off-shore wind farm in the United States.

“Off-shore wind could mean a significant number of new jobs and move us closer to energy independence. But it's going to take both willing purchasers and regional partnerships for this industry to develop and for us to realize significant economic benefits. This decision gives us more of both," said Markell.

Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of moves Delaware, Maryland and Virginia have made to promote off-shore wind power and harness the potential job-creation and environmental benefits that making the region a wind-power hub can bring.

Last month, Markell, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) creating a formal partnership that will build on the region’s significant offshore wind resources to generate clean, renewable energy and a sustainable market that will bring new economic opportunities. Through the MOU, the Mid-Atlantic States will focus on leveraging resources and information to bring offshore wind energy to the region, which in turn, can create jobs for Delaware workers and clean energy alternatives for our families and businesses.

Immediate tasks under the MOU are to identify common transmission strategies for offshore wind energy deployment in the region, discuss ways to encourage sustainable market demand for this renewable resource and work collaboratively in pursuing federal energy policies which help advance offshore wind in the Mid-Atlantic area.

The region’s Governors also have worked jointly to recommend that planning and analysis begin for transmission of offshore wind, submitting a formal request for planning to begin, to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“We are working very hard to position our region to be the leader in generating off-shore wind power and creating the jobs that can come from this new industry,” Markell said. “I want to thank Govs. O’Malley and Kaine for their cooperation.”

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Just Call Him Capitulation Carper? CREDO Has Strong Words For The DEM Caucus On Health Care Reform "Compromise"

CREDO sent a petition along too ~

At what point does compromise turn into capitulation? Any deal you cut with your anti-reform members to undermine a true public option is not a compromise, it's a capitulation

Tell the Democratic caucus in the Senate that any public option that is not available nationwide on day one and is not run by a government entity accountable to Congress and the voters is not a true public option. Click here to automatically add your name to our petition.

The American public strongly supports the idea of creating a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private insurance companies. So instead of admitting that some in the nominally left-of-center Democratic caucus have more fidelity to the economic interests of the insurance companies than the will of the American people, they are instead trying to come up with something that they can call a "public option" that might fool people into thinking something meaningful was achieved.

It's time to call out this farce for what it is, and it's time for progressive Senators to take a stand.

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Petition Against Senator Joe Lieberman's Stand Against Any Form Of Public Option - Don't Let Lieberman Hold Us Hostage!

From the inbox ~

Senate Democrats have come up with this idea:
Allowing insurance companies to operate nationally instead of at the state level.

Here's what an insurance industry insider said about this so-called compromise yesterday: "We WIN. Administered by private insurance companies. No government funding. No government insurance competitor."1

This proposal is not acceptable. It wouldn't control costs and it wouldn't increase competition in the health insurance industry.2

Health Insurance reform must not be held hostage by Lieberman. We must stand up together and stop him right now. By the end of today, it might be too late. We must say with one voice: SAY NO TO JOE!

We've put together a petition that we're going to deliver to the Senators negotiating as we speak. Click here to have your name automatically added to the petition telling them to say no to this deal.

As Senator Brown said, "A large number of people in this country including many, many doctors wanted Medicare for all. That didn't happen. Then we wanted a strong public option tied to Medicare rates. Then we wanted a public option building the Medicare network. That didn't happen. Now we are saying public option coming out of the HELP Committee. And now we're saying public option with the state opt-out. Where was the compromise coming from their side?"3

To your health,
Levana Layendecker, Health Care for America Now

1. Insurance industry insider: 'We win' - Politico
2. The latest public option "compromise" - won't work, not a compromise - HCAN
3. Liberals Urge Reid to Keep Public Option - New York Times

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Ruh Roh, Alan Grayson Finds Possible IRS Fraud In AIG Bailout: Somebody Tell Ted Kaufman!!

From Zero Hedge ~ Grayson Rips Bernanke Over Latest AIG Bailout, Insinuates Attempted IRS Fraud In Grossly Illegal Deal (via DylanRatigan's twitter)

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More great stuff from Zero Hedge today ~ Senate Panel Wants To Decide Bernanke's Fate On December 17, As Volcker Blasts Fin Innovation, Demands Return To Glass Steagal

8

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Interior Department Settles Royalties Dispute With Native Americans

A victory for Indian country ~

Under the agreement announced Tuesday, the Interior Department will distribute $1.4 billion to more than 300,000 tribe members to compensate them for historical accounting claims, and to resolve future claims. The department also will spend $2 billion to buy back and consolidate tribal land lost by previous generations. The program will allow individual tribe members to obtain cash payments for divided land interests and free up the land for the benefit of tribal communities. The settlement
resolves a 13-year-old dispute in which Indian tribes claim they were swindled out of billions of dollars in oil, gas, grazing, timber and other royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called the settlement a historic, positive development for Indian country and a major step to reconcile decades of acrimony between Indian tribes and the federal government.

(photo by navajo)

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Will Health Care Reform "Ping-Poing" Right Past The Conference Process? What Do We Stand To Lose If It Does? Petition Reid For Reconciliation

From DKos ~

There's talk of cutting out the entire conference process in order for the Senate to finish their bill by Christmas. This is highly likely given the tight timeframe, and the need to get this "health insurance reform" bill done before the 2010 midterm elections. This is known as "ping-ponging" process

If that doesn't sound so great to you, you're not the only one ~

If the Senate and the WH do want to cut out the entire conference process, what they'll be doing is depriving one body such as the House of directly influencing the process and ensuring a better legislative outcome. That would be running straight over the progressives and moderate Democrats in the House who prefer their bill over the Senate bill. And it'd be the wrong thing for the Senate leadership and the White House to do. Also, how about instead of allowing conservadems to hijack the entire process and water down bills, which they'd likely do on other legislative issues, that they entertain the idea of reconciliation and actually use it to preserve the public option?

Click To Sign This FDL Petition And Tell Senator Reid To Go The Reconciliation Route!

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Senator Kaufman Shares SEC Response; Chairs Hearing Tomorrow On Role Of Financial Fraud In Economic Meltdown At 2PM - Look For Him On C-SPAN!

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Schapiro Says SEC Likely to Seek Public Comment on High Frequency Trading In Letter to Sen. Kaufman; SEC Chairman Says Commission Wants Input on Possible Special Trading Advantages, Including Co-location

WASHINGTON, D. C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission expects to seek public comment in January on a host of issues connected to so-called 'dark liquidity' — orders executed away from public view — as well as high frequency trading strategies which might provide unfair pricing advantages.

In a Dec. 3 letter to Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE), SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro also said she expects the Commission to consider two proposed rulemakings next month: implementing a 'large trader' reporting authority and addressing the risk of sponsored access.

Schapiro's comments were in response to a Nov. 20 letter sent to her by Kaufman, who since he took office in January, 2009, has become one of the Senate's most forceful advocates for strengthening the SEC's regulatory authority.

“Next month we hope to seek public comment, through a concept release or similar document, on a range of issues relating to dark liquidity in all of its forms, as well as the impact of high frequency trading in our markets,” Schapiro wrote to Kaufman, the second letter the SEC chairman has written to Kaufman about market structure issues this year.

“Among other things, we are likely to seek input on the various strategies used by high frequency traders and any special trading advantages they may enjoy, including through co-location arrangements”, Shapiro said.

In his Nov. 20 letter, Kaufman urged Schapiro to take immediate steps to combat manipulative high frequency trading algorithms and the systemic risk associated with so-called sponsored access. “In short,” Kaufman wrote, “we simply cannot permit high frequency practices to continue unchecked without the ability of regulators to observe and stop manipulation or to avert systemic risks.”

A .pdf of Kaufman's Nov. 20 letter and Schapiro's Dec. 3 response are linked and can also be found on Kaufman's website.
Tomorrow: 2:00 pm.

Kaufman to Chair Hearing on Role of Financial Fraud in Economic Meltdown

SEC Enforcement Chief Robert Khuzami, DOJ Criminal Head Lanny Breuer, FBI Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division, Kevin Perkins, to testify

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) will chair a Judiciary Committee oversight hearing. The hearing — “Mortgage Fraud, Securities Fraud, and the Financial Meltdown: Prosecuting Those Responsible” — will examine the role criminal financial fraud played in our current economic crisis as well as efforts taken by law enforcement to bring its perpetrators to justice.

Since President Obama signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act into law in May — which Kaufman co-sponsored with Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — there has been a steady stream of lower level prosecutions. Given the magnitude of the crisis and its cost to taxpayers, however, Kaufman plans to ask Khuzami, Breuer and Perkins about the strategy underlying investigative priorities all along the chain.

“These low-level prosecutions are important," said Kaufman, "but if you take an objective look at the crisis, it’s difficult to believe that no criminal activity took place at the highest levels. We need to identify those individuals who fostered an environment under which rampant fraud could flourish, and prosecute the individuals who engaged in it.”

“And while I realize intent to defraud can be tough to prove,” Kaufman added, “I also know that you can’t find high level fraudsters if you don’t look in the right places. I'm calling this hearing to make sure the FBI, DOJ and SEC are looking, and doing so in a smart and effective way.” Kaufman, who took office in January, 2009, has spent the past year pushing for capital market reforms aimed at avoiding another U.S. financial debacle.

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Dick "Banks Own The Place" Durbin Reveals Proof Of GOP's Cram Down-Killing Deal With The Banks In A Trade-Off To Kill Regulatory Reform Of Wall Street

Refresh your memory about the one chance we had this spring to get some mortgage-holder's relief for the Main Streets and Side Streets of America --Dick Durbin's Cramdown legislation. (Back in May, Politico wrote about the sniping between Durbin and "one of the measure’s most outspoken opponents": Tom Carper with Carper's "public criticism of [Dubins] tactics" on the Senate floor)
Victoria McGrane and Glenn Thrush wrote ~

Under the cramdown provision Durbin championed, bankruptcy judges would have been given the power to alter the terms of primary residential mortgages to ease the financial burden on strapped homeowners. Durbin has pushed for the measure since the mortgage crisis intensified two years ago; he had hoped to tap public anger at banks and Obama’s support of cramdown to finally push it through. And as he embarked on negotiations with banks and credit unions, Durbin hoped to peel off a handful of Republicans to reach the 60-vote threshold to close debate. But negotiations eventually stalled, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) advised his conference to boycott the talks.

While Carper took to the Senate floor to "school" Durbin, the financial industry lobbyists took their pot shots behind-the-scenes ~

After the vote, bank negotiators began taking shots at Durbin, too, claiming he had focused too much on big banks at the expense of a charm offensive to win over his Senate colleagues. One industry source close to the negotiations described Durbin’s approach as “unorthodox” and “frustrating,” while another industry executive claimed Durbin “was his own worst enemy.”

[Dubin's spokesman, Joe] Shoemaker said that if his boss made a mistake, it was in assuming that the big banks were “negotiating in good faith” — and trusting Republican senators to vote their conscience.

And now, just as the Senate finally takes up regulatory reform, Durbin whips out his "smoking gun" email and the Huffington Post takes up the story ~

In a little-noticed but potentially explosive remark last Friday, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) accused Republican leadership of signing a political pact with the banking industry: in exchange for help defeating a measure that would make it easier for homeowners to restructure failing mortgages, GOP leadership in the Senate would help banks defeat any additional efforts at regulatory reform.

The allegation of a quid pro quo was based on an email that Durbin received last spring after his amendment to allow judges to modify mortgages for homeowners who enter bankruptcy was defeated on the Senate floor. During a discussion to promote publicly-financed elections on Friday, the Illinois Democrat relayed that, shortly after the defeat of his "cram-down" amendment, a "banker friend"forwarded him the note

...The implication seems fairly clear: banks were being warned that if they negotiated with Durbin on cram-down, they were risking GOP support on regulatory reform. That the banking industry would take such a stance isn't entirely surprising, when one considers the narrow financial interests that influence the industry. But the willingness of the GOP leadership to, apparently, use regulatory reform as a cudgel to pressure banks is illuminating of the horse-trading process that occurs behind the legislative curtains.

At the very least, it shows just how stacked the deck is against passing consumer-oriented reforms. In the end, cram-down was defeated not once but twice on the Senate floor. Durbin said on Friday that, back then "I talked about the fact that when it comes to the banking lobby, they own the place. It might have been an overstatement. But not by much.

...The email, he added, "is a total smoking gun as far as I'm concerned. It tells the whole story and it is in writing as to what is happening behind the scenes... So when people say I don't know if we should have public financing because that is my tax dollars, I can tell them that their resources, whether tax dollars or personal wealth, are being impacted every day by decisions being made by the special interest groups."

Disgusting! The GOP was hellbent to keep homeowners from saving their houses lest the Democrats get credit for it and now they'll stand against reform of Wall Street trading practices in a devil's bargain? And why the hell was frickin' Tom Carper siding against Main Street and the DEMs?

At least there's some good news on the regulatory front from TARP Overseer, Elizabeth Warren. And actual mortgage relief is again being championed by FDIC's Chair, Sheila Bair. (via the Progress Report)

On the failed mortgage relief program "adjustment" being floated by Tim Geithner this week, Atrios wrote ~

Really Awful Policy
So the Treasury is going to try to encourage the streamlining of short sales as an alternative to foreclosures. Of course what they could also do is streamline an equivalent mortgage principal modification which might let people stay in homes, but that would make too much sense.

Barack Obama we are looking at you to make sure the right things get done, pal.

~*~

SEIU: Join In Asking Goldman Sachs To Open Their Books

From the inbox ~

Everyone Googles their name. It's good to know what the most popular website in the world thinks of you. I know exactly what comes up when I type my name in - my Facebook page, my Twitter feed, and some random pages about the other John VanDeventers of the world.

Starting today, here's what Lloyd Blankfein sees when he Googles his name:

We're trying to get Mr. Blankfein's attention because he's chairing a very important gathering - the Goldman Sachs Board of Directors meeting - and we want to put something on the agenda.We already know that Goldman Sachs is still engaging in many of the same behaviors that crashed our economy. But here's what we don't know - and what Goldman isn't telling: how deep does it go? Help us find out

We know Goldman Sachs profits when companies they own or invest in close factories and lay off workers like they did when the Stella D'Oro factory closed in the Bronx; but we don't know how many other Stella D'Oros there are out there. We know Goldman owns a mortgage company that has one of the worst records in the country when it comes to helping families facing foreclosure; but we don't know just how many families are at risk of losing their home to the Goldman-owned firm.

And we know Goldman Sachs has driven state and local governments deep into debt by making risky deals that ended up costing taxpayers millions; but we don't know exactly how many of those government contracts Goldman still holds. So, our request for Lloyd Blankfein and the Goldman Sachs Board of Directors is simple: tell us more. Open your books and show us all the ways you're holding back economic growth. Click here to email Lloyd Blankfein and the Goldman Board of Directors:
http://action.seiu.org/tellusmore

We gave Goldman Sachs $63.6 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts. That's 63.6 billion reasons for them to use their board meeting to answer our straightforward questions about how our money is being spent.

Thanks,John VanDeventer, SEIU.org/bigbanks

~*~

John Lennon Died 29 Years Ago Today...

A remembrance

by Trademark Dave

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Barney Frank Endorses Joe Sestak For The Senate

Kos has the scoop ~

File This Under 'Say It Ain''t So': WaPo Profiles Kashkari For 'Faces Of The Recession' Series

Jason Linkins writes ~ Washington Post Profiles Neel Kashkari As Recession-Era Victim

Washington Post has been running "an occasional series of stories about how Americans are coping with the ongoing recession and its deepening fallout." ...This weekend's Face Of The Recession is Goldman Sachs's own Kashkari

...the Post tracked him down to Nevada County, California, where he built a shed in the middle of the woods in which to encase all of his remarkable pathos.

"I had to do something with my hands. It's a big amorphous unknown -- what's going to happen to our economy. And the shed is solid, measurable. I can see it, I can touch it. It's going to be around for the next 30 years. It's the opposite of amorphous."

...He opens his hands into the darkness: "This makes $700 billion seem small."

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHH!!!!!

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Consumer Protection Act - Support HR 4173

From the inbox ~ right now, we need the message on the ground to hammer on three things to Members of Congress (Delaware's Mike Castle)

1. Do you support H.R. 4173 – Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act?

2. To strengthen H.R. 4173, do you support the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) and will you maintain the states’ ability to act? Do you agree that the federal rules and laws must be a floor, not a ceiling?

3. Real financial reform is crucial to getting the economy back on track and people back to work. That means reform that will police Wall Street from making our economy into a casino, defend consumers from abusive practices, and make sure financial industry serves the real economy, rather than being its master.

The well-financed and powerful Wall Street lobbyists are, as predicted, causing havoc on the direction of H.R. 4173 – Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – to the extent that until amendments, good and bad, are offered, we can no longer simply state to ‘support H.R. 4173 and make it stronger.’ As noted, the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, whether it will set the floor and not the ceiling (preemption) on the states’ right to act, and the regulation of derivatives are in jeopardy.

1. In response to the economic crisis, Congress is considering financial reform that should police Wall Street, defend consumers from abusive practices, and make sure banking and finance no longer treat the economy like a casino. Lobbyists representing the biggest banks and Wall Street titans who brought our economy to the brink are working to undermine tough and fair reform that would address their irresponsible behavior.

2. The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act must include a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency, set a floor and not a ceiling on states’ right to act, and the regulation of derivatives.

Darlene Battle
DSEJ Director
Office302-656-3699
Cell 302-588-1782
dsej@ymail.com
de.head.org@acornmail.net

~*~

Frieda Berryhill Writes: Here Comes The Sun

American entrepreneurial spirit!!!
NOT NEEDED: $Billions in subsidies, no Emergency evacuation plan, no waste product dangerous for thousands of years, no health effects from emissions, not useful for warfare (proliferation welcomed)………

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."(Galileo Galilei)

Largest Solar Power Plant In the United States Planned for Florida
The beauty of "largest" records is that they just keep on growing. Florida Power & Light Company announces the selection of SunPower to build the largest solar photovoltaic power plant in the United States ,
Google builds largest solar installation in U.S. — oh, and bigger than Microsoft’s
Search giant Google will begin constructing the nation’s largest solar electricity system on its Mountain View campus, the company said today….
Solar Installations up 33% in US in 2006, 41% in World, Solar Capacity only Utilized 62%
Solar array at Nellis Air Force Base. These panels track the sun in one axis. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Larry E. Reid Jr.
Nellis Solar Power Plant, the second largest photovoltaic power plant in North America
Avon Old Farms School Unveils the Largest Solar Installation at a Private School in New England
Tucson Region - Green energy to power 900 d-m households - Solar community to be one of largest in US
MGM Tower to Receive Third Largest Solar Installation in Los Angeles
The MGM Tower is also LEED Silver certified as of July 2008
900 Acres of Canadian Solar
A California company is preparing to install a massive solar installation near Sarnia , Ontario (across the river from Port Huron , Michigan ) that will be the largest

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SunEdison + Duke = Largest Solar PV Farm in U.S.
A deal between solar producer SunEdison and power company Duke Energy could produce the largest solar photovoltaic farm in the United States . Built and operated by SunEdison, the farm will be located in Davidson County , N.C. ,
GM Adding World's Largest Rooftop Solar Power Installation to Zaragoza Plant

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Atlantic City center begins installation of largest solar roof system in U.S. - The first section of solar panels has been installed atop the Atlantic City Convention Center. The power system is to be the largest single-roof photovoltaic system in the U.S.
Largest Solar Installation at a Transit Facility. (Chevron Energy Solutions)
“ Los Angeles is now one step closer to becoming the solar capital of the United States ,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa.
CUA Announces Installation of Largest Solar-Energy System in D.C. Area Harry Warren, left, president of WGES, Father David O’Connell and Scott Wiater, president of Standard Solar, soak up the sunshine on the roof of Flather Hall.
Catholic University announced in a rooftop ceremony today that it is creating the largest solar-energy system in the Washington , D.C. , metropolitan area with the installation of more than 1,000 solar panels

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Austin Council approves largest solar system in the nation, one of largest in the world.
The Austin City Council today approved (7-0) a proposal that would give the capital city of Texas the largest solar system in the nation and among the 10 largest in the world, when the project goes on line by the end of 2010.
SolarCity and Woodside Priory Unveil Bay Area’s Largest Solar Installation at a Private High School WHERE: Woodside Priory School , 302 Portola Rd. , Portola Valley , Calif.
NEW ENGLAND'S LARGEST SOLAR POWER INSTALLATION UNVEILED AT STAPLES DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN KILLINGLY, CONN. Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, Staples and SunEdison Install Solar Power System That Will Generate Clean Energy
Exelon and Conergy Complete Largest Solar Energy System on East Coast
Hamburg/ Philadelphia , PA - Conergy and its subsidiary Epuron have announced the completion and sale of the Exelon-Conergy Solar Energy Center . The 3 MW project is located on the Waste Management G.R.O.W.S 16.5-acre landfill site just outside of Philadelphia .
Eco Energy: Toyota installs the biggest single-roof solar installation in North America
Eco Factor: Toyota installs the largest solar rood in North America that is sufficient to meet 60 percent of the energy needs for its manufacturing plant. Toyota has installed North America’s largest solar roof top on its North America Parts...
World’s Largest Solar Project Planned for Saharan Desert If just 0.3% of the Saharan Desert was used for a concentrating solar plant, it would produce enough power to provide all of Europe with clean renewable energy. That is why 20 blue chip German companies are gathering together next month to discuss plans and investments to create such a massive project. Both the meeting and project are being promoted by the Desertec Foundation, which is proposing to erect 100 GW of concentrating solar power plants throughout Northern Africa.
The red squares in the above map represent the land area necessary to meet the energy demand of the world, the EU and MENA in 2005. The last square represents the land necessary for the proposed project to generate 100 GW of concentrating solar power. The project being proposed by Desertec would not all be situated in one location, but scattered throughout politically stable countries. Taken as a whole, the project qualifies as the world’s largest solar installation – 80 times larger than the PG&E and BrightSource project planned for the Mojave Desert . The power generated would be transported over high-voltage DC lines across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe , where it would supply 15% of the energy demand. The project is still 10-15 years from going online, but that’s why major players are getting started now.
Companies like Siemens, Deutsche Bank, energy companies RWE and E.on, as well as the German insurer Munich Re are all interested in getting involved despite the financial crisis. All of the companies claim that this is how they are fighting back against climate change, and that in order to avoid an energy crisis in 2050 they have to start building now. To build the 100 GWs worth of solar power a total of €400bn investment is needed.
Even more frightening than the energy crisis is the water scarcity that is set to occur even sooner. Taking this into account, the project hopes to combine desalination plants and agriculture along with the solar plants to provide fresh drinking water and grow crops in arid desert region. Concentrated solar power will provide energy and waste heat to create freshwater from seawater. Some of that water would then be used to irrigate nearby crops, while the rest would supply fresh drinking water to local populations. This concept is very similar to the Sahara Forest Project, which we explored last year.
Herman Scheer, President of the European Association for Renewable Energy is disappointed that these companies are considering such large scale projects and not distributed generation at the demand centers, and says that the Desertec project is “highly problematic” due to sand storms, dealing with foreign countries, meeting deadlines and so on. Others contend that large scale projects such as this are the fastest way to meet our energy demands and are a far better option than continuing buring fossil fuels. We’ll certainly be keeping tabs on this exciting project to see how it progresses. + Desertec Foundation

~*~

MoveOn.Org's Health Care Reform Overview: "The Good And Bad --And What We're All Going To Need To Keep Fighting For"

MoveOn.org sent this along ~

The health care debate has so many moving parts that it's hard for anybody to keep them straight. So we decided to put together an overview of where we're at—both good and bad—and what we're all going to need to keep fighting for. Neither of these bills is close to perfect. But we're entering the home stretch where we risk losing a lot of what's good in these bills and where we have a huge opportunity to strengthen the parts that need work.

Here's where we are: The House of Representatives passed their bill last month. The Senate is aiming to pass its version before Christmas. Overall, both pieces of legislation would do four major things:

Create a "Health Insurance Exchange." The bills create a one-stop marketplace where people can choose from various insurance plans, including the public option. The details aren't set yet, but initially the Exchange would likely be open to the self-employed, people without insurance at work, and small businesses.1 The key with the Exchange is that it brings "the bargaining power and scale that's generally accessible only to large employers" to individuals—and with that, lower costs and better options.2

Provide insurance to over 30 million more people. The House bill would expand coverage to 36 million people by 2019. The Senate bill extends coverage to 31 million.3

Outlaw discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and gender. Insurance companies will have to stop denying coverage to people with "pre-existing conditions." And they won't be allowed to charge women more than men for the same coverage.4

Eliminate coverage limits and price-gouging. The bills differ on some details, but in general would place limits on how much people have to pay for health care beyond their premiums. They both cap out-of-pocket costs and ban insurance companies from setting limits on how much health care they'll cover for a person each year.5

Of course, the devil is in the details, and much in these bills still needs work.
Here's what still needs to be fixed:

Both bills leave millions uninsured. The House bill leaves 18 million without insurance in 2019; the Senate bill, 24 million. Neither comes close to the vision for universal coverage so many of us fought for for years. We'll all need to fight to continue to expand coverage in the bills this year, and in the years to come.6

The Senate public option is weak, and conservatives are pushing to make it weaker. The public option is a core piece of reform that will create real accountability and competition for private insurance—and that's why it's at the center of such a huge fight. While the House bill creates a national public option, the Senate lets states opt out, denying their residents access to it. Plus, conservatives are working to weaken it even more. We're all going to have to fight hard for the strongest version possible.7

Many reforms don't start quickly enough. While some pieces of reform go into effect right away, the larger structural changes are not scheduled to go into effect until 2013 (House bill) or 2014 (Senate bill). This includes the Exchange, the public option, and subsidies—the major ways coverage will be expanded.8

Required insurance could still be too expensive for many. Both bills require virtually all Americans to have insurance. But the caps on how much we're expected to pay are way too high, and the subsidies are way too low. Many progressives are working to fix this, but it's going to be a significant fight.9

Reproductive rights are severely restricted in the House bill. An egregious anti-choice amendment in the bill virtually prohibits anyone purchasing insurance in the Exchange from buying a plan that covers abortion—even if paid for with their own money. We need to make sure the final bill doesn't include this rollback of reproductive rights.10

The Senate bill could discriminate against lower income workers. The current Senate legislation retains a version of what's called the "free rider" provision, which essentially penalizes employers for hiring lower income workers. This provision needs to be fixed before the bill is finalized.11

There's a lot going on in these bills, and we're all going to need to be vigilant to ensure the good pieces end up in the final bill, and the bad ones are fixed. It's going to be a rocky ride. But if we fight together, we'll come out stronger in the end.
Thank you, as always, for everything you do. –Justin, Adam, Amy, Anna, Annie, Carrie, Christopher, Daniel, Danielle, Eli, Emily, Gail, Ian, Ilya, Ilyse, Joan, Jodeen, Kat, Keauna, Laura, Lenore, Marika, Matt, Matthew, Melanie, Michael, Nita, Noah, Peter, Scott, Stephen, Steven, Susannah, and Wes

P.S. Check out more about the House bill here and the Senate bill here or here, and see what the impact of reform would be in your state here. If you want to read the full bills, for the House, click here or here (PDF), and for the Senate, here or here (PDF).
Sources:
1. "A Health Insurance Exchange: The Fine Print," The New York Times, August 20, 2009; "Health Reform at a Glance: The Health Insurance Exchange," House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, July 14, 2009;

2. "Health Insurance Exchanges: The Most Important, Undernoticed Part of Health Reform," The Washington Post, June 16, 2009

3. "H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act," Congressional Budget
Office, November 20, 2009; "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Congressional Budget Office, November 18, 2009

4. "Top 10 Ways Health Insurance Reform Works for You," The Speaker of the House, October 29, 2009; "How Health Insurance Reform Will Help Your Family," Senate Democratic Policy Committee; "Meeting Women's Health Care Needs," The Speaker of the House; "Reports on Health Insurance Reform—Women," Senate Democratic Policy Committee

5. "Top 10 Ways Health Insurance Reform Works for You," The Speaker of the House, October 29, 2009; "How Health Insurance Reform Will Help Your Family," Senate Democratic Policy Committee

6. "H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act," Congressional Budget
Office, November 20, 2009; "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Congressional Budget Office, November 18, 2009; "REPORT: How the Senate Bill Compares to Other Reform Legislation," Think Progress, November 19, 2009

7. "Sen. Reid Announces 'Opt Out' Public Plan," The New York Times, October 26,
2009; "Carper: Conservative Democrats Not Likely To Support Senate Public Option," Talking Points Memo, November 17, 2009

8. "Top 14 Provisions That Take Effect Immediately," The Speaker of the House; "What happens before 2014?" The Washington Post, November 19, 2009; "Senate, House Democratic health bills compared," The Associated Press, November 18, 2009

9. "The Details of The New Merged Senate Bill," Think Progress, November 18, 2009; "REPORT: How the Senate Bill Compares to Other Reform Legislation," Think Progress, November 19, 2009; "Analysis: How the Senate health care bill stacks up with the House health care bill," Think Progress, November 19, 2009

10. "The Ban on Abortion Coverage," The New York Times, November 9, 2009

11. "The noxious 'free rider' provision," The Washington Post, November 25, 2009; "Senate Health Bill Improves Employer Responsibility Provision," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 19, 2009 ; "The Baucus Bill: The Worst Policy in the Bill, and Possibly in the World," The Washington Post, September 16, 2009

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

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In The Wall Street Journal, John Cassidy Showed Why We Should All Be Jumping On The Global Transaction Tax Bandwagon

It turns out that there is a long-time understanding of the potential free-market glitch of unintended consequences...one that in recent years, Wall Street's been taking quite a bit of an advantage of -- to everyone else's detriment.

( click to enlarge FDL image)

From FireDogLake's masaccio ~ Justification for the Tobin Tax in The Wall Street Journal

The huge securities trading of the giant banks is just that kind of problem: the value to traders is much greater than the social value. Society gains nothing from flash trading. In fact, every one of those trades costs investors money. It amounts to a tax on small investors,one that only exists because traders make rules that favor themselves. Day traders, who try to make a few pennies per share on rapid trading are doing nothing of value, and neither are computer programs that try to exploit price differences between markets. It isn’t clear that big chunks of trading have any value.

Goldman Sachs is a great example of this problem. For the last 12 years, GS has reported four categories of income: investment banking, which includes both income from underwriting issuance of securities for others, and income from mergers and acquisitions; asset management; trading; and interest. The [above] chart shows the percentage each has contributed to total revenues over that period (2009 is the first three quarters only.)

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Is Everyone Ready For Winter?

(meghan eldersma's image)
My sister-in-law sent some seasonal cheer ~

Type in any Christmas song and see what the little puppets do. Also, type in any non-Christmas song and you'll get a kick out of the response. They get mixed up sometimes and sing the wrong one....

HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH THIS STUFF?
http://www.sundog.net/carolofthechins/flash/card.swf

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Matt Taibbi Chews Tacks; Spits Out BushcObama Fiscal Policy Madness (For The Middleclass, Anyway)

Americans need to keep reading up on what's going on between the Beltway, K Street and Wall Street. Good to know that Matt Taibbi and the Rolling Stone magazine are grabbed up along the Main Streets.
Taibbi's newest piece is a video on Obama's selling out to Wall Street. EEEEK! BushcObama ~

Plus, don't forget to read Elizabeth Warren's HuffPo piece ~ America Without a Middle Class - and a Comment rescue ~

Now if you had just been making $60 million a year, instead of $60,000, your effective tax rate would have been closer to 20%. Wonder why the rich get richer?The house just passed an extension of the inheritance tax bill that would of expired next year. (Bush administration) This taxes 45% of inheritances over 3.5 million dollars. While it's good the tax was not repealed, it should have been raised to what it was (55%) before the Bush cuts. Ben Bernanke of the federal reserve wants congress to repeal social security, because "that's where the money is".

I think he must be blind on one side. The richest 1/2 of one% of Americans, THAT's where the money is. At least it is now, after the tax cuts for the rich put into effect in 2000.

The decade of the 50's was probably the most prosperous in American history. At that time the top tax rate was over 2 and 1/2 times more then it is today. If you really want to eliminate the federal deficit (Started by the Reagan administration by the way, at least post WW2) we need to heed the Fed chairs advice and "go where the money is". You can't get blood out of a turnip, and you can't tax the middle class when you have no middle class. I don't advocate tax and spend. Rather taxing fairly to draw down the deficit, it's only prudent. Something wealthy business people SHOULD understand.

- Averal

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Ben Bernanke's US Employment Problem: 'Return On Investment' And Modern Capitalists' Inability To Value People (And Therefore To Invest In People)?

It was interesting that Bernanke's renomination 'interview' on Thursday was buffeted by two 'events' that he hoped would strengthen the notion that he's competent at his job: that BoA announced they'd decided to immediately pay back their bailout loans and that the unemployment numbers for November were 10 times lower than expected. But one couldn't help thinking that bits of Bernanke's testimony were off the mark. Is the Federal Reserve's purview --in some part-- having direct responsibility for unemployment or not?
Dean Baker nails it here ~ (via Atrios)

If Bernanke Did Not Know the Fed's Mission, Would That Be News? Not at the WSJ, nor it seems anywhere else. Yesterday, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke referred to the "our dual mandate, which is growth and inflation."

In fact, the dual mandate is full employment (defined as 4.0 percent unemployment) and price stability. Presumably Bernanke had unemployment in mind when he said "growth," but it striking that he would not use the right term. The two are of course not synonymous.

Comment rescue ~ @marcello - that has everything to do with 'return on investment', and modern capitalists inability to value people (and thereforeto invest in people).

Plus, if anyone missed Jim Bunning's (R-Kentucky) incredible smackdown of Ben Bernanke's job competency, lordy lordy, Read it HERE.

Meanwhile, Matt Taibbi takes it home ~

Bernie Sanders, as he did earlier in the year with the nomination of Gary Gensler of the CFTC, is placing a hold on the re-nomination of Ben Bernanke to the chairmanship of the Fed. I wonder sometimes if Bernie is the only Senator who is actually worrying about who is running our key financial institutions.

The problem with the Fed is that almost nobody outside the financial community understands how it works, and as a result the popular outrage over its behavior is not nearly at the level it should be. The Greenspan legacy of providing a sort of permanent, built-in backstop for Wall Street by continually loosening the money supply every time the financial services sector blows itself up in this or that idiotic speculative craze is something that should make every citizen muy enojado.

Now it’s even worse — direct bailouts of companies and billions in discount window lending coupled with zero transparency, zero taxpayer access to the Fed’s books. Bernanke doesn’t bear as much responsibility for the financial crisis as Greenspan, but his policies have certainly been in many ways a continuation of the the Greenspan era, which combined an extreme soft-touch regulatory posture (to put it mildly; it might be more accurate to say that the Fed hasn’t had a regulatory record for the last decade or so) with a Dionysan, drink-and-be-merry, fully enabling attitude toward the risk-taking crowd on Wall Street.

The Sanders release summed up Bernanke’s record: continue »

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Global Transaction Tax Under Fire By Treasury Secretary Geithner; Whose Side Are You On, Timmeh?

Hours after this post was published, I read that Secretary Geithner was 'dismissive' about implementing a global transaction tax (Eschaton comment rescue) ~

Geithner Dismisses Tax on Financial Transactions as Unworkable By Robert Schmidt Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, throwing cold water on a plan by congressional Democrats to tax financial transactions, said banks and other market participants would find ways to circumvent the expense."

........Straight out of the George Bush textbook. Remember when GB said taxing the rich doesnt work because they hire accountants to avoid the tax? Geithner should be aboard the next rocket launched into deep space.

...The GOP will distort any higher tax on the rich as a burden on the working class, class warfare,freedom, apple pie. It's what they do-protect the rich and pose it as a threat to the middle class.The financial transaction tax is understood by everyone. If you don't play, you dont pay. - karamojo,2012 mayan

Robert Schmidt reports ~

The prospect of a so-called Tobin tax, floated last month by U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is already provoking nervous U.S. financial companies to lobby for its defeat. Democrats, including Oregon Representative Pete DeFazio and IowaSenator Tom Harkin, this week proposed taxing large transactions in stocks and derivatives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the idea has a “great deal of merit.”
Tobin Tax
In yesterday’s interview, Geithner, echoing some of the banking industry’s reasons for opposing a Tobin tax, said he was concerned it wouldn’t be able to be adopted globally, making it harder to impose. He also noted that the tax may hit less sophisticated investors, instead of the big firms. “There’s a real risk that retail investors, who’ve got fewer choices, they end up bearing the cost of the tax,” he said.

As you might have read at Bloomberg News last month, Tim Geithner's picked treasury staffers have come under scrutiny as a gang of Wall Street lobbyist insiders ~ which should caution anyone against their counsel. Whose side you guys on, Timmeh?

So I posted a few reminders ~ (via 2008 - Loaded Orygun blog)

Here is DeFazio (trans. tax sponsor) back in Sept. 2008

"Today, Congress stood up to Wall Street, the President, and Congressional leaders. I don't believe we should borrow $700 billion in the name of the American taxpayers to throw money at Wall Street's bad debts and cross our fingers and hope it will work," DeFazio said. "If Wall Street needs a cash infusion, it should be paid for by Wall Street. We need something more targeted average taxpayers." "We need to go back to the drawing board and craft a plan which does not leave the tax payers holding the bill," DeFazio said. "Wall Street should pay to bailout itself, not hard working Americans who are already struggling to make ends meet. I voted against the Bush Administration's cowboy capitalism, markets know best, deregulation at all cost policies. And, we've just witnessed the stunning failure of those policies. The American public didn't create this problem, and they shouldn't be stuck with the tab. The bill lies at the feet of those who willfully, wantonly, and irresponsibly created this mess.

...DeFazio's proposal would impose a modest one-quarter percent (0.25%) tax on financial transactions. This tax would fall most heavily where it belongs, on those who trade large quantities of stocks, day traders and speculators. The transfer tax would have a negligible impact on Americans who have retirement assets in 401-k plans. In the past, respected economists such as Larry Summers, John Maynard Keynes and Nobel prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and James Tobin have supported financial transaction taxes.

Well known economist Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy, estimates a transaction tax along the lines of DeFazio's proposal could generate up to $150 billion a year.There is considerable precedent for a transfer tax. The United States had a similar tax from 1914 to 1966. The Revenue Act of 1914 levied a 0.2% tax on all sales or transfers of stock. In 1932, Congress more than doubled the tax to help plug the holes from the Great Depression. And today the United Kingdom has a modest financial transaction tax of 0.25 percent, a penny on every $4 invested.

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Bernie Sanders Unfiltered: A Brave New Films Production

From the inbox ~
Hold on Bernanke

The American people overwhelmingly voted last year for a change in our national priorities to put the interests of ordinary people ahead of the greed of Wall Street and the wealthy few,” Senator Bernie Sanders said. “What the American people did not bargain for was another four years for one of the key architects of the Bush economy.” That’s why Bernie placed a hold on the nomination of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, a move that slows down and could block his confirmation. He talks about why he hopes the president will name a new Fed chief in his weekly Web video -- Senator Sanders Unfiltered.

Get involved and:
Sign the Petition - We Need a Change at the Federal Reserve
Fill out our poll - Federal Reserve, Afghanistan, and Health Care

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Frieda Berryhill Writes: The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind

Delaware Mountain Wind Farm
Owner: American National Wind Power
Size: 30 MW
Location: Culberson County, Texas
Installed: 1999
American National Wind Power is a subsidiary of National Wind Power. This wind farm is National Wind Power's (NWP) first project in Texas and is located in Culberson County

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Texas Wind Power Project
Owner: General Land Office & Lower Colorado River Authority
Size: 35 MW
Location: Culberson County, Texas
Installed: 1995
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) teamed with the General Land Office GLO) and private industry to develop this commercial wind power plant, the first in Texas .

Photo courtesy FPL Energy (upper right)

Southwest Mesa Wind Project
Owner: West Texas Energy Partners LP, a subsidiary of FPL Energy
Size: 75 MW
Location: McCamey, TX
Installed: May 1999
This project consists of 107 Multipower 48 NEG Micon WTGs. Located 350 miles southwest of Dallas , the Southwest Mesa Wind Energy Project sits atop a 2000 feet mesa. The local communities and local landowners welcome the project and the long term business activities it provides.

October 2, 2009
Duke Brings Two Wind Power Projects Online
North Carolina, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
Two Duke Energy wind power projects in Pennsylvania and Wyoming are now generating electricity.
To make a long story short, click on any state and see all the existing wind projects here: http://www.awea.org/projects/
U.S. Wind Energy Projects (As of 06/27/2009)

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