AZ BlueMeanie

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

John Nichols of The Nation was a guest on MSNBC's The Ed Show Thursday night to discuss his report on the connection between the Goldwater Institute, ALEC, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Arizona Tea-Publicans and the billionaire bastard Koch brothers. How Scott Walker and ALEC Plotted the Attack on Arizona's Unions | The Nation:

Two days after Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected Governor John Kasich’s anti-labor agenda by a sixty-one to thirty-nine margin in a statewide referendum, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker jetted to Arizona to launch the next front in the national campaign to attack union rights.

After meeting with former Vice President Dan Quayle, Walker was whisked over to the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, where he briefed a thousand Arizona conservatives on how they could attack “the big-government union bosses.”

“We need to make big, fundamental, permanent structural changes. It’s why we did what we did in Wisconsin,” declared Walker, who at the annual dinner of the right-wing Goldwater Institute said that compromising with unions was “bogus.”

Comparing governors who have been attacking the collective-bargaining rights of public employees with the founders of the American experiment—“just like that group that gathered in Philadelphia”—Walker told his listeners: “We need to have leaders not just in Wisconsin but here in Arizona…”

If anyone missed the point, Walker said: “Tonight, you might say I’m preaching to the choir with a bunch of fellow conservatives.… I preach to the choir because I want the choir to sing. So tonight I’m asking you to sing. Tell the message in Arizona and all across America that we can do things better.”

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Please join the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF), AFSCME, CWA Local 7000 and community supporters to stand up to the attacks on union members and their families. WHAT: Rally Against Anti-Worker BillsWHEN: Friday, February 3, 4:00 p.m.WHERE: In front of the AZ State Building in downtown Tucson, 400 W. Congress StreetSPONSOR: Pima … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Senate Committee on Government Reform approved four anti-worker bills on Wednesday on a party-line vote, bills that were introduced only on Monday by its chair, Sen. Rick Murphy, R-Glendale, and fast-tracked for swift passage in the Senate to limit public testimony and to not leave enough time for public opposition to build against these bills as occurred in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

The four bills approved are:

SB 1484   Paycheck Deductions

SB 1485  Unions; Public Employees; Prohibitions

SB 1486  Public Employees; Activities; Unions; Compensation

SB 1487  Government Employees; Union Dues; Withholding

These bills were to be fast-tracked for a full Senate vote next week.

But Gov. Jan Brewer, aka "Boss Tweed," wants her bill to destroy the civil service merit selection system acted upon first before our Tea-Publican legislature destroys public employee unions. And for this we are to be grateful? Brewer's ultimatum: State personnel reform or no union-busting bills – East Valley Tribune:

Gov. Jan Brewer is threatening to veto some union-busting bills unless lawmakers first give her what she wants: reform of the state personnel system.

And even then, she's not promising to sign anything.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

President Obama has a "My Turn" guest opinion in the Arizona Republic today, Obama: Housing plan will boost economy:

In my State of the Union Address, I laid out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last — an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers and a renewal of American values of fairness and responsibility.

Over the past decade we strayed from those values and we saw what happened. Millions of families who did the right thing were hurt when the massive housing bubble burst. Folks who shopped for a home they could afford, secured a mortgage and made their payments each month were hurt by those who weren't playing by the same rules.

Lenders who sold loans to people who couldn't afford them, buyers who bought homes they knew they couldn't afford and banks that packaged and traded bad mortgages to reap phantom profits.

These actions triggered the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes and the housing crisis remains the single biggest drag on our recovery.

It will take more time than any of us would like for the housing market to fully recover from this crisis, and government certainly can't fix the entire problem on its own.

However, it is wrong for anybody to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom. I refuse to accept that, and so do the American people.

This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and this housing crisis struck right at the heart of what it means to be middle class in America: owning a home. Homes are where we invest our nest egg, where we raise our family, where we plant roots in a community and build our memories.

The housing plan we launched a couple years ago has helped nearly 1 million responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages and save an average of $300 each month. But even with rates at historic lows, too many families are underwater and unable to refinance.

There are more than 10 million homeowners across the country right now who, because of an unprecedented decline in home prices, owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth.

For those responsible homeowners, there are actions we can take right now to provide some relief.

Posted By azBlueMeanie:

President Obama on Wednesday proposed a "Homeowner Bill of Rights" that would fundamentally change the way houses are bought, sold and refinanced in an effort to stabilize the nation's ailing housing system. Obama unveils plan on housing:

One immediate goal of the so-called Homeowner Bill of Rights is to enable more borrowers to refinance, reduce their monthly payments or pay off their loans sooner, rebuilding equity lost in the housing crash.

The legislation announced Wednesday also would create a standardized system for mortgage applications and would expand bulk sales of government-owned foreclosure homes to investors, with the goal of decreasing the number of empty homes.

The bill would expand on a refinancing plan announced in October. That plan directed federal mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to allow refinancing for mortgage-holders even if their homes are underwater by any amount. But the plan could not be offered to homeowners with mortgages privately held by banks. The new legislation would allow those homeowners to refinance as well, with the associated costs covered by a fee on major lenders.

Nearly 3.5 million U.S. homeowners with private mortgages, who owe more than their houses are now worth, could be eligible if the legislation passes.