Wall Street

Richmond, Calif to Try Eminent Domain to Reduce Foreclosures

by

The banksters are pissed. How dare the City of Richmond, California try to use its power of eminent domain to stop housing foreclosures in its city?

Generally, governmental bodies use eminent domain to force people to sell their land and/or homes to make way for projects (like freeways) which are for the common good. Long ago, the Occupy Wall Street movement suggested that cities could use eminent domain to buy up mortgages and reduce homeowner debt– before the homeowners are forced out of their underwater mortgages by the banksters.

Remember the old Occupy chant? “Banks got bailed out. We got sold out.” The US government bailed out the Wall Street gamblers who crashed the worldwide economy, created and burst the housing bubble, caused businesses to close and lay off workers, and plunged millions of Americans into homelessness or rental units when they lost their homes. The federal government has done almost nothing to help the millions of beleaguered homowners who have lost their homes or are on the verge of it. Check out Richmond's plan after the jump.

Sinema Touts Bipartisanship: Is It Really a Good Strategy for Democrats? (video)

by


United-solutions-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Bipartisanship is a popular buzz word in some political circles. Republicans use the call for “bipartisan solutions” to strong-arm Democrats into voting for bad ideas (like increased militarization and drone surveillance on the border in exchange for a long and complicated path to citizenship).

Democrats tout the quest for bipartisanship as code for “I’m a Democrat who votes with Republicans when it’s politically expedient.”

When the vast majority of American voters want higher taxes on the 1%, universal background checks, bans on assault weapons, immigration reform, a higher minimum wage, good jobs, relief from crushing student and credit card debt, safe roads and bridges, regulatory controls on Wall Street, safe guards on Social Security, legalization of marijuana, and the right to vote, Congress devolves into inaction and gamesmanship.

When real action is needed, but no action is taken, the “bipartisan solutions” rallying cry is revealed as a sham. The threatened filibuster that stopped the universal background check bill is the quintessential example of something that 90% of Americans wanted, but 40 men stopped.

Is bipartisanship a good strategy or just a trap to get Democrats to “punt on the first down”? More details and the video after the jump.

11 European countries pass Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions

by

Robin-h-05-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Eleven European countries, who collectively account for two-thirds of the EU's economy, have passed a new financial transaction tax.

Also known as the Robin Hood Tax in the US, a financial transaction tax charges a small percentage fee for every stock market deal. The new European law will charge a rate of 0.1% on any trade of shares or bonds and 0.01% on any financial derivative contract, according to an article in Think Progress. These tiny percentages would raise an estimated 57 billion euros per year if all 27 of the European countries adopted the law. (At an exchange rate of 1 EU = $1.33, that is an estimated $75.8 billion in US dollars per year of revenue generation.) In addition to raising funds, the financial transaction tax discourages speculative computerized trading. Also know as "rent seeking," computers are set up to buy stocks and sell them quickly– sometimes when the profit is just pennies. If you do enough of this automated micro-trading, you can make a bundle of money; but this speculative behavior adds volitility to the market and produces nothing except fot the gamblers who are in the game. The Ed Schultz Show has a great explanation here. 

 In all, 40 countries worldwide have adopted a financial transaction tax. The 11 countries who have passed the Robin Hood Tax recently include two European powerhouses– Germany and France– plus Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, and Estonia. The financial problems facing Greece, Spain, and Italy have been in the news for years. This tax will help cash-strapped governments to become more stable. 

Gosh, what other country is facing dire financial choices and needs an infusion of cash? Find out how the Robin Hood Tax would help the US economy after the jump.

Of austerity and cookies (video)

by


Tax-wallstby Pamela Powers Hannley

These days, you can't turn on the TV or radio without hearing a "news" story or pundit "analysis" about the battle over deficit reduction by budget cuts or revenue generation.

Republicans want to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and the poor by cutting "entitlements" (ie, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, Pel Grants, food stamps, and whatever programs are left of Johnson's War on Poverty). Heaven forbid that they would consider taxing the rich, taxing financial transactions, raising the income cap for Social Security benefits, or anything like that. 

Austerity is their battle cry. After the jump, watch this video featuring John Nichols of The Nation explaining the hoax of austerity.

America’s 10 most ‘hated’ companies

by


Money02-bw-crop-sm72-300x217by Pamela Powers Hannley

January is a month for "best" and "worst" lists. Media moguls gather at a trendy Manhattan watering holes, and, over dirty martinis, cook up lists to boost their sales. 

Last week, the website 24/7 Wall Street released its list of the 10 most hated companies in the US.

With their high levels of corporate stinginess, you'd think the Papa John's, Hostess, Applebee's, Denny's, or Wal-Mart would be on it– but no.  

With nearly universal hatred of their private prison system, maybe Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) would be on the list– no.

How about Koch Industries? Is it the most hate company in the US? Incredibly, no. TD Ameritrade– whose CEO also tried to buy the 2012 elections? NO.

Who is the most hated company in the US according to 24/7 Wall Street? J.C. Penney. WTF?

To find out why Penney's is hated and who else is on the list, continue after the jump.