Tapes showing meek oversight of Goldman are about to rock Wall Street
Major Obama Supporter Gets Free Pass?
Wall Street is about to be rocked by secretly recorded audio tapes that purport to show a too-cozy relationship between the New York Federal Reserve Bank and the financial institutions it is supposed to regulate.
The 45 hours of tapes, made by Carmen Segarra, a former NY Fed worker, capture former co-workers, whose job was to keep banks like Goldman Sachs in line, instead deferring to the banks, being unwilling to take action and being extremely passive, according to public radio’s “This American Life,” and ProPublica which obtained the tapes and is scheduled to air a program about the matter Friday night.
Segarra, ironically, was hired by the NY Fed in October 2011 to help toughen up their oversight. She was fired in 2013 after, she claims in a lawsuit, she tried to get Goldman to toe the line on regulations.
The NY Fed has regulators embedded at each of the large banks it oversees. On her first day on the job, Segarra was assigned to Goldman.
Are You Out There, Stimulus? It’s Me, The Taxpayer. Nick Gillespie|Mar. 28, 2013 8:39 am
Columnist Ron Hart asks a question that’s answered by the cover story of the current issue of Reason (and perfectly summarized by the cover image of same): Where did all that sweet stimulus money go?
Of the money spent in swing state Wisconsin, 80 percent went to public sector unions – those with already locked-in jobs. In fact, right-to-work states got $266 less per person in stimulus money than heavily unionized states. Where Democrats had a vast majority of representatives, their states got $460 per person more.
More pointedly, Hart writes,
Remember when Obama got his trillion-odd dollars of “stimulus money” which he and the Democrats breathlessly said we needed for “shovel ready” jobs to re-build roads and infrastructure? Please e-mail me if anything of the sort got built in your town. Nothing got built in the cities where I spend time….
Peter Suderman’s article in the May issue – which you’d be reading right now if you subscribed for just $14.63 under our special Sequestration Offer – lays out exactly where stimulus spending went and why it didn’t work as advertised.
Yes, tens of millions of dollars literally went to install new toilets in parks Alaska, New Mexico, Washington state, and elsewhere. If only we could have flushed our way to recovery.
More important, Suderman writes (and this can’t be underscored enough), “The economy’s performance continues to be far worse than the White House’s worst-case projections for what might happen if there had been no stimulus at all.”
Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports
By Paul Farhi September 23 at 7:06 PM
White House press-pool reports are supposed to be the news media’s eyes and ears on the president, an independent chronicle of his public activities. They are written by reporters for other reporters, who incorporate them into news articles about President Obama almost every day.
Sometimes, however, the White House plays an unseen role in shaping the story.
Journalists who cover the White House say Obama’s press aides have demanded — and received — changes in press-pool reports before the reports have been disseminated to other journalists. They say the White House has used its unusual role as the distributor of the reports as leverage to steer coverage in a more favorable direction.
Rutgers report: devastating impact of long term joblessness
SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014, 1:21 AM BY HUGH R. MORLEY STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
* Research finds that many who have been unemployed describe “devastated” lives
A Rutgers University study released today provides a grim, detailed picture of the severe impact that long-term unemployment continues to have on the lives of millions of Americans more than five years after the end of the Great Recession.
About one-third of the long-term unemployed workers — six months or more — in the study, based on surveys of unemployed and employed Americans across the nation, said they had been “devastated” and suffered a permanent change in their lifestyle by their jobless experience. The study, titled “Left behind: The long-term unemployed struggle in an improving economy,” found that one in five workers laid off in the last five years are still unemployed. And it showed how far long-term jobless workers slip compared with employed workers.
Fifty-one percent of long-term jobless workers said they had a lot less income and savings than they did five years ago, while only 23 percent of employed workers said they had suffered similar economic damage, the study found.
Sixty-one percent of the long-term unemployed said they did not expect their finances to improve in the next five years, the study found. That was about 11 percentage points higher than the assessment by employed workers of their finances over the next five years.
“While the worst effects of the Great Recession are over for most Americans, the brutal realities of diminished living standards endure for the 3 million American workers who remain jobless years after they were laid off,” said Professor Carl Van Horn, director of the Heldrich Center at Rutgers University, who co-directed the study. “These long-term unemployed workers have been left behind to fend for themselves as they struggle to pull their lives back together.”
Angry with Washington, 1 in 4 Americans open to secession
By Scott Malone
BOSTON Fri Sep 19, 2014 7:41am EDT
(Reuters) – The failed Scottish vote to pull out from the United Kingdom stirred secessionist hopes for some in the United States, where almost a quarter of people are open to their states leaving the union, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Some 23.9 percent of Americans polled from Aug. 23 through Sept. 16 said they strongly supported or tended to support the idea of their state breaking away, while 53.3 percent of the 8,952 respondents strongly opposed or tended to oppose the notion.
The urge to sever ties with Washington cuts across party lines and regions, though Republicans and residents of rural Western states are generally warmer to the idea than Democrats and Northeasterners, according to the poll.
Anger with President Barack Obama’s handling of issues ranging from healthcare reform to the rise of Islamic State militants drives some of the feeling, with Republican respondents citing dissatisfaction with his administration as coloring their thinking.
Forty-six percent of doctors give President Obama’s healthcare law a “D” or an “F,” according to a new survey from the Physicians Foundation. In contrast, just 25 percent of those surveyed gave the law an “A” or a “B.”
The findings come from a survey that was emailed to “virtually every physician in the United States with an email address on record with the American Medical Association” this March through June as the law’s major provisions were taking effect, and received more than 20,000 responses from doctors.
In their comments that were included (but kept anonymous) in the report, a number of doctors complained about the vast amount of bureaucracy that has been added to the medical profession.
“Get government OUT of healthcare,” one doctor wrote.
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Another wrote, “Repeal Obamacare.”
Another comment read, “I’m a Canadian physician practicing in the United States. The politicians and policy makers need to understand that government involvement in healthcare never works.”
Census data show poverty up, incomes down as NJ economic recovery lags
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014, 12:48 AM BY KATHLEEN LYNN AND DAVE SHEINGOLD STAFF WRITERS
Despite a growing national economy, New Jersey’s weak job market led to lower incomes and a higher poverty rate in the state last year, the Census Bureau said Wednesday. Bergen and Passaic counties were hit especially hard.
Wide disparities
Households in North Jersey generally lost ground financially in 2013, while those in and around New York City fared better.
Median household incomes:
New Jersey
Bergen County: down 2.7 percent
Passaic County: down 1.7 percent
Hudson County: down 3.9 percent
Morris County: up 3.6 percent
New York
Manhattan: up 6 percent
Brooklyn: up 3.6 percent
Staten Island: down 3.3 percent
Nassau: up 1.7 percent
Westchester County: up 7.4 percent
The recession ended in 2009, but a wide range of census measures showed New Jersey was still feeling its effects in 2013. Food stamp use rose; the homeownership rate dropped. Families were more likely to delay having children or decide against paying private-school tuition.
Although one year’s census figures do not indicate a trend, New Jersey’s numbers have generally been tracking in the same direction since the recession. Offering some hope for a better 2014 in New Jersey, experts say a recent drop in unemployment, as well as a higher minimum wage, could mean that incomes have started to rise, and poverty rates to fall, this year.
But in 2013, median household incomes in New Jersey, adjusted for inflation, dropped by 0.7 percent, to an estimated $70,165, mirroring similar declines in surrounding states. New Jersey incomes, after inflation, have dropped 9 percent since 2000, and 6.8 percent from 2007, right before the recession hit.
Nationally, household incomes were essentially flat last year, at about $52,000.
Posted by: : Paul EbelingPosted on: September 14, 2014
Vast Majority Do Not Believe US Will Defeat ISISNearly 70% of Americans surveyed do not believe the United States will succeed in wiping out Islamic State (ISIS) militants, according to a new NBC News/WS-J/Annenberg poll.
According to the poll, 68% have “very little” or “just some” confidence in US President Barack Hussein Obama’s goal of eliminating the threat of ISIS. Just 28% had “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in Mr. Obama’s goals.
62% say they support the used of air power against ISIS in Syria as laid out by the president in last Wednesday’s prime time address to the nation, 22% oppose the plan.
“The bottom line: The president has made his case to the American public, and like other presidents who faced war and peace issues, support usually follows,” Democratic pollster Peter Hart said of the survey he helped conduct. “The difference in this military encounter is that, right out of the box, Americans are skeptical if this will work.”
The poll showed that just 38% of Americans think Mr. Obama is doing an effective job on foreign policy.
A poll from last week showed that 65% think action against ISIS is in America’s interest. That number rose to 68% after some of those polled were re-contacted after Mr. Obama’s speech.
Glen Beck thinks your Government is dumb as a box of rocks
Glen Beck comes up with 11 ways you know you live in a country run by idiots
Wednesday, Sep 10, 2014 at 12:34 PM EDT
We had to laugh when we saw this because it could be more spot on , the only think Glen did not mention were all the excuse makers who allow the idiots to abdicate responsibility .
Again more and more would agree that clearly the country is run by idiots , so here is proof positive….
Glens list …
1. If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for being in the country illegally, you live in a country run by idiots.
2. If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion, you live in a country run by idiots.
3. If you have to show identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor or check out a library book, but not to vote on who runs the government, you live in a country run by idiots.
4. If the government wants to ban stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines with more than ten rounds, but gives 20 F-16 fighter jets to the crazy leaders in Egypt, you live in a country run by idiots.
5. If, in the largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not a 24-ounce soda because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat, you live in a country run by idiots.
6. If an 80-year-old woman can be stripped searched by the TSA but a woman in a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched, you live in a country run by idiots.
7. If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more, you live in a country run by idiots.
8. If a seven year old boy can be thrown out of grade school for saying his teacher’s “cute,” but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable, you live in a country run by idiots.
9. If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government intrusion, while not working is rewarded with EBT cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized housing and free cell phones,you live in a country run by idiots.
10. If the government’s plan for getting people back to work is to incentivize NOT working, with 99 weeks of unemployment checks and no requirement to prove they applied but can’t find work, you live in a country run by idiots.
11. If being stripped of the ability to defend yourself makes you more “safe” according to the government, you live in a country run by idiots.
This is why the government should never control the internet
By Robert M. McDowell
Tomorrow is the deadline for the public to comment on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) attempt to regulate the Internet under the seemingly innocuous moniker of “net neutrality.” The architect of this movement, and the man who coined the term “net neutrality,” is Columbia law professor Tim Wu. Unfortunately, he has proved to be immensely influential among regulators.
Net neutrality rules have been sold for a decade as a way to keep the Internet “open and free” by keeping Internet service providers (ISPs), such as phone and cable companies, from blocking or degrading Web sites. Its advocates have argued that ISPs have an economic incentive to act anti-competitively toward consumers and competitors. In a common hypothetical they cite, ISPs would slow — or buffer — traffic for Netflix unless it unfairly pays for more access points, or “off ramps,” and better quality of service.
In truth, however, market failures like these have never happened, and nothing is broken that needs fixing. If consumers were being harmed by ISPs, ample antitrust, competition and consumer protection laws already exist to fix the problem. And major broadband providers have pledged, in their terms of service, to keep the Net open and freedom-enhancing. Why? Because it is good business to do so.
Additionally, Netflix produces upwards of 34 percent of the Net’s traffic at peak times. It can clog any pipe it touches. That torrent of traffic imposes delivery costs that Netflix would prefer to pass on to others. But the market is sorting out these growing pains as the open Net grows, just as it has successfully from the beginning. (My views on this subject long predate my affiliation with the Hudson Institute, but in the interests of full disclosure: Hudson receives financial support from media, technology and telecom companies, as well as foundations, including those on both sides of the net neutrality debate.)
Start-up companies are the reason America’s economy is more innovative, prosperous and dynamic than the economies of other industrialized countries around the world.
New companies create roughly 3 million jobs every year, while existing companies tend to shed 1 million jobs. It is no secret why a healthy entrepreneurial culture is important.
Think of it this way: Roughly 1 in 10 U.S. companies are founded each year, and these young firms create 100 percent of all net new jobs. Even in gross terms, start-ups punch above their weight, with 16 percent of all new jobs created by start-ups. Older firms create fewer jobs per firm, but, on average, cut even more, for a net negative impact.
While start-ups have always played an important role in the U.S. economy, the extent to which they drive job creation was, until recently, under appreciated.
However, thanks to new data from the federal government, we are able to identify job creation across all firms according to their date of “birth.” Yet, as important as this insight is, the data, which only goes back as far as 1977, also shows an alarming downward trend: America’s entrepreneurship rate is declining.
START-UP JOBS AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYMENT
During the Carter administration, 14 percent of U.S. companies were start-ups.
That rate declined by one percentage point during the Reagan years, two points during the recession of the George H.W. Bush presidency, held steady under Bill Clinton, dropped a percentage point under George W. Bush, and then dropped two full points during the first term of President Obama.
We can only speculate why entrepreneurship is declining, but it seems that America’s economic culture is trending toward the European model.
In Europe, as well as Japan, large corporations are the norm, as are ample welfare programs and an erosion of familial bonds.
America’s history of entrepreneurship is strongly rooted in a culture of hard work and self-reliance. Unfortunately, bureaucratic regulations are growing at the same time start-ups are declining. Coincidence?
Rep Scott Garrett Statement on the Obama Administration’s Decision to Spread Too-Big-To-Fail to more companies Sep 4, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement regarding today’s Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) decision to spread too-big-to-fail:
“Today’s irresponsible and inappropriate designation of another U.S. business as too-big-to-fail only strengthens my resolve to reform the out-of-control FSOC. First and foremost, we must ensure taxpayers are not on the hook for FSOC’s dangerous regulatory overreach. This designation flies in the face of a unanimous, bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives to postpone any additional designations.
“The FSOC makes politically motivated decisions to expand the Fed’s power with little-to-no real-world analysis. To make matters worse, the FSOC refused to even provide today’s designee with the same minimal level of review that the Council provided for asset management companies. It is obvious that the FSOC refuses to improve its operations, conduct, or decision-making processes. Accordingly, it is incumbent upon Congress to help FSOC improve itself. I look forward to having members of the FSOC come before the Committee in the near future to explain today’s actions.”
Record 92,269,000 Not in Labor Force; Participation Rate Matches 36-Year Low
September 5, 2014 – 9:07 AM
By Ali Meyer
(CNSNews.com) – A record 92,269,000 Americans 16 and older did not participate in the labor force in August, as the labor force participation rate matched a 36-year low of 62.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The labor force participation rate has been as low as 62.8 percent in six of the last twelve months, but prior to last October had not fallen that low since 1978.
BLS employment statistics are based on the civilian noninstitutional population, which consists of all people 16 or older who were not in the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or nursing home.
In August, the civilian noninstitutional population was 248,229,000 according to BLS. Of that 248,229,000, 155,959,000—or 62.8 percent–participated in the labor force, meaning they either had or job or had actively sought one in the last four weeks.
photo by Boyd Loving hummmmm……….(Ridgewood Rogue Tower?
Rogue Cell Towers Could Be Intercepting Your Call Dave Lewis Contributor
It seems rather far fetched at first glance. There is news that came out last week that rogue cell phone towers around the US are forcing mobile devices to disable their encryption making it possible that someone might be able to listen in to your call. “That could never happen to me,” you think out loud. But, apparently it could.
In 2010 at the DEF CON in Las Vegas, security researcher Chris Paget did the unthinkable. He built a cell tower of his own so that he could spoof legitimate towers and intercept calls.The device would mimic the type used by law enforcement agencies to intercept phone calls. In this case, he was able to build it for roughly $1500 US. Paget’s device would only capture 2G GSM phone calls. Carriers such as AT&T T +0.37% and T-Mobile would be vulnerable as they use GSM, unlike Verizon which relies on CDMA technology.
I was in attendance for this particular presentation and I had a disposable phone with me at the time. During the presentation when the device was switched on my phone was more than happy to oblige and seamlessly associated with the contraption that was across the room. Had I not been aware that this was going on, it was quite conceivable that I could have not noticed the change to the rogue tower. The point of this presentation was to raise awareness of the security flaws that affect GSM related phones.
‘US manufacturing has been lost. Now it’s happening to TV’
From Game of Thrones to Modern Family, more US TV series are being filmed outside America than ever before, says John Hiscock
Hollywood’s big-budget blockbuster movies have often been filmed overseas, particularly in England because of the tax incentives offered. Now television is following suit and more US series than ever before are filming outside North America. Why?
US TV networks are increasingly drawn by accommodating tax breaks, the easy availability of professional crews and the novelty of fresh scenery and different landscapes. This combination has greatly increased the attraction of shooting their shows overseas.
Smaller nations such as Sri Lanka have begun offering tax incentives, and others such as New Zealand have improved their own production infrastructures to make them state-of-the-art. Iceland recently lured the HBO series Game of Thrones as well as the feature films Noah and Prometheus.
In Japan, government and film industry officials are considering an incentive programme that would bring them in line with the more than 30 foreign countries trying to lure US TV series.
Even shows which are specifically set in California, such as the Fox TV series Alcatraz, have gone abroad. Alcatraz, whose story begins in the infamous prison in the San Franciso Bay, is in fact filmed in Vancouver, where now-cancelled series such as The X-Files were filmed in the past.
