Economy

Tansy_Gold

(17,847 posts) Tue Jun 17, 2014, 12:50 AM Jun 2014

STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 17 June 2014

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 17 June 2014[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 16 June 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 16 June 2014
[center][font color=green]
Dow Jones 16,781.01 +5.27 (0.03%)
S&P 500 1,937.78 +1.62 (0.08%)
Nasdaq 4,321.11 +10.45 (0.24%)

[font color=red]10 Year 2.60% +0.01 (0.39%)
[font color=black]30 Year 3.40% 0.00 (0.00%) [font color=black]

[center][/font]

[HR width=85%]

[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
[center] (click on link for updates)

http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
[/center]

[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

[/center]

[center]

[/center]

[HR width=95%]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
[center]
Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
[center]
The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
[center]
Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout

[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
[center]
LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
[center]
Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
[/center]

[div]
[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.

[HR width=95%]

[center]

[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

44 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 17 June 2014 (Original Post) Tansy_Gold Jun 2014 OP

IMF LOWERS ESTIMATE OF US ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 2014 xchrom Jun 2014 #1

Yup. The air is fast leaking out of THAT particular balloon for all nations Demeter Jun 2014 #11

You Can’t Have A Wage-Price Spiral Without Wages PAUL KRUGMAN Demeter Jun 2014 #27

GERMAN INVESTOR CONFIDENCE SLIPS 6TH MONTH IN ROW xchrom Jun 2014 #2

WORLD STOCKS MIXED AS INVESTORS WAIT FOR FED xchrom Jun 2014 #3

US FORCES MOVE INTO IRAQ WITH SECURITY MISSION xchrom Jun 2014 #4

Fomenting a Revolution: Extreme Acts of Greed Against the American People xchrom Jun 2014 #5

If We Want to Build Powerful Movement for Economic Justice, Poverty Can’t Be a “Separate Thing xchrom Jun 2014 #6

The only way to eliminate poverty is to spread the wealth and opportunity Demeter Jun 2014 #13

Doing for the Poor and Doing to the Poor xchrom Jun 2014 #7

The 37 Senators Who Voted for Millionaires Over Students xchrom Jun 2014 #8

I thought she was trying push for student loan intrest to be.... Hotler Jun 2014 #32

Wealthy Clintons Use Trusts to Limit Estate Tax They Back xchrom Jun 2014 #9

That's not all Demeter Jun 2014 #15

Didn't you hear? They were dead broke! Fuddnik Jun 2014 #33

Fuddnik, I would LOVE to be dead broke...with Presidential retirement retirement benefits! Demeter Jun 2014 #35

Retirees Suffer as 401(k) Rollover Boom Enriches Brokers xchrom Jun 2014 #10

Fed Will Raise Rates Faster Than Investors Bet, Survey Shows xchrom Jun 2014 #12

Well, they are welcome to try Demeter Jun 2014 #16

Europe’s Swollen Gas Reserves Guard Against Repeat of ’06 Crisis xchrom Jun 2014 #14

Krugman Jibes Linger as Biggest Party Seeks Riksbank Review xchrom Jun 2014 #17

Inflation is not a target Demeter Jun 2014 #18

Response to that cartoon: Sorry, You did not win, but thanks for playing! Demeter Jun 2014 #19

Biggest Thai Investors Say Stocks Are Too Expensive xchrom Jun 2014 #20

SNB Seen Shielding Franc for Longer After ECB Rate Cut xchrom Jun 2014 #21

China Aggression Sounds Wake-Up Call for Vietnam Makers xchrom Jun 2014 #22

China Stocks Lead Asia Lower as Foreign Investment Drops xchrom Jun 2014 #23

Abe Adviser Hamada Urges ‘Substantial’ Japan Company Tax Cut xchrom Jun 2014 #24

Offshore Cash of $2 Trillion Sparks Hunt for Tax-Friendly Deals xchrom Jun 2014 #25

The Curse of a Logical Mind Demeter Jun 2014 #26

EC chief Barroso: Bank of Spain’s poor supervision fueled the crisis xchrom Jun 2014 #28

Buying Health Insurance: A Pig in a Poke A DOCTOR'S TALE OF WOE Demeter Jun 2014 #29

House GOP approves more tax breaks without paying for them Demeter Jun 2014 #30

REALITY CALLS Demeter Jun 2014 #31

It's been a scorcher here for days. Fuddnik Jun 2014 #34

She needs a Thundershirt Demeter Jun 2014 #36

By the way, Reality is over-rated Demeter Jun 2014 #37

Reality does suck. Fuddnik Jun 2014 #39

Everyone I know who bought those say they don't work. Fuddnik Jun 2014 #38

10 Reasons You Should Not Move to Florida—From Floridians Who Know! Fuddnik Jun 2014 #40

Did they mention the heat and humidity, and Disney World? Demeter Jun 2014 #41

Nah, but they did mention me. Fuddnik Jun 2014 #42

Aw, Fuddnik. I appreciate your humor. nt antigop Jun 2014 #43

duzy on board! Demeter Jun 2014 #44

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

1. IMF LOWERS ESTIMATE OF US ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 2014

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 05:44 AM

Jun 2014

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IMF_US_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-16-15-51-45

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy is poised to accelerate after a dismal start to the year even though the job market won't return to full employment until 2017.

That was the forecast offered Monday in a report by the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF noted that steady job gains and other recent data suggest that the economy is rebounding. Employers have added 200,000-plus jobs for four straight months, and the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.3 percent. Auto sales and factory activity are increasing.

Yet growth in 2014 won't likely top last year's lackluster performance, the IMF says. The Washington-based organization foresees the economy growing a modest 2 percent in 2014, below its previous estimate of 2.7 percent. That would be nearly identical to the 1.9 percent growth in 2013.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

11. Yup. The air is fast leaking out of THAT particular balloon for all nations

Reply to xchrom (Reply #1)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:51 AM

Jun 2014

Ain't nobody recovering from this mass economic insanity of the 1% hegemons.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

27. You Can’t Have A Wage-Price Spiral Without Wages PAUL KRUGMAN

Reply to Demeter (Reply #11)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:41 AM

Jun 2014

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/you-cant-have-a-wage-price-spiral-without-wages/

There was a fairly characteristic argument over dinner last night about when the Fed should tighten. I’m in the camp that says it should wait until we see wages rising at least at pre-crisis rates. The other side says that wages are a lagging indicator, and if it waits that long the Fed will be behind the curve.

My answer to this is that I’m much more worried about a slide into a Japan-style trap of low or negative inflation than I am of a return to 70s-style stagflation, and that the big risk is that the Fed will tighten much too soon.

One thing should be clear: there is no sign of wage pressure. It’s important not to pick and choose, highlighting whichever wage measure is going fastest. Jared Bernstein does this the right way, taking the first principal component of a number of different wage series — basically a measure of the underlying wage trend that is imperfectly captured by any one measure, but much better captured by looking at all of them. It looks like this:

No hint of wage pressure — and also no hint that we’ve been closing the gap between actual and potential output. So my plea to the Fed: hold your fire.

I SUPPOSE THE THREAT OF A MANDATORY RISE AND BROADENING OF COVERAGE BY THE MINIMUM WAGE IS WHAT THEY ARE ALL HOT AND BOTHERED ABOUT...THAT'S A WAGE PRESSURE, ISN'T IT?

NO, ACTUALLY, IT ISN'T. IT'S A FLOOR UNDER THE ECONOMY, NOT A RAPPING AT A GLASS CEILING...

AND SPEAKING OF CEILINGS, IT'S ABOUT TIME THE CEOS OF THE NATION FACED ONE.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

2. GERMAN INVESTOR CONFIDENCE SLIPS 6TH MONTH IN ROW

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 05:46 AM

Jun 2014

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-17-05-41-23

BERLIN (AP) -- A survey shows that German investor confidence has fallen for the sixth consecutive month and has hit its lowest level since December 2012 amid concerns about a soft patch in Europe's largest economy.

The ZEW institute said Tuesday that its index measuring investors' economic outlook for the coming six months fell 3.3 points to 29.8 in June, following a much bigger drop in May.

At the same time, investors' assessment of the current situation in Germany improved.

Germany's economy grew by a robust 0.8 percent in the first quarter but recent data have sent mixed signals and second-quarter growth is expected to be slower.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

3. WORLD STOCKS MIXED AS INVESTORS WAIT FOR FED

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 05:48 AM

Jun 2014

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-17-05-23-24

HONG KONG (AP) -- World stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that's expected to update forecasts for the world's No. 1 economy.

The economic growth outlook for the U.S. became cloudier after the International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for 2014 growth to a modest 2 percent from 2.7 percent previously. The Fed's Open Market Committee is expected to follow suit and adjust its projections following the meeting, which concludes on Wednesday, after recent data showed that economy shrank in the first quarter because of a severe winter, while the unemployment rate has improved and inflation has picked up.

"These developments should lead to substantial revisions of the economic projections of FOMC participants," Rabobank strategists said in a report.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.8 percent to 9,966.71 while France's CAC 40 climbed 0.5 percent to 4,533.99. The FTSE 100 index of leading British companies advanced 0.3 percent to 6,772.01.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

4. US FORCES MOVE INTO IRAQ WITH SECURITY MISSION

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:08 AM

Jun 2014

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-17-03-10-11

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly 300 armed American forces are being positioned in and around Iraq to help secure U.S. assets as President Barack Obama nears a decision on an array of options for combating fast-moving Islamic insurgents, including airstrikes or a contingent of special forces.

The U.S. and Iran also held an initial discussion on how the longtime foes might cooperate to ease the threat from the al-Qaida-linked militants that have swept through Iraq. Still, the White House ruled out the possibility that Washington and Tehran might coordinate military operations in Iraq.

Obama met with his national security team Monday evening to discuss options for stopping the militants known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Officials said the president has made no final decisions on how aggressively the U.S. might get involved in Iraq, though the White House continued to emphasize that any military engagement remained contingent on the government in Baghdad making political reforms.

Still, there were unmistakable signs of Americans returning to a country from which the U.S. military fully withdrew more than two years ago. Obama notified Congress that up to 275 troops would be sent to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the American Embassy in Baghdad. The soldiers - 170 of which have already arrived in Iraq - were armed for combat, though Obama has insisted he does not intend for U.S. forces to be engaged in direct fighting.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

5. Fomenting a Revolution: Extreme Acts of Greed Against the American People

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:12 AM

Jun 2014

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/06/16

1. $1,000,000,000,000,000 in Sales. Not One Cent for Sales Tax

The trading volume on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reached an incomprehensible $1 quadrillion in notional value in 2012. That's a thousand trillion dollars. In comparison, the entire U.S. GDP is $17 trillion.

***SNIP

2. A Single Tax-Avoider Made More Money in 2013 Than ALL the Emergency Responders in the U.S.

Warren Buffett watched his net worth grow by $12 billion in one year, much more than the $8.3 billion our country spends on almost a quarter-million Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics.

***SNIP

3. Walmart: $13,000 per U.S. Employee Taken in Profits, $4,000 per U.S. Employee Taken from Taxpayers

It gets worse. In addition to Walmart's $19 billion in U.S. profits last year, the four Walton siblings together made about $29 billion from their personal investments. That's over $33,000 per U.S. employee in profits and family stock gains. Yet they pay their 1.4 million American employees so little that the average Walmart worker depends on about $4,000 per year in taxpayer assistance, for food stamps and other safety net programs.

***SNIP

4. U.S. Wealth Grew by $25 Trillion in the Recovery, but 90 Percent of Us Got NONE of It

U.S. wealth grew from $47 trillion to $72 trillion in the four years after the recession, largely as a reflection of continued American productivity. In other words, a full one-third of the total wealth in the U.S. in 2013 was generated since 2009. But the richest 10% took all of it.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

6. If We Want to Build Powerful Movement for Economic Justice, Poverty Can’t Be a “Separate Thing

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:15 AM

Jun 2014

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/06/16-4

Fifty years after President Johnson declared war on poverty, it’s time to reimagine anti-poverty work for the next fifty years. In doing so, one thing seems central: the need to build a broad-based progressive movement for economic justice and security. This movement needs to encompass not just the 15 percent living below our outmoded poverty line, but all people who struggle to make ends meet and aren’t getting the dignity, security, and compensation they deserve.

Much of our current approach to poverty dates back to the early 1960s. At that time, America was commonly viewed as an affluent society in which prosperity was widely shared. But there was growing recognition that we had a pesky poverty problem. The general sentiment back then is captured in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which declared that the benefits of economic prosperity were “widely shared throughout the nation” but “poverty continues to be the lot of a substantial number of our people.” There was also a view that people living in poverty were a distinct minority, one very different from those in the middle and working classes. To cite perhaps the most influential example, Michael Harrington’s 1962 book on poverty, elites often thought of low-income people as “a different kind of people” living in an “other America.”

Given this, it seemed technically possible in the 1960s to eliminate poverty through a targeted approach that mostly relied on narrowly means-tested benefits and services along with education and training. And this approach seemed politically possible, despite its costs and narrow targeting, because it was assumed that the middle class would become increasingly prosperous and thus have little objection to expanding targeted programs until poverty was eliminated.

It could have worked. As economist Elise Gould has highlighted, if the gains from economic growth had continued to be shared with middle- and low-income people in the same way as they were in the initial decades following World War II, the official poverty rate would have fallen to somewhere near zero in the 1980s.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

13. The only way to eliminate poverty is to spread the wealth and opportunity

Reply to xchrom (Reply #6)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:52 AM

Jun 2014

I don't see that happening in my lifetime. Nor my kids'.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

7. Doing for the Poor and Doing to the Poor

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:21 AM

Jun 2014

Doing for the Poor and Doing to the Poor

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/24372-doing-for-the-poor-and-doing-to-the-poor

U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin speaking at the 2014 CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland. Conservatives like Ryan have argued that cutting support for low-income people will provide incentive for them to have a higher-income. (Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr)

Washington is full of well-meaning types who want to help the poor. The list of prospective helpers includes not only the standard liberal do-gooder types talking about programs like pre-K education, but also conservatives like Paul Ryan who argue that taking away food stamps and other benefits will give low-income people the motivation they need to go out and get a job.

While sincere efforts to help the poor should be encouraged, we should also realize that our current economic policies are doing much to harm the poor. First and foremost we should realize that the decision to maintain high rates of unemployment is having a devastating impact on the well-being of millions of low and moderate income workers and their children.

The reasons are straightforward. When the overall unemployment rate goes up, the rate for the less-educated and minorities rises even more. This has been a regular pattern in the data for many decades that has been very visible in the current downturn.

Before the recession the overall unemployment rate was at 4.5 percent. It peaked at 10.0 percent in the fall of 2009 before gradually falling back to its current 6.3 percent. By contrast, the unemployment rate for workers without high school degrees rose from just over 7.0 percent in the months before the recession to a peak of more than 15.0 percent in peak months in 2009 and 2010. This is an increase of 8.0 percentage points. The unemployment rate for blacks rose from just over 8.0 percent before the recession to a peak of more than 16.0 percent, also a rise of 8.0 percentage points.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

8. The 37 Senators Who Voted for Millionaires Over Students

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:24 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/24343-the-37-senators-who-today-voted-for-millionaires-over-students

On Wednesday, June 11, Senate Republicans sided with 22,000 millionaires over 40 million Americans with student debt by blocking the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act.

The 56-38 vote fell shy of the 60 needed to prevent the bill, sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), from being filibustered. The bill would have allowed existing student loan borrowers the chance to refinance their debt at today's lower interest rates and would be fully paid for by enacting the "Buffet rule," which ensures billionaires and millionaires pay their fair share of taxes.

Refinancing student loans is common sense. Homeowners, businesses, and even local governments are able to refinance their debts, yet graduates are being penalized for simply getting an education and a fighting chance at entering the middle class. There is no economic argument against the bill, either. Refinancing would help stimulate the economy by putting $62.9 billion back into the pockets of the millions struggling with student debt who need it the most.

"With this vote we show the American people who we work for in the United States Senate: billionaires or students," said Warren. "A vote on this legislation is a vote to give millions of young people a fair shot at building their future."

Hotler

(11,396 posts)

32. I thought she was trying push for student loan intrest to be....

Reply to xchrom (Reply #8)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 09:11 AM

Jun 2014

the same as what the banks pay when they get their money from the Fed window. Fucking banks can charge over 3% for loans and we can't get 1% on savings account.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

9. Wealthy Clintons Use Trusts to Limit Estate Tax They Back

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:27 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-17/wealthy-clintons-use-trusts-to-limit-estate-tax-they-back.html

Bill and Hillary Clinton have long supported an estate tax to prevent the U.S. from being dominated by inherited wealth. That doesn’t mean they want to pay it.

To reduce the tax pinch, the Clintons are using financial planning strategies befitting the top 1 percent of U.S. households in wealth. These moves, common among multimillionaires, will help shield some of their estate from the tax that now tops out at 40 percent of assets upon death.

The Clintons created residence trusts in 2010 and shifted ownership of their New York house into them in 2011, according to federal financial disclosures and local property records.

Among the tax advantages of such trusts is that any appreciation in the house’s value can happen outside their taxable estate. The move could save the Clintons hundreds of thousands of dollars in estate taxes, said David Scott Sloan, a partner at Holland & Knight LLP in Boston.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

15. That's not all

Reply to xchrom (Reply #9)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:55 AM

Jun 2014

Creditors cannot touch a house in a trust. It is something ANYONE can do, and damn near everyone I know has done so. I've got to get out from under the daily BS and do it, too.

Fuddnik

(8,846 posts)

33. Didn't you hear? They were dead broke!

Reply to xchrom (Reply #9)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 09:58 AM

Jun 2014

They had to rely on the benevolence of hedge funds and venture capitalists just to survive, and foot the bill for a $2 million wedding for Chelsea.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

35. Fuddnik, I would LOVE to be dead broke...with Presidential retirement retirement benefits!

Reply to Fuddnik (Reply #33)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 10:18 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.ntu.org/governmentbytes/government-reform/bill-clintons-federal-retirement-benefits.html

How much do you think that former Presidents get from taxpayers each year? Bill Clinton gets an average $1.09 million and that's not including his Secret Service protection or any trips that might come up (like state funerals or any international negotiations that he might be a part of)...

The Former Presidents Act (FPA; 3 U.S.C. §102 note) charges the General Services Administration (GSA) with providing former Presidents a pension, support staff, office support, travel funds, and mailing privileges. The FPA was enacted to “maintain the dignity” of the Office of the President.

The act provides the former President—and his or her spouse—certain benefits to help him respond to post-presidency mail and speaking requests, among other informal public duties often required of a former President. Prior to enactment of the FPA in 1958, former Presidents leaving office received no pension or other federal assistance.

Former Presidents currently receive a pension that is equal to pay for Cabinet Secretaries
(Executive Level I), which was $199,700 in calendar year 2013. Executive Level I pay is set at
$201,700 for calendar year 2014. In addition to benefits provided pursuant to the FPA, former
Presidents are also provided Secret Service protection and financial “transition” benefits to assist their transition to post-presidential life. Pursuant to the FPA, former Presidents are eligible for benefits unless they hold “an appointive or elective office or position in or under the Federal Government or the government of the District of Columbia to which is attached a rate of pay other than a nominal rate.”

For FY2014, Congress appropriated $3,550,000 for expenditures for former Presidents (P.L. 113-
74), $113,000 (3.1%) less than the $3,663,000 appropriated for FY2013 (P.L. 113-6). For
FY2015, President Obama requested $3,344,000 for expenditures for former Presidents.

On January 10, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the Former Presidents Protection Act of
2012 (P.L. 112-257), which extended lifetime Secret Service protection to former Presidents and their children. Prior to the bill’s enactment, President George W. Bush would have been the first former President to have his post-presidency Secret Service protection limited to 10 years.
Some critics of the Former Presidents Act say it subsidizes Presidents who are not struggling
financially. Others argue that although a former President is not in a formal public position, he
remains a public figure and should be provided a pension and benefits that permit him to perform
duties that emerge as a result of his public status.

GSA data on payments to former Presidents show that the value of benefits provided to each of
the living former Presidents—when adjusted for inflation—have generally declined from FY1998
through FY2014. The nominal appropriation levels for former Presidents’ benefits, however,
increased through FY2011 and then declined from FY2011 through FY2014.

This report provides a legislative and cultural history of the Former Presidents Act. It details the
benefits provided to former Presidents and their costs. Congress has the authority to reduce,
increase, or maintain the pension and benefits provided to former Presidents of the United States.

This report considers the potential effects of maintaining the FPA or amending the FPA in ways
that might reduce or otherwise modify a former President’s benefits....

www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34631.pdf

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

10. Retirees Suffer as 401(k) Rollover Boom Enriches Brokers

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:32 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-17/retirees-suffer-as-401-k-rollover-boom-enriches-brokers.html

Kathleen Tarr says AT&T Inc. (T) employees looked to her as “their de facto 401(k) expert.” Visiting their homes and offices, she advised them on their retirement plans as they called up balances on computer screens.

Actually, Tarr worked for Royal Alliance Associates, a brokerage firm owned by insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) She encouraged hundreds of departing AT&T employees to roll over their retirement money into the kind of risky high-commission investments that Wall Street’s self-regulatory agency warns against on its website.

Tarr and her business partner reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in commissions and trips to the Bahamas and Florida resorts. Not all of her clients fared as well, and 37 of them have filed complaints against her, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records reviewed by Bloomberg News. Tarr and Royal Alliance say the investment choices were appropriate.

“It’s scary,” said Maria Lew, a former AT&T administrative assistant and Tarr client whose account balance has fallen to $100,000 from $390,000. She fears she will lose her home, and her kitchen ceiling has a gaping hole because of a leak that will strain her budget to fix. “There are days when I go to sleep and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

12. Fed Will Raise Rates Faster Than Investors Bet, Survey Shows

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:52 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-17/fed-will-raise-rates-faster-than-investors-expect-survey-shows.html

The Federal Reserve will probably raise its benchmark interest rate faster than money-market investors expect, according to most economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Eurodollar futures, the world’s most actively traded short-term interest-rate contract, are underestimating the pace of tightening over the next two years, according to 55 percent of 56 economists in the June 12-16 survey. Fed officials begin a two-day meeting today in Washington.

Investors in the contracts are assuming a slower pace of rate increases than the Fed itself, said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economist at RDQ Economics in New York. They may also be overlooking recent reports showing the world’s largest economy is gaining strength after contracting in the first quarter, he said.

“I find it kind of odd that the market is not even priced for the median forecast the Fed has delivered,” DeQuadros said. “There is going to be an adjustment upward.”

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

16. Well, they are welcome to try

Reply to xchrom (Reply #12)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:56 AM

Jun 2014

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

14. Europe’s Swollen Gas Reserves Guard Against Repeat of ’06 Crisis

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:54 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-16/europe-s-swollen-gas-reserves-guard-against-repeat-of-06-crisis.html

The European Union’s biggest gas inventories in three years are cushioning the region from Russian supply disruptions and helping avoid a repeat of previous crises when prices rose as much as fourfold.

OAO Gazprom, Russia’s state-run gas company, cut supplies to Ukraine yesterday after a deadline for debt payment expired. The move echoed similar disputes that disrupted shipments to Europe during freezing weather in 2006 and 2009. Europe, dependent on Russian gas piped through Ukraine for about 15 percent of its needs, has tried since May 2 to broker a deal to maintain flows. European gas prices, which rallied the most since March yesterday, erased gains today.

Storage in the 28 member states was 65 percent full as of yesterday, the highest for this time of year since 2011, according to Brussels-based lobby group Gas Infrastructure Europe. U.K. prices, a regional benchmark, probably won’t gain more than 5.6 percent, assuming the cut lasts two weeks or less, Trevor Sikorski, an analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd., a consulting firm to the industry in London, said yesterday.

“It doesn’t mean much yet for Europe because it’s the middle of the summer, gas supplies are relatively high,” Daragh McDowell, the senior Russia analyst at Maplecroft Ltd. in Bath, England, said yesterday by phone. “It’s not at the point where it’s really setting alarm bells in Europe.”

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

17. Krugman Jibes Linger as Biggest Party Seeks Riksbank Review

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:56 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-16/krugman-jibes-linger-as-sweden-s-biggest-party-targets-riksbank.html

Two months after Nobel laureate Paul Krugman criticized Sweden’s central bank for exposing the largest Nordic economy to a deflationary spiral, the country’s biggest party is seeking a monetary policy review.

The Social Democrats, who polls show will head the government after elections in September, are open to letting an independent body review monetary policy after five consecutive months of declining consumer prices and as unemployment exceeds rates elsewhere in Scandinavia.

“The Riksbank has not fulfilled the inflation target,” Stefan Loefven, head of the party and the front-runner to become Sweden’s next prime minister, said yesterday in an interview in Stockholm. “If you give someone a task, we must be able to discuss whether they have managed that task or not, or the target to be more precise, I absolutely think we should be allowed to do that.”

The world’s oldest central bank has shown reluctance to cut interest rates in part to avoid a build-up in mortgage debt, now at a record 370 percent of disposable incomes. That’s drawn criticism from trade unions and even members of the Riksbank’s own board, who argue the policy has contributed to unemployment. Krugman in April entered the debate, describing the Riksbank’s policy as “sadomonetarism.”

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

18. Inflation is not a target

Reply to xchrom (Reply #17)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:57 AM

Jun 2014

Inflation is the result of mismanaging income and outgo at the national level, and starving the taxpayers into poverty.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

19. Response to that cartoon: Sorry, You did not win, but thanks for playing!

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 06:59 AM

Jun 2014

Please pay the banksters on your way out.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

20. Biggest Thai Investors Say Stocks Are Too Expensive

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:00 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-16/biggest-thai-investors-say-stocks-are-too-expensive.html

Two of Thailand’s biggest money managers say the surge in stocks that sent the benchmark SET Index (SET) into a bull market yesterday has gone too far, too fast.

The nation’s Social Security Office, which invests pension contributions from local workers, is holding cash in anticipation of a market decline, Win Phromphaet, the SSO’s head of investments, said at a conference in Bangkok yesterday. Investors are too sanguine about the prospects for economic growth after the army seized control of the government on May 22, according to Prasert Khanobthamchai, the chief investment officer at Kasikorn Asset Management Co.

The money managers are skeptical the rally will last after the benchmark SET Index jumped 20 percent from this year’s low on bets the military government will fast-track measures to revive the economy. The stock measure is valued at 13.5 times estimated 12-month earnings, 14 percent more expensive than the five-year average. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index trades at a multiple of 10.9.

“Thai stocks have limited upside now as several share prices have exceeded our price targets,” said Win, who invests about 100 billion baht ($3 billion) in domestic equities. “We are holding cash and very cautious.”

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

21. SNB Seen Shielding Franc for Longer After ECB Rate Cut

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:02 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-16/snb-seen-shielding-franc-for-longer-after-ecb-rate-cut.html

The European Central Bank’s monetary stimulus has prompted economists to extend forecasts for how long the Swiss National Bank will keep its franc ceiling in place.

Only six of 22 participants in the Bloomberg Monthly Survey say the central bank led by President Thomas Jordan will exit its policy to cap the Swiss franc by the end of 2015. A month ago, half of the economists questioned said the SNB would do so by then.

The ECB’s decision this month to unleash unprecedented easing, including a move to a negative deposit rate, raised the prospect that the SNB might even consider following suit. A worsening euro-area economic outlook with looser monetary policy has echoes of 2011, when turmoil prompted investor inflows into the franc that pushed it close to parity with the euro and prompted the SNB to react by creating the cap.

“The recent interest-rate cut by the ECB suggests that the exchange-rate floor may remain in place for longer,” Maxime Botteron, an economist at Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich, who sees the limit in effect until at least the end of 2015. “As long as inflation remains so low, there is no need to tighten monetary policy in Switzerland.”

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

22. China Aggression Sounds Wake-Up Call for Vietnam Makers

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:04 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-16/china-aggression-sounds-wake-up-call-for-vietnam-s-manufacturers.html

For more than eight years, Luong Thi Kim Oanh bought cases of thread from China for her garment factory in Hanoi. Last month, rattled by an anti-China riot in her country, she placed her first order from South Korea.

“I used to buy 90 percent of my thread from China,” said Oanh, 52, who employs about 200 people at Viet Hung Garments & Embroidery. “Shifting sourcing may cost us more, but we need to think of it now, or it may be too late. You never know how things may turn out.”

Oanh fears a further disruption in trade after last month’s violent protests following China’s placement of an oil rig in disputed waters. The unrest halted production at foreign-owned factories and caused Chinese workers to flee. While China is the nation’s largest trading partner, Vietnam must reduce its dependence and develop a contingency plan to cope with any “hiccups, turbulence,” Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Vu Tien Loc said this month.

More Vietnamese businesses may have to consider alternatives as the country prepares to file a legal suit challenging China’s claims to the disputed waters. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said in an interview last month that his administration had prepared evidence and was ready for legal action against the world’s second-largest economy.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

23. China Stocks Lead Asia Lower as Foreign Investment Drops

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:06 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-17/asia-stocks-little-changed-before-federal-reserve-meeting.html

Asian stocks fell for a fourth day, led by the biggest drop in almost a month for Chinese shares, after foreign direct investment in the world’s second-largest economy unexpectedly declined.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. retreated 1.3 percent in Shanghai and SoftBank Corp. (9984) fell 2.5 percent in Tokyo, with financial and telecommunications companies posting the largest declines of the regional index’s 10 industry groups. New World China Land Ltd. plunged 17 percent in Hong Kong after a $2.4 billion plan by New World Development Ltd. to privatize the China property business collapsed.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) declined less than 0.1 percent to 143.66 at 6:33 p.m. in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.9 percent, its largest retreat since May 19.

“The slowdown in China is the one thing that could really disrupt these markets,” Leonard Tannenbaum, chief executive officer of Fifth Street Management LLC, said in a Bloomberg TV interview from Tokyo. “Money is very tight, the banks continue to tighten and that’s going to slow the growth rate.”

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

24. Abe Adviser Hamada Urges ‘Substantial’ Japan Company Tax Cut

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:08 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-17/abe-adviser-hamada-urges-substantial-cut-in-japan-company-tax.html

Shinzo Abe should cut the corporate tax rate in one stroke to match rivals and help Japan survive a global tax “war,” said an adviser to the prime minister.

“It’ll be much less effective if we don’t substantially cut the levy,” Koichi Hamada, 78, a retired Yale University professor who advises Abe on monetary policy, said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. “By cutting the rate significantly, Japan can attract investment from abroad and keep Japanese companies at home.”

Abe said last week he’d aim to lower corporate taxes from next year to under 30 percent over the next few years. Hamada proposes reducing the levy of about 35 percent -- the second highest among Group of Seven nations -- to a rate close to the 23 percent in the U.K. and 24 percent in South Korea.

“Japan hasn’t done anything in the corporate tax war so far,” said Hamada. “We won’t be accused of starting a tax war because the current rate is so high.”

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

25. Offshore Cash of $2 Trillion Sparks Hunt for Tax-Friendly Deals

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:11 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-16/offshore-cash-of-2-trillion-sparks-hunt-for-tax-friendly-deals.html

What’s greasing the wheels for the rise in mergers by U.S. companies? The tax man.

Two tax-code quirks -- one that charges U.S. companies when they repatriate overseas earnings, the other that allows them to claim a foreign domicile without moving their senior leadership abroad -- are motivating U.S. companies to buy overseas counterparts in part to lower their bills.

Takeovers by U.S. companies of targets in low-tax environments -- those with a corporate tax rate of below 20 percent -- have doubled in proportion to all overseas deals, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts. The desire for such an arrangement, known as a tax inversion, is a factor in Medtronic Inc. (MDT)’s $42.9 billion purchase of Covidien Plc (COV) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE)’s more than $100 billion effort to buy AstraZeneca Plc. (AZN)

“If you have a lot of cash trapped offshore, then the potential tax savings are likely to be larger,” said Marc Zenner, co-head of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s corporate finance advisory group. “With bigger tax savings, you can offer a bigger premium and it’s harder for a target company to say no to an offer.”

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

26. The Curse of a Logical Mind

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:32 AM

Jun 2014

AND SPEAKING OF TERRIBLE IDEAS...

NOT TO MENTION, PSYCHOPATHY

AND THE SUPERIORITY OF NATURAL TALENT AND STRONG ETHICS...LIKE SNOWDEN, AND OTHERS:

YES, FOLKS, WE ARE THE CHARLIE BROWN NATION!

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

28. EC chief Barroso: Bank of Spain’s poor supervision fueled the crisis

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:41 AM

Jun 2014

http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/16/inenglish/1402937907_299768.html

The president of the European Commission (EC), José Manuel Durão Barroso, on Monday blamed the Bank of Spain for making “very significant errors of supervision” that added to the Spanish banking crisis.

Barroso, who is reaching the end of his term at the helm of the EC, said the Spanish watchdog’s mistakes contributed to the real estate bubble and ensuing property crash. He also rejected claims that Brussels holds some responsibility for the crisis.

In 2012 Spain accepted a European bank bailout to support a sector that was struggling from overexposure to non-performing real estate loans. Regional saving banks, known as cajas de ahorro, were particularly hard hit and forced to merge beginning in 2009.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

29. Buying Health Insurance: A Pig in a Poke A DOCTOR'S TALE OF WOE

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:46 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/06/buying-health-insurance-pig-poke.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

By Michael Gorback, M.D., board-certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. He taught for 8 years at Duke University and is the author of 32 scientific articles and textbook chapters, and one medical book. Dr. Gorback currently practices pain management at the Center for Pain Relief in Houston, TX, and claims that nobody has ever suffered due to lack of knowledge of his opinion. Cross posted from Testosterone Pit

I recently called my pharmacy to refill my blood pressure medication. I have taken this medication for years with good control and no side effects. There has never been a problem with refills other than my family doctor insisting that 5 years really is too long to go without being seen by him.

Until now.

This time the pharmacy called to inform me that the prescription would require “pre-authorization” – an interesting term that I can’t really distinguish from plain old “authorization.” I suppose there is post-authorization, in the form of “it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission,” but this rarely works with insurance companies. Actually it doesn’t work at all when someone is looking for an excuse not to pay for something.

I asked the pharmacy to forward the request to my family doctor, along with a picture of me so he would remember what I look like. Eventually my doctor’s office called and said they couldn’t get the medication pre-authorized and they prescribed another, similar medication that was ok with my insurance company. The difference between these two drugs was the cost. The insurance company, after years of paying for my medication, simply changed the rules and forced me to get another drug that cost less. The alternative was to pay full freight at about $170/month because they wouldn’t cover it at all.

The point of this exercise is not that there were cheaper drugs available that had the same pharmacologic action (a topic for another day) but that my insurer could change the rules without my knowledge or approval. As it turns out, when you purchase a health insurance policy, you only think you know what you’re buying. You know parameters such as the deductible, coinsurance, premium, maximum out of pocket, and so on. You know whether or not you have maternity coverage, psychiatry coverage, a lifetime cap – and all sorts of nonspecific things. But the devil doesn’t lurk in nonspecific things, does he? Your policy documents don’t specifically say that certain drugs aren’t covered, or that you might have to try one or more other drugs before they will cover it, or they might refuse to cover it because your condition is not listed as an FDA-approved use for the drug. One of my colleagues relates an amusing story about this hypocritical farce. He prescribed pregabalin for a patient. The insurer denied it. He spoke with a doctor at the insurance company, who said they wouldn’t cover pregabalin because it wasn’t FDA-approved for that condition. He said they would cover a very similar drug called gabapentin. Gabapentin is cheaper than pregabalin. My colleague then observed that gabapentin wasn’t FDA-approved for that condition either. Upon which the insurance company authorized pregabalin. Or was it pre-authorized?....MORE UGLY STORIES....There is no way you can know any of this when you sign your contract. Even if you could, they can change it whenever they feel like it, just like they did to me. One year they might pay for a certain treatment, the next year they might decide there’s not enough evidence and your coverage is gone.

You have to use your policy if you want to find out what’s in it.

AND THAT, BOYS AND GIRLS IS WHY UNIVERSAL, SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE IS THE ONLY LOGICAL WAY TO GO.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

30. House GOP approves more tax breaks without paying for them

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 07:59 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-gop-approves-more-tax-breaks-without-paying-them

At this point, congressional Republicans no longer even try to justify the rhetorical contradictions. When Democrats want to make any kind of public investment, even after a natural disaster, GOP officials insist every penny must be fully paid for without raising anyone’s taxes by any amount at any time. But when those same Republican lawmakers want to cut taxes, they magically discover that the deficit isn’t so important after all.

The House on Thursday passed two bills to permanently extend tax credits that expired at the end of 2013 despite veto threats from the Obama administration.

The more expensive of the two tax measures the House passed, 272-144, extends a provision known as Section 179 that allows small businesses to write off up to $500,000 worth of investments a year. […]

The House also passed, 263-155, a pair of incentives, packaged together in one bill, to help a type of small business known as S corporations. S corporations do not pay federal income taxes and instead pass along income to their shareholders, who then report that on their personal tax returns.

The final roll call on the first bill is here, the roll call on the second is here. SEE LINKS. Both enjoyed near-unanimous support from the same House Republicans who believe the United States is facing a debt crisis and that the budget deficit risks destroying future generations’ lives. Combined these new permanent tax breaks will cost roughly $75 billion over the next 10 years. How much of that cost did GOP lawmakers try to offset? Zero.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said the costs associated with these tax breaks have “never been offset,” which is true – previous Congresses have just added the price tag to the deficit to be dealt with in the future. But it’s also true that the costs associated with extending unemployment benefits have “never been offset,” either. And yet, Camp and his conservative colleagues won’t even allow the House to vote on jobless aid, whether the bill is fully paid for or not. It’s a matter of priorities: corporate tax breaks have been deemed important; assistance to the unemployed has been deemed unimportant.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because House Republicans did the exact same thing a month ago, extending anther $156 billion in tax breaks without paying for them.

***********

It’s a simple rule: if Democrats want to invest in the public, the deficit is paramount. When Republicans want to pass a tax break, the deficit is irrelevant.

Today it was $75 billion in tax breaks over the next 10 years. If Democrats proposed investing $75 billion over 10 years on economic policies with a proven track record of success, but Dems decided not to bother trying to pay for it, is there any chance at all Republicans would support it? Of course not – we’d instead hear rhetoric about Democrats bankrupting America’s future, punishing our grandchildren, and borrowing from China while creating a debt crisis.

What a fraudulent joke.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

31. REALITY CALLS

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 08:02 AM

Jun 2014

And it's going to be a scorcher. Stay cool, everyone (except Tansy, who is freezing her assets off in Seattle suburbia...warm thoughts, Tansy!)

Fuddnik

(8,846 posts)

34. It's been a scorcher here for days.

Reply to Demeter (Reply #31)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 10:13 AM

Jun 2014

At least we had some cooling thunderstorms last night. And more expected all week.

I think I'll have to swing by the Vet's office, and get some doggie xanax for Sara.

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

36. She needs a Thundershirt

Reply to Fuddnik (Reply #34)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 10:22 AM

Jun 2014

http://www.thundershirt.com/Product/Thundershirt.aspx?item_guid=ad60b946-f758-45e2-a589-331dda09637e&gclid=CKKz8e6Ngb8CFYRcMgodtzYA8Q

ThunderShirt's patented design applies a gentle, constant pressure that has a dramatic calming effect for over 80% of dogs.

Most effective anxiety solution as voted by veterinarians
Already helping hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats across the country
Great for storms, separation, travel and many other anxieties
No need for training or medication

Demeter

(85,373 posts)

37. By the way, Reality is over-rated

Reply to Demeter (Reply #36)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 11:15 AM

Jun 2014

I'm now in search of a good fantasy....and it's not even noon, yet.

Fuddnik

(8,846 posts)

39. Reality does suck.

Reply to Demeter (Reply #37)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 11:29 AM

Jun 2014

I'm debating 2 possible options.

Get on the motorcycle or go to the golf course. Or, I could turn on my Uber i-phone and try to make some money. But, if I learned one thing in the taxi business, it's that Tuesdays suck.

Fuddnik

(8,846 posts)

38. Everyone I know who bought those say they don't work.

Reply to Demeter (Reply #36)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 11:26 AM

Jun 2014

So, for now, it's Benadryl stuffed inside Velveeta.

Fuddnik

(8,846 posts)

40. 10 Reasons You Should Not Move to Florida—From Floridians Who Know!

Reply to Tansy_Gold (Original post)

Tue Jun 17, 2014, 11:37 AM

Jun 2014

10 Reasons You Should Not Move to Florida—From Floridians Who Know!
The state is sinking in more ways than one.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/10-reasons-you-should-not-move-florida-floridians-who-know

June 16, 2014 |

Florida is sinking and it’s not because of climate change. A new report, Florida – A State of Embarassment, by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans (FLARA), categorizes the reasons why seniors and young families should not move there.

The report cites crimes that prey on the elderly, regressive taxes, growing gaps between rich and poor, low spending for public schools and libraries, unmet job ands social welfare needs, high home foreclosure rates, poor emergency medical care, and more.

“Behind Florida’s palm trees, tropical birds and beautiful beaches is a state with a multitude of very serious problems that are being ignored by its political leaders,” it begins. “These problems undermine the potential for prosperity for Florida’s residents and place their future at risk."

Here's 10 reasons why Florida is not all sunshine.

1. “Ground zero” for health care fraud. According to several reports by the FBI, Florida leads the U.S. in health care fraud, which it says is a $80 billion a year problem.

2. Most identity theft in the nation. Citing a 2012 Federal Trade Commission report, the state had 361.3 complaints per 100,000 population. This included government documents and benefits fraud (mostly false IRS tax returns), credit card fraud, telephone or utilities fraud and bank fraud. FLARA said, “Identity theft is so acute in Florida that nine of the ten large urban areas nationally with the highest rates of identity theft are in Florida. The Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area leads the nation with 645.4 complaints per 100,000 population, followed by Naples-Marco Island with a rate of 397.8 and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater with a rate of 352.3.”

3. More shady crimes in Sunshine state. The FLARA report had the sixth highest violent crime rate in the country—murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, according to 2013 FBI statistics. It also had the nation’s highest level of public corruption convictions, with more than 8,000 government officials arrested between 2000 and 2010, and 1,126 convictions, FLARA said.

4. Second most regressive taxes in U.S. Florida is known for being a state where you can keep your home no matter what legal troubles occurred in another state. But FLARA says that perk comes with a price: regressive taxes. “The [state’s] poor and the middle class are taxed at higher rates than than the wealthy in all but one state (Washington),” it said. “The poorest 20 percent of Florida’s non-elderly persons paid 13.2 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes, compared with 8.3 percent for the middle 60 percent [of taxpayers], and 2.3 percent for the top 1 percent.

(snip)