Senate GOP Blocks Windfall Taxes On Big Oil

Do you need any more proof that the GOP is bad for the middle class?

Saved by Senate Republicans, big oil companies dodged an attempt Tuesday to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the record gasoline prices that have the nation fuming.

GOP senators shoved aside the Democratic proposal, arguing that punishing Big Oil won't do a thing to lower the $4-a-gallon-price of gasoline that is sending economic waves across the country. High prices at the pump are threatening everything from summer vacations to Meals on Wheels deliveries to the elderly.

To make matters worse they made sure that alternate sources of energy would lose their tax breaks.

Shortly after the oil tax vote, Republicans blocked a second proposal that would extend tax breaks that have either expired or are scheduled to end this year for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. Again Democrats couldn't get the 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster.

The GOP will continue to stand in the way of economic progress that could help the average family until there is a filibuster proof Democratic majority. Remember this come November and make them a permanent minority party if not an instinct party. If you are a middle class American and vote for more of this shit then you are worse than stupid, you are suicidal. Disgusting absolutely disgusting.

Hillary Clinton Concedes

She may have lost but she has forever changed the role of women in politics. I didn't always agree with her tactics but I did feel something wonderful was lost today when she ended her historic run for the Presidency. Unfortunately only one could win but both made history. Hillary Clinton will remain a force to be reckoned with and will forever be known as the woman who broke through so many boundaries. Love her or hate her it is hard not to feel some sense of pride in her accomplishments and some sadness that someone had to lose..

Unemployment Rate Sees Largest Monthly Jump Since 1986

The national unemployment rate increased by a half percentage point in May, the largest monthly jump since 1986, and employers cut 49,000 jobs.

There are about 1.5 million more unemployed job hunters now than at this time a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. An estimated 8.5 million unemployed people are looking for work.

Joblessness in May soared to 5.5 percent, up from 5 percent in April, reaching its highest rate since October 2004.

Every time you turn around the economic news worsens. Families across the country are afraid of what tomorrow holds.

"The numbers are consistent with an economy on the edge of recession, if not in one," said Frank Lenk, chief economist at the Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City. "Since payroll employment data tends to get revised downward once all the data is collected, it might be worse than the current data suggests."

The statistics bureau's report did, indeed, issue revised employment counts for March and April, indicating that employers had 15,000 fewer workers on their payrolls in April and 15,000 fewer on their March payrolls than initially estimated for those months.

The jobs report indicated that the January-May period this year represents the first time since February-June 2003 that national payrolls declined for five consecutive months.

John McCain will be having some sleepless nights digesting this report. Remember he recently said people were better off now then they were seven years ago. Sure they are John for your rich lobbyist friends. The rest of us are screwed.

Oil Surges To A Record $138.00

When will world governments do something about the rampant speculation that is driving prices through the roof?

Oil prices shot up nearly $11 a barrel and settled Friday at a record $138.54 on geopolitical jitters, a dollar decline and a forecast that oil would hit $150 by July 4.

Friday's spike in the July contract for light crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange marks the largest single-day increase in oil prices on record. The contract hit an intraday record of $139.12, breaking the previous trading record of $135.09.

"The bulls are running rampant and the bears have panicked," said oil industry analyst Stephen Schork, editor of the Schork Report. "It's pure hysteria, absolute panic," he added.

The rally highlighted concerns that retail gas prices, which have surged near a nationwide average of $4 a gallon, will continue to crimp consumer spending and fuel inflation.

I know many people who have no choice but to drive to work since Public transportation is not an option and they are suffering.

I remember when they said oil would not hit $100.00 per barrel. That now seems like a bargain. This will have a devastating effect on the economy and will push us into a deep and lasting recession. Our standard of living is already on the decline. When will we finally recognize that these insane conservative economic policies are destroying this country and its people? Will we let them fool us again in 2008 and vote against our own best interests?

The economic situation in this country and I am sure soon around the world is frightening. The rich have made their millions and the rest of us can now all go to hell.

Consumer Debt Jumps $8.9 Billion

Americans' personal debt jumped to a more-than-expected $2.6 trillion in April, according to a report from the Federal Reserve released Friday.

The largest debtor nation on earth has a population also addicted to debt. When will we reverse this trend and start living within our means? The answer to that could be frightening. I beleive the rise in this number is the result of Americans trying to get fixed income loans to pay off ridiculpusly high interest rates on revolving credit. The American middle class is now the working poor with a credit line. A line that most are near the end of.

Homes In Foreclosure Top 1 Million

Mortgage bankers report hits a grim benchmark in first quarter, showing a record number of homes in jeopardy.

More than one million homes are now in foreclosure, the highest rate ever recorded, according to a trade group which warned Thursday that number will continue to climb.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's first quarter report showed that a record 2.5% of all loans being serviced by its members are now in foreclosure, which works out to about 1.1 million homes. That's up from the 2% of loans, or about 938,000 homes, that were in foreclosure at the end of 2007.

The report also showed that 448,000 homes, or about 1% of loans being serviced, began the foreclosure process during the first quarter. That's up from about 382,000 homes, or 0.83%, that entered foreclosure in the last three months of 2007.

The seasonally-adjusted rate of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments also hit a record high. Nearly 3 million home loans, or 6.4%, have missed at least one payment, while about 737,000 are at least three months past due, but not yet in foreclosure.

Have you noticed that Wall Street just keeps going higher with executives at top firms earning hunderds of millions of dollars. It shows the complete disconnect between the rich and the rest of us struggling to get by.

Millions dollar apartments are selling like hot cakes in Manhattan while the middle class, forced to live in the suburbs because they can't afford even a simple one bedroom in the city, are seeing the value of their homes declining and their ability to pay their mortgages in serious doubt.

"The figures aren't surprising, but they're pretty ugly nonetheless," said Michael Larson, real estate analyst with Weiss Research. "We're talking higher delinquencies and foreclosures pretty much across the board."

And he doubts that there's much reason to expect the foreclosure crisis to abate until next year at the earliest, adding that it could be a couple of years or more before foreclosure rates retreat to more normal historical averages.

"It's the same story we've been seeing for a while now - we had too much reckless lending, and buyers who got over-extended," he said. "We've had an unprecedented decline in home prices on a nationwide basis, which is public enemy number one for mortgage loans. And now you've got an overall economy that has slowed adding to this toxic stew."

Where are those who participated in this reckless lending? They are counting their millions while those they swindled are close to homelessness. Does this sound like America to you?

Americans $1.7 Trillion Poorer

The Bush years continue to decimate the American Middle class.

Americans saw their net worth decline by $1.7 trillion in the first quarter - the biggest drop since 2002 - as declines in home values and the stock market ravaged their holdings.

Meanwhile, the amount of equity people have in their homes fell to 46.2%, the lowest level on record.

The net worth of U.S. households fell 3% to $56 trillion at the end of March, according to the Federal Reserve's flow of funds report, which was released Thursday.

The value of real estate assets owned by households and non-profits declined by $305 billion, while financial assets fell by $1.3 trillion, led mainly by a $556 billion drop in stocks and a $400 billion decline in mutual funds.

The first quarter's decline follows a $530 billion drop in wealth in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The economic damage done to the middle class has been so pronounced that those who were solidly middle class are now just scraping by and those in the lower middle class are now the working poor. Unfortunately that group is growing by the day while the rich are getting richer.

We have the oportunity to start to rebuild the American middle class but it will take participation by all voting age Americans to effect the change that is necessary to restore sane fiscal policies that move people from poverty to middle class. Ignorance could literally mean death.

Private-Sector Unexpectedly Adds 40,000 Jobs in May

While reading this remember it takes 150,000 new jobs per month to keep up with a growing population.

U.S. private-sector employers added 40,000 jobs in May, according to a private report on Wednesday by ADP Employer Services that defied Wall Street's expectations of a fall.

The ADP data release comes ahead of the government's monthly jobs report due on Friday, one of the biggest events on the monthly economic calendar. A Reuters poll shows analysts expect that to show non-farm payrolls fell by 58,000 in May.

Economists' median expectation for the May ADP jobs figure was for a drop of 30,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll.

However, a separate survey showed U.S. companies' planned layoffs rose 15 percent in May from April to the highest monthly total since December 2005.

What this report does not tell us is if these 40,000 jobs are more service sector jobs which pay less and offer less benefits or are these decent middle class jobs? My guess is that they are not since those jobs seem to be a thing of the past.

I know many people who are suffering financially. They work long hours with awful commutes and can still not make ends meet. Where are the family values people, who like to tell us all how to live, on this issue? They are too worried about gay marriage and abortion to do anything remotely resembling advocacy work for the middle class. The middle class is fast disappearing and no one seems to be doing anything about that. How many parents do you know that hardly see their children? Its kind of hard to see them when you are working two jobs and still struggling to get by.

Stocks Fumble On Bank Woes

Wall Street slides after a pair of financial firms announce management shakeups, and S&P cuts debt rating for Merrill, Lehman and others.

Stocks tumbled Monday on new worries about the financial sector after S&P cut its debt rating on a number of banks, and Wachovia and Washington Mutual announced management shakeups.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 135 points, or 1%. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1% and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.2%.

Both Wachovia and Washington Mutual announced management changes in the morning, sparking early stock declines despite a pair of better-than-expected economic reports.

The broad stock declines accelerated in the afternoon after S&P said it was cutting its debt rating on Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley to "negative" from "stable" and cut its long-term outlook on JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. The changes followed S&P's conclusion of its review of the securities industry.

It is very worrisome that some of the biggest names in the banking and brokerage industry are having their debt rating lowered. What S7P is saying is that they have doubts about these large institutions ability to pay their long term debts. Those who think this financial crisis are over are sadly mistaken.

Only time will tell how bad this crisis will become but for now I would pay close attention to the financial news and have a plan in case of the worst happening. This crisis could have been averted with strict oversight and regulation but the Republican Congress felt it was best to let industry police itself. We all can see how successful that strategy has been.

Home Prices Plunge

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller study shows record decline for housing prices in first three months of 2008.

U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades during the first quarter, a closely watched index showed Tuesday. It's a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said its national home price index fell 14.1% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, to its lowest level since its inception in 1988. The quarterly index covers all nine U.S. Census divisions.

The narrower indices also set record declines. The 20-city index tumbled 14.4% during the quarter, the lowest since that index was started in 2001. The 10-city index plunged 15.3%, a record in its 20-year history.

"There are very few silver linings that one can see in the data. Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path," said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee.

Nineteen of the 20 metro areas surveyed reported annual declines, with 15 of them posting record lows. Six metro areas lost more than 20%.

Las Vegas had the worst quarterly performance, falling 25.9%, followed by Miami and Phoenix. Only Charlotte, N.C., stayed above water, gaining less than 1% over the previous year.

With this report you can be sure that the rate of foreclosures will only grow. Even those paying their mortgages may decide its not worth it to struggle to pay for a home now worth less than the purchase price.

Many people have seen their equity taken away with these falling prices. Real estate was always supposed to be a safe investment, it has now turned into a national nightmare. Those who created this mess are laughing all the way to the bank as the the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

More on Greed

While watching this remember that this man is responsible for THOUSANDS of people losing their jobs.



Visit War On Greed. Until we understand why we are losing our way of life we will be powerless to stop it.

Greed Is Killing America

I will be posting some eye opening videos on the Private Equity Industry which is responsible for many of the economic issues facing our nation.

Fed Lowers Growth Forecast, Raises Inflation

The Federal Reserve is finally waking up to the fact that inflation is a huge problem.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed its U.S. economic growth forecast for 2008 and signaled that mounting concerns over inflation would make further interest rate cuts unlikely.

"Several members noted that it was unlikely to be appropriate to ease policy in response to information suggesting that the economy was slowing further or even contracting slightly in the near term," the Fed said in minutes from its April 29-30 policy meeting.

Fed officials said that cutting benchmark interbank lending rates by a quarter percentage point to 2 percent at their last meeting was "a close call," reinforcing the impression that policy-makers may be putting further interest rate moves on hold.

"If you had any doubt that the Fed is signaling a pause, that doubt is gone," said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York.

So the Federal Reserve is now out of options to try to spur this economy. With oil hitting record highs daily and people suffering economically all they can do is sit by and watch as we enter what I believe will be a deep and protracted recession.

The oil speculators are getting rich while the average family is having an even harder time making ends meet. Where are the lawmakers to stop this rampant speculation? Washington is broken and it is going to take citizen action to take back our country from the special interest groups that are fast turning us into a third world nation.

The Real John McCain

Tell the media to tell the truth about John McCain

Foreclosure Filings Hit Record In April

Survey sees more than 243,000 filings, up 65% from a year earlier, creating problems for local governments.

U.S. foreclosure filings reached a record high in April, rising almost 65% over the previous year and putting municipalities at risk by cutting into the value of taxed property, according to a study released Wednesday.

Some 243,353 households, nearly one in 519, received a foreclosure filing during April, according to the U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac, an online marketplace that tracks foreclosed properties. That was up 4% from March, and surpassed the record of 239,851 set in August 2007.

The record number of foreclosures added their weight to an already saturated real estate market, pulling down home prices. Plunging home values reduce the money that cities, villages and towns collect in property taxes.

In particular jeopardy are parts of Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida, whose states maintained the highest foreclosure rates, according to RealtyTrac.

So the foreclusore crisis has made millions for the heads of Merrill Lynch, Countrywide and countless other Wall St. executives while straining the budgets of towns and cities throughout the nation. Who will ultimately pay for those shortfalls? It will be the remaining homeowners with higher taxes and lower property values. Do you still think this trickle down economic philosophy works?

A Quote From 1776 That is Just As Relevant Today

"But don't forget that most men without property would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich, than face the reality of being poor." (1776).

That quote is the clearest example of what I am trying to bring to the surface. The Middle Class is disasppearing as a result of voting against your own best interests. As I have said over and over you can't vote for where you hope to be you must vote where you are or it will become impossible to get where you want to go.

The Real American Economy

No longer able to turn their homes for cash, Americans are increasingly using plastic to meet their basic living expenses. But many can't afford to pay the bills.

These days, more and more people are saying "Charge it."

Finding themselves strapped for cash and unable to use their home as an ATM, Americans are increasingly turning to credit cards to cover gas, groceries and other living expenses.

But many find themselves struggling to pay the burgeoning bills at a time when even the basic needs are growing costlier.

"Other sources of money for a lot of Americans are drying up," said Dick Reed, regional counseling manager of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, who sees more clients with mounting credit card debts these days. "Consumers just don't have a place to go to get money. They are digging themselves into a deeper hole not only to pay for normal living expenses, but to make minimum payments on outstanding debt."

I have often said that the American Middle Class as we knew it back in the 60's and 70's has been replaced by a working class with a credit line. This report solidifies that belief for me.

Those who are truly middle class are disappearing at an alarming rate. Just like our government that is borrowing what it needs to keep running so are average Americans.

Government and agency statistics illustrate this troubling trend. The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that Americans' credit card debt jumped 6.7% in the first quarter of this year to $957.2 billion, This spike comes despite the fact that nearly one in three banks is tightening guidelines for credit cards.

In Atlanta, debtors calling the agency in the first quarter of this year had an average of $29,300 in unsecured debt, primarily on credit cards, up from $25,700 in 2007. They spent $335 on groceries and $242 on gas, on average, in April. A year earlier, those outlays averaged only $291 and $181, respectively.

For many people, racking up credit card debt is not a choice they want to make, experts say. Not too long ago, they could have tapped into the equity in their homes through loans or lines of credit or refinancing. But this debt, which usually carries lower interest rates, is no longer as widely available with the collapse of the housing market.

This is the result of a nearly uninterrupted 28 years of bad economic policies started by Ronald Reagan. The only period that saw a reversal of fortune was during the 90's and the economic boom of the Clinton administration. There philosophy was that a rising tide raises all boats. The Republican idea is that if you give the rich enough they will be gracious enough to piss some down on you. That is a failed concept and one that was helped along by the so called Reagan Democrats. They in effect helped to destroy their own economic futures.

House OKs Controversial Housing Plan

The House on Thursday passed a contentious foreclosure-prevention package, which still faces a veto threat from the White House and an uncertain fate in the Senate.

In a 266-154 vote - with 39 Republicans voting in favor - lawmakers approved a proposal, sponsored by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., to let the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insure up to $300 billion in new loans over four years if lenders agree to reduce the mortgage principal.

To qualify, the lender would have to cut the debt to no more than 85% of a home's current appraised value. If the FHA-refinanced loans went into default, the FHA would pay the lender the remaining principal owed.

While 1.4 million loans are likely to be eligible for such a program, the Congressional Budget Office estimates such a measure would end up insuring 500,000 borrowers. The CBO estimates the FHA expansion program would cost taxpayers $1.7 billion.

"This bill is very time limited and limited in specifics to a subset of mortgages and meant to mitigate a market failure," Frank said during the floor debate on Thursday.

Opponents of the FHA expansion contend it's a bailout for lenders, investors and "speculators" who took on imprudent risk. And because participation in the program would be voluntary on the part of lenders, critics contend lenders would only unload their riskiest loans into the federally backed program.

Supporters note that the program is limited to loans for owner-occupied residents, not speculators. They also make the case that lenders and investors would be taking a loss on every loan, and that the borrower would be paying higher-than-usual premiums to the FHA to insure the loan and would share equity in their home with the government.

"No borrower who goes through this process will say at the end of it, 'Boy, that was fun. Where do I buy a ticket to get back on Space Mountain?" Frank said.

Supporters also say if the borrower still can't afford the loan when it's written down to 85% of appraised value, their loan won't qualify for the program. If the bill is a bailout for anyone, they say, it's a bailout for communities across the country, which suffer when home values and property taxes go down because of foreclosures.

Earlier on Thursday, the House passed a bill that would send states $15 billion to buy and fix up foreclosed properties - a measure the White House also opposes.

Frank's bill also includes elements intended to attract the support of Senate Republicans and the White House. Two key ones: modernization of FHA guidelines - for which both the House and Senate have already passed their own bills - and more stringent oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that guarantee the purchase and sale of home mortgages in the secondary market.

Nevertheless, late Tuesday, the White House issued a statement threatening to veto the bill in its current form. Analysts see the move as a tactical one intended to give Republicans more leverage in the negotiations.

That leverage is seen in the Senate, where Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and ranking minority member Richard Shelby, R-Ala. are negotiating a housing package that could include GSE reform, FHA reform, and a Dodd FHA rescue proposal similar to Frank's.

When asked if Frank's proposal is something he could support, Shelby told CNN's Jeanne Meserve, "I'd have to evaluate it - how we're going to pay for it., what it's really going to do, do we really know if housing prices have bottomed out."

When asked if it was possible Congress would end up doing nothing, Shelby said, "The best of me says we ought to try to work this project out, see if we can have GSE reform, see if we can have FHA reform, and see if we can reach some kind of accommodation on housing."

It should come as no surprise that the White House would object to helping the homeowner. 30 Billion for Bear Stearns is fine but trying to keep people from becoming homeless could be vetoed. There is a reason that this fool is the most unpopular President in history. Its too bad it took the majority of the American public all these years to see what was obvious from day one.

Growing Hunger in America

A sobering look at the true economic distress in our country.

For Phyllis Bean, higher food prices mean going hungry so her 4-month-old baby girl can eat.

The Washington resident's $280 monthly food stamp allotment doesn't last very long these days, even though she gets a free lunch at a culinary training program at D.C. Central Kitchen. By mid-month, Bean is often reduced to eating canned ravioli and peanut butter and jelly so she can afford to buy milk and baby cereal for McKiya. By month's end, her refrigerator is empty.

"When I go to the counter, I have to put some of my food back so I can get her food," said Bean, 21. "I try to buy less meats and more starchy food that will last me - noodles, ravioli, rice, peanut butter and jelly."

Soaring food costs are putting a strain on many Americans' budgets. In the first three months of the year alone, they jumped 5.3%, and that's on top of a 4.9% increase in 2007.

But for those on food stamps, higher prices for milk, eggs, bread and other staples often mean tough choices and empty bellies. Many are forced to forgo fresh vegetables and meat, while loading up on pasta and potatoes. Others are turning to churches, food banks and other charities, which are already strained by the increased demand.

To alleviate the crunch on the nation's roughly 28 million people on food stamps, advocates are calling for Congress to pass a temporary mid-year boost in benefits. They are also fighting for changes in how the monthly allotment is computed to make it better reflect the expenses of today's recipients.

"It's been very tough for families," said Stacy Dean, director of food assistance policy for the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank. "They don't have the flexibility in their budgets so they just don't buy as much food or they buy cheap food or they skip meals altogether. Congress can and should act to help people survive the spike in prices."

One in 11 Americans receive food stamps, according to federal statistics. As the economy weakens, more and more people are turning to this support system. Households receive an average of about $1 per person per meal. Individuals' payments are capped at $162 a month while a family of four can get a maximum of $542 a month.

How can it be that the richest nation on earth has 10% of its population needing assistance to afford food while CEO's, even disastrous ones, receive millions.

The American Middle Class is on life support and without a clear understanding of this phenomenon it will continue to die off. The Middle Class votes against their own economic best interests all the time and the proof is in the growing numbers of hungry within the country.

Bush Disapproval Highest In History

Finally a vast majority realizes that this mental midget is an unmitigated disaster as President.

A new poll suggests that President Bush is the most unpopular president in modern American history.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday indicates that 71 percent of the American public disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president.

"No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating in any CNN or Gallup Poll; in fact, this is the first time that any president's disapproval rating has cracked the 70 percent mark," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director.

"Bush's approval rating, which stands at 28 percent in our new poll, remains better than the all-time lows set by Harry Truman and Richard Nixon [22 percent and 24 percent, respectively], but even those two presidents never got a disapproval rating in the 70s," Holland said. "The previous all-time record in CNN or Gallup polling was set by Truman, 67 percent disapproval in January 1952."

He still has a 28% approval rating which absolutely stuns me. Who are these 28%. The only one I seem to know is that bottled blond bimbo Elisabeth Hasselbeck of "The View". She supports this war because its not her family dying in it. Her husband is a third string quarterback who could stay home and watch the kids while she enlists. People like her make me sick but its people like her that support this moron.

John McCain is just more of the same so if you think you didn't like the original wait to see what new found hells a McCain presidency would bring.

President Bush and his administration have single handedly ruined this great nation by destroying its finances, its reputation and its standing in the world. He should have a 100% disapproval rating but he still has time to get to that point. He is without a doubt the worst, most unqualified Presdient in United States history. January 2009 can not come soon enough but only time will tell if its coming too late.