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Sam Knight - page 20

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

Homeownership Rate Lowest Since L.B.J. Era, Years After Subprime Meltdown

Data released this month by the Census Bureau show that homeownership is increasingly unavailable to Americans, years after the Great Recession. The rate of homeowners in the US fell in 2016 to 63.4 percent from 63.7 percent, marking the lowest it has been since 1967. Prospective buyers, meanwhile, got no relief from the market last year, with the vacancy rate down and the median asking price up at to $167,700–the highest it has been since the post-2008 housing price recovery began in 2011. Though the… Keep Reading

Senate Confirms Austerity Champion Congressman as Influential White House Staffer

The Senate approved of President Trump’s chief budget and policy aide on Thursday, in a 51-49 vote. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) was the lone Republican to reject Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), on the grounds that the Tea Party Congressman has extended his frequent calls for fiscal austerity to the defense budget. Mulvaney is now set to lead the Office of Management and Budget, an influential wonky arm of the White House through which draft “major rules” receive edits before publication. The agency is also tasked with… Keep Reading

Lowball Estimate: U.S. on Hook for $447 Billion in Environmental Damages

The chief federal watchdog warned on Wednesday that the United States government’s environmental liabilities have grown by hundreds of billions of dollars over the past two decades. In a biannual report about “high risk” problems facing federal agencies, the Government Accountability Office said that taxpayers were on the hook last year for $447 billion in environmental cleanup costs—up from $217 billion in 1997. The doubling roughly mirrors the rate of economic growth over the same time frame, but GAO warned that federal environmental liabilities might… Keep Reading

First of Many “CRA” Love Letters to Corporate America Signed into Law by Trump

The first of many deregulatory measures rapidly pushed by Congressional Republicans under the Trump administration was signed into law on Tuesday. President Trump gave the green light to a resolution disapproving of Dodd-Frank disclosure rules. The regulations had required publicly-traded companies extracting natural resources to divulge payments made to foreign governments. The proposal was one of dozens that have originated in the House of Representatives since January under the Congressional Review Act (CRA)–an arcane law, passed in 1996, allowing the legislative branch to nullify recently passed executive… Keep Reading

Aetna-Humana Merger, at Heart of Election Year Obamacare Scandal, Dies After Court Ruling

A proposed $34 billion merger between health insurance giants Aetna and Humana has fallen apart, after a federal judge ruled last month that it violated antitrust laws. Aetna announced on Tuesday that the two companies would not be appealing the ruling. District Judge John Bates had found that integration of the two firms would illegally stifle competition in the market for Medicare Advantage. The CEO of Aetna, Mark Bertolini, said that “the current environment makes it too challenging to continue pursuing” the merger, by appealing Bates’… Keep Reading

Energy Dept.: Fracked Oil to Account for 60 Percent of U.S. Crude Output Over Next 23 Years

The majority of crude oil produced in the US over the next few decades will come from fracked wells, according to a research arm of the Energy Department. “Tight oil” from the lower 48 states is projected to account for some 60 percent of total oil production between last year and 2040, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Monday. The agency said that fracking oil production is expected to ramp up to 6 million barrels per day, well into next decade. Output will then… Keep Reading

Reverse Deja-Vu: Pentagon Accuses Russia of Undermining U.S. Military in Afghanistan

The United States and Russia are on the precipice of a proxy conflict in Afghanistan, three decades after the Soviet military was defeated in the country, by CIA-backed militants. The commander of US Forces in Afghanistan referenced intelligence outlining possible Russian support for the Taliban, when appearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Gen. John Nicholson, however, said he couldn’t openly discuss reports of Moscow giving the Taliban “money, materiel or fighters,” when asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). “There is some classified reporting… Keep Reading

Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Label Could Come Next Week, Despite Career Officials’ Objections

The Trump administration on Monday was on the verge of naming the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), but held off in the face of concerns from within the US government. President Trump and the White House strongly back the proposal, according to The New York Times, but “career officials at the State Department and the National Security Council” are delaying the designation. “Former officials said that they had been told the order would be signed on Monday, but that it had now been… Keep Reading

Senate Confirms DeVos, After Activists Force Historic Tie-Breaker

The Trump administration was forced to dispatch the Vice President to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon to see its Education Secretary nominee confirmed. Mike Pence appeared on Capitol Hill to cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of Betsy DeVos. The 51-50 vote marked the first time in United States history that a cabinet member relied on the support of the Vice President to get Congressional approval. The tight margin came after activists flooded legislative offices with appeals, calling on senators to reject DeVos. Trump’s top… Keep Reading

Trump Dodd-Frank Assault Could Move $100 Billion from Banking Reserves to Shareholders of Six Largest Firms

The Trump administration’s recent push to roll back Dodd-Frank could see massive amounts of wealth transferred from buffers on financial instability directly to owners of the largest banks in the country. A reversal of post-crisis regulations ordered by the White House could eventually see some $100 billion move from banking reserves directly to shareholders of the six largest financial firms, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday night. Relaxed rules would likely see banks use existing reserves to finance higher divided payments and stock buy-backs—moves that… Keep Reading

Another Committee Suspends Rules to Ram Through Trump Nominee

Senate Republicans changed committee procedures to advance Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Thursday suspended rules requiring at least one member of the minority to be present for a quorum. Republicans then one-by-one voted to approve of Trump’s choice to be the leading US environmental regulator, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Senate Democrats on the committee had boycotted the vote on Pruitt because they were unhappy with answers he gave them during… Keep Reading

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