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LABOR, ECONOMY & THE CLIMATE - page 45

S.E.C. Republican: Pay Ratio Rule “Saul Alinskyan”

Ignorance isn’t only bliss: it’s maintaining the integrity of financial capitalism, according to a Republican member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In casting a vote against the final CEO pay ratio disclosure rule approved by the SEC on Wednesday, Commissioner Michael Piwowar said the regulation “unambiguously harms investors” and described the push for it as “no surprise to anyone familiar with the use of Saul Alinskyan tactics by Big Labor and their political allies.” “Nearly fifteen years ago, Big Labor supporters published a book… Keep Reading

Warren: Education Department “May Have Misled The Public” On Student Lender Probe

Democratic senators hit out at the Department of Education for exonerating a suspect student loan giant that does billions in business with the federal government. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Tuesday called the investigation that led to the department’s rosy findings on Navient “quite extraordinary,” noting its scope paled in comparison to prior federal probes of the company that last year led to heavy fines and refunds. The trio made the charges in a letter to the department’s… Keep Reading

Group Fighting Admin for Arctic Drilling Info Amid Obama’s “Most Important Step” on Climate Change

President Obama this week is expected to unveil a historic green initiative by announcing Monday that his administration will take new steps to restrict power plants’ carbon emissions. But the president’s status as a friend of the environment is being challenged by a non-profit that has been stonewalled in its bid for information about another historic move—the administration’s decision to allow oil companies to drill in the Arctic. The group, Public Environment Employees for Responsibility, filed litigation last week to compel an office within the Department… Keep Reading

Actually, The T.P.P. Would Screw Tobacco Companies, According to Thom Tillis

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Thursday said that the US Trade Representative is currently working to enshrine “discriminary [sic] treatment of tobacco” in the Trans Pacific Partnership—a claim that runs counter to the myriad lawmakers and public interest groups who have said the TPP will undermine anti-smoking initiatives. The senator from the tobacco-producing state leveled the charge on the floor of the Senate on Thursday in a speech that painted some of America’s most notorious corporate citizens as an oppressed class. “It’s ironic that the… Keep Reading

“Why Aren’t We Seeing Riots in The Streets?” U.S. Senator Thinks Debt Is Causing Disturbances in Greece, Should Cause Them Here

A United States Senator suggested on Wednesday that high levels of sovereign debt should be causing tumult in the US, advancing a highly questionable theory about the ongoing economic crisis in Greece. Touting a graph showing debt per capita to be higher in the US than it is in Greece, Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) asked at a hearing why there hasn’t been unrest and instability at home comparable to that which has gripped the embattled Mediterranean country. “How we are getting… Keep Reading

Fed Grants Workers Reprieve — Delays Interest Rate Hike

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its intentions to pump the brakes on expected key interest rate increases. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee revealed that in June it decided global economic headwinds and less-than-ideal levels of unemployment should decrease the possibility of an imminent hike. It singled out fixed investments and net exports as having “stayed soft.” “The Committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen some further improvement in… Keep Reading

Saudis Can Immediately Cancel Impact of US Export Ban, Reed Gets A.E.I. Witness to Admit

The ban on US crude oil exports has recently become a particularly hot button issue, with Iran, the Islamic State and the conflict in Ukraine adding increased geopolitical importance to energy and petrodollars. But as a Democratic member of the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday teased out of a Republican witness, the impact of any reversal is at the mercy of Tehran’s foremost regional adversary—a country that moved to harm global competitors last year by drastically upping its output. “I have already argued that lifting… Keep Reading

Lawmakers on Dynamic Scoring: A “Holy Grail” for Voodoo Tax Cut Economics

Number crunchers on Capitol Hill have taken a new approach to scoring legislation—one that’s likely being abused to justify more tax cuts, Democrats charged on Tuesday during a contentious hearing. The back-and-forth over how to properly estimate the cost of proposed laws occurred within the irregularly-assembled bicameral Joint Economic Committee, where Ranking Member Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) accused Republicans of using “smoke and mirrors to institutionalize ideology.” “The dynamic scoring rule serves only one purpose, it helps Republicans reach their Holy Grail, rigging the rules so… Keep Reading

Middle Class Economics? Homeownership Reaches New Historic Low

The rate of homeownership in the United States fell last quarter to the lowest it has been in decades, continuing a trend that has caused financial regulators noticeable anxiety. The Census Bureau said Tuesday that only 63.5 percent of Americans owned homes in the second quarter of 2015, on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The proportion is down from 63.8 percent in the first quarter, and has now fallen for seven consecutive quarters, by a total of 1.5 percentage points. The seasonally-adjusted rate had not dipped below 63.7… Keep Reading

Discontent Index Ends Four Month Slide in April

The District Sentinel Discontent index increased in April for the first time in 2015, ending a downward trend that had started in December. The measure increased slightly to 105.01 from a post-2008 collapse low of 104.89. The uptick was largely caused by a gain in Consumer Discontent that did more than neutralize a decline in Labor Discontent. Driving the Consumer Discontent gains were a drop in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index and a slight decrease in the weekly wage earnings of non-supervisory workers. Labor… Keep Reading

Bid to Cut $1.7 Billion for Victims of Mortgage Crisis Thwarted By Senate Revolt

A move to pay for part of a transportation funding bill by cutting almost $2 billion in aid to states most impacted by the 2008 financial collapse was thwarted after senate leaders faced opposition from the rank-and-file. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday acknowledged the resistance and announced “one additional modification” to the bipartisan deal. “It removes provisions that would have terminated the $1.7 billion Hardest Hit Fund mortgage program,” he said. “Several senators on both sides of the aisle–and in particular, Sen.… Keep Reading

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