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Rescue Wall Street -- and the Rest of Us by Rep. Bernie Sanders, The Nation | September 22, 2008
Let us be clear. If the economy is on the edge of collapse we need to act. But rescuing the economy does not mean we have to just give away $700 billion of taxpayer money to the banks. Any proposal must protect middle income and working families from bearing the burden of this bailout. read more »Will the Bailout Work? by Peter S. Goodman , iht.com | September 22, 2008
The Treasury could spend as much as $700 billion to buy mortgage-linked investments, then sell what it can as it works out the messy details of the loans. But no one really knows what this cosmically complex web of finance will be worth, making the final price tag for the taxpayer unknowable. One may just as well try to predict the weather three years from Tuesday. read more »How We Became the the United States of France by Bill Saporito , time.com | September 22, 2008
This is the state of our great republic: We've nationalized the financial system, taking control from Wall Street bankers we no longer trust. We're about to quasi-nationalize the Detroit auto companies via massive loans because they're a source of American pride, and too many jobs — and votes — are at stake. Put it all together, and the America that emerges is a cartoonish version of the country most despised by red-meat red-state patriots: France. Only with worse food. read more »Free speech not safe from attack by Canadian media corporation by Robert Jensen, OurFuture.org | September 22, 2008
When the bottom line is threatened, corporations typically show little concern for holding the line on political principles such as freedom of expression. In capitalism, freedom is too often just another word for maximizing profits. read more »Shock Doctrine: Will We Get Fleeced In This Crisis? by Robert Borosage , OurFuture.org | September 21, 2008
Every American is told to ante up $2,000 – an estimated $700 billion in all – to bail out the banks from their bad bets, or they’ll bring down the entire economy. No bailout should go forward—at whatever cost—without meeting six minimal conditions. read more »"This Nation Asks for Action, and Action Now." by William Neil, OurFuture.org | September 20, 2008
Author's Note: (Sat. Sept. 20th) read more »The Picture of Obama's "Minimalism" by David Sirota, OurFuture.org | September 20, 2008
You want to understand what Barack Obama's "minimalism" on economic issues really looks like? read more »Weekend Watchdog by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | September 19, 2008
After an exhausting week of gasps and gaffes, mostly related to the economy, it's time for another weekend watchdog. read more »Walking and Chewing Gum by Alan Jenkins, OurFuture.org | September 19, 2008
The challenges facing Americans today tend to be framed in the media and on the campaign trail as a daunting and often depressing laundry list of economic and social woes: home foreclosures and bank failures, rising health care costs and falling wages, underfunded schools and unaffordable colleges. Not surprisingly, the solutions dished up by the presidential campaigns and Beltway think tanks tend to be similarly piecemeal. read more »Moguls Steal Home While Companies Strike Out by Bill Moyers, OurFuture.org | September 19, 2008
From our offices in Manhattan, we look out on the tall, gleaming skyscrapers that are cathedrals of wealth and power -- the Olympus ruled by the gods of finance, the temples of the mighty, the holy of holies, whose priests guard the sacred texts of salvation -- the ones containing the secrets of subprime lending and derivatives as mysterious and elusive as the Grail itself. read more »
The Latest
Citigroup Says It Didn't Use 'Robo-Signers,' Still Faces Increased Risk Due to Sour Mortgages, Huffington Post | October 19, 2010
Top Citigroup executives sought to assure investors and the public Monday that the firm's foreclosure process and its handling of key documents in securitizing home mortgages is "sound," despite growing concerns over how lenders may have skirted the law when bundling home mortgages, selling them and kicking delinquent borrowers out of their home.
Don't Believe The Bank Lobby: Foreclosure Fraud Is Bad For Homeowners And The Economy, ourfuture.org | October 19, 2010
The bank lobby is spreading a host of silly myths about the foreclosure fraud outbreak in an effort to downplay the scandal and minimize concerns over potential bank losses that have emerged in the blogosphere. Housing Wire’s Paul Jackson spouts most of them in his post today. more »
Bank of America to restart foreclosures in 23 states, The Washington Post | October 19, 2010
Just 10 days after announcing a nationwide halt to foreclosure sales, Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, said Monday that it would begin resubmitting paperwork on Oct. 25 to restart foreclosures on borrowers who missed their payments in 23 states. more »
The Feds New Bubble (Masquerading As A Jobs Program), tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com | October 19, 2010
Geithner Weak Dollar Seen as U.S. Recovery Route Versus BRICs, bloomberg.com | October 19, 2010
Gridlock Sam: The Tea Party’s Bridge to Beyond Nowhere, pbs.org | October 19, 2010
The Tea Party has captured the imagination and spirit of many Americans and may very well turn that into a powerful voting bloc come November. But, that bloc may not have a leg or girder to stand on as our nation’s infrastructure continues to crumble. more »
From Obama, the Tax Cut Nobody Heard Of, The New York Times | October 19, 2010
In a New York Times/CBS News Poll last month, fewer than one in 10 respondents knew that the Obama administration had lowered taxes for most Americans. Half of those polled said they thought that their taxes had stayed the same, a third thought that their taxes had gone up, and about a tenth said they did not know. more »
Foreclosures Surge 9 Percent in July as Banks Crack Down, The Washington Post | August 13, 2010
The number of U.S. homes lost to foreclosure rose sharply in July, as lenders took back more properties from homeowners who had been in default for months on end.
Lenders repossessed 92,858 properties last month, up 9 percent from June and an increase of 6 percent from July 2009, the foreclosure-listing firm RealtyTrac said Thursday.
Fed's Effort to Bolster U.S. Recovery Fails to Calm Investors, bloomberg.com | August 13, 2010
The Federal Reserve’s first attempt to bolster the flagging U.S. recovery shows no sign of dispelling investor concerns the world’s largest economy may slide back into a recession. more »
Rubio Claims It’s ‘A Misnomer’ To Say He Wants To Preserve The Bush Tax Cuts For The Rich , wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | August 13, 2010
Republicans have been defending their desire to preserve the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy — which the Obama administration would like to see expire at the end of the year — by falsely claiming that they will affect a multitude of small businesses. more »
