Financial Crisis

The Occupaton is on the Move, Find a Big Bank Protest Near You

Mary Bottari — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 07:45:31 -0400

U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone used to say "sometimes you have to pick a fight to win one."

Now Occupy Wall Street has picked one, right in Jamie Dimon's backyard.

But it won’t stay contained in Zuccotti Park. While Brookfield Properties called the park a "public sanctuary" in 2005, they have apparently changed their minds. Mr. Zuccotti wants his park back and the police may be preparing to clear it with new rules barring camping, sleeping and breathing.

They are too late. The train has left the station and the Occupation is on the move. From Manhattan to Hawaii big bank protests are planned. Everyone who cares about creating an economy that works for working people should get on board. See list below.

“We are the 99%”

As the Occupation of Wall Street enters its third week, the group has been criticized by the media as not having a coherent message, as if a PR firm was a precursor to membership in our democracy. But from out here in Wisconsin, their message rings clear and true. The 99% percent has been shafted, our economic system is broken, and we need an economy that works for all.

The hopeful nature of the message, that change is possible when the monied elite have a stranglehold on our economy and our democracy, is itself remarkable and revolutionary. Too many Americans are ground down by opaque forces and feel powerless to change anything.

Messages like this one on the Occupy website resonate: "On September 27th, 2011, we marched on the Financial District's Luxury Night Out, where couples wore outfits that cost more than we will ever make in a month and looked at cars that cost more than we will ever make in a year, afterward, they went back to one of their many houses that cost more than we will make in our lifetime."

But for those who need a concrete list of demands, a working draft was produced though a consensus process on September 29.

Lesson from Wisconsin: Pizza and Pizzazz

As someone who participated in the Seattle 1999 WTO protests and in the WI uprising, I offer a few observations as the “American Autumn” gets underway. The Occupiers have already learned a key lesson of Wisconsin, the physical occupation of a space can’t be beat. When folks are sleeping, eating and strategizing together, a lot of quality communication and consensus building gets done fast. New alliances can be forged. And quality pizza can be delivered from supporters across America.

Another important lesson from Wisconsin, don't forget to put the classy in class warfare. We learned that fun is essential to turning out large crowds. Only in a safe peaceful space will your supporters feel comfortable bringing kids and grandma, and your numbers can grow day by day, week by week. If the police give you trouble, as they have in NYC, try not to rise to the bait.

Lessons from Seattle: Big City Police Are Not Your Friend

Although Wisconsin protesters were able to forge solid relationships with police and firefighters who saw they were next in the collective bargaining firing line, this was a rare occurrence. Police in big cities, whose entire careers have been spent protecting private property, will not be your friend.

This weekend, there were 700 arrests in Manhattan as occupiers took to the streets stopping traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. Protesters charge that the police encouraged the march as a way of emptying the park and rounding up a large number of protesters and their leadership. This video shows police leading protesters onto an on ramp on the Brooklyn Bridge where they were later corralled and carted away. Over the weekend news broke that the New York Police Foundation received an unprecedented $4.6 million from JP Morgan Chase. “These officers put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe," chirped Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

Protesters from the global justice movement, which staged the successful 1999 WTO protests in Settle and forced the end of the “Millennium Round” of global trade negotiations, can give you some advice based on subsequent battles. Police will infiltrate you by the dozens. They will identify and arrest your leaders without cause and hold them for as long as it takes.They will lure groups of you away for the sole purpose of corralling you and arresting you.

Stay calm and protest on.

Find a Protest Near You

A season of “Pay U.S. Back!” actions are planned for October under the banner of the "New Bottom Line" coalition, which is demanding an end to the foreclosure crisis and a financial speculation tax on the big banks. Find updates here.

Plus, the Occupation is spreading fast, you can find updates on many of the actions listed below here.

In San Francisco, hundreds of protesters took to the streets targeting Bank of America, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo.

In Seattle, hundreds of people shut down a Chase bank branch and 11 were arrested.

In Suncaidia, the Washington Community Action Network infiltrated the annual policy summit of Association of Washington Business, sponsored by Chase bank.

In Boston, 3,000 marched on Foreclosure King, Bank of America, to present their demands to stop foreclosures.

In New York, Occupy Wall Street, Move On and organized labor are joining forces for a major march planned for Wednesday, October 5.

Occupy LA is underway at City Hall.

Occupy Chicago is underway at the Federal Reserve bank.

Occupy DC starts on October 6 in Freedom Plaza.

Refund California is planning a “home visit to a Wall Street executive" October 4 in Los Angles.

Chicago is planning a Pay US Back Action October 9.

Minneapolis is planning a Pay US Back Action October 10.

New York City is planning a Pay US Back Action October 11.

Occupy Milwaukee starts October 15.

Denver is planning a Pay US Back Action October 25.

Honolulu is planning a Pay US Back Action November 5.

Keep us posted on the actions planned for your neighborhood on Facebook and Twitter.

OK, Sen. Shelby: Let's Tell the Truth About Jobs and Regulations

Richard Eskow — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:01:06 -0400

The Republicans have opened another front in their neverending war against regulations, those tools that help government protect us from greedy corporations. Leading the charge once again is Sen. Richard Shelby, the willing servant of Wall Street who weakened the regulations in Dodd/Frank during negotiations with Sen. Dodd ... and then refused to vote for it anyway.

After that little bit of procedural treachery, Sen. Shelby attacked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Protect consumers? How dare they?) with outright falsehoods about the extent of that organization's power.

Now Shelby's fighting urgently-needed regulations by proposing something called the "Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act." It would, according to the Senator, "determine the economic impacts of proposed rulemakings, including their effects on growth and net job creation."

Sen. Shelby added: "My colleagues and I are simply proposing that each financial regulator determine whether the economic cost of a new regulation exceeds its economic benefit. If it does, then the regulation should not be implemented."

Here's where you're probably expecting a hostile comment about the Senator's proposal. Forget it. I think it's a great idea ... one one condition: The bill should be revised so that every politician who proposes de-regulating an industry, and every regulator who fails to use their powers properly, must be held to the same standard. They must first "determine the economic impact of the proposed deregulation, including its effects on growth and net job creation."

How have the deregulators performed so far? Let's look at the record:

The Republicans, aided by business-friendly Democrats, deregulated Wall Street in the nineties. Their actions in overturning Glass-Steagall and removing other protections led directly to the financial collapse of 2008. How did that affect growth and jobs?

* 20 million jobs lost worldwide
* 8 million jobs lost in the United States
* $100,000 in lost asset value for the typical American household

The GOP's right to emphasize jobs. They're our most urgent priority right now, thanks to the crisis caused by deregulation. (They're also a key topic in next week's Take Back the American Dream conference.)

But the Republicans who are now fighting to overturn Dodd/Frank should be required to honestly estimate the cost in jobs and growth if they're successful in their efforts. Republicans and Democrats who are resisting the breakup of too-big-to-fail banks or the full enactment of the Volcker rule should also be required to estimate the potential costs of their actions.

And the financial sector isn't the only industry they've been deregulating. How have they done in energy, for example? Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal likes to say that the partial moratorium on deep-water drilling could cost his state 20,000 jobs. Oil companies like BP were allowed to "self-regulate" - which is to say, they were unregulated - based on arguments like Gov. Jindal's.

How much has the oil industry's "self-regulated" deepwater drilling cost the Gulf? BP alone is likely to spend more than $40 billion in claims, fines, and other expenses. Local businesses have lost anywhere from $4 billion to $12 billion in lost income. 29% of people with plans to visit Louisiana cancelled them after the spill, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The NRDC added that "the Gulf of Mexico saw a 39 percent decline in commercial fishing landings overall between 2009 and 2010. This represents a $62 million loss in dockside sales." According to the NRDC, "The Gulf Coast Claims Facility paid 174,172 claims to individuals and businesses who have suffered damages and costs related to the spill."

Anybody who proposes deregulation in the future (sorry, I meant "self-regulation") should be required to let the public know just how much money it could cost, how many jobs might be lost, and how much of our nation's beauty and other priceless treasures might scarred or destroyed.

To be fair and balanced, let's look at the upside of deregulation. Has it created any jobs to make up for the millions it destroyed, as its supporters have promised? The Bush Administration aggressively cut regulations and appointed regulators who were industry-friendly and lax on enforcement. The result? Even before the deregulation-caused crisis, the Bush years were the worst extended period of job growth in this country since World War II. They also marked the first decline in median household incomes since the Census Bureau began tracking that information in 1967.

So a fair and balanced version of the Shelby bill would have warned the public that the last ten years of deregulation were going to cost millions of jobs and trillions in wealth. And in return, deregulation was going to produce ... well, nothing.

Yep. The more I think about Sen. Shelby's idea, the more I like it - with this little modification, of course. An honest assessment of the way that regulation affects jobs and growth, compared with the effects of deregulation, will conclusively prove that the only way to put America back to work is by putting regulations back to work for us.

The only problem is the name of the bill. The old one, the "Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act," just doesn't fit anymore. Maybe we could call it the "Deregulatory Responsibility Act." Or the "Deregulatory Irresponsibility Act." Or the "Think Before Your Act Act."

But whatever we call it, politicos like Richard Shelby should be forced to tell the truth the next time they claim they have an idea that will "protect jobs." And if the real motivation for a bill like this one is just to make it harder to protect the American people .... well, they should be forced to disclose that, too.

Is Scott Walker John Doe?

Mary Bottari — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:43:00 -0400

Wisconsin has been riveted in recent days by reports that more of Governor Scott Walker's top aides may be implicated in a secret "John Doe" investigation into potentially illegal campaign practices during Walker's 2010 gubernatorial race. Although the investigation has been underway for at least a year, recent revelations that the governor's spokesperson has been granted immunity and that another top aide had her house raided by the FBI, has the state abuzz with speculation about the target and scope of the investigation.

Governor's Spokesperson Mum

Mum's the word for Walker Press Secretary Cullen Werwie. When the story broke that he had been granted immunity in the ongoing investigation back in April, Werwie had no comment.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that former Appeals Court Judge Neal Nettesheim, who is overseeing the investigation, acknowledged that he had granted immunity to three people, Werwie, a railroad lobbyist and low-ranking Republican official. Werwie joined Walker's campaign after the September 2010 primary and stayed on when Walker was sworn in as governor. His involvement moves the investigation directly into the governor's office and into a more recent time frame than previous revelations.

"It is a big deal," Milwaukee criminal defense lawyer Stephen E. Kravit told the Journal Sentinel. "He recognizes he's got (criminal) exposure and he negotiated for a proffer to get immunity, and that's a big deal."

FBI Raid

The latest news comes on top of the September 14 raid on the home of another top Walker aide, Cindy Archer. About a dozen FBI agents and other law enforcement officers descended and seized boxes of materials. Archer's neighbor said FBI agents also confiscated a hard drive he bought from her at a garage sale a few weeks ago.

Archer is at least the third Walker aide to have computers seized as part of the investigation led by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, who has a track record of locking up politicians on similar charges. Chisholm has apparently been investigating whether county staffers in Walker's office did unlawful campaign-related work while at their county jobs. Before he was governor, Walker was the Milwaukee County Executive and Archer was a top aide running his county Department of Administration.

In multiple media interviews, Archer has denied any knowledge of the John Doe proceeding and has denied any wrongdoing. Similarly, Walker has also denied any knowledge of the investigation telling a local news channel, "We don't know what exactly is involved there until we know any more." But the governor's campaign has retained former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic.

The investigation has resulted in at least one conviction. In April, Walker campaign contributor, William Gardner, president and chief executive officer of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, pled guilty to felony violations of Wisconsin campaign law. In January, Wisconsin & Southern Railroad's Ken Lucht was also granted immunity.

Apparatchik Archer

Until very recently, Archer was Deputy Secretary of Administration (DOA) under Secretary Mike Huebsch. In Wisconsin, Huebsch is the second most powerful man in state government after the governor. The DOA not only runs the state, it was the chief architect of Scott Walker's "budget repair bill," which was introduced February 11 and stripped public workers of their collective bargaining rights.

Emails obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy demonstrate that Archer played a key role with the DOA "Swat team" in preparing the policy and organizing the "contingency planning" for public reaction.

In one email from February 7, Archer instructs Walker Cabinet Secretaries on how to deal with possible protests: "We have talked about external building security for employees entering and exiting our buildings. If the situation warrants, you should be prepared to limit the number of entrances and exits you have open in your buildings. In the event you experience problems (unruly picket lines, harassment of incoming employees, blockage of your entrances,) you should call 911. We will rely on local law enforcement to assist us." The DOA's decision to lock down the capitol and limit access for months after the protests was the subject of litigation.

Disappearing Staff

In her DOA job, Archer made about $124,000 a year, but in mid-August she mysteriously quit to become a lower level "legislative liaison" at the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Now it is becoming clear that the new job was organized by the governor's office. She will be paid $99,449 a year -- $39,129 more than the $60,320 the last person to hold the job made -- a 65 percent increase. Nice work if you can get it.

Archer has not yet shown up for her new job and is apparently using some of her banked sick leave from a previous stint with state government to take some time off. But all is not well in the Walker inner-circle. This week, it was revealed that Walker administration lawyers petitioned the courts to withdraw an affidavit filed by Archer in a lawsuit brought by the unions against the collective bargaining bill. Apparently, Scott Walker no longer agrees with her sworn testimony or no longer has faith in one of his chief lieutenants.

Archer joins other top Walker aides that have quietly slipped off the radar including Tom Nardelli, Walker's Chief of Staff when he was County Executive who gave up his job in the state's Division of Environmental and Regulatory Services at the end of July. According to one criminal defense attorney, "everyone in the state is lawyering up."

The drip drip drip of daily revelations has the state abuzz. All will be watching to see if Werwie will be at work on Monday or if he too will find himself suddenly feeling unwell. Perhaps Walker's inner-circle will reconsider their homicidal opposition to good benefits for public workers.

This Economy Needs a Little More Elvis, a Lot Less Milton Friedman

Richard Eskow — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:03:28 -0400

The stock market's plunging as of this writing, as the global economy reels from the destructive consequences of austerity economics. Yet in Washington, politicians are moving full speed ahead in their determination to impose a rigorous new program of... austerity economics.

What's wrong with this picture?

Politicians are finally discussing the country's urgent need for jobs. But they're still determined to push their job-killing spending cuts instead. In a week that marked the 34th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, it's once again time to sing his old hit:

"We need a little less conversation, a lot more action."

Shock Doctrine America

It's all straight out of the "Shock Doctrine" playbook, where corporate forces use every crisis to cut taxes and impose the failed Milton Friedman philosophy of deregulation and downsized government. This crisis was caused by deregulation and a bank-fueled bubble, adding to government deficits that had been created in large part by the tax cuts Republicans are determined to protect.

What's the Republican response? Even lower taxes and even less regulation. But Democrats are drinking the Kool-Aid too. Austerity rhetoric is flowing on a daily basis from the White House, Capitol Hill, and Wall Street, driving the misguided mission of the Congressional "Super Committee" and its secret deliberations.

Bracket Creeps

This week Michele Bachmann had a crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to Elvis. Unfortunately, it was the anniversary of his death. And Rick Perry tried to steal some of the momentum Ron Paul has gained with his audit of the Federal Reserve (co-sponsored by Bernie Sanders). Unfortunately, Perry did it by criticizing a potentially helpful action -- and by suggesting that it might be appropriate to use violence against its head.

Republicans have officially become the "Happy Deathday" party. And about those taxes ...

"Colonel" Tom Parker, the former carnival who managed Elvis, said in the late 1950s that "I consider it my patriotic duty to keep Elvis up in the 90 percent tax bracket." We had a Republican president back then, we were experiencing a period of enormous postwar growth and prosperity, and the marginal tax rate for the nation's highest earners was 90%.

Today's crisis calls for urgent government spending measures to create short-term jobs and growth, and highest earners in the country pay only 35% in taxes -- if they even pay that. (And hedge fund managers may pay as little as 15%.) Yet the Republicans are calling for brutal spending cuts -- and for lower taxes on the highest earners. Behind closed doors many of them acknowledge that they are willing to consider some "revenue enhancements" -- on the struggling middle class.

Apparently they, and their backers, have forgotten that the wealthy have a patriotic duty to pay their fair share of taxes.

Caught in a trap

Three Senators on the Super Committee just wrote an editorial for the conservative Wall Street Journal entitled "Together We Can Beat the Deficit," that sounds a false alarm about a urgent "deficit problem" -- that doesn't exist.

These misguided Senators even cite the downgrade of U.S. debt by the discredited rating "agency" Standard & Poor's as if it were a legitimate assessment by a knowledgeable organization, ignoring the recent reaffirmation of of U.S. creditworthiness by S&P's main competitor, Moody's. Their editorial reaffirms the misguided mission of their committee, with only the thinnest rhetorical nod in the direction of jobs and growth.

And they're the Committee's Senate Democrats.

Sens. John Kerry, Patty Murray, and Max Baucus wrote that "the shockwaves that roiled financial markets after the downgrade was a condemnation of Congress's inability to address the unsustainable trajectory of our current fiscal policies."

Let's take a lot at the Dow Jones over the last six months:

Remember when all the pundits and politicians were bemoaning the fact that "Washington" couldn't "get its act together" and cut spending? That's the period on the leftmost three quarters of the graph -- the one where the curve goes up. Remember when everybody started saying that maybe they really were going to get their act together and do a deal? That where it goes down.

The vertical black line is when S&P issued its downgrade, on August 5. Does it look like that pronouncement sent "shockwaves that roiled financial markets"? Actually, they went up. The lowest point on this chart, represented by the right-hand dot, was on July 31/August 1. That's when Washington announced its big spending-cut deal.

It's plain that the markets hate austerity economics and couldn't care less about the downgrade. As for investor confidence, Treasury bonds are doing just fine, thank you very much. (Or is that thankyouverymuch?)

Why wouldn't the markets hate austerity plans? They've been a disaster in Europe, as Robert Reich explains. The Super Committee's been charged with making cuts that would affect the next decade's government spending. But government debt during that period is by no means a serious problem, as Dean Baker and James Kwak have documented.

So we'll ask again: the political obsession with government debt?

3.5 Billion Lobbying Dollars Can't Be Wrong

Kerry, Murray, and Baucus claim that "Standard & Poor's downgrade of America's credit rating was an unprecedented wake-up call for those who have for too long acted as if overheated rhetoric and dysfunction in Washington has no consequences for Main Street and working families."

Simply put, that's nonsense. The downgrade has had no effect on Main Street or working families. Why does Washington have such an irrational -- and bipartisan -- fixation on spending cuts? Maybe it's because lobbying firms spent more than $3.5 billion in 2010 and are probably spending even more this year. The largest corporations benefit from reduced government spending, which eases pressure to raise their tax rates and close loopholes. It reduces the political pressure to raise taxes on their overpaid senior executives, too.

"Too big to fail" banks are now bigger than ever, and nearly 40% of corporate profits go to the non-productive financial sector. So cuts in government spending don't interfere with their productivity, and a stagnant domestic economy doesn't need to interfere with their profits.

"Don't procrastinate," says the Elvis song, "Don't articulate." It's good to hear all the talk about jobs, but for tens of millions of unemployed or underemployed Americans, that's all it is: talk. "It's getting late, and I'm getting upset waiting around."

Promised Land

The president is scheduled to announce his jobs policy after Labor Day. But he has also said that he will proposed a budget-cutting proposal that goes well beyond the cuts the Super Committee is charged with finding, $4 trillion rather than a total of $2.5 trillion under the recent deal. Unless that's an 11th-dimensional chess move designed to free up $1.5 trillion in job programs, which seems unlikely, he's making a tragic mistake. (And even if it is, he's encouraging the wrong-headed economic fixation on debts that got us in this mess in the first place.)

What would a rational economic plan look like? It would first invest in a strong short-term program to create jobs and economic growth. It would address the systemic problems in our health economy, problems which threaten to bring a crushing cost burden on both public and private budgets in the next fifty years. That means reigning in the for-profit health sector.

A smart plan would also provide massive relief to American homeowners, many of whom were hoodwinked by their banks into acquiring three-quarters of a trillion dollars in total debt for nonexistent real estate value. Eliot Spitzer has some excellent ideas for how to go about it.[1]

Bachmann led a crowd in singing the Elvis hit, "Promised Land." That's the song where people "won't let a poor boy down." Any rational and humane economic program needs to protect services for lower-income Americans, who will immediately spend any assistance given to them. That will stimulate the economy, too.

Washington needs to drop its fixation on premature and misguided spending cuts. Until it does, Americans gazing at the White House and the Capitol Dome will be forced to conclude that common sense -- like Elvis -- has left the building.

[1] I do have one quibble with the Spitzer piece, and that's the idea of appointing GE CEO Jeff Immelt as a jobs czar. GE shipped 13,000 to India and another 5,000 to Hungary, Mexico, or China. On the other hand, the GE jobs that have stayed in the US are unionized and have excellent benefits. That's good, but I suspect their are better potential job czars out there.

Wisconsin Judge Declares Walker’s Collective Bargaining Bill “Null and Void”

Mary Bottari — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:47:00 -0400

Today, Wisconsin Judge Maryann Sumi ruled Governor Scott Walker's "budget repair bill," which would eviscerate collective bargaining rights for most public workers in the state, "null and void."

Sumi ruled that lawmakers clearly violated the state's open meetings law in their rush to pass the bill at the height of the capitol protests and that the public interest in the enforcement of the state's open records law outweighed the public interest in sustaining legislative action.

A Dramatic Day in March

Back in March, the Walker "budget repair bill" was stuck in limbo because 14 Democratic Senators left the state to prevent action on the bill. For fiscal bills, a supermajority is needed for final passage. On March 9, Republican lawmakers -- led by Scott Fitzgerald in the Senate and Jeff Fitzgerald in the Assembly -- pulled a fast one. They stripped the bill of fiscal items and hastily convened a Joint Conference Committee to vote on the legislation. Rather than meeting in a standard committee room, the conference committee jammed into the tiny, ornate Senate Parlor with a dozen or so members of the media and a few members of the public.

Because less than two hours notice was given, the "Wisconsin 14" were still out of state and could not make it back in time. Facebook and Twitter ensured that thousands rushed to the capitol building, but they could not get in due to the restrictive door access implemented by the Republicans.

The only Democrat assigned to the committee who could attend was Representative Peter Barca (D-Kenosha), who famously stood in the tense Senate Parlor calmly reading a legal memo from the current Republican Attorney General advising legislators to grant 24 hours notice before important meetings.

In the dramatic footage that was played on national television, Barca repeats over and over, "this meeting is in violation of the open meetings law," while in the background you can clearly hear the chants of "shame, shame, shame" from the crowds gathering under the Senate Parlor window. Watch here. While many were livid, some were quietly in tears in complete disbelief that they were locked out of the building during a vote that would affect the lives and livelihoods of 300,000 workers across the state. It was the single most dramatic day of the Wisconsin protests.

A Legislator Vindicated

Today, Barca was proved right.

"Today's decision by Judge Sumi restores Wisconsin's long tradition of open government. This ruling sets an important precedent that when the Legislature meets, the people must have a seat at the table. This is a huge victory for Wisconsin democracy," said Barca. Sumi ruled the evidence was "clear and convincing" that a conference committee failed to comply with the law which requires 24 hours notice of meetings. She said that they had not even provided the two hours notice, which is sometimes acceptable in emergencies.

"This case is the exemplar of values protected by the Open Meetings Law: transparency in government, the right of citizens to participate in their government, and respect for the rule of law," Sumi wrote. "It is not the court's business to determine whether 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 is good public policy or bad public policy; that is the business of the Legislature. It is this court's responsibility, however, to apply the rule of law to the facts before it."

Predictably, the Fitzgerald brothers did not take the ruling humbly. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said in a statement: "Act 10 was passed and signed into law in accordance with the rules of the state legislature. I remain confident that the Wisconsin State Supreme Court will rule accordingly and Act 10 will become law."

Apparently, the Fitzgerald brothers are waiting on their friends on the Supreme Court to get them out of the situation they are in rather than properly passing the bill a second time. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that they simply no longer have the votes. Six Republican Senators face recall elections this summer. A second vote might fan the flames of an already angry populace who is ready and willing to replace Governor Walker, according to polls released earlier in the week. Voters say that if the election were held today, they would pick former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold over Walker by a 52-32 margin.

With one third of the Wisconsin Senate up for recall and with the first elections scheduled for July 12, it is certain that there are many more dramatic days ahead in this battle for the future of Wisconsin.

Fire Fighters Turn off the Spigot

Mary Bottari — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:30:14 -0400

Remember when the fight broke out in Wisconsin over the right to collectively bargain and President Obama and a phalanx of national democratic leaders spread out across the country fighting for the rights of American workers?

Right, we don't remember that either.

As unions battled for their very existence, the thunderous silence from Washington, D.C. did not go unnoticed by working families fighting for their livelihoods or by powerful political players. At least one organization has decided to hold a few of their former friends accountable.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, announced yesterday it would no longer be giving money to federal candidates. Rather, the 300,000-member union said it would put its energy and resources into the fight at the state level over collective bargaining.

Wake Up Call for Democrats

The announcement sent a shock wave through the Washington Democratic establishment, because in recent years the union has given much more to Democrats than Republicans. It donated $1.9 million to Democratic candidates in national elections during the 2010 campaign cycle and only $408,000 to Republicans.

But union president Harold A. Schaitberger said he was turning off the tap. He told the New York Times: "We're tired that our friends have not been willing to stand up and fight back on our behalf with the same ferocity, the same commitment that our enemies have in trying to destroy our members' rights," he said. "Quite frankly, our enemies are trying to kill us as a labor movement and union trying to represent workers and help the middle class."

"Not only are extremist Republicans trying to destroy us -- too few Democrats are standing up and fighting for us," the union said in its announcement.

Take No Prisoners

The union's endorsement has been prized by politicians across the political spectrum since the September 11, 2001 attacks elevated the heroic efforts of fire fighters in the public eye. In an effort to get federal legislation passed that that would require states to grant public-safety employees, including police, firefighters and EMTs, the right to collectively bargain, the union has stepped up its federal spending and has embraced a series of Democratic presidential candidates including Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama.

But their agenda in Congress has stalled. Even when Democrats controlled both houses, the fire fighters could not get their priority bill pass the Senate's cloture rules in the final days of the 2010 lame-duck session.

While the fire fighters applauded the courage of the "Wisconsin 14," the 14 State Senators who fled the state to block a vote on Governor Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill, they are much less enthused by their friends at the federal level.

In an interview with MSNBC's Ed Shultz, Schaitberger said that Democrats at the federal level need to stand up and fight. "They need to have a collective voice, they need to do what the opposition has done. The opposition has been very focused, organized, orchestrated. Their message is very clear. They have their sights on the attack and they are willing to take no prisoners. We need our Democratic friends in Congress to have a unified voice, step up and fight back with us," said Schaitberger.

"Not Politics as Usual Anymore"

Here in Wisconsin where the fightback began, Joe Conway, the head of IAFF Local 311 applauded Schaitberger's "bold move." "This is not politics as usual anymore. We are under attack in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, New Hampshire, Florida. If unions don't survive, there won't be any money for any candidate in the future."

Conway said the union spent $50,000 in independent expenditures in the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court race and is now gearing up for the fight when one third of the Wisconsin State Senate is thrown into recall races over the summer. This decision at the national level would mean "more money for these local races in Wisconsin."

"The Republicans have done a great job convincing people that whatever economic problems they are having in their life, they can blame on public unions," says Conway. "But the truth is - and every study shows this -- that unions bring up everyone's wages, they improve everyone's economic status. We have to win all of these state fights, not just for ourselves but for everyone."

********
The Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy has been reporting live on developments from Wisconsin at www.PRWatch.org.

Wisconsin Governor Defies Court, Prepares for Coronation

Mary Bottari — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:59:35 -0400

Wisconsin continues to spin out of control and a constitutional crisis looms as a judge this week again ordered Walker’s administration to halt implementation of his bill stripping Wisconsin public workers of collective bargaining rights. Walker's team moved to publish the law in defiance of the court order last Friday night and began implementation of the bill on Saturday. These actions prompted an irate judge this week to clarify her previous standing order, making it “crystal clear” that “further implementation of the Act is enjoined.”

The response from the Imperial Walker administration? Go to hell. In a statement released late yesterday, Walker’s Department of Administration pledged to defy the court order and move toward implementation under their own interpretation of the law.

Walker Thumbs his Nose at Court Rulings

To recap, the Wisconsin governor has now lost thee rulings before the court, one forcing him to open the Capitol building and two enjoining the collective bargaining bill as a potential violation of the state's open meetings law, but Walker continues to defy the courts in both cases. Worse, the GOP has taken to actively mocking the judge and the entire judicial system in a manner that is unsettling to average citizens that are required to follow orders of the court.

On Wednesday, the GOP released the most unprofessional and childish attack on a judge that this state has ever seen, offering a fake apology for prior rudeness and attempting to smear her as a cocktail-drinking liberal.

“The Republican Party of Dane County recognizes that Judge Sumi is a leftist living in Dane County. Her friends are leftists living in Dane County. Her son is a left wing activist in Dane County. She goes to cocktail parties held by leftists in Dane County. She shops at organic gourmet food shops run by leftists living in Dane County. If she were to enforce the law of Wisconsin and do what was in the best interest of the people of Wisconsin, she’d be exiled from her lifestyle,” the statement said.

The GOP release set a new low in Wisconsin discourse and omits a key fact. Not only is Judge Maryanne Sumi a highly respected justice, she was appointed by former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson. The release was so over-the-top and the DOA’s defiance of the order so unbelievable, it is clear that the administration has decided that it’s posse on the Wisconsin Supreme Court will save them from handcuffs. But the Supreme Court is also in turmoil with a critical election pending Tuesday, April 5th.

Looking to Friends on the Supreme Court

After publicly admitting that he called the Chief Justice a “bitch” and threatened to “destroy her,” Governor Walker’s friend and mentor, Justice David Prosser, is up for election next Tuesday and is walking on thin ice. An independent expenditure TV ad accusing him of protecting a pedophile priest while serving as a District Attorney many years ago isn’t helping him either. While Prosser would have won reelection handily a few weeks ago, he has not been able to mount an effective response to the recent revelations and is up against a savvy and sympathetic Assistant Attorney General, Joanne Kloppenburg.

If Prosser loses, many believe the court will swing in a more balanced direction. This sleeper of a race has been supercharged by the recent protests, by revelations about Prosser’s temper and now by the utter disregard the Walker administration has for justices not of their own choosing. It is doubtful that a new justice will be sworn-in in time to have an impact on the matters currently before the court, but a fair court will be critical to the battles ahead -- especially for the redistricting fights anticipated in 2011.

Recalls Underway

In the longer term, many citizens are placing their hopes and their energy into the recall efforts underway across the state. In theory, there are 16 recalls underway, eight Democrats and eight Republicans. In reality, six Republicans and possibly one or two Democrats are in danger. The Democrats have reached their halfway mark for the collection of recall signatures. It appears Democrats have all the signatures they need to recall State Senator Randy “Bed" Hopper, who was discovered living out of district with his very young girlfriend (who the Walker administration helpfully employed as a new state worker). The Republican recall efforts were prompted by out-of-state groups and never had much energy behind them. If Democrats gather enough signatures, there will be elections over the summer. Democrats need to knock off three state senators to flip control of the senate and break Walker’s control of both houses.

Can I Have that Train Money Back?

The utter disregard for the rule of law and daily revelations of hypocrisy are rapidly undermining Walker as his poll numbers continue to tank. After rejecting $800 million in transportation funds in order to kill a high-speed rail line that would have employed thousands, Walker is now begging for $150 million from the federal government for – that’s right – trains. After claiming that the state is broke, this week we discovered that Walker managed to spend $42,000 flying private jets around the state, and managed to scrape together the money to hire Randy Hopper’s girlfriend, giving her a 35% raise. After stating repeatedly that his union-busting bill had nothing to do with union busting, his Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald, admitted this week that it was all about breaking the back of the unions. Wisconsinites are worried that the out-of-control Governor is sending the state off the rails.

Will there be Handcuffs or a Coronation?

“I have a legal obligation to execute all laws pertaining to my department that have been passed by both houses of the legislature, signed by the Governor, and published into law. The Department of Justice has concluded that 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 has met those requirements and is now effective law. My legal counsel agrees with the Department of Justice’s legal reasoning and conclusions. Accordingly, it is my duty to administer that law,” explains Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch as he prepared to defy the judge over the collective bargaining law.

Average citizens are not allowed to rely on their own lawyer’s interpretations of the law and defy judges. Will Judge Maryanne Sumi bring out the handcuffs for Huebsch? Will Scott Walker’s coronation be held in a formal ceremony in the Capitol rotunda? Will his friend David Prosser preside? Stay tuned.

Will "Bitches" and "Turds" Decide the Fate of Wisconsin?

Mary Bottari — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:56:42 -0400

The reign of lawlessness continues in Wisconsin.

Last week, a local court issued a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of Governor Scott Walker's radical proposal to do away with most collective bargaining rights for public workers and cripple labor's ability to collect union dues. The court put a halt to the publication of the bill (an act performed by the Secretary of State), so there could be a hearing on whether or not the Wisconsin Senate violated the state's strong open meetings law in its rush to ram the bill through.

This week, Wisconsin Attorney General JB Van Hollen charged into court in defense of secret government. He argued that when legislators break the law -- the courts can't do anything about it. Apparently legislators, like Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, have "immunity" from the enforcement of their very own laws.

Welcome to Fitzwalkerstan, where novel interpretations of long established law are a daily occurrence and the billable hours are stacking up.

Pleadings from Fitzwalkerstan

Wisconsin's open meetings law requires 24 hours' public notice of meetings or two hours in emergencies. The amended collective bargaining bill was given less than two hours. As word spread via Facebook and Twitter that legislators were pulling a fast one, hundreds of citizen's showed up at the Capitol but could not get in to watch proceedings. Shut out, they were forced to chant "shame, shame, shame," under Senate windows.

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Attorney General filed a motion on behalf of the Secretary of State Doug La Follette to void the stay. Bizarrely, the client was never consulted. Indeed, the Secretary of State had delayed publication of the law because of his own concerns regarding the legality of the Senate's unprecedented action.

This is just the latest legal madness from Fitzwalkerstan. To ram the astonishingly unpopular proposal though the Walker and his chief henchman Fitzgerald had to finagle:

A five second roll call vote at 1:30 a.m. The move was so abrupt, over 20 legislators never had a chance to vote in the Assembly.
An unprecedented warrant for the arrest of 14 missing Democratic Senators and the deputization of a posse to round them up.
A gubernatorial budget address in a locked down Capitol in violation of a standing court order on Capitol access.
An unprecedented conference committee, formed by fiat, meeting in violation of the open meetings law in a tiny backroom.
A Senate roll call vote on a substitute amendment no one had ever seen.
A new Senate rule denying Democrats the right to vote in committee (an insane idea quietly withdrawn.)
The ongoing violation of the court order to restore Capitol access to as it was in January of 2011.

These astounding events have many Wisconsinites shaking their heads. "Procedures and open government are important in Wisconsin and I can't remember another time when these procedures have been this disrespected, " says UW law professor Bill Whitford, a life-long resident of Madison.

The courts have ruled against Walker twice so far. Thank heavens for the courts! A breath of sanity in an insane world! Or are they?

"Bitches" and "Turds," Oh My!

The reputation of Wisconsin Supreme Court took a pounding this week after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel released emails showing that bickering on the Court had reached a new low. David Prosser, a sitting justice, acknowledged calling the state's first female Supreme Court Justice "a total bitch" and threatening to "destroy" her. But he nobly defended his actions telling the paper he had been "goaded" into making such statements by the respected Chief Justice.

David Prosser, whose campaign earlier announced he would "compliment" the new Governor, is seeking reelection April 5 and is up against a respected Deputy Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. At the first debate between the candidates on Tuesday, Prosser again went deep into uncharted territory initiating the topic of "turds." Prosser quoted a comment on his opponents Facebook page: "Stop the turd, vote Kloppenburg." "Now, am I the turd?" Prosser asked. "That's totally inappropriate."

What other terrible rhymes lurk in the random comments of 8,700 Kloppenburg Facebook fans?

What Next?

The case filed by Wisconsin Attorney General Van Holland is in appellate court right now but may end up in the Wisconsin Supreme Court next week where the polarized court may be forced to duke it out to the utter horror of average Wisconsinites who think the state is quickly spiraling out of control. Walkers poll numbers are tanking, showing that he would lose a "do-over" by seven points. But that do-over may not come for a year. In the meantime, Wisconsin will be awash with Senate recalls, big money ads and dirty tricks the likes of which this state, which prides itself on good government and clean politics, has never seen. An independent and adult judicial branch will be more critical than ever.

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The Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy has been reporting the events from the Wisconsin Capitol, focusing on the politicians, corporations and spinmeisters behind the assault on working families. Visit us at PRWatch.org.

Banksters Back in the Black: JP Morgan Chase

Mary Bottari — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:30:50 -0500

Earnings and bonus reports are rolling in and the big, bailed-out banks are back in the black. In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion -- up almost six percent from 2009 according to the Wall Street Journal. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon may take home the biggest bonus check, an eye-popping $17 million.

While the Wall Street economy is booming, the real economy is in a dead stall. Only 36,000 jobs were created in January 2011. A roundup of recent headlines shines a light on how big banks like JPMorgan Chase make their big bucks.

No Saving Private Ryan

U.S. foreclosure filings are projected to reach 9 million in 2011. An increasing number of the foreclosed are U.S. service members even though they have access to special protections and programs. USA Today reports that foreclosure filings near military bases jumped 32 percent since 2008. More than 20,000 veterans, reservists and active-duty troops lost the homes to foreclosure in 2010, the highest number since 2003. This report comes hard on the heels of an NBC expose showing that JPMorgan Chase illegally overcharged 4,000 active service members for their mortgages improperly foreclosing on a number of them.

Diane Thompson from the National Consumer Law Center points out that big banks and mortgage service firms have perverse financial incentives that spur them to foreclose. "The servicer's expenses, other than the financing costs associated with advances, will be paid first out of the proceeds of a foreclosure. . . Whether and when costs are recovered in a modification is more uncertain."

In other words, big banks and mortgage firms are rushing to kick American families to the curb to pocket more fees. Thanks for the service boys!

Profiting on Poverty

In these hard times, some 43 million American families rely on food stamps. To the surprise of many, JPMorgan Chase is the largest processor of food stamp benefits in the United States. The bank is contracted to provide food stamp debit cards in 26 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

The firm is paid per customer. This means that when the number of food stamp recipients goes up, so do JPMorgan profits. Talk about perverse incentives. JPMorgan is taking its responsibility to keep the U.S. unemployment rate high by offshoring the servicing of many of these contracts to India, according to ABC News.

Michael Snyder of the Seeking Alpha blog put it best: "There are just some things that are a little too creepy to be outsourced to private corporations."

Aiding and Abetting Bernie Madoff

According to documents in a lawsuit made public Thursday, senior executives at JPMorgan Chase expressed doubts about Bernie Madoff's miraculous investment returns more than 18 months before Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed, but continued to serve as his primary bank and failed to report him to federal authorities.

The lawsuit was filed against JPMorgan and other firms by the bankruptcy trustee gathering assets for Madoff's victims. The suit alleges that JPMorgan allowed Madoff to move billions of dollars of investors' cash in and out of his bank accounts right until the day of his arrest even though there were an abundance of red flags.

The bank "had only to glance at the bizarre activity" in the Madoff accounts "to realize that Madoff was not operating a legitimate business," the trustee asserts. The unusual activity should have tripped the banks anti-money laundering software. The suit also alleges JPMorgan was creating products to leverage off of this relationship with Madoff. The bank denies any wrongdoing.

Covering Up Fraud at Bear Sterns

Another lawsuit filed in 2008 by mortgage insurer Ambac Assurance Corp against Bear Stearns and JPMorgan was recently unsealed. A trove of documents reviewed by Atlantic Monthly suggest that Bear Stern executives cheated clients out of billions by double dipping on securities sales they knew to be flawed. In a stack of damning emails, Bear Sterns top executives crow over selling investors a "sack of shit."

Ambac also alleges a cover up by JPMorgan and recently won a court order to add misrepresentation claims against the bank to its suit, which can double or triple lawsuit awards. JPMorgan, of course, denies any wrongdoing.

"Not Fair," says Dimon

At last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jamie Dimon lambasted the media and politicians for portraying all bankers as greedy evil-doers. "I just think this constant refrain [of] 'bankers, bankers, bankers,' - it's just a really unproductive and unfair way of treating people. It's not fair to lump all banks together," he steamed. Don't worry Jamie, you are on a level all of your own.

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Learn more about JPMorgan Case and its role in the financial crisis at Sourcewatch.org.

Fraudclosure: Will State AGs Step Up to Their Moment in History?

Mary Bottari — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:11:17 -0500

Rumor has it that the 50 state attorney general investigation into the Fraudclosure scandal is wrapping up. It's time for a backbone check. Will the state attorneys general just ask the big banks and service providers to turn over a chunk of change from seemingly bottomless pockets? (This strategy was pursued by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) with little impact). Or will Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller take the lead in wrestling a real settlement out of the banks so that families hammered by unemployment and underemployment can stay in their homes?

Widespread Criminality

Americans know that the big banks and the mortgage service providers got us into this hole by pursuing an array of financial crimes. The SEC settlements alone have revealed a plethora of illegal, predatory and deceptive lending related to mortgages, securities fraud, accounting fraud, insider trading, brokerage fraud, bribery of government officials, criminal conflict of interest, deception of shareholders and investors, and more.

Now the "robo-signing" scandal is pulling back the curtain on Act II of this white collar crime spree -- revealing a new array of financial crimes by the very same institutions: robo-signing, fake witnesses, fake notaries, fake documents, fake attorneys, not to mention plain old theft as servicers rob consumers of hundreds or thousands of dollars in misapplied fees. There are additional crimes related to the way that banks have failed to correctly transfer promissory notes through the system and efforts to mislead and defraud investors. The short story is that many homeowners were foreclosed upon based on falsified documents by a bank who was not the true holder of the mortgage note. This is a crisis not only for individual homeowners, but investors who bought flawed mortgage-backed securities and for the financial system as a whole.

Not a Single Prosecution of a Major Player

Perverse incentives on Wall Street allowed top executives to make more money on flawed loans than boring old 30-year mortgages. Even though there is widespread agreement that Wall Street's endless appetite for high-interest, high-fees loans to fuel the mortgage securitization machine had a causal role in supercharging the housing bubble, not one mortgage servicer provider or big bank CEO has been put in jail. This compares to over 1,000 successful prosecutions of top officers during the Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s.

While the SEC has been churning out fines resulting in a long list of "settlements", Wall Street firms are beginning to set aside money and treat these actions merely as the cost of doing business.

There is nothing more instructive than jail time, but the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been hoodwinked by America's biggest hoodlums, preferring to arrest a string of penny-ante Jersey mobsters than the Mafioso hiding in plain sight at Wall Street and Broadway. The DOJ delights in arresting people like Vinny Carwash" Frogiero, Frank "Meatball" Ballantoni, Anthino "Hootie" Russo. How about Jamie "Pretty Boy" Dimon, Lloyd "Godswork" Blankfein and Vikram "Slumdog" Pandit?

History is Calling

In the history of the financial crisis, state AGs have so far come out looking pretty good. State AGs were the first in the nation to recognize that the predatory lending practices of firms such as Ameriquest and Countrywide were a danger to consumers and to the entire U.S. economy. In 2004, they were radically preempted from taking action against these crimes by Bush-appointed federal regulators at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Now state AGs have another moment to outshine negligent federal prosecutors.

State AGs can take a series of actions that the Feds have failed to take. First of all, they can book the crooks and force top officers to trade pinstripes for jail stripes. Secondly, they can force the banks into settlements with individual homeowners that really take a bite out of their profits, complete with foreclosure redos and damages for harmed homeowners. They can also subject the banks to ongoing independent audits of their foreclosure procedures and they can demand that the banks force principle write downs and other across-the-board measures that will stabilize communities and the economy.

February 3rd National Day of Action

National People's Action and other anti-foreclosure groups area calling for a national day of action tomorrow to urge the AGs to do the right thing. But why wait? You can go to BanskterUSA.org to email the lead investigator, Iowa AG Tom Miller, and urge him to do the right thing. You can also join thousands of people across the country by click here to find your AG's phone number so you can ask him or her directly for meaningful action on foreclosure.

If you are struggling with these issues, think about meeting up with your neighbors. "Mortgage Madness Meetups" are being facilitated by Huffington Post. The next worldwide meetup day is February 8th. Finally, if you are trapped in the snow today, check out Dylan Ratigan's excellent series on the housing crisis "No Way to Live" on MSNBC.