Harry Reid - The rich can "contribute a teeny, tiny fraction more to shore up the economic future of this great nation," said Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid on the Senate floor last week. Reid was pushing President Obama's latest jobs bill that subjects the top earners in this country to additional tax hikes.
Taxes - A bipartisan group of 100 House members will call for the deficit “super committee” to include tax hikes along with spending cuts in its recommendations, which are due later this month.
Debit Card Fees - The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bank of America is calling off their plan to charge customers to use their debit cards. The bank joins Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase in retreating from the fees because of negative customer feedback. The fees were imposed after Congress imposed price controls on debit card transactions.
Fair Sentencing Act - Changes to federal laws on crack cocaine could release as many as 12,000 inmates from prison early. The Fair Sentencing Act passed by Congress in 2010 reduces the disparity for future cases dealing with crack and powder cocaine. The U.S. Sentencing Commission decided to make the Act retroactive to inmates already serving time.
Federal Budget - By a vote of 69-30, Senators approved a $182 billion spending measure funding “seven Cabinet departments and major science agencies,” Politico reports.
Homeland Security – They started monitoring twitter communications in an attempt to head off any OWS riots or violence.
SAVE Act – Congress’s new Sensible Accounting to Value Energy Act will force mortgage lenders to take into account housing energy savings when underwriting loans. Just what the declining housing market needs – more government intrusion and regulation!
Gregory Freidman – The Energy Department’s Inspector General testified before the House Oversight committee stating the administrations green agenda in the stimulus package was “unrealistic”.
OWS Demographics – From the OWS website (OccupyWallSt.org): Mostly male (61%), mostly white (81.2%), mostly employed full time (47%), mostly college educated (60.7%). Other interesting facts: the protest is largely past school-age, with 76.5% of respondents over age 25, and a third of them (30.1%) make over $50,000 a year. Only 12.3% are unemployed.
Forbes Magazine – Named Obama the most powerful man in the world for 2011 primarily for the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Taxes – Colorado voted down tax hikes by a 2 to 1 landslide. It is interesting how most people do not want higher taxes for themselves, but think it is okay for the government to tax their neighbors more.
Freddie Mac – Executives of the government run organization received large bonuses despite the fact that the company is still being bailed out with taxpayer funds. In fact, both Freddie and Fannie combined to receive another 6 billion dollars in bailouts this past quarter.
Michael Moore – He claims that there has been “no violence” or “destruction of property” during OWS protests in Oakland. He insists it is the police that are doing the rioting. I guess all those video images of the Oakland riots are just another right wing conspiracy to paint liberals as lunatics.
My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)
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