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designman124
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Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 09:00 pm |
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MrsF wrote: But things are so much better with Obama, aren't they?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31704515/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/?GT1=43001
Unemployment approaching 10 percent and the stock market is down almost 200 points today--- that's much better?Last edited on Fri Jul 3rd, 2009 01:14 am by designman124
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MrsF
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Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 08:35 pm |
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Oh but see, Fannie, you seem to forget that I wasn't supporting McCain. Remember, I was in favor of other people for Republican candidacy. My vote wasn't FOR McCain, it was AGAINST Obama. It's a sad state of affairs that during a major election people like me can't seem to get behind the candidate choices. You see, McCain wasn't a good choice in my opinion, but then again, neither was Obama. I find it hard to believe that those were the two best choices. I believe I chose the lesser of two evils.
There are a lot of contributing factors to the mess we are in, including the Democrats in congress opening up the loans for people who normally couldn't afford their homes. People who are in debt up to their eyeballs and still spend money is what put us in the mess we are in. Why is a garbage man in San Diego buying a $300,000 home? Who allowed that loan? Who encouraged that loan? Yes, it's the Democrats who wanted to see low income people being placed into homes when they couldn't afford them. The clips have been put up in here many, many times. You remember.
It's the speculators that drove up the gas and oil prices. It's the housing boom that burst that caused the market to crash. It's the way the cycles of free market works. It happened in the 1920's and 1930's, it happened several times since then, and it's happening now. It's the nature of the beast.
Tell me, how exactly is Bush and the Republican party directly to blame for our current economy? When exactly does it become Obama's deal? I mean, he's the one spending all of this money, so when it all comes to a head and hurts us, are you going to blame him? Or will you spend eternity blaming Bush?
I remember with Bush in office that times were great for the entire time. It's when the gas prices started to rise that the trouble started. People started having to raise their fees and incomes weren't going up. Then, all of a sudden it came to a screeching halt.
I'm still waiting for housing starts. Obama said he's gonna help us...so what's the plan?
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Fannie
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Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 08:20 pm |
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| Things must be boring at the Kiddie Care today cause Mrs. F is back on her soap box. As if things would be so great if McBush had won the election. Remember, it was George W. Bush and the Republican Party that got the United States in the mess it's in now. But you die hard Republicans never admit to it.
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MrsF
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Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 04:19 pm |
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But things are so much better with Obama, aren't they?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31704515/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/?GT1=43001
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designman124
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Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 03:48 pm |
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 02:16 pm |
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467K jobs cut in June; jobless rate at 9.5 percent
WASHINGTON – Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the economy's road to recovery will be bumpy.
All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June.
The average work week in June fell to 33 hours, the lowest on records dating to 1964.
The unemployment rate of 9.5% is a 26 year high and think about it, none of these figures include those that have stopped looking for work, those that have lost hours, those that have been forced to work part time, etc. If we add in these people, who knows where the figures will be. Including those that have given up looking for work and who do no receive benefits any more, the unemployment rate in Riverside/San Bernadino is over 25%, in Birmingham, AL it is over 24% and in Detroit it is over 24%.
The polls are showing that people are starting to listen to the figure and what is going on. On January 21st, President Obama's total approval rate was 65% and now it is 54%...maybe it is all those unemployed people that are now seeing that he lied to them about creating or saving jobs.
Come on, President Obama, at least tell the truth that your stimulus package is not working and don't rush into health care, because you and your minions don't have a clue about how to run the United States.
Last edited on Thu Jul 2nd, 2009 02:23 pm by cindisue_g
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designman124
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Posted: Wed Jul 1st, 2009 04:33 pm |
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designman124
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Posted: Wed Jul 1st, 2009 03:59 am |
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Rasmussen Poll: Obama's Popularity
Plunging
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 7:27 PM
By: Jim Meyers
The latest Rasmussen daily tracking poll shows that President Barack Obama for the first time has a negative approval index — more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve.
In an exclusive Newsmax interview, pollster Scott Rasmussen also disclosed that if the economy does not approve over the next year, Obama's numbers will deteriorate even further — and Democrats will suffer in 2010.
Rasmussen is founder and CEO of Rasmussen Reports and co-founder of the sports network ESPN. He has been an independent public opinion pollster for over a decade, and his reports are cited by most major news organization.
Newsmax.TV's Ashley Martella asked Rasmussen for an overview of the latest tracking poll.
"The raw numbers of pretty straightforward — 31 percent of Americans strongly approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job, 33 percent strongly disapprove," Rasmussen said.
"Before the last week we never had a circumstance where the number who disapprove outweigh the number who approve. So we're in new territory. Right now the approval index at minus two is as low as it's been.
"What we've seen in the last month is a growing number of people who strongly disapprove, and we're seeing it at a time when the president's honeymoon is coming to an end and people are beginning to look at the policies that he's promoting."
The closeness of the approve/disapprove numbers are "yet another indicator of how evenly divided our nation is," he added.
On specific issues, Rasmussen disclosed:
"When we talk about healthcare reform and the proposal the president is talking about, the country is fairly evenly divided. But those who have strong opinions tend to oppose the plan more than support it.
"On the cap and trade legislation [to reduce carbon emissions], 42 percent believe it's going to hurt the economy. Only 19 percent believe it's going to help.
"The takeover of General Motors is strongly opposed.
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designman124
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Posted: Wed Jul 1st, 2009 12:47 am |
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Tue Jun 30th, 2009 07:22 pm |
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Jobless rates rise in all US metro areas in May
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unemployment rates rose in all the largest U.S. metropolitan areas in May for the fifth straight month, and are likely to keep marching higher this year, a potential obstacle to a hoped-for economic recovery.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that jobless rates in May rose from a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan area it tracks.
The unemployment rate in Kokomo, Ind., jumped to 18.8 percent, up 11.7 percentage points from a year ago, the largest increase of all metro areas. The second-highest increase occurred in Indiana's Elkhart-Goshen, where the rate rose to 17.5 percent. That's up 11.4 percentage points from a year earlier.
Wasn’t it Elkhart where President Obama went to say his stimulus package would save or create their jobs. FYI – the unemployment rate was 15.3 when President Obama was there, now it is 2.2 percent higher (where are all the jobs that President Obama promised to create or save?). I guess we can all see that his stimulus package worked – NOT! Why won't President Obama at least tell the truth about his stimulus package????
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designman124
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Posted: Mon Jun 29th, 2009 10:04 pm |
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Last edited on Mon Jun 29th, 2009 10:05 pm by designman124
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Sat Jun 27th, 2009 01:05 am |
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Ms. Boots wrote: cindisue_g wrote: When will President Obama tell the truth and admit his stimulus package was a bust. Oh sorry I forgot, Democrats are allowed to lie.
The Labor Department said Thursday that new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week. And the number of people continuing to receive unemployment aid rose more than expected.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose last week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000. Economists had expected a drop to 600,000. Several states reported more claims than expected from teachers, cafeteria workers and other school employees, a Labor Department analyst said.
The number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 29,000 to 6.74 million, slightly above analysts' estimates of 6.7 million. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, was largely unchanged, at 616,750.
The nation's unemployment rate hit a quarter-century peak of 9.4 percent last month when employers eliminated 345,000 jobs. Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, forecasts that employers will have cut a net total of 325,000 jobs this month and the unemployment rate will rise to 9.6 percent. The June employment report will be released July 2.
Yeh..we abandone our LoveGuv job for 5 days to meet a sweetie overseas...oh, wait...that was the Republican rising star--Sexy Sanford... now known as a falling star.
Not quite sure what Governor Sanford has to do with President Obama's stimulus package. If you would like to start a Governor Sanford topic, I'd be more than happy to voice my opinion on him.
My point was that President Obama can't be honest and say that his rushed through stimulus package has not worked and that unemployment continues to grow.
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designman124
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Posted: Fri Jun 26th, 2009 10:13 pm |
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Ms. Boots
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Posted: Fri Jun 26th, 2009 09:39 pm |
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cindisue_g wrote: When will President Obama tell the truth and admit his stimulus package was a bust. Oh sorry I forgot, Democrats are allowed to lie.
The Labor Department said Thursday that new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week. And the number of people continuing to receive unemployment aid rose more than expected.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose last week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000. Economists had expected a drop to 600,000. Several states reported more claims than expected from teachers, cafeteria workers and other school employees, a Labor Department analyst said.
The number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 29,000 to 6.74 million, slightly above analysts' estimates of 6.7 million. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, was largely unchanged, at 616,750.
The nation's unemployment rate hit a quarter-century peak of 9.4 percent last month when employers eliminated 345,000 jobs. Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, forecasts that employers will have cut a net total of 325,000 jobs this month and the unemployment rate will rise to 9.6 percent. The June employment report will be released July 2.
Yeh..we abandone our LoveGuv job for 5 days to meet a sweetie overseas...oh, wait...that was the Republican rising star--Sexy Sanford... now known as a falling star.
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deuce
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Posted: Fri Jun 26th, 2009 09:33 pm |
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cindisue_g wrote: When will President Obama tell the truth and admit his stimulus package was a bust.
Never! Even after he has to go to Congress for Stimulus II.
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Thu Jun 25th, 2009 06:30 pm |
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When will President Obama tell the truth and admit his stimulus package was a bust. Oh sorry I forgot, Democrats are allowed to lie.
The Labor Department said Thursday that new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week. And the number of people continuing to receive unemployment aid rose more than expected.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose last week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000. Economists had expected a drop to 600,000. Several states reported more claims than expected from teachers, cafeteria workers and other school employees, a Labor Department analyst said.
The number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 29,000 to 6.74 million, slightly above analysts' estimates of 6.7 million. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, was largely unchanged, at 616,750.
The nation's unemployment rate hit a quarter-century peak of 9.4 percent last month when employers eliminated 345,000 jobs. Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, forecasts that employers will have cut a net total of 325,000 jobs this month and the unemployment rate will rise to 9.6 percent. The June employment report will be released July 2.
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designman124
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Posted: Thu Jun 25th, 2009 05:21 pm |
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chicagotribune.com
Too big, too fast
June 25, 2009
Remember that gargantuan climate change bill we told you about last week? It's gotten bigger. Over the weekend, the bill grew from 946 pages to 1,201 pages, according to the Sunlight Foundation. It's still changing, with important amendments in flux.
But Democratic leaders in the House say they'll push for a vote on the bill as early as Friday. They think they can pass it.This is an incredibly expensive undertaking. If anyone in Congress tells you that he has read and completely understands this bill, and can explain exactly how the system to reduce carbon emissions would work and what its effects would be, he's lying.
Democratic leaders need to slow down. This proposed legislation would affect every American individual and company for generations. There's a huge amount of money at stake: $845 billion for the federal government in the first 10 years. Untold thousands of jobs created -- or lost. This requires careful study, not a Springfield-style here's-the-bill-let's-vote rush job.
This page has supported many of the principles in the bill. It would curb carbon pollution, a key to global warming, through a system known as cap-and-trade.
It would work this way: The government would set a limit or cap on large sources of carbon dioxide pollution such as coal-fired utility plants and refineries. Companies would buy or be given a certain number of permits, or credits, to pollute a specific amount over a year. If a plant emits less pollution, the owners save some of the credits. Those can be sold to other plants that aren't so clean or ambitious. The idea is to build market flexibility into a system that gradually reduces pollution and arrests global warming.
Over time, the limits ratchet down, the air clears and, with some luck, the worst effects of climate change are averted.
We've had some reservations about the huge costs in this proposal. Some of those costs would be passed on to consumers in the form of higher energy prices. That's a tough sell, particularly in an economic downturn.
We're encouraged that a new Congressional Budget Office study found that those increases would be relatively small and easy to manage. The study concluded that the cap-and-trade program would cost the average American household $175 a year in higher energy costs by 2020. But with rebate provisions, some low-income households would get lower energy bills, by $40 a year by 2020, the study said.
Another major sticking point: The U.S. can do a lot to reduce its carbon output, but can't do it all. America won't have much impact on global warming if China, India and other major polluters don't follow suit and dramatically reduce their own pollutants.
The bill's sponsors are still trying to resolve questions over whether and how to impose sanctions on countries that do not limit emissions. That's crucial. Those foreign countries would enjoy a cost advantage in manufacturing if their industries were free to pollute, while American industries picked up the tab for controlling emissions.
Let's hear how lawmakers plan to do that -- and a lot more detail about this bill. If the House votes this week, it will not be an informed vote.
At a news conference Tuesday, President Barack Obama endorsed the measure, calling it "extraordinarily important."
After all these years of arguing over climate change, the United States must act. But not in haste.
The Democrats need to delay the vote. Otherwise, House members should vote no.
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deuce
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Posted: Wed Jun 24th, 2009 10:58 pm |
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Buffett Says U.S. May Need a Second Stimulus Package
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the U.S. may need a second economic stimulus package as unemployment is poised to continue rising.
“It looks like we’re going to need more medicine, not less,” Buffett said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. "We’re going to have more unemployment. The recovery really hasn’t got going.” Buffett is chairman and chief executive officer of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
In response to a question at yesterday's press conference about the need for more STIMULUS money, Obama said NOT YET. Hmm.
How much this time?
Last edited on Wed Jun 24th, 2009 11:54 pm by deuce
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Razenkn
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Posted: Tue Jun 23rd, 2009 11:23 pm |
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Glenn Beck
June 23, 2009
Government at work: Would you believe a story about the Los Angeles Zoo spending millions (about $7 million) in taxpayer money on a Chinese Golden Monkey exhibit -- only to have the Chinese decide they don't want to send the monkeys? Wait, what happened to the firefighters and the teachers? California's government tells us they have no money for them, yet they are spending money on Chinese Golden Monkeys? ( STORY) No wonder 90% of Americans, according to the L.A. Times, are concerned with government spending.
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designman124
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Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 03:03 pm |
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Visual Evidence the Obama Team Completely Misjudged the Stimulus Impact
This chart, contrasting the Obama administration's January projections of what the unemployment rate would be with and without the stimulus package against the actual numbers of recent months, is popping up everywhere, from Newsweek to FactCheck.org to Ace of Spades. It deserves widespread attention.
To get the stimulus passed, the Obama administration promised the moon, and had no idea whether it would work. One hundred and twenty-one days since the stimulus passed, there is still no sign that it is doing what it was designed to do — mitigate the recession and put Americans back to work.
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designman124
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Posted: Wed Jun 17th, 2009 03:23 pm |
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80% Want Government To Sell Stake In GM, Chrysler Right Now
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Eighty percent (80%) of U.S. voters want the government to sell its stake in General Motors and Chrysler as soon as possible.
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 11% disagree and want the government to retain ownership for a long time.
Support for ending the government ownership is so strong that 64% favor a proposal that would force the government to sell the auto companies within a year. Only 26% are opposed.
Voters feel nearly as strongly about the ownership interest the government has taken in several bailed-out U.S. banks. Seventy-one percent (71%) say the government should sell that ownership to private investors as soon as possible.
Nineteen percent (19%) think the government should retain ownership of the banks for a long time.
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designman124
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Posted: Tue Jun 16th, 2009 09:28 pm |
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designman124
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Posted: Tue Jun 16th, 2009 02:49 pm |
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Sen. Coburn questions 100 stimulus projects
Jun 16, 12:48 AM (ET)
By LARRY MARGASAK
p {margin:12px 0px 0px 0px;}
WASHINGTON (AP) - Repairs for rural bridges, an under-highway safe crossing for turtles and efforts to protect the sage grouse population are among 100 projects a Republican senator pointed to Monday as questionable federal stimulus spending.
The list by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., includes projects others would identify as ideal for creating jobs and benefiting generations of Americans: skateboard parks, streetscapes, upgrades of park facilities, bike trails and parking garages.
Coburn's list is partially a collection of news stories that questioned local projects to be funded under President Barack Obama's economic recovery program. The White House has promoted the program by selecting favorable newspaper stories.
One of the most fiscally conservative senators, Coburn cited the repair of 37 rural bridges in Wisconsin that average little more than 500 vehicles apiece each day - with one carrying no more than 10 cars a day. The projects jumped over larger, urban repairs because they were "shovel ready."
Local officials had a different perspective. Coburn, for instance, criticized $840,000 to repair a bridge in Portage County, Wis., that carries 260 vehicles a day largely to a backwater saloon and a country club.
Bill Weronke, the county highway commissioner, said the bridge has "lived its life expectancy" and is dangerous. "It's a pretty crucial bridge in Portage County," he said. He added it soon will be a shortcut to a state highway.
Coburn also criticized a $3.4 million Florida Department of Transportation project for an "eco-passage" - an underground wildlife road crossing for turtles and other wildlife in Lake Jackson, Fla., along U.S. 27.
"Why did the turtle cross the road? To get to the other side of a stimulus project," the Coburn report says.
Josh Boan, the Florida Transportation Department's natural resources manager, said a large number of turtles and other wildlife are killed in the area. In addition to protecting wildlife, he said the project is needed for safety: turtles hit by vehicles can become flying projectiles.
The project north of Tallahassee is to begin in September.
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Razenkn
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Posted: Tue Jun 16th, 2009 05:23 am |
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designman124 wrote: Durbin cashed out during big stock collapse
WASHINGTON | Asset sales came after meeting with Fed, Treasury chiefs
June 13, 2009
As U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fund shares and used much of the money to invest in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The Illinois senator's 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. The same day, he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B stock, the disclosure shows.
Altogether, Durbin sold investments worth $116,000 in September. By Oct. 2, he had invested $98,046 in Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway, the form shows.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index plunged 4.7 percent last Sept. 15 after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bank of America Corp.'s government-engineered takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. By the end of October, the index had fallen 22.6 percent.
"Durbin was doing what a lot of other people were doing, taking a look at their savings" and seeing it "start to tank and trying to preserve some level of wealth by getting out of the market," said his spokesman, Joe Shoemaker.
Yeah, the same day and the day after his closed door meeting on the economy and what was coming....INSIDER INFORMATION PEOPLE......Chris Dodd...SPECIAL TREATMENT....BARACK OBAMA ...TONY REZKO...Corruption....the list goes on...
Does anybody on the left have any moral standards whatsoever to stand up and say, hey, get this guy out of here. This is just more standard Chicago thuggery that we seem to becoming accepting to. What is wrong with you people? Don't you stand for anything? When Craig was caught doing his idiotic thing, even though it didn't hurt any of us or the taxpayer, I said get him out of there. Same thing with the idiot Mark Foley, get him out of there. Where is the left when so many of their congress members are crooks and it comes to light and they say NOTHING. Martha Stewart went to PRISON for much, much less than this. DOUBLE STANDARD... do ya think???
DEMOCRATS....PARTY OF CORRUPTION...this is why the Conservatives are coming back in 2010, you aren't hearing this crap about them now are you? 
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deuce
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Posted: Tue Jun 16th, 2009 02:48 am |
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Here’s some closing prices for BRK.B:
9-17-08 $ 4165
10-2-08 4608
12-31-08 3214
6-15-09 2929
Durbin’s sitting on a substantial loss at today’s closing price!
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designman124
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Posted: Mon Jun 15th, 2009 02:51 pm |
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Durbin cashed out during big stock collapse
WASHINGTON | Asset sales came after meeting with Fed, Treasury chiefs
June 13, 2009
As U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fund shares and used much of the money to invest in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The Illinois senator's 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. The same day, he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B stock, the disclosure shows.
Altogether, Durbin sold investments worth $116,000 in September. By Oct. 2, he had invested $98,046 in Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway, the form shows.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index plunged 4.7 percent last Sept. 15 after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bank of America Corp.'s government-engineered takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. By the end of October, the index had fallen 22.6 percent.
"Durbin was doing what a lot of other people were doing, taking a look at their savings" and seeing it "start to tank and trying to preserve some level of wealth by getting out of the market," said his spokesman, Joe Shoemaker.
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designman124
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Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 10:19 pm |
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designman124
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Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 03:05 pm |
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deuce
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Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 03:22 am |
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The rise in interest rates from below 5% two weeks ago to 5.79% today (HSH Associates) risks slowing down the economic recovery.
This rise in rates is a setback for Team Obama’s program to help borrowers refinance their mortgages.
The HARP program was designed to allow homeowners who owe btwn 80% and 105% of their homes current value to take advantage of the low rates.
Obamaman estimated the program could help 4-5 million borrowers refinance. So far, +/- 13,000 mortgages have been refinanced – an underwhelming response.
Now, all bets are off. Back to the drawing board for Team Obama. The recovery is likely to drag on much longer than anticipated to Obama’s (taxpayers) chagrin as foreclosures rise.
Last edited on Fri Jun 12th, 2009 05:10 am by deuce
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designman124
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Posted: Thu Jun 11th, 2009 10:19 pm |
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Business groups dare Obama to limit pay for union bosses
By Amanda Carpenter on June 11, 2009
Business groups are daring President Barack Obama to impose pay caps on labor union bosses in light of indications the White House will limit how much corporate executives can be paid.
President Obama has argued “corporate greed” has contributed to the economic crisis and appointed a “compensation czar” to review executive pay for several companies receiving taxpayer bailout money Wednesday. Now White House officials have told the press legislation should be enacted to limit executive pay in private companies through nonbinding shareholders votes.
The Workforce Fairness Institute, which has lobbied heavily for the defeat of the Employee Free Choice Act to ease organization rules for labor unions, points to a 2008 Hudson Institute study that suggests unions have short-changed benefits for their rank and file in favor or generous executive compensation packages and to pad the coffers of their political allies, who are mostly Democrats.
“On average, the 21 largest unions pension plans had less than 70 percent of the funds that they would need to cover their total obligations, and none were fully funded,” the study said. “Seven were less than 65 percent funded. Yet 23 officer and staff funds from the same unions had 88.2 percent of the funding they would need to pay promise pensions, including seven full funded plans and another 13 with at least 80 percent of the required funds.”
Business leaders who oppose plans to limit executive pay say if it is to be passed, labor unions should be included as well.
“Given that union bosses’ job performances have yet to be scrutinized despite numerous, credible reports that they have engaged in ‘creative accounting’ and have mismanaged and underfunded worker pension plans, while wholly funding their own, is deplorable,” said Katie Packer, executive director of the Workforce Fairness Institute
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Thu Jun 11th, 2009 05:59 pm |
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The Good News:
Jobless claims drop to 601,000; retail sales rise
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 601,000. That's below analysts' estimates of 615,000.
The Commerce Department said retail sales increased 0.5 percent last month, in line with economists' expectations. It was the largest increase since sales rose 1.7 percent in January following six straight declines.
The Bad News:
601,000 people lost their jobs.
The increase in retail sales can be attributed to the price of gas going up and car sales.
Still, the number of people claiming benefits for more than a week rose 59,000 to more than 6.8 million, the highest on records dating to 1967.
The Really Bad News:
Americans' net worth shrinks $1.33 trillion in 1Q
WASHINGTON – American households lost $1.33 trillion of their wealth in the first three months of the year as the recession took a bite out of stock portfolios and dragged down home prices.
Thank you President Obama!
Last edited on Thu Jun 11th, 2009 06:23 pm by cindisue_g
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designman124
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Posted: Wed Jun 10th, 2009 03:06 pm |
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Wed Jun 10th, 2009 02:42 pm |
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I finally figured out who the stimulus package is helping - in addition to the UAW who did not have to make any concessions and is actually apparently bragging to their members what they got and what they didn't have to give up (all the while while others lost their pensions because they were GM or Chrysler bondholders) - the stimulus package is helping other country care for GITMO prisoners.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The tropical Pacific island nation of Palau announced Wednesday it will accept up to 17 Chinese Muslims who have languished in legal limbo at Guantanamo Bay despite a Pentagon determination that they are not "enemy combatants."
Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.
I'm sure everyone on here is smart enough to do the math - we are spending how much per each of the 17.
Thank you President Obama for squandering away all of our tax dollars!
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OldEagleEye
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Posted: Tue Jun 9th, 2009 05:14 pm |
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Flash: The Emporer has no clothes.
Many of us knew this all along. Most of his adorers will never acknowledge it, blaming Bush and lack of bipartisanship for any and all of his shortcomings. As "glorious" as his rise to stardom has been, his fall will be ugly and hateful. Hold on to your seats!
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MrsF
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Posted: Tue Jun 9th, 2009 04:08 pm |
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| Does anyone even know what the plan is, or are they just throwing money everywhere? Is government control over our free enterprise the change Obama was talking about? I mean, I thought his plan was to change Washington. Well, it seems to be worse. Tell me, Obama supporters, what exactly is the master plan here?
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Tue Jun 9th, 2009 04:02 pm |
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The statistics continue to prove that President Obama's stimulus package was a bomb. When will he be honest and tell the truth.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesalers slashed inventories more than expected in April as businesses struggled to get stockpiles in line with falling sales.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that wholesale inventories fell 1.4 percent in April, more than the 1.1 percent decline that economists expected. It marked the eighth straight month that inventories dropped.
It is bad enough that he promised only an 8% unemployment rate if his stimulus package was rushed through without anyone reading it and now it is almost 10%, but now he could at least tell the United States citizens the truth...that he didn't have a clue and was totally wrong.
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OldEagleEye
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 09:08 pm |
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If the people who have simply given up looking for work, those who are only "temporarily" employed (like the census workers and stimulus-paid construction workers), and those "over-qualified" folks who are barely "employed" in $8-10 entry-level and dead-end jobs were counted, the true unemployment rate would be 15 to 20%.
Thanks Obama. (And "no thanks", Joe; all you'll do is have Timmy and Benny print more funny money to accelerate stimulus spending.)
Those frauds have no plan, no clue, nothing. Empty suits.
Last edited on Fri Jun 5th, 2009 09:09 pm by OldEagleEye
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designman124
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 06:48 pm |
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 06:38 pm |
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Looks like even Joe Biden has figured out that the stimulus package is not working. Too bad President Obama didn't want to take the time to put together a package that would work for the American people.
Vice President Joe Biden said Friday the White House plans to "ramp up" the pace of its economic recovery efforts as the government reported the unemployment rate jumped to it highest level in over a quarter-century.
Addressing reporters, Biden said the latest jobs report reflects how millions of Americans are still hurting, but he also said there were "some signs of hope today."
The jobless rate in May shot up from 8.9 percent to 9.4 percent and 345,000 more jobs were slashed from company payrolls.
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designman124
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 06:35 pm |
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Obama has decided he needs a Pay Czar. The White House says that this person, one Kenneth Feinberg, will actually be called the "Special Master for Compensation." He is going to decide just how much executives for companies receiving bailout funds can make.
For now the Pay Czar will rule over companies receiving bailout funds. Well, you have to start somewhere I guess. But hold on ... this could only be the beginning. How about companies who receive special tax benefits from the government? Then how about companies who have contracts to do work for the government? After that we can expand the Pay Czar's responsibilities to companies who are deemed to be "too big to fail," and thus have to have their executive compensation levels monitored by the government
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Mamazoyd
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 06:09 pm |
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This unemployed mess began way back in the Bush administration. I know, I know, there are many conservatives out there who do not want to hear it. As I told a dear conservative friend well over a year ago as the unemployment rate was still somewhat low but steadily rising (according to publicized figures), the unemployment rate they would announce at that time was truly inaccurate as it DID NOT take into account: former stay-at-home moms now looking for employment, retired individuals attempting to get back into the workforce, graduated university students seeking employment but not able to find it, part time employees wanting fulltime employment. These were just a few of the samples I gave to her and told her the only figures being released were for those having signed up for or collecting unemployment compensation. Of course, I was informed I was wrong because of yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.... Pray tell, how in the world would anyone be able to accurately determine the TRUE rate?
Because Obama is president and everything has gotten worse instead of better at present, all of a sudden people love to publish this information and throw it directly against him. This snowball began rolling way before his time in office.
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 05:02 pm |
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Now this is really scary!
Because of the surge of hiring for the census, April unemployment only rose to 8.9 percent — a much slower increase than had been feared. Figures out today show unemployment now stands at 9.4 percent.
But consider these numbers:
_The 9.4 percent May unemployment rate is based on 14.5 million Americans out of work. But that number doesn't include discouraged workers, people who gave up looking for work after four weeks. Add those 792,000 people, and the unemployment rate is 9.8 percent.
_The official rate also doesn't include "marginally attached workers," or people who have looked for work in the past year but stopped searching in the past month because of barriers to employment such as child care, poor health or lack of transportation. Add those 1.4 million people, and the unemployment rate would be 10.6 percent.
_The official rate also doesn't include "involuntary part-time workers," or the 2.2 million people who took a part-time job because that's all they could get, plus those whose work hours dropped below the full-time level. Once those 9.1 million workers are added to the unemployment mix, the rate would be 16.4 percent.
All told, nearly 25 million Americans were either unemployed, underemployed or had given up looking for a job in May.
If President Obama would have done what he said he was going to do and become more bi-partisan and took the time the stimulus package needed to make it a plan that would work, instead of jamming it through without giving anyone the opportunity to read it, maybe our unemployed workers outlook would be better.
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designman124
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 04:19 pm |
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 04:02 pm |
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I think it is funny that President Obama has set this precedent of (1) bashing the prior administration and (2) bashing and apologizing for the United States to foreign countries for things prior administrations have done - something that has never been done before, it was pretty much an unwritten law. What is funny is that this will all come to bite him in the behind, because the person following his administration (whether Democrat, Republican or whatever party they are from) is going to have a field day trashing him to the public and foreign countries. I think it is called you reap what you sow!
I personally don't think President Obama should be apologizing for the Bush administration to any foreign country. All he has done is added fuel to the fire for these extremists - now they will be saying that they were right all along and will probably come after the United States with more furor.
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MrsF
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 03:30 pm |
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Cindi,
don't you know-Obama only apologizes for the actions of others. He doesn't believe he has done anything worth apologizing for. I just wonder how is it the world is eating up his apologies.
Let me ask you this...if someone apologizes to you for someone else's actions, how sincere does it feel? Wouldn't you rather have that apology from the person who "did" whatever it was? Otherwise, doesn't the apology from the other person feel sort of "condescending"? Why is Obama apologizing for Bush's administration? Better yet, why is the world accepting his apologies? Is this the change people voted for? Every action Obama takes is being praised like it's the best thing ever. It's nauseating to say the least!
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 03:17 pm |
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| I heard on the news this morning that the administration is tauting that they created 150,000 jobs - one thing they forgot to mention is that each job cost the American public almost $5,000,000 each. An apology is due the American citizens; that is the least President Obama can do since he is apologizing to every other country on what he feels the United States has done wrong.
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MrsF
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 02:23 pm |
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Now, now Cindi, you have to be patient and wait for that money to trickle down. GM got their bailout and that money is...oh wait, GM is bankrupt and their employees are adding to the unemployed rate. Never mind.
Cindi, you have to be patient. That money went to the banks so they can clear up their books and be free to lend out...oh wait, even with good credit the banks aren't releasing the funds. Never mind.
Now Cindi, you have to be patient. Obama is using that stimulus money for infrastructure and other programs similar to the New Deal. Oh wait, construction projects have come to a screeching halt. Never mind.
Now Cindi, the government tells you to keep spending and don't let this economy get you down. Keep spending, even if you don't have a job, don't have a home, or are looking at significant pay cuts. Go shopping and go out to eat! Isn't that the exact mentality that got us into this mess in the first place? Never mind.
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cindisue_g
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 02:07 pm |
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Jobless rate hits 9.4 percent in May highest in 25 years!!!!!
14.5 million unemployed!!!!!
Thank you President Obama for a stimulus package that has not worked; it has just saddled our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren with billions of dollars of debt! You seem to be able to apologize for the United States over and over again, why can't you apologize to the American people for this debacle?
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deuce
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 06:30 am |
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He forgot to mention fraud. This is America, after all.
Last edited on Fri Jun 5th, 2009 06:31 am by deuce
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Razenkn
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 05:00 am |
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This ought to make you feel better about handing your paycheck over to BHO...not to worry, Little Joey Biden has everything under control....remember BHO's warning...DON'T MESS WITH JOE... LOL
Biden says some waste inevitable part of stimulus
Wed Jun 3, 2009 1:07am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged on Tuesday that some waste is inevitable in the spending of a $787 billion economic stimulus package, in a characteristically blunt assessment.
"We know some of this money is going to be wasted," Biden said during a roundtable discussion in New York with business leaders aimed at promoting the two-year stimulus plan.
The package was approved by the Democratic-led Congress in February over the objections of most Republicans, who were concerned about the potential for wasteful spending and because it will add billions of dollars to U.S. deficit spending.
President Barack Obama placed Biden in charge of supervising implementation of the stimulus to underscore his promise of strict oversight of the package, which is aimed at creating or saving 3 million to 4 million jobs.
Biden said transparency and accountability are key to the program's success.
"There are going to be mistakes made," said Biden. "Some people are being scammed already."
"Our credibility depends on transparency" for how taxpayers dollars are used, he added.
Last edited on Fri Jun 5th, 2009 05:01 am by Razenkn
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