by Randy Shannon

Treasurer, PA 4th CD Chapter

Progressive Democrats of America

December 30, 2009

The chart at the right from the St. Louis Federal Reserve shows that  banks have record low liquid assets, and that they continue to decline even though the recession is over.

These banks must maintain sufficient ALLL, or Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses, to cover their Nonperforming Loans. The chart shows that Nonperforming Loans almost equal the banks’ total assets, and loan losses are growing.

A recent Detroit News story reports that the US Treasury will give GMAC – General Motors Acceptance Corporation – an additional $3.5 billion of capital. This is on top of $13.4 billion already given to GMAC by US taxpayers to prevent GMAC from going bankrupt due to its bad housing loans.

Earlier this week the Treasury announced that it would loan unlimited amounts of money to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, removing the renewable cap on taxpayers transfers to the mortgage lenders.

The chart at the right shows that while credit card charge-offs are rising at Bank of America, the provisions for credit card losses are falling. The fall in provisions for credit card losses at Bank of America and the extremely low ALLL to capital ratio is due to another level of speculation by the banks. They are gambling that their attempt to create a false image of high earnings by minimizing the capital to cover losses will pay off in higher stock prices.

The risk to this gamble is that continuing credit card delinquency and more failed home and commercial mortgages will confront the financial system with another crisis of solvency. The banks are willing to take this risk because they continue to directly control the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve and indirectly control a majority in the US Congress. They believe another bailout is a lock.

This control was challenged only once when a storm of opposition to the first bailout by an enraged public resulted in a No vote in Congress. As documented by Michael Moore in his new film, Capitalism, A Love Story, this vote was reversed through a carefully orchestrated campaign in the media and behind closed doors to thwart the public’s will. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson threatened Congress with the imposition of martial law if the vote were not reversed.

If the first vote of Congress to deny the bailout had stuck, these insolvent banks would have been liquidated and their owners would have taken the losses instead of the US taxpayers. This was the procedure used during and after the depression to deal with banks that were ruined due to either stupidity or corruption. Now that the banks have so much power financially and politically their owners can use the Congress to make the American people cover their losses.

Continue reading Looking into the Continuing Financial Crisis – What Is To Be Done? →

China unveils ‘world’s fastest train link’

BEIJING (AFP) – China on Saturday unveiled what it billed as the fastest rail link in the world — a train connecting the modern cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan at an average speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour.

The super-high-speed train reduces the 1,069 kilometre journey to a three hour ride and cuts the previous journey time by more than seven and a half hours, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Work on the project began in 2005 as part of plans to expand a high-speed network aimed at eventually linking Guangzhou, a business hub in southern China near Hong Kong, with the capital Beijing, Xinhua added.

“The train can go 394.2 kilometres per hour, it’s the fastest train in operation in the world,” Zhang Shuguang, head of the transport bureau at the railways ministry, told Xinhua.

Test runs for the service began earlier in December and the link officially went into service when the first scheduled train left the eastern metropolis of Wuhan on Saturday.

By comparison, the average for high-speed trains in Japan was 243 kilometres per hour while in France it was 277 kilometres per hour, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the link, according to Xinhua.

Beijing has an ambitious rail development programme aimed at increasing the national network from the current 86,000 kilometres to 120,000 kilometres, making it the most extensive rail system outside the United States.

China unveiled its first high-speed line at the time of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 — a service linking the capital with the port city of Tianjin.

In September, officials said they planned to build 42 high-speed lines by 2012 in a massive system overhaul as part of efforts to spur economic growth amid the global downturn.

The network uses technology developed in co-operation with foreign firms such as Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom.

Go to rest of story to read Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution

Continue reading Cong. Dennis Kucinich: Generals have too much say over US foreign policy →

by Marybeth Kuznik, Executive Director
VotePA
Statewide Alliance for Voting Rights and Election Integrity
http://www.VotePA.us

Five years ago today the Ohio Recount started.

With election anomalies showing up all over the Buckeye State in 2004, and no “major” party candidate willing to question them, presidential
candidates David Cobb of the Green Party and Libertarian Michael Badnarik showed the courage to stand up and call for a recount as an
investigation.

On December 13, 2004 recounting began in Board of Elections offices all over Ohio. The Green Party had over 2000 volunteer observers trained and they were deployed in every one of the 88 Ohio counties. People from all walks of politics pitched in to assist and search for the truth. As one of nine statewide regional coordinators helping the Greens to prepare observers, I was in Jefferson County (Steubenville) that morning and I will never forget the feeling of being part of history. I will also not forget the feeling of being under observation by armed Sheriff’s Deputies as we observed the proceedings.

Continue reading Remembering the Ohio Vote Recount →

The Democrats’ Authoritarian Health “Reform” Bill and the Ascendency of Corporatism in the Democratic Party

by Miles Mogulescu

(This is the first of a series of blogs/articles that will try to put the growing disappointment of many progressives at President Obama’s policies into a wider political and theoretical perspective about the divide in the Democratic Party between progressives and corporatists.)

If Barack Obama and today’s Congressional Democrats were passing Social Security for the first time, instead of a creating a public program, they would likely be mandating that every American buy an annuity from a private, profit-driven Wall Street firm like Goldman Sachs (who could keep 15%-20% of their payments for overhead, profits and executive salaries) with the IRS serving as Wall Street’s collection agency. If they were passing Medicare today, they would be mandating that every American buy a health insurance policy from profit-driven companies like Aetna, Humana and Wellpoint that would start paying benefits with 40% co-pays and $10,000 a year deductibles when they turn 65.

Continue reading Obama and the Growing Division in the Democratic Party →

by Randy Shannon

Treasurer, PA 4th CD Chapter, Progressive Democrats of America

At the last monthly meeting of the Central Labor Council of Beaver-Lawrence Counties in 2009 a sharp difference was drawn between the corporate and labor views of healthcare reform. On Monday December 21st at 7:35pm, the meeting was called to order by President Dennis Bloom and the regular business was conducted.

Then Labor Council members and guests invited for Holiday festivities after the meeting were addressed by Frank Snyder, the AFL-CIO Representative to Pennsylvania. He brought members up to date on labor’s role and outlook in the battle for healthcare reform. He also passed out a Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Health Care Bill released on Dec. 17, 2009.

The statement says: “The absolute refusal of Republicans in the Senate to support health care reform and the hijacking of the bill by defenders of the insurance industry has brought us a Senate bill that is inadequate.”

The statement pointed to three changes in the Senate bill that were necessary. A public health insurance option is needed to break the insurance companies’ stranglehold over consumers. Employers must pay their fair share. And taxing the insurance benefits of workers is not the way to pay for reform.

AFL-CIO President Trumka’s statement ends with: “The House bill is the model for genuine health care reform.”

As AFL-CIO Representative Frank Snyder finished speaking, Congressman Jason Altmire came into the meeting. Altmire took the floor and said: “The House health care bill is dead.” He said that the Senate bill is much better than the House bill and that he would like to vote for a health care bill that is more like the Senate bill.

Continue reading Blue Dog Cong. Altmire Defends Senate Insurance Bailout at Beaver-Lawrence Labor Council Meeting – AFL-CIO Calls for Action →

Dear Friends,

As the year draws to a close and we enjoy the holidays with family and friends, let us not forget our countrymen overseas, fighting and dying to further the dreams of empire of a wealthy elite. And let us remember the vast deprivation and horrible suffering of so many victims of this ambition.

This Christmas will mark the sixth year that our peace vigil has called upon our country to turn to peaceful coexistence with the other nations of our small planet, to bring our soldiers home, to expend our treasure to lift our people and others out of poverty, fear, and austerity.

Christmas is a special time at the vigil because it is the season of peace.

Please join us this Saturday, the 26th 1:00pm at the Beaver County Courthouse to affirm your commitment to peace on Earth and good will to all. If you can bring your own sign that says “Peace on Earth” please do.

After the vigil there will be a Holiday party with a home made lunch at our home in New Brighton. We look forward to breaking bread with you at this special time.

Legislation ‘would bring more harm than good,’ group says

For Immediate Release
Dec. 22, 2009

Contact:
David Himmelstein, M.D.
Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H.
Oliver Fein, M.D.
Mark Almberg, PNHP, (312) 782-6006, mark@pnhp.org

A national organization of 17,000 physicians who favor a single-payer health care system called on the U.S. Senate today to defeat the health care legislation presently before it and to immediately consider the adoption of an expanded and improved Medicare-for-All program.

Continue reading Physicians: Senate Healthcare Bill ‘would bring more harm than good’ →