Showing posts with label fiscal cliff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiscal cliff. Show all posts

Friday, February 1, 2013

Do Congressional Republicans believe in the Tooth Fairy?

If Congressional Republicans think government spending cuts will stimulate business activity, they must also believe in the Tooth Fairy and the Internet girlfriend who needs money for her brain surgery.

Though they acknowledge that cuts to government spending caused the gross domestic product to drop in the fourth quarter, GOP members of Congress are still pushing to cut Social Security, Medicare and education.

So that means ... Congressional Republicans want to slow business activity in the U.S.

It's hard to understand why. Well, unless you consider they're being bankrolled by billionaires and CEOs who don't care about the U.S. economy, and who want all government largess to go to them, not to middle-class Americans.

Congressional Republicans already pushed for massive spending cuts that threw Americans out of work. They strangled proposals to create jobs. Now they're trying to force more cuts. They won't back off the automatic spending cuts that will take place on March 1 under the so-called "sequester" unless Democrats agree to different cuts.

The Hill explains:
The sequester, adopted in 2011 as an incentive to force both parties to identify spending cuts, would chop domestic discretionary and defense programs by $1.2 trillion over the next year. 
Republicans vow they will not turn off the sequester unless the cost of doing so — $12 billion per month — is offset.
Here's how well government austerity worked in Europe:
Republicans in Congress, of course, will never admit the austerity they're fighting for will devastate working families.

Angry Bear calls it Romneyism:
The flagrant lying, con artistry, as the chief modus operandi--is now at the very heart of what the Republican Party is.
Sounds about right.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Today's Teamster News 01.12.13

Top Senate Dems to White House: If you unilaterally raise debt ceiling, we’ve got your back  Washington Post   ...In a move that will significantly ratchet up the brinksmanship around the debt ceiling, the four members of the Senate Democratic leadership are privately telling the White House that they will give Obama full support if he opts for a unilateral solution to the debt ceiling crisis...
U.S. China Commission staff report on Balance of Trade with China in 2012  Trade Reform   ...The U.S. Balance of Trade with ChinaThe U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the cumulative trade deficit with China through November 2012 was nearly $291 billion, more than $18 billion higher than a year ago...
Private-sector pension coverage fell by half over two decades  Economic Policy Institute   ...The BLS’ “visual essay” documents the decline in defined benefit pensions, which now cover 18 percent of private-sector workers, down from 35 percent in the early 1990s...
Boomtown charity buys homeless one-way ticket out  CNN Money   ...Hundreds of job seekers arriving in the oil boomtown of Williston, N.D., are being sent back to where they came from after ending up homeless...
Rise of the zombie title: How thousands of homeowners finding themselves legally liable for houses that were seized by banks but never foreclosed  Reuters   ...Former homeowners who thought they no longer were responsible for properties now finding they are held financially responsible for often-derelict properties...
Secret Money Lobbyists Fight SEC Disclosure Rule  The Nation   ...A new rule, sparked by shareholder complaints, would compel publicly traded corporations to disclose much of their political spending to investors...
Manufacturers go to war with oil industry over gas exports  The Hill   ...The petroleum industry and several big manufacturing companies are warring over whether U.S. regulators should allow a major expansion of liquefied natural-gas exports...
"If You Want To Win An Election, Just Control The Voting Machines"  Common Dreams   ...Perhaps it's just a coincidence that the sudden rise of inaccurate exit polls happened around the same time corporate-programmed, computer-controlled, modem-capable voting machines began recording and tabulating ballots...
Can't Miss Work Even if You Have the Flu? You're Not Alone  AFL-CIO blog   ...While many experts and doctors urge people to stay at home to avoid infecting others, 38% of private-sector workers lack even one paid sick day...
Assembly rule on dissenters goes too far  The Cap Times   ...Under a new rule advanced by Republican Assembly leaders and passed 59-37 Thursday, a protester who is asked to leave three times would be banished from the galleries for the remainder of the session...
Port of Milwaukee saves on utility bills from wind turbine  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ..."This has proven to be a sensible, sustainable investment in green energy, and city residents are saving money..."

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Today's Teamster News 01.08.12

US 'seriously' considering $1 trillion coin to pay off debt  The Telegraph   ...The US is "seriously" considering creating a $1 trillion platinum coin to write down part of its debt to stop the world's largest economy defaulting as early as next month...
US Foreclosure Settlement Angers Wall Street Critics  RIA Navosti   ...A multibillion-dollar settlement announced Monday between US financial regulators and major banks over alleged abuses related to home foreclosures is the latest example of the financial industry running roughshod over the rule-of-law without repercussions, Wall Street critics said. “The bottom line is: Fraud pays...
Just 8% Now Say They Are Tea Party Members  Rasmussen Reports   ...Views of the Tea Party movement are at their lowest point ever, with voters for the first time evenly divided when asked to match the views of the average Tea Party member against those of the average member of Congress.  Only eight percent (8%) now say they are members of the Tea Party, down from a high of 24% in April 2010 just after passage of the national health care law...
Behind the Made-In-America Label  manufacture this   ...Given the choice between an American-made product and one made abroad, 78 percent of respondents would buy American...
Tax Avoidance On the Rise: It’s Twice the Amount of Social Security and Medicare  The Cagle Post   ...The wealthiest Americans save $3 trillion dollars a year through a system of subsidies and tax avoidance schemes, which totals three times more than our annual deficit. That’s enough for a full-time job for every middle-class household in America...
Wendy’s Franchise Cuts Employee Hours To Part-Time To Avoid Obamacare  ThinkProgress   ...this strategy may backfire on the Omaha Wendy’s operations. This fall, Denny’s quickly distanced itself from a franchisee’s similar ploy, while Darden Restaurants saw a sharp 37 percent drop in profit after threatening to cut workers to part-time...
Arkansas to Study Possibility of High-Speed Rail Connecting Memphis, Little Rock and Texarkana We party Patriots   ...State transportation officials anticipate spending between $1 million and $1.25 million in federal and state funds to study two long-range railroad transportation plans...
Scott Remains Polarizing Figure as He Faces Re-election  Miami Herald   ...polls show he remains unpopular with no hint of improvement, a red flag that the public’s negative view is unyielding. If Scott is going to improve his standing with Floridians, it’s now or never...
Michigan Legislature Walk of Shame  Facebook   ...Legislators will be sworn-in at a ceremony at the State Capitol on Wednesday, January 9, where they will be welcomed with a ‘Walk of Shame’ highlighting their votes during the lame duck session...

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Fix the Debt is full of crap

Fix the Debt, a front group for billionaires and CEOs, says their goal is to cut the federal deficit.

It isn't.

They don't give a rat's ass about the debt. But they're lobbying hard to cut your Social Security.

The CEOs who are part of Fix the Debt want tax breaks, government contracts and freedom to plunder the middle class.

Take Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of the great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money Goldman Sachs. Blankfein says working people will just have to get used to receiving fewer of the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits that they earned.

Fix the Debt actually says it's concerned the U.S. is risking another economic crisis. If that's so, we don't understand why they let Blankfein into their club. Goldman Sachs' recklessness and dishonesty was a major cause of the last economic crisis.

Here's how much Goldman Sachs is willing to share the sacrifice of fixing the debt: In the latest budget deal signed into law on Jan. 2, Goldman Sachs got a sweetheart tax deal for its fancy new headquarters in New York. And Goldman Sachs paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes in 2008, the year that it got $800 billion -- yup, with a "b" -- from the Federal Reserve.

Or take Jim McNerney, CEO of Boeing. Boeing wouldn't exist without government defense contracts or the government-run National Air Space. Of course cutting defense spending isn't on Fix the Debt's agenda, though cutting Social Security is. And as Public Accountability Initiative points out, 
38 Fix the Debt leaders have ties to 43 companies with defense contracts totaling $43.4 billion in 2012. Fix the Debt leaders profiting from defense spending include the group’s co-chairs, steering committee members, and CEO council members; they have ties to these companies as board members, executives and CEOs, and lobbyists.
Finally, if the Fix the Debt hypocrites really cared about the deficit they'd be working to create good jobs. As the peerless Dean Baker points out
There are no businesses that are going to hire additional workers because the government laid off school teachers or firefighters and we cut back spending on food stamps. Businesses hire more workers when they see more demand for their product. All of these actions that reduce the deficit, either on the spending or tax side, translate into less demand and therefore less employment. In short, those who want to cut the deficit now are lobbying for fewer jobs and higher unemployment.
Salon brings us five "Fix the Debt" CEOs who destroyed 108,000 U.S. jobs in the past five years. They are:
  • Randall Stephenson, AT&T, destroyed 54,000 jobs
  • Lowell McAdam, Verizon, 30,000 jobs
  • David Cote, Honeywell, 4,000 jobs
  • Kenneth Frazier, Merck, 13,000 jobs
  • Terry Lundgren, Macy's, 7,000 jobs
So there you have it. Fix the Debt is nothing more than a poster child for hypocrisy and greed.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Today's Teamster News 01.04.13

The Walmart Revolt  In These Times   ...at a time of growing unrest among low-paid workers, the Walmart campaign could help the labor movement take a giant leap forward...
2012 ends strongly for manufacturing sector  manufacture this   ...Despite hitting a 40-month low in November, manufacturing activity not only rose, but expanded in December, concluding the year with a positive sign of growth...
An Eyes Wide Open Look at U.S. Manufacturing  Trade Reform   ...“The fate of the U.S. economy will be decided in the next four to five years. The question is: Do we continue on the course to becoming a third-world country, importing finished goods and exporting raw materials, or will we rebuild our manufacturing base and once again become the premier industrial leader?”...
Japan plans 'nationalisation' of factories to save industry  The Telegraph   ...Japan's government is to take the unprecedented step of buying factories and machinery directly with taxpayer funds, the latest in a series of radical steps to lift the country out of its deep slump...
Small business recession explains poor sentiment  Sober Look   ...after a gradual recovery since 2009, US small business revenues have been consistently declining for most of 2012. Recent declines have lasted for 9 consecutive months … and are visible across all major industries...
The Big Fiscal Cliff Deal Winners: Hedge Fund And Private Equity Moguls  Forbes   ...hedge fund and private equity moguls will continue to be taxed relatively lightly after the new fiscal cliff legislation...
At $250B, costs of occupational injury and illness exceed costs of cancer   Economic Policy Institute   ...Occupational injuries and illnesses are overlooked contributors to the overall national costs of all diseases, injuries, and deaths...
Lost day: NHL, union don't meet Thursday for full bargaining session  The Republic   ...Any momentum gained from a long night of negotiations between the NHL and the players' association seemed to have been lost Thursday when the sides remained mostly apart...
State inks deal to privatize S. Fla. inmate health care  Tampa Bay Times   ...Gov. Rick Scott's administration announced Thursday the state has signed a contract with a Pennsylvania based company, Wexford Health Sources, to outsource all medical care to more than 15,000 inmates in several South Florida prisons...
United Natural Foods, Teamsters to hold dispute talks  just-food.com   ...United Natural Foods and the Teamsters trade union will hold fresh talks as customers voice disquiet over the ongoing worker strike in Washington state...

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Today's Teamster News 01.02.13

House approves 'fiscal cliff' deal, rescinding broad tax hike  Los Angeles Times   ...It blocked income tax hikes for roughly 99% of households, but allowed rates to rise for those with incomes above $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. It also renewed tax credits aimed at low-income households and college students, extended unemployment benefits, delayed automatic spending cuts in defense and other government programs for two months...
Eight corporate subsidies in the fiscal cliff bill, from Goldman Sachs to Disney to NASCAR  naked capitalism   ...Sec. 306 provides tax credits to certain railroads for maintaining their tracks. It’s unclear why private businesses should be compensated for their costs of doing business...
Congress Averts 'Dairy Cliff'  Wall Street Journal   ...The fiscal-cliff bill that cleared Congress Tuesday includes a measure to avert the "dairy cliff," a sharp rise in consumer prices for milk that could have been triggered by the expiration of the 2008 farm bill...
House pulls plug on Sandy aid bill  Reuters   ...Absent a change of heart, the upshot now is that the Senate bill will die with this Congress on Thursday at noon. And the whole affair is sure to bring back memories of the famous Daily News headline in 1975—“Ford to City: Drop Dead...”
Minimum Wage Gap Grows Wider Between States  Associated Press   ...Automatic increases designed to compensate for inflation have steadily pushed up wages in some states, even through the recession, expanding the pay gap between areas that make annual adjustments and those that don't...
Lake-water infusion to delay Mississippi closing  Chicago Tribune   ...The drought-hit Mississippi River will stay open to commerce a few days longer than expected following the release of water from a lake in southern Illinois, a group of shippers said Friday...
Major banks close to big settlement on home loans  Reuters   ...U.S. regulators are close to securing another multibillion-dollar settlement with the largest banks to resolve allegations that they unlawfully cut corners when foreclosing on delinquent borrowers...
Why did a Train Carrying Biofuel Cross the Border 24 Times and Never Unload?  Oil Price   ...The cargo of the train was owned by Bioversal Trading Inc., or its US partner Verdero, depending on what stage of the trip it was at. The companies “made several million dollars importing and exporting the fuel to exploit a loophole in a U.S. green energy program.”...
Right to Work panned  Blackburn News   ...A labour studies professor at the University of Windsor fears Ontario may be next to contemplate Right to Work legislation. Michigan became the 24th U.S. state to pass Right to Work legislation earlier this month, and the Ontario Progressive Conservatives have publicly said they think it would be a good step forward for Ontario...
Court: Hutterites Must Pay Workers' Compensation  Associated Press   ...A sharply divided Montana Supreme Court has ruled that forcing a Hutterite religious colony to pay workers' compensation insurance for jobs outside the commune is not an unconstitutional intrusion into religion...
Scott Walker still hasn't issued a pardon  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said Walker is shirking his duties. "Maintaining an effective and fair pardon process is an important fail-safe to an imperfect judicial system..."
Nonprofit Pays Top Executive $1.2 Million  Miami Herald   ...A nonprofit company that holds two dozen state contracts to care for troubled juveniles in Florida pays its chief executive more than $1.2 million a year in salary and benefits, most of it courtesy of taxpayers...

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Today's Teamster News 01.01.13

Obama, Senate Republicans reach agreement on ‘fiscal cliff’  Washington Post   ...The Senate approved a bipartisan agreement early Tuesday morning to let income taxes rise sharply for the first time in two decades...
Both sides get wins in tax deal  The Hill   ...Democrats will get key tax breaks for the middle class in the deal, though they failed to get an extension of a 2-percentage-point payroll tax holiday...
Ahead of "milk cliff," McConnell piecing together new farm bill  CBS News   ...To stop milk prices from climbing to $8 a gallon come January, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is scrambling to piece together what is essentially a new farm bill using select scraps of the bipartisan extension deal approved Sunday by both the Senate and House agriculture committees...
The middle class languishes as the super-rich thrive  Los Angeles Times   ...The policy positions on both sides presage smaller government, which is not the right prescription for an economy still struggling to recover. There will be lower federal spending at a time when the government participation in the economy is still crucial; there will be less take-home pay for the middle class and the working class, who pump almost everything they have into the marketplace...
The Human Toll of Europe’s Economic Statistics  New York Times   ...After three years of grinding austerity, the Greek gross domestic product has shrunk by 25 percent. The unemployment rate among young people is now at 50 percent, and over all about one fourth of Greeks are out of work...
Community Center Says It Has Been Told to Cease Its Storm Relief Program  New York Times   ...officials from the New York City Housing Authority, which owns the building, told her to stop the relief efforts before the end of the year so that the center could be cleaned, and turn over supplies to city-run relief operations...
Kasich remains mum on right-to-work initiatives  Youngstown Vindicator   ...Kasich still isn’t biting on questions related to efforts to ban mandatory union membership and dues payments, via right-to-work petitions being circulated in the state for the next general election...

Monday, December 31, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.31.12

Fiscal Cliff Talks Resume After GOP Caves On Social Security Cut  Talking Points Memo   ...Negotiations stalled Saturday night when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed a Social Security benefit cut as a way to offset spending measures including emergency unemployment benefits. Democrats balked, leaked the offer to the media, and Republicans quickly retracted the demand...
House prepares three 'milk cliff' bills  The Hill   ...The three bills are aimed at preventing a spike in dairy prices looming in the new year. Because Congress has failed to renew farm programs, an underlying 1949 law is slated to kick in. This would force the government to buy up American milk at inflated prices and the purchases are expected to possibly double the price of milk at the grocery store as supplies dwindle...
Occupy Wall Street Labeled "Terrorists" By The FBI  Economic Populist   ...Wonder why all of a sudden cities across America coordinated and shut down the Occupy Wall Street movement?  Now we know and it was coordinated by the banks. The FBI, DHS, police, and private-sector financial businesses all coordinated to repress the people and suppress a movement...
Cheap Shots 2012: Scott Walker  The Daily Isthmus   ...For the second year in a row, we find it impossible to come up with a single Cheap Shot Award for our governor, who continued to put politics before policy, cater to monied interests and sow division among an already deeply divided state...
Auditors uncover problems at private prisons in Ohio  Dayton Daily News   ...unsafe and unsanitary conditions were documented by state monitors at one of Ohio’s privately-run prisons forcing the new operator to make major changes less than one year after taking control of the facility...
Tribune media company to emerge from bankruptcy  Raw Story   ...The company owns 23 television stations and a number of leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, and Orlando Sentinel...
UPS: A Wonderful Company At A Fair Price  Seeking Alpha   ...UPS continues to benefit from the growth of online ordering from companies such as Amazon (AMZN)...

Friday, December 28, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.28.12

"Fiscal Cliff": There is no Drop Dead Date and more thoughts  Calculated Risk   ...The "fiscal cliff" is about too much austerity too quickly (cutting the deficit too quickly). The "cliff" is a combination of expiring tax cuts (income taxes, payroll taxes, and more will increase), and forced spending cuts (mostly for defense). This has NOTHING to do with other long term fiscal issues, primarily related to medicare...
Meet the Grandfather of the Fiscal Cliff: He Works for ALEC  Alternet   ...Through his work for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and a host of other outlets, (Arthur) Laffer’s prescriptions have gained purchase in several tax debates around the country, including in Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee...
Forget The Fiscal Cliff: Three Bigger Perils Lie Ahead  Business Insider   ...The “fiscal cliff” is a metaphor for a government that no longer responds to the biggest challenges we face because it’s paralyzed by intransigent Republicans, obsessed by the federal budget deficit, and overwhelmed by big money from corporations, Wall Street, and billionaires...
Minimum wage indexing protects nearly a million low-wage workers this New Year  Economic Policy Institute   ...On Jan. 1, nearly a million workers in 10 states will see the value of their paychecks preserved against inflation. Workers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington are protected each year by automatic indexing of their state’s minimum wage...
Apple loses another copyright lawsuit in China: Xinhua  Reuters   ...Apple is to pay compensation to eight Chinese writers and two companies for violating their copyrights, the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court ruled on Thursday, Xinhua said...
Financial controls lacking at state jobs agency  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   ...When Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers created the state's partly independent jobs agency 18 months ago, they left out a basic legal requirement put on similar state authorities and commonly practiced by private businesses: to compile and audit its financial statements...
Is Scott's plan to create jobs working? Record proves mixed  Sun-Sentinel   ...Democrats argue the governor has been claiming credit for job creation while simultaneously damaging it with massive spending cuts that led to layoffs of teachers, state employees and workers at companies such as road builders that rely on government contracts...

Thursday, December 27, 2012

It isn't just Granny who'll get thrown off the fiscal cliff

American children will also be damaged if extremist billionaires get their way. Irresponsible plutocrats -- aka "Fix the Debt" -- are pressuring Congress and President Obama to drastically cut government spending -- for poor kids.

Nancy Folbre, writing in the New York Times' Economix blog, says America's impoverished children are likely to suffer even more than they're suffering already.

Folbre cites a shocking statistic: The number of children in poverty rose 37 percent in the past decade, to 21.4 percent from 15.6 percent. She writes,
...what we see is a growing political effort to reduce public spending on children. 
...proposed cuts to federal spending will leave government as little more “than a heavily armed pension plan with a health insurer on the side” — not an entity likely to offer a helping hand to families struggling to support and educate the next generation. 
Provisions now teetering on the edge of possible elimination include those that increased eligibility for the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit, which augment the after-tax income of families with children. (Note: Teamster General President Jim Hoffa sent a letter to Congress strongly opposing this proposal.) Funds for Head Start, Early Head Start and child-care assistance will almost certainly be squeezed. Cuts in federal support for college attendance (both Pell grants and tax breaks) are likely to kick in, worsening student debt... 
The median income of families with children up to 18 years old has declined significantly — more than $6,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars — over the same time period. Parents are less likely to be securely employed than they were in 2001 and more susceptible to unemployment and involuntary part-time work.
Read the whole thing here.

Today's Teamster News 12.27.12

Ten Reasons Why the Chained CPI Is Terrible Policy  firedoglake   ...Social Security benefits are already declining due to increases in the retirement age and Medicare premiums...
Ruth Marcus Is Outraged by Overly Generous Social Security Checks  CEPR   ...we have tens of millions of seniors living high on Social Security checks averaging a bit over $1,200 a month at a time when folks like the CEOs in the Campaign to Fix the Debt are supposed to subsist on paychecks that typically come to $10 million to $20 million a year...
Massive New Surveillance Program Uncovered by Wall Street Journal  Slate   ...The guidelines allow the NCTC, for the first time, to keep data about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years, using “predictive pattern-matching,” to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior. The data the counterterrorism center has access to, according to the Journal, includes “entire government databases—flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and many others....”
Ford to invest $773 million in the U.S. to create 2,350 new jobs and save 3,240 existing jobs  AFP   ...The Dearborn-based manufacturer posted its best November since 2005, as sales rose six percent to 177,673 vehicles. The results were driven by strong demand for its small cars, which posted their best November in 12 years...
Fox Parent Company Being Sued For Using Mafia Like Business Tactics   Addicting Info   ...The Dial Corp, makers of soap, personal-care and household cleaning products, have filed suit against News Corp along with subsidies News America, News America Marketing FSI, and News America Marketing In-Store Services, alleging that the company engaged in anti-competitive and illegal practices in order to monopolize the market, even forcing competition out of business through its illegal and immoral tactics...
Michigan Right to Work Law Was the Brainchild of ALEC, The Most Dangerous Group in Politics  PolicyMic   ...ALEC wasted no time in sending many of their most onerous "model legislation" bills to Michigan. These included the Emergency Manager law, privatization of public schools, expansion of charter schools, HB 5221 (Voter ID Act), which required voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and HB 4305 with language similar to ALEC’s model “Immigration Law Enforcement Act...”
Bakken boom making big impact on regional businesses  Farm and Ranch Guide   ...To visualize the economic impact to Billings of the Bakken oil boom, you can watch the oil field trucks rumble by or you can track subtler clues. Private jets lined up on the tarmac. Rolex watches and diamonds flying out of jewelry stores...
Teamsters Rep: NSB mayor owes cop apology for obscenity after trying to cut through closed street for Christmas parade  Headline Surfer   ...Bob Walker, business agent for Teamsters Local 385, who represents 38 New Smyrna Beach officers  (said) "I think he owes the officer an apology at the very least..."

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.26.12

Washington’s Serious People Are on the War Path Against Middle-Income and Poor People  Economy in Crisis   ...The Serious People in Washington, such as The Washington Post (both the opinion and news sections), the Wall Street Campaign to Fix the Debt, and the Republican Congressional leadership are in full budget-cutting frenzy. They demand cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and everything else that benefits middle income and poor people because, well, because the market demands it...
Shoppers Disappoint Retailers This Holiday Season  Associated Press   ...U.S. shoppers spent cautiously this holiday season, a disappointment for retailers who slashed prices to lure people into stores and now must hope for a post-Christmas burst of spending...
Why Malls Are Getting Mauled  Jeff Jordan   ...Online retailers are relentlessly gaining share in many retail categories, and offline players are fighting for progressively smaller pieces of the retail pie.  A number of physical retailers have already succumbed to online competition including Circuit City, Borders, CompUSA, Tower Records and Blockbuster, and many others are showing signs of serious economic distress...
Ted Koppel: “Fox News is Bad for America”  The Big Picture   ...He notes that there is no question when watching FoxNews where the ideological bent comes from...
Decline in foreclosure backlog may give false hope  Palm Beach Post   ...More than 40 percent of foreclosures cleared from Florida’s courts in recent months were dismissals, cases that likely will boomerang back into the overloaded judicial system when lenders are better prepared to continue their pursuit...
Teamsters picket Paterson's Crown Roll Leaf  The Record   ...About 50 employees who picketed outside Crown Roll Leaf, Inc. on Monday are preparing for a possible strike later this week to protest proposed new contract terms that call for 10-percent pay cuts and increases to health-care costs, union members said...

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.25.12

Bond Vigilantes and the Power of Three  (opinion) New York Times   ...even if for some reason the vigilantes did attack, it’s very hard to see how they could cause a recession in a country that retains its own currency and doesn’t have large amounts of debt denominated in foreign currency...
Dockworkers at Northwest ports reject pact offer  Reuters   ...Dockworkers at four U.S. Pacific Northwest ports moved closer to a possible labor clash with grain shippers on Monday, as parties in a larger, separate dispute at 15 East and Gulf coast ports agreed to mediation ahead of strike deadline set for December 30...
Mr. Incompetent, the Economy Wrecker Alan Greenspan, Was Central to the Formation of the Campaign to Fix the Debt  CEPR   ..."The Campaign to Fix the Debt started to come together at a salon dinner held in the backyard of Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, in the fall of 2011. An influential group of economic, political and business leaders — including the former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and Mark Bertolini, the chief executive of the Aetna insurance company — huddled in a too-small tent in the pouring rain..."
Student food banks fight hunger on campus  Associated Press   ...The student-run Tiger Pantry is among a growing number of programs at university campuses. Organizers say it's both a response to a weak economy and a sign of the latest trend in student activism...
Economy Weighs on Shoppers in Final Holiday Dash to Mall  Bloomberg   ...Americans have become warier as Washington approaches the end of the year without an agreement to forestall higher taxes and automatic spending cuts -- the so-called fiscal cliff. Last month, retailers from Macy’s Inc. (M) to Target Corp. (TGT) posted same- store sales that trailed analysts’ estimates...

Monday, December 24, 2012

'Twas the night before Christmas...in Boehnerville



Call your representatives in Congress. Call the White House. Tell them: No cuts to Medicare, Social Security or Medicaid.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.23.12

Don’t cut a deal that cuts Social Security (opinion)  The Nation   ...“They will cut Social Security not openly but by stealth — through a cruel cut known colloquially as the chained CPI...”
Fiscal Fail: Government Agencies Plan Few Significant Changes For January, Despite Cliff Hype  Huffington Post   ...for the vast majority of the population, life on the other side of the cliff will be no different than life on this side. Those most likely to get hit, however, are the jobless, who would see unemployment benefits cut off. (They would be eligible for back benefits once a deal is cut...
Failing to Prosecute White Collar Crime Guarantees a Weak and Unstable Economy … and Future Financial Crashes  The Big Picture   ...Failing to prosecute criminal fraud has been destabilizing the economy since at least 2007 … and will cause huge crashes in the future. After all, the main driver of economic growth is a strong rule of law...
Canada Clears $15 Billion Chinese Takeover of an Energy Company  TradeReform   ...Canada on Friday allowed a Chinese state-run oil giant to move forward with $15 billion takeover of a domestic energy company, but the government indicated that such deals might not pass muster in the future....
A Battle In Michigan For The American Dream (opinion)  The Seattle Medium   ...Workers won’t take this assault quietly, nor should they...
California high-speed-rail brawl hits House floor  Politico   ...At issue is a House provision adopted in late June on a highly partisan vote triggered by the California Republican delegation. It would bar any new federal money from going to the Brown-backed California High-Speed Rail Authority...
Postal workers continue hunger strike against proposed delivery cuts  The Hill   ...Six former and current postal workers, part of a group called Communities and Postal Workers United, are calling the strike “six days starving to save six-day delivery.” Their goal is to stop Congress from reducing postal delivery to five days a week...
Formal Reprimand Issued To Flatulent Federal Worker  The Smoking Gun   ...The employee is being represented in connection with the reprimand by a lawyer for his union, AFGE Local 1923...

Friday, December 21, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.21.12

The Fall of Plan B: Self-Destruction in the Cause of the 0.3 Percent  New Yorker   ...On Thursday evening, John Boehner unexpectedly called off the vote on Plan B because he didn’t have enough votes to pass the measure...
AFL-CIO to White House: Time to rescind your offer to Boehner  Washington Post   ...The AFL-CIO wants Obama to pull back his proposal to raise the income threshold on the tax hikes to $400,000 and to rescind the offer of Chained CPI on Social Security...
Big Banks Flunk OCC Risk Tests  American Banker   ...Think corporate governance at the largest banks is weak? You're right, but you probably have no idea just how right you are...
New Year Will Bring Higher Minimum Wages in 10 States  Pew Stateline   ...Nearly 1 million U.S. workers will be getting a New Year’s Day gift: a small raise after 10 states boost their minimum wages...
Why the US media ignored Murdoch's brazen bid to hijack the presidency (opinion)  Guardian   ...Murdoch's goal seems to have been nothing less than using his media empire – notably Fox News – to stealthily recruit, bankroll and support the presidential candidacy of General David Petraeus in the 2012 election...
Kasich, lawmakers don’t rule out 2013 ballot push  Akron Beacon Journal   ...Kasich also declined to say whether he would work to support or oppose a right-to-work amendment limiting Ohio labor unions, if one were advanced by an outside group...
Teamsters at Upstate Niagara Cooperatives Ratify Union Contract  heraldonline.com   ... Drivers, Warehouse and Production Personnel employed by Upstate Niagara Cooperatives in Cheektowaga and Jamestown, N.Y. have overwhelmingly ratified a new collective bargaining agreement that provides annual wage increases, language improvement and benefit enhancements...
Teamsters, ABF exchange contract proposals  IBT   ...The Teamsters National FreightIndustry Negotiating Committee(TNFINC)exchanged national and supplemental contract proposals with ABF on Wednesday, December 19, and the union will fight the company’s attempts to harm ABF Teamsters’ livelihoods...

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Hoffa: Boehner's Plan B is mean spirited

Teamster General President Jim Hoffa sent a letter to members of Congress today urging them to vote against Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise taxes on the middle class and cut them for millionaires.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the plan tonight.

Wrote Hoffa,
Giving a $50,000 tax cut to millionaires while cutting off unemployment benefits to more than 2 million Americans still looking for work is more than a wrong-headed approach -- it's downright mean spirited.
Hoffa points out Boehner's plan actually raises taxes on the middle class by eliminating a tax incentive for college and hurts the working poor by changing the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Others note that Boehner's plan has nothing to do with shrinking the deficit as it is a $4 trillion tax cut.

Hoffa concludes that Plan B is "Backward in its thinking, Blind to the Less Fortunate and Bad for business."

Hoffa has also said the Teamsters strongly oppose proposed cuts to Social Security.

You can sign a petition here to take Social Security off the table. Addressed to the White House, it says,
This petition is meant to stop any cuts to Social Security during the fiscal cliff negotiations since it does not directly contribute to the national deficit. As such, making cuts to the program will not lower the deficit and will make life harder for the poor, who depend upon it for survival.

Today's Teamster News 12.20.12

Social Security Checks Enter the Debate  New York Times   ...As part of a deal being negotiated by President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner to avert the worst of the year-end tax increases and spending cuts, Social Security payments might be lower in the future for millions of Americans...
2 million will lose jobless benefit if Congress fails to act  McClatchy   ...While most states provide jobless workers up to 26 weeks of unemployment insurance, the federal program adds an additional 14 to 47 weeks, depending on the state’s unemployment rate...
Boehner’s Plan B Fails; Inmates Running Asylum  New York Magazine   ... Boehner isn’t going to get a chance to make his plan work, because Republicans themselves have revolted against it...
“Fix the Debt” - Defense Contractor Ties Exposed  Washington Monthly   ... the group Fix The Debt - which advocates for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security cuts while pushing corporate tax reform - has 38 leaders with “ties to 43 companies with defense contracts totaling $42.3 billion in 2012...”
Breaking the hold of corporate welfare on America's incarceration industry  Guardian   ...because incarceration has become a virtual jobs program in many states and because certain corporations are profiting handsomely from the incarceration binge that has been in place for the past few decades, the reduction in prison populations and prison closures is being met with huge resistance...
Labor Voices: A new coalition to fight for Michigan  Detroit News   ...This past Friday, faith, labor, community and progressive groups announced the formation of We Are Michigan, a coalition of Michiganians who are ready to work together to fight back against Snyder's attacks on working people...
Greenburgh Teamsters Relieved To Settle Contract  Greenburgh Daily Voice   ...After almost four years without a contract ... The new contract will give Teamsters union members a 1.75 percent salary increase in 2012 and 2013 plus an additional $500 each year and a 2.25 percent increase in 2014 with an additional $400...
Illinois Central School Bus Workers Join Teamsters Local 777  IBT   ...School bus drivers and monitors at Illinois Central School Bus in Aurora and Montgomery, Ill., have voted by an overwhelming 4 to 1 margin to join Teamsters Local 777 in Lyons, Ill...

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Kochs' Scrooge-like Christmas cards


We've told you about the billionaire CEOs running a campaign to cut taxes for the rich and slash the retirement and health benefits Americans work all their lives to earn. That's what all this "fiscal cliff" drama in Washington is all about.

As part of that despicable campaign, the Benedict Arnold Koch brothers' "Americans for Prosperity" SuperPAC is sending out Christmas cards.  Only they're calling them "Taxmas" cards.  

They're awful.

And dishonest as well. They don't care if your taxes go up. They just want their own to go down.

As the Huffington Post drily comments, 
The holiday season is a time for giving. It's also apparently a time to make demands about fiscal policy and then spread them around to all your friends, according to the Koch brothers.The holiday season is a time for giving. It's also apparently a time to make demands about fiscal policy and then spread them around to all your friends, according to the Koch brothers.
View all the cards at the Huffington Post here.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Today's Teamster News 12.18.12

Obama makes a substantial counteroffer on fiscal deadline  Los Angeles Times   ...Obama is now offering twice as much in cuts as he initially put on the table. His proposal includes shaving $400 billion from healthcare programs and  ... would trim the annual cost-of-living adjustment for those receiving government assistance, probably including Social Security...
The media discover the 'chained CPI' - And the more they dig, the rougher it looks  Columbia Journalism Revew   ...Social Security Works estimates that a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit that’s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on...
Millions live on $2 a day in America. The problem isn't just the safety net, it's the whole economy.  DailyKos   ...nearly 1 in 5 low-income American households has been living in extreme povery; since 1996, the number of households in that category had increased by about 130 percent...
The racist roots of 'right to work' laws  Facing South   ...As Dartmouth sociologist Marc Dixon notes in his fascinating history of the period [pdf], "The Christian American Association was the first in the nation to champion the 'Right-to-Work' as a full-blown political slogan..."
Right-to-work's race to poverty (opinion)  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...it is also a blow against fairness and common sense...
Senate Filibuster Reform Closing In On Majority  Huffington Post   ...Advocates of what's come to be called the "talking filibuster" are closing in on the majority needed to reform the rules, according to a whip count compiled by The Huffington Post, based on interviews with Democratic senators and with reform advocates who have spoken with senators...
Walmart vs. Union-Backed OUR Walmart  Bloomberg Businessweek   ...These days, “we have human resources teams all over the country who are available to talk to associates, and we will get questions about joining a union,” says David Tovar, a spokesman for the company. “We would say: ‘Let us remind you of all that Walmart offers, and of what might go away. Quarterly bonuses might go away, vacation time might go away...’ ”
Teamsters forced out on strike at Blue Linx Trucking  Teamsters Local 769   ...Due to mistreatment by executives at Blue Linx Trucking, Teamsters Local 769 in Miami has filed unfair labor practice charges against the company...
Minister Raitt Commends Garda Security Screening Inc. and the Teamsters on Entering Into an Agreement at Regina International Airport  MarketWire   ...Today, the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Canada's Labour Minister, congratulated Garda Security Screening Inc. and Teamsters Local Union No. 395 on entering into their first collective agreement...