Archive for category Politics
Calif. Senate OKs budget headed for certain veto
Posted by admin in Mixed Economy, Politics on June 29th, 2009
The Associated Press June 29, 2009, 4:30PM ET
By JULIET WILLIAMS
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
The California Senate has approved a Democratic budget that faces a certain veto from Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the state heads toward issuing IOUs.
The plan the Senate approved Monday would cut spending and increase taxes and fees to bridge a $24.3 billion budget deficit, but Schwarzenegger vows to veto it.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Democrats would not accept the deep cuts in college aid, health care and welfare programs sought by Schwarzenegger.
The Assembly approved many of the same bills Sunday night following hours of debate.
The state controller has said he will have to start issuing the IOUs unless lawmakers balance the budget before the fiscal year ends Tuesday.
![[Digg]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Reddit]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/reddit.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Twitter]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.marketmixup.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Military Ousts Honduran President; U.S. Condemns coup
Posted by admin in Politics, World News on June 28th, 2009
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2009
Leftist President Was Pushing Referendum to Stay in Power
The U.S. government today called the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, “illegal” and “illegitimate” and it is calling for Zelaya to be returned to his country.
In a statement, President Obama said he was “deeply concerned” about the situation and he called on “all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference.”
Tanks rolled into the Honduran capital city of Tegucigalpa today and soldiers seized the national palace, just hours before the country was to hold a constitutional referendum.
Zelaya had orchestrated the vote in hopes of changing the law to allow him to stand for re-election, which is prevented by term limits in Honduras.
The country’s supreme court had ruled the referendum illegal and congress — as well as Zelaya’s own political party members — had opposed it. But Zelaya had pushed forward despite widespread opposition.
Governor’s last stand: his way or IOUs
Schwarzenegger’s high-stakes strategy could close the budget abyss or cause a meltdown of state government.
By Michael Rothfeld and Evan Halper
10:57 PM PDT, June 27, 2009
Reporting from Sacramento — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, seeking to conquer what could be the last budget crisis of his tenure, is engaged in a high-stakes negotiating strategy with lawmakers that could force him to preside over a meltdown of state government.
As legislators have scrambled to stop the state from postponing payment of its bills and issuing IOUs starting next week, the governor has vowed to veto any measure that fails to close the state’s entire $24-billion deficit.
In doing so, Schwarzenegger has sent the message that he would rather allow the state to begin shutting down than let lawmakers push its troubles off for months by closing only part of the shortfall. The latter prospect could swallow up the rest of his governorship.
“Whatever needs to be done,” Schwarzenegger told reporters outside his Capitol office Friday when asked why he would be willing to delay payments to needy Californians. “I know that there is a history in this building of always being late with the budget, to drag it out and to kick that can down the alley. . . . I don’t think we have this luxury this time.”
Sanford, lover carried on a romantic e-mail exchange
Mark Sanford & family.
Jun. 24, 2009 03:20 PM
McClatchy Newspapers
The State has removed the woman’s full name and other personal details, including her address, e-mail address and children’s names.
McClatchy Newspapers special correspondent Angeles Mase visited the 14-story apartment building in Buenos Aires on Wednesday where the woman lives, according to the e-mails, which included her address. The woman at the address answered to the name in the e-mails and, at first, agreed to speak to a visitor, but she declined after the visitor identified herself as a reporter.
The doorman at the building, shown a photograph of Sanford, said he did not recognize him. According to the doorman, the woman has two sons, one a teenager of driving age and the other younger. The e-mails refer to the woman’s two sons.
—
From Gov. Sanford, Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008, 12:24 a.m.:
“One, tomorrow leave at 5 a.m. for New York and meetings. Will think about you on its streets and wish I was going to be there later in the month when you are there. Tomorrow night back to Philadelphia for the start of the National Governor’s Conference through the weekend. Back to Columbia for Tuesday and then on Wednesday, as I think I had told you, taking the family to China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Thailand and then back through Hong Kong on world wind tour. Few days home then to Bahamas for 5 days on a friend’s boat for the last break of the summer. The following weekend have been asked to spend it out in Aspen, Colorado with McCain – which has kicked up the whole VP talk all over again in the press back home …
Obama may need firmer hand on health care debate
Posted by admin in Mixed Economy, Politics on June 21st, 2009
The Associated Press June 21, 2009, 9:59AM ET
By CHARLES BABINGTON
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is seeing the downside of his light touch on revamping the nation’s health care system.
Congressional Democrats are off to a halting start, blindsided by a high cost estimate and divided over how to proceed. The confusion has emboldened Republican critics of the administration’s approach to its top domestic priority.
While too early to rule out eventual success, it seems Obama will have to be more forceful and hands-on.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who once was Obama’s choice for shepherding the plan through Congress, said the chance that the legislation will pass is no better than 50-50. Those are fairly good odds, he said, for such complicated proposals that stir deep passions.
Joel Johnson, a former Clinton White House aide who lobbies for health care companies, was more optimistic. “This is probably right where it’s supposed to be,” he said.
“It’s still a hard slog,” Johnson said. “It will have some near-death experiences” along the way, which is typical for far-reaching, complex legislation, he said.
Obama has given Congress leeway, trying to avoid the heavy-handed approach that helped doom a similar effort by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Obama recently told a Wisconsin crowd that he would not run roughshod over lawmakers with a “my way or the highway” approach.
But the lack of firm guidance from the president may have contributed to an unsteady launch by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The committee rolled out an incomplete bill in an effort to get action started and to show Republicans that Democrats had not made up their minds on every issue.
Obama “ready to fight” for new financial agency
Posted by admin in Financial Market, Politics on June 21st, 2009
Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:08am EDT
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Saturday he is “ready to fight” for a tough new agency to protect consumers from risky loans and other financial products and lashed out at groups that might stand in the way.
“These interests argue against reform even as millions of people are facing the consequences of this crisis in their own lives,” Obama said in a weekly radio address.
“These interests defend business-as-usual even though we know that it was business-as-usual that allowed this crisis to take place.”
Obama said opponents were already “mobilizing” against his proposal earlier this week to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency as part of the most sweeping set of financial regulatory reforms since the 1930s.
The new agency, which Congress would have to approve, would have the power to write rules and design or ban financial products. It could also examine firms and impose fines and other penalties on almost any institution that offers products such as home loans or credit cards.
Critics argue that the new agency would stifle financial product innovation, boost the cost of regulatory compliance and cause prices for consumers to rise.
“It’s going to create exactly the type of duplication, second-guessing and layering that we feared,” David Hirschman, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets, said earlier this week.
Obama facing some doubts among Americans
Posted by admin in Mixed Economy, Politics on June 18th, 2009
By Steve Holland – Analysis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – He remains personally popular, but President Barack Obama is starting to see signs that some of his economic policies are causing doubts among many Americans.
Two polls published on Thursday illustrate the political risk Obama faces as he turns his attention toward an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, an issue so contentious that previous attempts have failed to address high cost and availability issues.
The New York Times/CBS News poll put his job approval rating at 63 percent, an impressive number given the high 9.4 percent unemployment rate.
In spite of his popularity, the polls showed a public concerned about deficit spending as a result of a $787 billion economic stimulus package and government intervention in the wake of the government’s bailout of banks and auto companies.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll said a solid majority of 58 percent believe Obama and Congress should focus on keeping the budget deficit down even if it means delaying a recovery. The deficit is forecast to skyrocket beyond $1 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year.
The Journal/NBC poll said 56 percent oppose giving financial aid to ailing automaker General Motors in exchange for the federal government obtaining a stake in the company.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Americans are “rightly frustrated with where the economy is and how we ended up where we did” and that Obama recognized all his decisions on fixing it were not popular.
“Some of those things are popular, some of those things aren’t popular, Gibbs told reporters. “I think the president would tell you he’s going to do what he thinks is in the best interest of the American economy.”
