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Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

VIDEOS: Jon Stewart shines bright light on where our TARP bailout money is going

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash-- Today's episode: Elizabeth Warren explains it all:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren Pt. 1
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren Pt. 2
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Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Warren gave us a brief history lesson where we went in boom and bust cycles, hitting a bust every 15 years or so until the Great Depression. After the New Deal, we went 50 years without a major bust, until Ronald Reagan put his stamp on regulation, and then we had the savings & loan crisis. She noted that we have been "pulling the threads of regulatory fabric."

It takes someone really smart to sift through the economic insanity that is the banks and insurance companies such as AIG, and oversee the TARP funding for these companies. Fortunately, we have such a person in Elizabeth Warren -- professor of law at Harvard, where she teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law - in her role as chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel.

But despite the rosiness, Warren is fighting a losing battle, trying to get the word out about what is going on, and what we should watch for to make sure the money is being spent well.

Please read the whole post here. Warren was terrific as always. She has been on the Rachel Maddow Show, too, and never fails to enlighten us in a really charming, economy-wizard-geeky kind of way.

Sidebar: BuzzFlash's Mark Karlin was just a guest on the Nancy Skinner radio show.

Shouldn't Wall Street execs take mandatory drug tests since they are on welfare?

By GottaLaff

A fun little hat tip to BuzzFlash, especially since they're kind enough to link to us regularly:

Yes, BuzzFlash gets irreverent and raunchy at times. That may be why we love progressive talk show host Stephanie Miller. We also fully enjoy listening to Stephanie's replacement hosts, the comic, political duo known as Frangela.

We just received an e-mail back from Frangela that included a comment we had sent them. [...]

BuzzFlash wrote to Frangela:

Shouldn't Wall Street execs take mandatory drug tests since they are on welfare? States consider drug tests for welfare recipients. But aren't Wall Street bankers and insurance guys also welfare recipients? Shouldn't they have to pee in a cup or something else humiliating?

Frangela e-mailed back:

You are amazing!

thank you so much for listening and making the best point so far on this subject!

Seriously, just brilliant!!!!!

We couldn't agree more :)

you rock,

angela & frances

If you've never heard Frangela (Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton, both of The Second City) on the Radio Machine, give them a try. They're raucous fun, and make smart political talk radio into a party. And kudos to the author of the BuzzFlash post for hitting a home run.

Journalism: Bail it out or write it off

By GottaLaff

I've noticed Rosa Brooks' absence from my L.A. Times lately, and it concerned me. She's even been missing from The Rachel Maddow Show, where she used to appear regularly. What happened? We finally have an explanation.

There's the good news and the bad news. The bad news is, today Rosa Brooks wrote her last column for the L.A. Times. The good news?

After four years, I'll soon be starting a stint at the Pentagon as an advisor to the undersecretary of Defense for policy.

Bravo! I've always loved her writing, and I'll miss her like crazy, but, hey, who can blame her after getting a job like that?

Okay, celebration time is over. Now here is the reason for her op-ed:

Some might say I have a "new job," but because I'll be escaping a dying industry -- and your tax dollars will shortly be paying my salary -- I prefer to think of it as my personal government bailout.

Like everyone else whose livelihood is linked to the newspaper industry, I've been watching, appalled, as newspapers continue their death spiral, with dwindling circulations and thousands of layoffs. Here at The Times, the editorial staff is down to almost half the size it was in 2000. [...]

Still, I knew it was time to pray for a government bailout in December, when my editor explained that because the paper's parent company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, I might not get paid for my recent columns. From a legal perspective, he told me, I wasn't a columnist -- I was an "unsecured creditor" of Tribune Co. (Along with other freelancers, [...]

Of course, I'm not taking a government job only because I feel lucky to parachute out before some cost-cutter eliminates every last column. At this moment in history, I can't imagine anything more rewarding than being part of the new team that's shaping U.S. policy.

But as I say goodbye to my wonderful Times colleagues, I also can't imagine anything more dangerous than a society in which the news industry has more or less collapsed.

For me, this is the key paragraph:

If newspapers become mostly infotainment websites -- if the number of well-trained investigative journalists dwindles still further -- and if we're soon left with nothing but the yapping heads who dominate cable "news" and talk radio, how will we recognize, or hope to forestall, impending national and global crises? How will we know if government officials have made terrible mistakes, as even the best will sometimes do? How will we know if government officials have told us terrible lies, as the worst have sometimes done? A decimated, demoralized and under-resourced press corps hardly questioned the Bush administration's flimsy case for war in Iraq -- and the price for that failure will be paid for generations.

It's time for a government bailout of journalism. [...]

Years of foolish policies have left us with a choice: We can bail out journalism, using tax dollars and granting licenses in ways that encourage robust and independent reporting and commentary, or we can watch, wringing our hands, as more and more top journalists are laid off or bail out, leaving us with nothing in our newspapers but ads, entertainment features and crossword puzzles.

Don't let it happen.

I edited this piece substantially, so please read the rest here.

Another Poll Shows: GOP Attacks On Obama Not Working

By GottaLaff

Via Oliver Willis:

The people in this country have been thirsty for real leadership. We have it now in Barack Obama.

By a two-to-one margin, Americans trust Mr. Obama more than congressional Republicans to get the nation out of its financial fix, and that’s even though they oppose his bailouts of banks and auto companies.

And that’s why the new GOP attempt to portray the Obama administration’s $1 trillion effort to buy bad bank loans and keep auto companies afloat for now as a “major power grab,” as Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee put it, isn’t likely to stick anytime soon.

Give it up, Rushpublics. As I tell my over-zealous comedy students, know when to quit.

AIG May Face Subpoena From New York’s Cuomo on Retention Payment

By GottaLaff

Cuomo is trying:

American International Group Inc., the New York-based insurer bailed out by taxpayers, may face a subpoena from the state’s attorney general if it doesn’t hand over names of employees receiving retention pay.

Andrew Cuomo requested the data in a letter today and said he’d issue a subpoena if he didn’t get an answer by 4 p.m. New York time.

By the way:

This updates as you refresh. There may be some delay.

John Paulson May Have Made $428 Million Shorting Lloyds

By GottaLaff

We've had our fun with Jim Cramer's bragging about shorting stocks. But we're not having fun any more:

Paulson & Co., the hedge fund run by billionaire John Paulson, may have made 311 million pounds ($428 million) since September by short selling Lloyds Banking Group Plc and HBOS Plc.

The firm took short positions in London-based Lloyds and HBOS that were valued at 367 million pounds in September, based on the holdings and share prices on the dates they were reported. The stake fell below the reporting threshold on March 9, regulatory filings show.

Paulson, which made $3 billion anticipating the U.S. housing market would collapse, gained as Lloyds, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc sought bailouts from British taxpayers. Lloyds surrendered control to the government on March 7 in exchange for asset guarantees. Paulson made least 295 million pounds shorting RBS, bringing its profit from betting U.K. banking stocks would drop to 606 million pounds, according to earlier disclosures. [...]

Paulson’s Credit Opportunities Fund soared almost sixfold in 2007 on bets that subprime mortgages would plummet. [...]

Short sellers sell borrowed shares with plans to buy them back later at a lower price. The Financial Services Authority, the U.K. market regulator, lifted a ban on short-selling financial companies on Jan. 16. The restrictions were imposed in September as politicians and investors blamed hedge funds for destabilizing markets. [...]

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government has taken control of four British banks since the run on Northern Rock Plc in September 2007 as it seeks to boost lending and stimulate economic growth. [...]

Hedge funds are private, largely unregulated pools of capital whose managers can bet on falling as well as rising asset prices, and participate substantially in profits from money invested.

H/t: Fernando

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Cantor

By GottaLaff

Eric "Mr. Party of No" Cantor is fast becoming Palinesque, meaning, he is one of those gifts that keeps on giving.

Keith Olbermann is reporting on MSNBC right now that Mrs. Party of No's boss's bank is getting $267,000,000 worth of bailout money. Here is another source:

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, a rising star in the Republican party, has been a prominent voice demanding accountability in how the government doles out hundreds of billions for bank bailouts.

[...] Cantor cast a high-profile vote opposing release of another $350 billion in bailout funds. Unpublicized until now was a recent development: The Treasury Department used $267 million of taxpayer funds to buy preferred stock in a private banking company that employs Cantor's wife.

Isn't he fun?

You know you're too rich when...

By GottaLaff

Too rich, too thin.

Via Rosa Brooks:

Well, if you find yourself appalled at the thought of getting by on $500K a year, and you're not the sole support of 10 special-needs children or perhaps a small Third World village or two, you've gotten too rich. If charity balls, chauffeured limos, a household staff and private jets feel like necessities rather than luxuries, you're too rich. And if you've come to feel you have a God-given right to feed at the government bailout trough, but you denounce it as creeping socialism when you're asked to show some personal financial self-discipline in exchange, then yes, you're too rich.

Clear? Clear.

Bailed-out firms reframe the B word (bonus)

By GottaLaff

Get a load of this (and it is a load):

During an internal conference call last week, advisers were warned not to call the awards bonuses because it would cause a PR headache:

“There will be a retention award. Please do not call it a bonus,” said James Gorman, co-president of Morgan Stanley. “It is not a bonus. It is an award. And it recognizes the importance of keeping our team in place as we go through this integration.”

Please do not call my middle finger a flip-off. It is not a flip-off. It is an expression of targeted passion.

Geithner v. Axelrod: Geithner wins

By GottaLaff

For a peek at Treasury Secretary Geithner's new bailout plan, go here.

The Obama administration’s new plan to bail out the nation’s banks was fashioned after a spirited internal debate that pitted the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, against some of the president’s top political hands.

In the end, Mr. Geithner largely prevailed in opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions that were sought by presidential aides, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, according to administration and Congressional officials.

Mr. Geithner, who will announce the broad outlines of the plan on Tuesday, successfully fought against more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid.

He resisted those who wanted to dictate how banks would spend their rescue money. And he prevailed over top administration aides who wanted to replace bank executives and wipe out shareholders at institutions receiving aid.

Because of the internal debate, some of the most contentious issues remain unresolved.

VIDEOS: President Obama's Speech on the Economy in Williamsburg, Va. at Dem. Annual Retreat

By GottaLaff

Per CNN just now: Treasury Secretary Geithner will roll out a brand new Financial Stability Program, an overhaul of the original bailout program. He'll unveil it as early as Monday.

CNN is now reporting that the Senate votes may not be there for President Obama's recovery plan. They're insisting that this speech didn't help, because of its partisan nature.

Meantime, here is as much of President Obama's awesome speech at the Democratic Annual Retreat as I could get for now. CSPAN cut away before the Q and A, which was pretty frustrating.

We'll replace this with a better version if one becomes available:

Part 1:



Part 2:

AP Investigation: Banks sought 21,800 high-paid foreign workers during meltdown

By GottaLaff

The more we learn, the worse they get:

Major U.S. banks sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers into the country for high-paying jobs even as the system was melting down last year and Americans were getting laid off, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.

The dozen banks now receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households. [...]

It is unclear how many foreign workers the banks actually hired; the government does not release those details. The actual number is likely a fraction of the 21,800 foreign workers the banks sought to hire because the government only grants 85,000 such visas each year among all U.S. employers. [...]

Foreigners are attractive hires because companies have found ways to pay them less than American workers. [...]

David Huber of Chicago is a computer networking engineer who has testified to Congress about losing out on a 2002 job with the former Bank One Corp. He learned later the bank applied to hire dozens of foreign visa holders for work he said he was qualified to do.

"American citizenship is being undermined working in our own country," Huber said in an AP interview. [...]

Grassley, with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is pushing for legislation to make employers recruit American workers first, along with other changes to the visa program. [...]

Jennifer Scott of Yreka, Calif., a retired technical systems manager at Bank of America in Concord, Calif., said in 2004 she oversaw foreign employees from a contractor firm that also sent overnight work to employees in India.

"It had nothing to do with a shortage, but they didn't want to pay the U.S. rate," she said, adding that the quality of the work was weak. "It's all about numbers crunching."

Numbers crunching? It's safe to say there very well may be some head-crunching in these banks' future.

Hey, financial institutions, give it back!

By GottaLaff

A few months ago, I was having a conversation in which I wondered aloud why the government couldn't cut outlandish bonuses, and/or temporarily and/or partially limit incomes of those greedy Big Biz types, given the dire state of the economy. I was sternly admonished, including being told that such a thing would be impossible.

I hung my head in shame and shuffled off to my room without supper. After all, as I've mentioned here previously, I admit to being woefully inept when it comes to discussing most things economic. So off I went, feeling like a fool.... until:

A day after President Barack Obama bashed bailed-out banks for giving huge bonuses, Sen. Claire McCaskill, (D-Mo.) proposed capping salaries for employees at companies accepting government funds.

“We must have our financial institutions survive but not with a culture that thinks it’s all right to kick the taxpayer in the shins,” she said in a Senate floor speech.

McCaskill introduced legislation that would forbid employees at firms collecting government funds from collecting more than the $400,000 salary made by the president of the United States, until the company no longer relies on money from the $700 billion government rescue fund. The cap would include not only salary but also bonuses and stock options.

“If any of them think it is a hardship to take the salary of the president of the United States, I dare them to say it out loud right now,” McCaskill said. [...]

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he plans to “get back” billions of dollars worth of bonuses being paid out by financial services companies.

"I'm going to be urging — in fact, not urging but demanding — that the Treasury Department figure out some way to get this back," Dodd told reporters Thursday. "This is unacceptable.”

Thank you, Chris and Claire. I have been vindicated.

Bailed-out financial firms using offshore tax havens

By GottaLaff

Teeth-gnashing time:

Washington Post: a GAO report shows that bailed-out financial firms are using offshore tax havens to avoid paying U.S. taxes. The all-take-no-give companies include some of the biggest bailout recipients -- A.I.G., Citigroup, Bank of America & Morgan Stanley.

However:

It is all legal, but it could come to an end, given the dire condition of the U.S. economy and President-elect Barack Obama's campaign pledge to close this popular business tax loophole. The Treasury estimates that it loses $100 billion a year in tax revenue as a result of companies shipping their income off shore, and congressional leaders are vowing to introduce legislation forcing big companies to pay full freight.

Thank you, BushCo and Friends. One more example of how you've helped drive this country into the ground.

Moral TARPitude

By GottaLaff

Moral TARPitude: BushCo must have a bazillion dollars now. Right now, or... or.... what? And for whom? And why? And how? Details, damnit, we want details:

Under the emergency rescue legislation approved by Congress in October, the administration must inform lawmakers that it wants access to the second installment of $350 billion. Unless Congress passes a resolution rejecting the request within 15 days, the Treasury can begin to tap the funds. If Congress turns down the request, the president could veto the resolution and then the Treasury could proceed. The money would be blocked only if Congress overrides the veto, which would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers. [...]

Both Bush and Obama officials say gaining access to the balance of the rescue funds is crucial to turning the economy around. Without the money, it would be nearly impossible to offer significant help for homeowners facing foreclosure, stabilize the financial system or jump-start the credit markets so more consumers and companies can get loans.

So, on the TARP-o-meter scale of 1-350 billion, BushCo scores a.... 0. Next:

Even as foreclosures continue by the hundreds, more than $100 million set aside by the state to help families keep their homes is going untapped. The state programs are so narrow and carry so many restrictions that getting approval is nearly impossible.

Since July 1, a program to help homeowners make payments on their mortgages has helped one borrower so far, with just five approvals pending. That, despite 382 applications for the program — the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, or EMAP.

The centerpiece program, CTFAMLIES, has fared better, with 65 loan refinancings closed, totaling $13.5 million, among 309 applications. Another seven refinancings are approved, and awaiting a closing date.

In yet another program — the Homeowner Equity Recovery Program, or HERO — the state planned to buy mortgages from lenders, who would take a loss, and negotiate to set more affordable interest rates. HERO has yet to help a single homeowner, and just one loan is expected to close later this month, state records show.

To quote Commenter Chris from an e-mail she sent me:

So....who exactly is being helped by the TARP funds that BushCo must have immediately? Not the state programs or the individual homeowners. Could it possibly be that BushCo thinks it hasn't stolen enough taxpayer money & is going for the final reaming on us all??

In a word: yes. After all, he needs some pocket change to pay for all those attorney fees that are coming up.

H/t: Chris

Porn Kings to D.C. - Help Us Through Hard Times

You know, at first I laughed at this, but I'd be hard pressed to think of an industry that helps the "common man" more on a regular basis.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Another major American industry is asking for assistance as the global financial crisis continues: Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.

“The take here is that everyone and their mother want to be bailed out from the banks to the big three,” said Owen Moogan, spokesman for Larry Flynt. “The porn industry has been hurt by the downturn like everyone else and they are going to ask for the $5 billion. Is it the most serious thing in the world? Is it going to make the lives of Americans better if it happens? It is not for them to determine.”

Francis said in a statement that “the US government should actively support the adult industry's survival and growth, just as it feels the need to support any other industry cherished by the American people."

Headline via TMZ.

Obama statement on Bush bailout

By GottaLaff

That post title is lifted from First Read, and now that I've re-read it, it reads as if Bush is the one getting the bailout. That's not far from the mark.

Obama:

"Today's actions are a necessary step to help avoid a collapse in our auto industry that would have devastating consequences for our economy and our workers. With the short-term assistance provided by this package, the auto companies must bring all their stakeholders together -- including labor, dealers, creditors and suppliers -- to make the hard choices necessary to achieve long-term viability. The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices and begin the long-term restructuring that is absolutely required to save this critical industry and the millions of American jobs that depend on it."

UPDATE:

In addition to his choices for Labor (Hilda Solis), Transportation (Ray LaHood) and U.S. Trade Representative (Ron Kirk), Obama will announce Karen Mills as his choice to head the Small Business Administration at his news conference later today.

Mills:

Mills is a venture capitalist and a founding partner of the New York-based equity firm Solera Capital. She has been an adviser to Maine Gov. John Baldacci on economic matters. She's also president of the MMP Group in Brunswick.

Separated At Birth Automaker Edition

Heh. Via LOLFed.

Where were Biden and Kerry for the auto rescue vote?

By GottaLaff

Think Progress provides us with a list of the Senators who voted to bail out Wall Street, but stuck it to the auto workers (and who was absent). They also tell us where Kerry and Biden were during the vote. First, their whereabouts, then the list:

Biden was tending to transition duties, while Kerry was in Poznan, Poland, participating in U.N. climate change talks. Alexander was home recovering from surgery.

Then there's this little fun fact:

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher in his heyday, was scheduled to appear Sunday at a sports card show in Taylor, Michigan to sign autographs. “But Bunning was kicked off the schedule after he helped derail an auto-industry loan package in the Senate Thursday night.” (HT: TP commenter cali)

Now for the list:

clipped from thinkprogress.org

Yes to TARP, No to auto

Yes to TARP, Absent for auto

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Sen. Kay Hutchison (R-TX) Sen. John Isakson (R-GA) Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Sen. John Thune (R-SD)

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) Sen.Ted Stevens (R-AK) Sen. John Sununu (R-NH)