Thursday, August 2, 2012
Matt Taibbi Calls Andrew Ross Sorkin The 'Most Credulously Slobbering Financial Reporter On The Planet'
Matt Taibbi Calls Andrew Ross Sorkin The 'Most Credulously Slobbering Financial Reporter On The Planet'
Matt Taibbi isn't letting CNBC host and New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin off the hook for letting Sandy Weill off the hook.
Taibbi, the Rolling Stone writer famous for his scathing profile of Goldman Sachs slammed CNBC for the way its pundits treated former Citigroup chairman and CEO Weill last week when he told Sorkin on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that it might be time to “split up investment banking from banking.”
Weill is perhaps the founding father of the too-big-to-fail banking system and is responsible for creating the Citi behemoth by combining Citibank, Travelers and Salomon Brothers in the 1990s. Taibbi criticizes Sorkin for not explicitly calling out Weill on his stunning about-face.
Instead of hitting Weill with “some version of, ‘Dude, are you high? You invented Too Big To Fail!’” Taibbi notes that Sorkin, who is editor-at-large of the Times's DealBook site, follows up Weill’s epic pronouncement with a “triple-qualified” question that didn’t even hint at the ex-CEO’s huge role in creating an environment that encouraged banks to become gigantic and discouraged lawmakers from stopping them. Not to mention that Weill’s position circa 1990, which he walked back on live television, set the financial system up for a major crisis.
Taibbi, pulls no punches in his blog post, calling Sorkin: “The single most credulously slobbering financial reporter on the planet.”
full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/matt-taibbi-andrew-ross-sorkin_n_1730599.html
This isn’t the first time Taibbi’s picked a fight with the DealBook editor. In a blog post from last year titled “The Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin Gives Goldman A Rubdown,” Taibbi slams one of Sorkin’s NYT columns, arguing that it “reads like it was written by the bank's marketing department.” Taibbi also points out that Dealbook signed a sponsorship agreement with Goldman in November 2010.
Matt Taibbi isn't letting CNBC host and New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin off the hook for letting Sandy Weill off the hook.
Taibbi, the Rolling Stone writer famous for his scathing profile of Goldman Sachs slammed CNBC for the way its pundits treated former Citigroup chairman and CEO Weill last week when he told Sorkin on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that it might be time to “split up investment banking from banking.”
Weill is perhaps the founding father of the too-big-to-fail banking system and is responsible for creating the Citi behemoth by combining Citibank, Travelers and Salomon Brothers in the 1990s. Taibbi criticizes Sorkin for not explicitly calling out Weill on his stunning about-face.
Instead of hitting Weill with “some version of, ‘Dude, are you high? You invented Too Big To Fail!’” Taibbi notes that Sorkin, who is editor-at-large of the Times's DealBook site, follows up Weill’s epic pronouncement with a “triple-qualified” question that didn’t even hint at the ex-CEO’s huge role in creating an environment that encouraged banks to become gigantic and discouraged lawmakers from stopping them. Not to mention that Weill’s position circa 1990, which he walked back on live television, set the financial system up for a major crisis.
Taibbi, pulls no punches in his blog post, calling Sorkin: “The single most credulously slobbering financial reporter on the planet.”
full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/matt-taibbi-andrew-ross-sorkin_n_1730599.html
This isn’t the first time Taibbi’s picked a fight with the DealBook editor. In a blog post from last year titled “The Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin Gives Goldman A Rubdown,” Taibbi slams one of Sorkin’s NYT columns, arguing that it “reads like it was written by the bank's marketing department.” Taibbi also points out that Dealbook signed a sponsorship agreement with Goldman in November 2010.
San Bernardino Files For Bankruptcy, Becomes The Third California City To Do So
San Bernardino Files For Bankruptcy, Becomes The Third California City To Do So
Third California city to file for bankruptcy
* Follows Stockton and Mammoth Lakes
* Fears other cities will file for bankruptcy
By Tim Reid
LOS ANGELES, Aug 1 (Reuters) - San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday citing more than $1 billion of debts and making it the third California city to seek protection from creditors.
The city of about 210,000 residents 65 miles (104 km) east of Los Angeles declared a fiscal crisis last month after a report said local government had tapped out its reserves and projected spending would top revenue by $45 million in the fiscal year that began on July 1.
The filing, made in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central California District, states that the city has "more than $1 billion" in liabilities, and estimated that it has between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors.
It also states that San Bernardino has estimated assets of more than $1 billion.
San Bernardino's city council voted on July 24 to adopt an emergency three-month fiscal plan that would suspend debt payments, freeze vacant jobs and quit paying into a retiree health fund while city staff produce a more detailed bankruptcy plan.
"The bankruptcy filing was just to get the protection in place, to kick the process off," a city spokesperson said.
In late July, San Bernardino reported it had $56 million in indebtedness payable from its general fund, the main budget, including payments on a $50 million pension bond. There is an additional $195 million in unfunded pension obligations, $61 million in unfunded retiree healthcare, and $40 million of workers compensation, compensated absenses and general liabilities.
In the past two months, the cities of Stockton and Mammoth Lakes have also filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, a special bankruptcy provision for municipalities.
Stockton, which like San Bernardino has suffered from the housing crash that was particularly acute in southern California, filed for bankruptcy in June, becoming the largest U.S. city to do so.
Other cities in California are also in deep fiscal trouble and more could file for bankruptcy.
Cities have had the option of filing for bankruptcy since a law was passed during the Great Depression, but it is a relatively rare occurrence. Only about 640 such filings have been made since 1937.
The three California bankruptcy cases will be closely watched by investors and markets. They will be major test cases of whether cities in financial trouble can be allowed to renege on their bond debt and pension obligations.
Third California city to file for bankruptcy
* Follows Stockton and Mammoth Lakes
* Fears other cities will file for bankruptcy
By Tim Reid
LOS ANGELES, Aug 1 (Reuters) - San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday citing more than $1 billion of debts and making it the third California city to seek protection from creditors.
The city of about 210,000 residents 65 miles (104 km) east of Los Angeles declared a fiscal crisis last month after a report said local government had tapped out its reserves and projected spending would top revenue by $45 million in the fiscal year that began on July 1.
The filing, made in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central California District, states that the city has "more than $1 billion" in liabilities, and estimated that it has between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors.
It also states that San Bernardino has estimated assets of more than $1 billion.
San Bernardino's city council voted on July 24 to adopt an emergency three-month fiscal plan that would suspend debt payments, freeze vacant jobs and quit paying into a retiree health fund while city staff produce a more detailed bankruptcy plan.
"The bankruptcy filing was just to get the protection in place, to kick the process off," a city spokesperson said.
In late July, San Bernardino reported it had $56 million in indebtedness payable from its general fund, the main budget, including payments on a $50 million pension bond. There is an additional $195 million in unfunded pension obligations, $61 million in unfunded retiree healthcare, and $40 million of workers compensation, compensated absenses and general liabilities.
In the past two months, the cities of Stockton and Mammoth Lakes have also filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, a special bankruptcy provision for municipalities.
Stockton, which like San Bernardino has suffered from the housing crash that was particularly acute in southern California, filed for bankruptcy in June, becoming the largest U.S. city to do so.
Other cities in California are also in deep fiscal trouble and more could file for bankruptcy.
Cities have had the option of filing for bankruptcy since a law was passed during the Great Depression, but it is a relatively rare occurrence. Only about 640 such filings have been made since 1937.
The three California bankruptcy cases will be closely watched by investors and markets. They will be major test cases of whether cities in financial trouble can be allowed to renege on their bond debt and pension obligations.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
House Republicans Vote to Keep Bush Tax Cuts for the Richest 2%
House Republicans Vote to Keep Bush Tax Cuts for the Richest 2%
In a reverse of last week’s Senate action, the U.S. House of Representatives today approved (256-171) a bill (H.R. 8) to extend the Bush tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest 2%— about $160,000 a year for the average millionaire. The House defeated (257-170) a Democratic alternative amendment to maintain the cuts for the middle class but end the tax breaks for the rich.
In a letter to House members, the coalition Americans for Tax Fairness, which includes the AFL-CIO, says “ending the Bush tax cuts would restore some basic fairness to our tax system… Simply put, we cannot afford to continue to give large tax cuts to those who need them the least.”
Not only that, but new analysis from the Center for American Progress shows that the Republican plan will raise taxes on roughly 24 million people—because it allows various credits, including the Child Tax Credit, to expire—while maintaining Bush tax cuts for two million wealthy Americans.
In addition, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) finds that since the Bush tax cuts took effect in 2004, the average millionaire has pocketed an extra $1 million over the past nine years. The tax cuts made the tax system far less progressive by boosting after-tax incomes of high-income households by a much greater percentage than they did for low-income households. Click here for more.
After voting to keep the tax cuts for the wealthy—a move supported by Mitt Romney—House Republicans are expected pass a bill (H.R. 6169) that would cut taxes for the rich and corporations even further and exempt U.S. corporations' offshore profits from taxes.
The House and Senate are not expected to take any further action on the Bush tax cuts and will adjourn by the end of the week until after Labor Day.
Originally here: http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/House-Republicans-Vote-to-Keep-Bush-Tax-Cuts-for-the-Richest-2
In a reverse of last week’s Senate action, the U.S. House of Representatives today approved (256-171) a bill (H.R. 8) to extend the Bush tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest 2%— about $160,000 a year for the average millionaire. The House defeated (257-170) a Democratic alternative amendment to maintain the cuts for the middle class but end the tax breaks for the rich.
In a letter to House members, the coalition Americans for Tax Fairness, which includes the AFL-CIO, says “ending the Bush tax cuts would restore some basic fairness to our tax system… Simply put, we cannot afford to continue to give large tax cuts to those who need them the least.”
If we continue unaffordable tax breaks for the richest 2 percent, we won’t be able to address critical national priorities demanding attention—such as supporting education, strengthening Medicare, creating jobs, improving our infrastructure and helping the millions of families struggling to get by.
In addition, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) finds that since the Bush tax cuts took effect in 2004, the average millionaire has pocketed an extra $1 million over the past nine years. The tax cuts made the tax system far less progressive by boosting after-tax incomes of high-income households by a much greater percentage than they did for low-income households. Click here for more.
After voting to keep the tax cuts for the wealthy—a move supported by Mitt Romney—House Republicans are expected pass a bill (H.R. 6169) that would cut taxes for the rich and corporations even further and exempt U.S. corporations' offshore profits from taxes.
The House and Senate are not expected to take any further action on the Bush tax cuts and will adjourn by the end of the week until after Labor Day.
Originally here: http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/House-Republicans-Vote-to-Keep-Bush-Tax-Cuts-for-the-Richest-2
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