Tony Podesta's firm, the Podesta Group, has already reported nearly $19 million from more than 130 clients -- blowing last year's full-year-total, a record high of $16 million, out of the water. He's registered 50 new clients -- way up from the average clip of 20 new clients a year for previous decade.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Tony Podesta's Lobbying Operation
The Huffington Post reports:
Bills Would Set Limits on Financial Companies to Alleviate Risk
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Democrats are advancing proposals in Congress designed to limit the size and complexity of financial companies so that any collapse wouldn't damage the broader economy, a sign that lawmakers are responding to anti-Wall Street sentiment by toughening the administration's rewrite of finance rules.
The proposals would allow the government to break up healthy financial companies, and in some cases, would reassert rigid demarcations within finance that were cleared away in 1999, such as barring commercial banking firms and investment banking firms from merging.
CalPERS' image takes a hit
The L.A. Times reports:
For much of the last decade the California Public Employees' Retirement System cultivated the image of a cutting-edge pension fund -- pouring billions of dollars into potentially lucrative but high-risk investments, hounding companies to rein in executive pay and championing financial security for government workers.They sure are special.
Now, CalPERS finds itself caught in a maelstrom of troubles that threatens its reputation as the gold standard for public pension funds.
Slammed by huge investment losses in last year's meltdown of financial markets, the nation's largest public retirement plan faces questions about its long-term ability to make good on the benefits it owes more than 1.6 million workers, retirees and their families.
All Californians have a stake in the fund's performance: If CalPERS' $200-billion portfolio comes up short, and state and local governments refuse to cut workers' benefits, the bill falls to taxpayers -- many of whom have no guaranteed pension benefits of their own.
Rezko Politicians Unite: Gutierrez endorses Giannoulias for Senate
Congressman Louis Gutierrez of Tony Rezko real estate fame has endorsed Chicago Mob linked Alexi Giannoulias of Broadway Bank fame.
'Don't choose men based on their looks,' warns Michelle Obama in dating advice for women
The Daily Mail reports:
In a series of dating tips, Michelle Obama has urged women not to choose men based on looks alone.Michelle Obama , the expert.
The U.S. First Lady, who has been married to President Barack Obama for 17 years, said: 'Cute's good. But cute only lasts for so long and then it's: "Who are you as a person?"
Unions Drive Detroit to the Edge of Bankruptcy
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Detroit has been in trouble for decades. It has the highest taxes in Michigan, the highest murder rate in the country, and a dreadful public school system. Only 25% of high school students graduate each year. Its tens of thousands of abandoned homes offer safe haven to drug dealers and criminals. All of this has produced an exodus of businesses—there is no longer a single major department store in the city—and residents. Detroit's population is less than half of its peak of two million in the 1960s.Imagine that.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
State Worker Beat Up At SEIU Meeting
CBS reports:
A state worker is recovering after a bloody brawl at a union hall. He says members of the local SEIU 1000 beat him up and sent him to the hospital all because he wanted to expose allegedl corruption within the union.For a look at SEIU ties to organized crime.
Ken Hamidi is a state worker at the California Franchise Tax Board. Last night he walked into a union hall in Sacramento for an SEIU local 1000 meeting.
"We had every right to be here, very simple; it wasn't anything private or anything exclusive," said Hamidi.
But Hamidi says the union members did not want him there.
House Narrowly Passes Landmark Health Care Bill
ABC News reports:
In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.
The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Chicago's Warehouse dreams derailed
Crain's Chicago Business reports:
Chicago's vision of a rich future as the nation's transportation and distribution hub has given way to a less-enviable distinction: home to the most vacant industrial space in the country.An article well worth your time.
A staggering 140 million square feet of warehouse and factory space stands vacant in the metropolitan area, roughly equal to all the office space in downtown Chicago.
Police Pensions and Voodoo Actuarials
New Geography has an excerpt from Steve Greenhut's new book:
A key argument that public-safety officials use to justify their absurdly high pension benefits –- i.e., “3 percent at 50” retirements that allow them to retire with 90 percent or more of their final year’s pay as early as age 50 -- is this: We die soon after retirement because of all the stresses and difficulties of our jobs. This is such a common urban legend that virtually every officer who contacts me mentions this “fact.” They never provide back-up evidence.Steve Greenhut reminds us:
Here is one article I’ve been sent by police to make their point. It was written in 1999 by Thomas Aveni of the Police Policy Council, a police advocacy organization. Here is the key segment: “Turning our attention back towards the forgotten police shift worker, sleep deprivation must be considered a serious component of another potential killer; job stress. The cumulative effect of sleep deprivation upon the shift-working policeman appears to aggravate job stress, and/or his ability to cope with it.
Even more troubling is the prospect that the synergy of job stress and chronic sleep indebtedness contributes mightily to a diminished life expectancy. In the U.S., non-police males have a life-expectancy of 73 years. Policemen in the U.S. have a life expectancy of 53-66 years, depending on which research one decides to embrace. In addition, police submit workman's compensation claims six times higher than the rate of other employees ...”
If that were so, there would be no unfunded liability problem because of pension benefits. Police officers would retire at 50-55, then live a few years at best.You'll want to read the entire article and buy this important new book.
Wal-Mart's Price war, no deals barred
The L.A. Times reports:
With another tough holiday season looming, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is ratcheting up a price war that could be good for shoppers but has competitors fearing the worst.Deflation of prices is good!
The world's largest retailer has for years snatched sales from department stores, discounters, supermarkets, electronics sellers and mom-and-pop shops. Its intensive markdowns helped drive chains such as Circuit City and Mervyns out of business over the last year.
Texas is the new retirement mecca
The L.A. Times reports:
Reporting from Galveston, Texas - After trying out Pasadena, Atlanta and Miami, Lilian Junco decided this was the place to retire. Being near her son was the first attraction, but soon she was drawn in by the same combination of features that has lured tens of thousands of others from out of state: Gulf Coast living and super-low costs.It appears many Americans don't want to live the SEIU lifestyle.
With some of the country's lowest prices for housing, gas and food, no state income tax and one of the most resilient economies in the nation, Galveston and other parts of the Lone Star State are emerging as the new Florida.
This week, Florida disclosed population figures that show a decline of 57,000 over the 12 months ended April 1, the first annual drop since the 1940s. Much of the loss has come in parts of southern Florida that long attracted retirees.
Meantime, other Sun Belt states such as Nevada and Arizona have been hit hard by the recession, and expensive California has long seen more people leave than move in, a domestic migration measure that doesn't include foreign immigration or births.
Top Chicago Cop 'nervous' about likely retirement surge
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said Friday he is "extremely nervous" that a wave of police retirements next year -- after an arbitrator rules on the new police contract -- will stretch a burgeoning manpower shortage beyond levels he considers safe.
Roughly 1,000 officers are eligible to retire now that Mayor Daley has promised to extend premium health benefits to officers who call it quits at 55. But many are waiting until the contract is settled in hopes that a raise will lock in a higher rate of retirement pay.
Credit card firms hurry to raise rates
The Boston Globe reports:
Credit card companies are rushing to increase interest rates to historic highs of more than 30 percent, cut credit limits, and add new fees, even for customers who pay their bills on time.
Friday, November 06, 2009
What the PelosiCare will require you to do
The Wall Street Journal reports:
On Nov. 2, the Congressional Budget Office estimated what the plans will likely cost. An individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and an estimated $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, for a total of $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income. A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus an estimated $5,300 out-of-pocket, for a $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less than these amounts will be eligible for subsidies paid directly to their insurer.
AMA Faces Revolt By State Branches
National Journal reports:
The Georgia Medical Association is racking up support for a move to force the American Medical Association to rescind its support for the House healthcare overhaul bill as delegates arrive in Houston for an AMA policy
Ex-Phone Co. Worker Convicted of Perjury and Lying to FBI Agents in Connection to Rogue LA Detective Pellicano
Stay Off Fox News: White House Tells Democratic Consultant
The Chicago Tribune reports:
At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration.I guess the Obama administration prefers the George Michael run ABC or the FDIC subsidized MSNBC.
The Quotes of House Democrats Questioning PelosiCare
Republican Whip Eric Cantor has some quotes from House Democrats:
Rep. John Adler (D-NJ): “We Will Be Unable To Support Any Health Care Legislation That Doesn’t Meet The President’s Goal Of Driving Down And Holding Down Cost Of Health Care As Determined By The CBO.” “Sustainability requires that the burden on the American taxpayer and the federal budget be limited. To that end, we will be unable to support any health care legislation that doesn’t meet the President’s goal of driving down and holding down the cost of health care, as determined by the CBO.” (Rep. John Adler, Letter To Speaker Pelosi And Leader Hoyer, Link, 10/14/09)There's more quotes, much more.
Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA): Adding To The Deficit Is A Deal Breaker. For Altmire, the deal breaker would be whether the legislation adds to the federal deficit. He has said he will not support a bill that does not pay for itself. He also wants to see cost-cutting measures in health care and tax breaks for small businesses if they end up with an employer-based mandate to provide coverage. (Matt Snyder, “Dems Eye 'Public Option': Area Reps Outline Health Bill Stance,” The Herald, 10/28/09)
Rep. John Barrow (D-GA): “We Will Be Unable To Support Any Health Care Legislation That Doesn’t Meet The President’s Goal Of Driving Down And Holding Down Cost Of Health Care As Determined By The CBO.” “Sustainability requires that the burden on the American taxpayer and the federal budget be limited. To that end, we will be unable to support any health care legislation that doesn’t meet the President’s goal of driving down and holding down the cost of health care, as determined by the CBO.” (Rep. John Barrow, Letter To Speaker Pelosi And Leader Hoyer, Link, 10/14/09)
Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR): Rep. Berry Has Concerns Regarding How The Plan Is Paid For. Democrat Marion Berry of Arkansas, a member of the self- described fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, said he still hasn’t decided if he’ll support the overhaul because he wants to see the changes in the bill. He said his biggest concern is how the plan is paid for. (James Rowley and Kristin Jensen, "House To Unveil Plan With Public Option, Wealth Tax," Bloomberg, 10/29/09)
Reed Says ‘I’m Sorry’ for Role in Creating Citigroup
Bloomberg reports:
John S. Reed, who helped engineer the merger that created Citigroup Inc., apologized for his role in building a company that has taken $45 billion in direct U.S. aid and said banks that big should be divided into separate parts.
“I’m sorry,” Reed, 70, said in an interview yesterday. “These are people I love and care about. You could imagine emotionally it’s not easy to see what’s happened.”
Prominent Chicago Preacher Declares War on Teachers Union
He's the preacher of the largest congregation in the state of Illinois. He's also a state Senator in the Illinois legislature on the Democratic side of the isle. The Rev. James Meeks actually said this:
You'll want to read this entire Chicago Tribune editorial. Just a reminder, Meeks is close friends with President Obama.
"Chicago Public Schools have a gang problem. The gang, however, is not the BDs (Black Disciples), the gang is not the GDs (Gangster Disciples), the gang is not the Vice Lords and the gang is not the Four Corner Hustlers. The gang is the Chicago Teachers Union."
The unemployment rate rose from 9.8 to 10.2 percent in October
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports:
The unemployment rate rose from 9.8 to 10.2 percent in October, and nonfarm
payroll employment continued to decline (-190,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. The largest job losses over the month were in con-
struction, manufacturing, and retail trade.
Why This Real Estate Bust Is Different
Business Week reports:
When Goldman Sachs (GS) sold complex bonds backed by the Arizona Grand Resort and other commercial properties in 2006, it suggested the returns would be strong. The 164-acre luxury Arizona Grand, set against the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix, boasted an award-winning golf course, deluxe spa, and several swank restaurants. The on-site water park was named one of the best in the country by the Travel Channel. With the resort's new owners planning to refurbish hotel rooms and common areas, Goldman told investors that the renovations would help boost cash flow.You'll want to read the whole article.
As was so often the case during the real estate boom, the lofty projections didn't pan out. When the economy softened and business travel slumped, Arizona Grand's bookings slipped to 67%, from 80%. The resort defaulted on the $190 million underlying loan in 2009—a hit that alone could largely wipe out investors who bought the riskier pieces of the Goldman mortgage-backed securities deal.
Fannie to Rent to Owners in Foreclosure
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Fannie Mae will allow homeowners facing foreclosure to stay in their homes and rent them for as long as a year, as part of the government's latest effort to help troubled borrowers, while keeping more foreclosed properties from hitting the housing market.Uncle Sam , the landlord.
The "Deed for Lease" Program lets borrowers who don't qualify for loan modifications transfer their property to Fannie Mae in exchange for a lease. Borrowers-turned-tenants will pay market rents, which in most cases are lower than the cost of mortgage payments, and might be offered extensions when their leases expire.
Congress and the Administration Take Aim at Local Democracy
New Geography reports:
Local democracy has been a mainstay of the US political system. This is evident from the town hall governments in New England to the small towns that the majority of Americans choose to live in today.
World’s Central Banks Signal End to Policy ‘Largesse’
Bloomberg reports:
The world’s biggest central banks are starting to unwind emergency measures introduced earlier this year to stave off a second Great Depression.
The euro rose after European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet yesterday said his bank will withdraw some liquidity operations, and the pound climbed after the Bank of England slowed the pace of bond purchases. A day earlier, the Federal Reserve outlined the circumstances in which it would be prepared to raise interest rates.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Enrollment Drops at L.A. Unified Public School System
The L.A. Times reports:
An apparent exodus of students to charter schools, combined with an overall enrollment decline, is disrupting Los Angeles-area schools and exacerbating an ongoing budget crisis.It appears that this Blue American city really is in decline. Just a reminder, it appears illegals can't keep L.A. Public Schools' numbers up.
Local independently run charter schools added more than 9,500 students this fall, a surge of almost 19% to more than 60,000. At the same time, enrollment is down more than 19,000 students, about 3%, at schools affiliated with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Total district enrollment has fallen to 678,441, down from a peak of 747,009 in 2003.
Businessman Charged With Bribing Chicago Alderman
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
A Naperville businessman was charged in federal court today with offering a $100,000 bribe to a Chicago alderman in an effort to land concession contracts at O’Hare and Midway airports.For a look at Alderman Carothers contributions from Tony Rezko.
Wafeek Aiyash, 50, of Naperville is accused of passing bribes in the amounts of $5,000 and $10,0000 at a time, in an attempt at winning the contracts.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court reveals the FBI has used an unnamed cooperator in its investigation for at least a year.
The Chicago Sun-Times has learned that the cooperator is Ald. Isaac “Ike” Carothers — who was charged earlier this year with corruption. Carothers is one of 14 members of the City Council’s Aviation Committee.
Obama looks for union label
The Detroit News reports:
Workers in Barack Obama's new economic order fall into two categories -- those who are worthy of the president's energies, and those who aren't. You may be surprised to learn where you rank.For a detailed look at what the union movement in Chicago means.
Obama doesn't weigh the value of workers based on their paychecks, what they do or whether they slip their feet into wingtips or steel-toed boots in the morning. His sole interest is in whether they have a union card in their wallet.
If they do, the president is in their corner, working hard to make sure they don't get the short end of any stick. But if they are among the 88 percent of American workers who don't belong to a union? Ask Delphi's salaried employees what Obama thinks of them.
As part of Delphi's restructuring in bankruptcy court, the Troy-based auto parts maker dumped its pension plan onto the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp.
Sen. Burris Cites Unwritten Constitutional 'Health' Provision to Justify Forcing Americans to Buy Health Insurance
Feds' New Insider Trading Target: Lawyers
Forbes reports:
Lawyers are paid to keep secrets. But like anyone else, the more valuable the information they're sitting on, the more likely they are to welsh on their promise of confidentiality and sell privileged information to the highest bidder.
As a case in point, two of the 14 defendants arrested in the government's latest Galleon Group-related insider trading bust are New York lawyers who allegedly accepted cash to funnel information on three 2007 corporate acquisitions to a one-time employee of the hedge fund.
Italian court sentences 23 CIA agents in attack on rendition
CS Monitor reports:
After two years of wrangling to head off a case that centered around the Bush administration’s practice of abducting alleged terrorists abroad and sending them to friendly third states for interrogation, Italian prosecutors won a stunning victory on Wednesday, when 23 US intelligence agents were convicted in absentia by a Milan court for kidnapping.
Media Criticism, Chicago-Style : The campaign to stifle journalists in Cook County and the White House
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Who is a journalist? Ordinarily, that's something for readers and viewers to decide. But recently in Chicago and in Washington, we've seen attempts by the powerful to dictate who is—and who is not—a "real" journalist.You'll want to read the whole article. Yet another excellent one by Professor Glenn Reynolds. For the views of the Cook Cook State's Attorney on gun ownership watch the video. For a look at the man who slates all the judges in Cook County .
For the past several months, students at The Innocence Project, a program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, have come under fire from Cook County, Ill. Prosecutors aren't happy with their habit of turning up evidence demonstrating that defendants have been wrongly convicted. They've allegedly exposed the wrongful conviction of Anthony McKinney, a Chicago man jailed for 31 years on a false confession.
Discomfited prosecutors have responded by subpoenaing everything related to the students' investigation about the McKinney case: notes, interview records and even classroom grades. According to the prosecutors, the students aren't journalists, but an "investigative agency." This is a distinction that has legal bite because journalists' notes are protected under an Illinois journalist shield law.
For Thrillers, Glenn Beck Is Becoming New Oprah
The New York Times reports:
Virtually every novelist in America fantasizes about being picked to appear on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show. But now an increasing number of writers have discovered a new champion: Glenn Beck, the outspoken media darling of populist conservatism.
On his radio show and cable television programs, first on CNN Headline News and now on the Fox News Channel, Mr. Beck has enthusiastically endorsed dozens of novelists, a majority of them writing in the thriller genre. Mr. Beck, who now attracts 9 million weekly listeners on radio and 2.7 million daily viewers on television, often selects authors whose plots or characters reflect political stances that mirror his own. But he also promotes the work of authors who may disagree with many of his views.
“He’s our Oprah,” said Brad Thor, a writer of political thrillers who has appeared on Mr. Beck’s radio and television programs several times. “God love him, we’re very fortunate.”
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Most California Tax Measures Being Approved
The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
Cities across the Bay Area begged voters for new taxes to mend their bleeding budgets, and voters in most areas appeared willing to oblige, according to early election results Tuesday.
JPMorgan Ends SEC Alabama Swap Probe for $722 Million
Bloomberg reports:
JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to a $722 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to end a probe into sales of derivatives that helped push Alabama’s most populous county to the brink of bankruptcy.You might wonder how certain people avoid criminal prosecution. Just a question to ponder.
JPMorgan will give Jefferson County, Alabama, $50 million, pay a $25 million penalty and cancel $647 million in fees the county faced to unwind the transactions, according to an SEC news release. In addition, the agency charged two former JPMorgan employees for their roles in an “unlawful payment scheme” that allowed them to win bond and interest-rate swap business with the county.
Our Dwindling Email Privacy
Harper's reports:
What sort of privacy do you expect when you send an email? As Americans increasingly rely on the Internet for communication, Justice Department lawyers increasingly argue that Americans have no right to privacy there—notwithstanding repeated congressional efforts to bolster these rights. A recent case out of Oregon shows how the privacy expectation associated with emails and other Internet communications is being frittered away.
Chicago’s inspector general’s office sues the city
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
It’s a first.
NBC5 and the Chicago Sun-Times have learned the city Inspector General’s Office is taking the Daley administration to court after issuing a subpoena last month.
How Safe Is Your Safe-Deposit Box?
ABC News reports:
The 50 U.S. states are holding more than $32 billion worth of unclaimed property that they're supposed to safeguard for their citizens. But a "Good Morning America" investigation found some states aggressively seize property that isn't really unclaimed and then use the money -- your money -- to balance their budgets.
Unclaimed property consists of things like forgotten apartment security deposits, uncashed dividend checks and safe-deposit boxes abandoned when an elderly relative dies.
Banks and other businesses are required to turn that property over to the state for safekeeping. The problem is that the states return less than a quarter of unclaimed property to the rightful owners.
Nicole Kidman reveals her love life has been kinky as she opens up about 'strange sexual fetish' encounters
Why did blue-chip Goldman Sachs take a walk on subprime's wild side?
McClatchy reports:
Goldman Sachs was one of the last Wall Street giants to enter the subprime lending world, but when it did, it quickly climbed into bed with profligate, highflying firms — companies such as New Century Financial Corp.This is the last article in the four part series.
In at least nine deals from 2002 to 2007, Goldman sold bonds backed by more than $5 billion of New Century's mortgages, one even after the California lender's underwriting criteria all but disintegrated and a cash squeeze paralyzed its operation. Goldman also marketed at least three secret offshore deals bearing New Century's name.
Goldman has yet to explain why it risked its blue-chip reputation and financial health to buy and repackage at least $135 billion in loans mostly originated by companies that have since gone bust.
A deathblow to ObamaCare
The New York Post reports:
Chris Christie's gutsy win in New Jersey puts the arrogant big spender Jon Corzine in his place. But it is the election in Virginia that probably has more to say to marginal Democratic congressmen considering how to vote on health-care reform.
Obviously, Christie's victory is a body blow to Obama after Corzine outspent the Republican by five-to-one and the president put on a serious push for the incumbent. Corzine's defeat sends a message that the nation is moving sharply against Obama.
But Virginia results are the most important. More than 80 Democratic congressmen and 20 senators come from states that John McCain carried in 2008. For them, the sudden switch in Virginia, a swing state that Obama actually carried, heralds tough political times ahead.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Not Being New York Resident Saves Billionaire $27 Million in Taxes: Court Victory for Hedge Fund Manager Julian Robertson
The Wall Street Journal reports:
What a difference four days can make.Some people don't want to pay high taxes no matter what greedy politicians say.
Billionaire Julian Robertson won a $27 million tax case after he successfully argued that he wasn't a New York City resident for the year 2000 and didn't owe city taxes.
At issue was Mr. Robertson's whereabouts on four days during that leap year: April 15, July 23, July 31 and Nov. 16. The other 362 days were accounted for, with documentary proof of 183 days spent in the city and 179 spent outside. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance argued that because he didn't have documentary proof for the four days, he was therefore a resident and owed city taxes of $26,792,341.
The stakes were high for Mr. Robertson. If he could prove he spent half of that 366-day year outside of New York City, often at his estate in the wealthy Long Island suburb of Locust Valley, he wouldn't have to pay the tax. And it was an all-or-nothing case, worth $27 million, an amount important enough to the hedge-fund manager that he and his staff spent hours and developed a complicated calendar system to track his whereabouts.
It is Japan we should be worrying about, not America
Telegraph reports:
Japan is drifting helplessly towards a dramatic fiscal crisis. For 20 years the world's second-largest economy has been able to borrow cheaply from a captive bond market, feeding its addiction to Keynesian deficit spending – and allowing it to push public debt beyond the point of no return.
Aspirin 'only for heart patients'
BBC reports:
The use of aspirin to ward off heart attacks and strokes in those who do not have obvious cardiovascular disease should be abandoned, researchers say.
Numbers Don't Support Migration Exodus to "Cool Cities"
New Geography reports:
For the past decade a large coterie of pundits, prognosticators and their media camp followers have insisted that growth in America would be concentrated in places hip and cool, largely the bluish regions of the country.You'll want to read the whole article. Another great one from Joel Kotkin.
Since the onset of the recession, which has hit many once-thriving Sun Belt hot spots, this chorus has grown bolder. The Wall Street Journal, for example, recently identified the "Next Youth-Magnet Cities" as drawn from the old "hip and cool" collection of yore: Seattle, Portland, Washington, New York and Austin, Texas.
It's not just the young who will flock to the blue meccas, but money and business as well, according to the narrative. The future, the Atlantic assured its readers, did not belong to the rubes in the suburbs or Sun Belt, but to high-density, high-end places like New York, San Francisco and Boston.
This narrative, which has not changed much over the past decade, is misleading and largely misstated. Net migration, both before and after the Great Recession, according to analysis by the Praxis Strategy Group, has continued to be strongest to the predominately red states of the South and Intermountain West.
Madoff Accountant Pleads Guilty To Fraud
The Wall Street Journal reports:
David Friehling, the former accountant to convicted Ponzi-scheme operator Bernard Madoff, pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges Tuesday in connection with his auditing work for Madoff's firm, but he denied knowing about the underlying Ponzi scheme.
Friehling, at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan, pleaded guilty to securities fraud, aiding or abetting investment-adviser fraud, three counts of obstructing or impeding the administration of Internal Revenue laws, and four counts of making false filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Friehling, 49 years old, admitted that he failed to conduct independent audits of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC's financial statements, saying he took the information given to him by Madoff or Madoff's employees at "face value."
However, he denied any knowledge of Madoff's Ponzi scheme and said he entrusted his own retirement funds and his family's investments to Madoff, saying he had invested about $500,000 with the firm. Friehling said he didn't have contact with Madoff investors and didn't serve as a feeder for Madoff's business.
Non-Profit Deemed High Risk Half-Million Dollars In Questionable Spending Agency Slated To Receive Stimulus Dollars
The state of California Office of the Inspector General reports:
A Bay Area agency slated to receive Federal Recovery Act dollars has been deemed high risk and may owe the State over half a million dollars in unacceptable expenditures.The lack of "altruism" from some non-profits!
"The State's Department of Community Services Department (CSD), as well as the County and City of San Francisco, have done an exemplary job in identifying serious problems with the Economic Opportunity Council of San Francisco (EOCSF)," said California Inspector General Laura Chick who was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to oversee the spending of the state's stimulus funds.
The Economic Opportunity Council was due to receive $159,000 is stimulus dollars to perform weatherization projects in the community.
"The CSD has deemed the EOCSF high risk and has taken immediate action to stop the impending transfer of stimulus dollars," continued Chick. "However, this issue now rests with the Federal Government to determine if the State is required to not only continue to fund this agency, but also to give it Recovery dollars. As we saw on Wall Street, there needs to be a line in the sand when it comes to inappropriately spending taxpayer dollars."
Borsellino wins $11M in suit vs. former NYSE Prez Putnam
Crain's Chicago Business reports:
A Chicago jury has sided with a former giant on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trading floor who sued former New York Stock Exchange President Gerald Putnam in a dispute.
The jury has awarded Lewis Borsellino $11 million.
Mr. Borsellino sued Mr. Putnam in 2000, alleging he was cheated out of a stake in a company that Mr. Putnam eventually built into Archipelago Holdings Inc., which later merged with the NYSE in a deal that netted Mr. Putnam tens of millions of dollars.
Goldman left foreign investors holding the subprime bag
McClatchy reports:
Inside the thick Goldman Sachs investment circular were the details of a secret, $2 billion deal channeled through a Caribbean tax haven.This is the third article of the impressive series of articles from McClatchy. Here's the second article, and the first.
The Sept. 26, 2006, document offered sophisticated U.S. and European investors an opportunity to buy into a pool of supposedly high-grade bonds backed by residential, commercial and student loans. The transaction was registered through a shell company in the Cayman Islands.
Few of the potential investors knew it, but the ratings of many of the mortgage securities hid their true risks and, in some cases, Goldman's descriptions exaggerated their quality.
The Cayman offering — one of perhaps dozens made through the British territory — occurred as Goldman began to ditch the subprime mortgage business before the U.S. housing market collapsed under an avalanche of homeowner defaults.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Sen. Hatch Questions Constitutionality of Obamacare: If Feds Can Force Us to Buy Health Insurance ‘Then There’s Literally Nothing the Federal Governme
San Jose Police will be first to use ear-mounted video cameras to record arrests
The San Jose Mercury News reports:
The San Jose Police Department will be the first law enforcement agency in the country to use new ear-mounted video and audio recorders on the job this month, and police say they will provide a new window into arrests and other situations.
The Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy-Services Paradigm
City Journal reports:
One out of every five Americans is either a Californian or a Texan. California became the nation’s most populous state in 1962; Texas climbed into second place in 1994. They are broadly similar: populous Sunbelt states with large metropolitan areas, diverse economies, and borders with Mexico producing comparable demographic mixes. Both are “majority-minority” states, where non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of the population and Latinos just over a third.You'll want to read the whole article.
According to the most recent data available from the Census Bureau, for the fiscal year ending in 2006, Americans paid an average of $4,001 per person in state and local taxes. But Californians paid $4,517 per person, well above that national average, while Texans paid $3,235. It’s worth noting, by the way, that while state and local governments in both California and Texas get most of their revenue from taxes, the revenue is augmented by subsidies from the federal government and by fees charged for governmental services and facilities, such as trash collection, airports, public university tuition, and mass transit. California had total revenues of $11,160 per capita, more than every state but Alaska, Wyoming, and New York, while Texas placed a distant 44th on this scale, with revenues of all governmental entities totaling $7,558 per person.
Goldman Looks to Buy Fannie Tax Credits
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is in talks to buy millions of dollars of tax credits from government-controlled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, but the potential deal is running into opposition from the U.S. Treasury, which could block the deal.Great moments in big, activist government.
A sale would bring some needed financial respite to Fannie Mae. But the administration is leery about approving a deal that would help Goldman reduce its tax bill, given the animus held by many lawmakers toward big Wall Street firms in general and Goldman in particular.
The Obama administration is looking at the deal with a critical eye and could block it. Goldman, meanwhile, is hopeful it could win approval this week.
"Treasury is reviewing and will not let it proceed unless it is clearly in the taxpayers' interest," spokesman Andrew Williams said.
Fannie Mae and its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, declined to comment.
"Fannie Mae is owned and controlled by the federal government," said Goldman Sachs spokesman Michael DuVally, who wouldn't confirm the company was in talks with Fannie about the credits. "The only basis on which approval for any transaction would be given would be if it was clearly in the taxpayers' best interest."