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FreakinDJ's JournalEconomic Conditions `Far Worse' in 2012, Says Jakobsen
Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank A/S, discusses the outlook for the global economy, Federal Reserve policy disclosures and China. He speaks with Linzie Janis and Linda Yueh on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown." (Source: Bloomberg)
http://bloom.bg/xaihk1#ooid=RxeDA4MzqWAWHT6B-L-YndwxnBwJZZ1c
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/83658400/
Public Pressure Re-Opens Indiana Statehouse Doors
Caving into intense public pressure, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) this morning rescinded an order that would have barred thousands of Hoosiers from the state Capitol as the legislature considers a so-called right to work (RTW) bill. As I write, we hear that three doors are open and workers are streaming in, with lines of people wrapped around the block.
On Dec. 30, the Daniels administration announced it would limit the number of people allowed in the statehouse to 3,000, including the 1,700 employees. The ban did not include lobbyists who would continue to have unfettered access. But it would have closed the doors on thousands of workers who are planning to be in Indianapolis for the battle over the RTW legislation.
Daniels admitted the outcry over closing the doors was the major factor in his decision to rescind the restrictions. When they were announced Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott said:
Under this policy neither lobbyist nor donor will be turned away—yet everyday taxpaying citizens will be. This arrogant move is clearly aimed at working people who in 2011 went to the Statehouse to protest the anti-worker agenda being advanced there—and it is wrong. Our Constitution guarantees us the right to petition our government, and this limits that fundamental right.
http://blog.aflcio.org/2012/01/04/public-pressure-re-opens-indiana-statehouse-doors/
School Defends “Occupy” Song For 8-year-olds
A Virginia school district is defending a song allegedly written and performed by a group of third graders about the Occupy Wall Street movement that conservative bloggers are calling a form of indoctrination.
The song, “Part of the 99,” was performed by children at Woodbrook Elementary School in Albemarle County, Virginia.
A spokesman for the school system said as far as they were concerned there isn’t a controversy and called criticism of the program unfortunate.
“We really don’t censor the topics that students come up with,” school spokesman Phil Giaramita told Fox News & Commentary. “This is the first time we’ve had the lyrics of one of these songs criticized.”
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/school-defends-occupy-song-for-8-year-olds.html
Arrests Reported at Occupy Wall Street's Grand Central Gathering
Update 5:40 p.m. Action hasn't actually ended conflict-free. Arrests continue now, reports The Atlantic Wire's Adam Martin from Grand Central. Police apparently detained one woman, and now the stairway down to the dining concourse where police took this woman has been closed off. The group responded by chanting "the whole world is watching."
Occupy Wall Street protesters have ended their day of marching against the National Defense Authorization Act at Grand Central station in New York City, where, according to folks on Twitter, police began making a few arrests even before their scheduled 5 p.m. "action." (Watch a video below of what appears to be police dragging a man away from the group.) The group "mic checked" a public statement calling the new act unconstitutional, which they broadcast on their livestream, and which police appear to have allowed happen unhindered. Having been in Grand Central at rush hour, we can safely say they at least have a large audience of people passing through, though how willing commuters will be to deal with the hubub is less than clear... The group seems to have dispersed relatively peacefully though, but not before mic checking, "The cool thing about flash mobs is that they pop up, and then they disappear."
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/01/arrests-reported-occupy-wall-streets-grand-central-gathering/46931/
Health Care CEO's Lavish Pay Package Shows How the 1% Get Paid
John Hammergren, the CEO of health-care giant McKesson Corp., made $46 million last year thanks to one of the most generous executive pay packages in his, or any other business. Gary Rivlin of The Daily Beast has a breakdown of some of the outrageous provisions that contribute to Hammergren's outrageous wealth including some figures that at least one compensation consultant calls "excessive." When someone whose job is to craft multi-million dollar pay packages for corporate CEOs thinks you're overpaid, you're probably overpaid.
Hammergren is not the richest or even the highest-paid CEO in the world, but the structure of his compensation is raising eyebrows even in the already outsized world of the 1%. He took over McKesson, a firm that specializes in supplying presrciption drugs to pharmacies, in 1999 after a fraud scandal took out of many of the company's top executives. Since that time he's been paid nearly $500 million as the CEO and Chairman of the Board.
His salary is a modest $1.66 million a year, but he also gets annual cash bonuses of between $10 million and $13 million. His perks are many and lavish, including a company car and chauffeur, unlimited personal use of the firm's corporate jet, and a generous pension plan not available to rank-and-file employees. (Their pension program was canceled in 1997.) Last year, McKesson contributed $13 million to Hammergren's retirement fund, which if he walked away tomorrow, would be worth $125 million.
Then there's the stock grants and options, a standard form of compensation at most corporations, but one that McKesson has used with reckless abandon. Hammergren owns $129 million in McKesson stock, plus another 1 million in options that have yet to vest. (In 2011, he received $12 million in stock and another $7 million worth of options in his pay.) Oh, but don't worry. According to Rivlin, the company paid him $483,000 last year to make up for the dividends Hammergren didn't earn because he doesn't own the stock yet.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2012/01/health-care-ceos-lavish-pay-package-shows-how-1-get-paid/46881/
The IRS-Swiss Banker Arrests Everyone's Been Waiting For
Government authorities are going after three Swiss bankers suspected of stashing over a billion dollars out of reach of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The Huffington Post published details of the case on Tuesday afternoon, "Three Swiss bankers were charged Tuesday with hiding more than $1.2 billion in U.S. taxpayer accounts from the IRS, by Preet Bharar, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney." Bharar, of course, is the same U.S. Attorney that recused himself from investigating News Corp.'s phone hacking investigation due to his close relationship with a member of the company's board, but he's also one of the most ruthless prosecutors when it comes to major white collar crime cases. Judge Jed Rakoff, recently identified as Occupy Wall Street's hero in the Department of Justice, for refusing to allow Citigroup to settle a case related to the financial crisis without fully divulging the details of what it did. Of the three bankers charged -- following up with the names Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei and Roger Keller -- HuffPost's Marcus Baram noted, "All three Swiss bankers worked at Wegelin & Co., which has been in cross-hairs of US authorities…" and points to a Bloomberg report from last March of a Wegelin banker arrested by F.B.I. agents at the Miami airport in October 2010 and later convicted of money-laundering charges, to which he had confessed.
News of such a massive case of tax evasion that will be pursued by DOJ all-stars like Bharara and Rakoff weighs heavy on a developing issue of American corporations practically committing tax evasion by exploiting loopholes. Known as the Double Irish, many companies set up global headquarters in places like Dublin, allowing them to exploit a loophole in the U.S. tax code that saves companies tens of billions of dollars. Google, for one, is currently being audited by the IRS for possible tax avoidance, after it saved an estimated $60 billion for paying what amounts to a 2.4 percent tax rate. Until we know the full details of latest case against the Swiss bankers we won't know if the most recent case relates to the income shifting that allows U.S. corporations to stow away taxable revenue in foreign banks, but these charges at least show Americans that the IRS is cracking down on off-shore accounts.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2012/01/irs-swiss-banker-arrests-everyones-been-waiting/46926/
Occupy Wall Street's Livestream Operators Arrested
Occupy Wall Street is in the middle of one of its day-long marches in New York Tuesday, protesting the National Defense Authorization Act, but for those following along on the Global Revolution livestream, the real action is happening in the broadcast studio itself. That's because police have apparently just raided the Brooklyn studio of Globalrevolution.tv and taken some of the project's key volunteers into custody.
The raid Tuesday follows a notice to vacate that police delivered to the Bushwick studio on Monday night. Victoria Sobel, a Global Revolution volunteer, said Vlad Teichberg and a guy named Spike, both of whom maintain the live feed aggregator, had been taken into custody by police, along with four or five others.
In Manhattan, about 100 Occupy protesters (according to Animal New York's Twitter) marched to the offices of New York senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, where they told stories and made impassioned cases for the wrongness of the NDAA. They plan a final rally at Grand Central station at 5 p.m., which should make for some fun interactions with hurried commuters. Lots of people were watching the proceedings on live feeds operated by Globalrevolution.tv, but now that site has stopped broadcasting the New York protest and is showing footage of Occupy Maui.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/01/occupy-wall-streets-livestream-operators-arrested/46921/
Imagine if Obama had reigned in the Corporations that Offshore US Manufacturing
We've had a "Jobless Recovery" a "Wall St. Recovery" but haven't heard a thing about Recovery that actually benifits Working Class Americans.
You want us all to jump for joy because Automated Machinery of Manufactures are seeing an increase in orders?
The last 3 Presidents have sat idelly by watch Millions of American Jobs exodous the country under the illusion of Free Trade while Congress grants them lucerative Tax Incentives to move American Jobs Offshore - BULLSHIT - and not 1 word is uttered in defense of all the American lives torn apart so some Greedy SOB Wealthy Elitest Corporation can make more profit
Fuck Em All
Washington knows to get America working again they have to change Corp Tax Code
It’s quite possibly the only thing Grover Norquist and Bill Clinton have ever agreed upon. Of course Norquist insisted they would have to Cut Corporate Taxes, while both agreed a “Stream-lining”, an elimination of all the “Special Interest Loop Holes” would restart the economy and spur hiring again.
Currently the US Corporate Tax Code rewards MultiNational Corporations / Wall St. Conglomerates with Tax incentives to Offshore manufacturing facilities. So much so the Corporate Tax Code should be renamed “The China Express”
It also hinders and suppresses “Start-Ups”, the Cottage Industries that have long been touted and statistically proven to be the real “Job Creators” of the American Economy.
What is Washington doing about it – Absolutely Nothing
We are going to get “Trashed in 2012 Elections”
Ok – there I said it. But before you go lambasting me, posting “I’m bookmarking so I can laugh at you in November” – Well, I was 100% correct when you were all uttering in disbelief and bookmarking my post in 2010 – and look where that got ya.
The only real bump Obama has seen is when he started iterating some of the language of the 99% / Occupy movement. Other then that he has been flat or slightly behind Republican candidates even with them being “Looney Tunes” and all.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/president_obama_vs_republican_candidates.html
But these are people living day to day having to deal with the harsh realities of our corporate controlled recession. They are honestly acting out of “Gut Reactions” to what is the reality of their day to day existence.
They understand the SEC has mutated into some sort of “New York Mafia like Protection Racket” accepting “No Fault” fines from Banksters and then promptly destroying all the evidence as to hinder if not deter any meaningful State Prosecutions.
They understand ALL elected officials in Washington (Democrat and Republican alike) have thoroughly been corrupted by the Corporate Elite. Meaningful change just isn’t going to happen at the hands current system – and they know that. They have been waiting and hoping for relief for years and all they have gotten is lip service while their futures and the futures of their children deteriorate even more. What, the Dems are going to promise to “Fix Social Security” – ya we’ve seen how they have been putting the fix in on that one.
Plain and Simple – Ya got Nothin
You have nothing to offer the Working Class citizen except more of the same and that just isn’t going to get it any more.
You can forget about the youth vote - They have been completely disenfranchised by the current Corporate Regime and politics as usual in Washington.
Now before all the politicos get on my case reiterating “Hold the Line, Hold the Line” first try some thing really refreshing, admit to your Boss (the powers that be) “Its an uphill battle and our chances are ify at best” – “Your best bet is to actually do your job and represent the best interest of the people who elected you and not the corporations who donate to you” Any way – its about time the corporations took one on the chin. Gawd knows all the Working class Americans have been taking it in the shorts for years.
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