House panel investigates
By Richard Simon
(The Los Angeles Times) Reporting from Washington – Hundreds of new jobs in phantom congressional districts. Nearly 500 new teaching slots in a Chicago school district that employs only 290.
As the White House tries to show that its massive stimulus package has created or saved 1 million jobs, media outlets and critics have contended that some of the administration’s numbers are faulty.
On Thursday, a congressional committee tried to sort out the questions: Are the flawed data the result of Democratic spin meant to show that President Obama’s economic policies are working? Or are they … Continue Reading
Blog Editor’s Note: The largest expansion of central bank-issued fiat currency in the history of mankind attacking the greatest financial blowout ever encountered in terms of size isn’t creating an asset bubble? If so, it’s because they can only patch the balloon so many times before it can no longer hold hot air, and that’s all it ever was anyway.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policy was meant to encourage investors to move into riskier assets and there are no signs currently that an asset bubble is building in the United States, the central bank’s number-two … Continue Reading
Blog Editor’s Note: If reading this article doesn’t convince you the game is rigged from top to bottom, all I can say is, “enjoy your Kool-Aid.”
By Jim Puzzanghera
(The Los Angeles Times ) For more than 15.4 million people, the Making Work Pay tax credit enacted as part of the $787-billion economic stimulus package could turn out to be a Making You Pay Back tax credit.
That’s the finding of a government watchdog report out today about the credit, which provides as much as $400 for individuals and … Continue Reading
(The Los Angeles Times) WASHINGTON — U.S. banks will prepay about $45 billion in premiums to replenish a federal deposit insurance fund now in the red, under a plan adopted by federal regulators.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board voted Thursday to mandate the early payments of premiums for 2010 through 2012. Amid the struggling economy and rising loan defaults, 120 banks have failed so far this year costing the insurance fund more than $28 billion.
To address concerns of small banks in weak financial condition, the FDIC also set up an exemption process for those that prove the prepaid fees would … Continue Reading
Many California jobs ’saved’ by stimulus funds weren’t in jeopardy
By Phillip Reese
(The Sacramento Bee) Up to one-fourth of the 110,000 jobs reported as saved by federal stimulus money in California probably never were in danger, a Bee review has found.
California State University officials reported late last week that they saved more jobs with stimulus money than the number of jobs saved in Texas – and in 44 other states.
In a required state report to the federal government, the university system said the $268.5 million it received in stimulus funding through October allowed it to retain 26,156 employees.
That total represents more … Continue Reading
(zerohedge.com) In this Bloomberg clip, commerce secretary Gary Locke says that “if there is to be another stimulus — and that’s being hotly discussed and very seriously considered within the administration as well as members of Congress – it needs to be very targeted, very specific and we need to be very mindful of the deficit as well.In other words, with unemployment not improving after the first $787 billion was spent, with GDP improvements having peaked, and since at this point nothing matters since America will never be able to realistically service its debt, with … Continue Reading
