http://www.workingamerica.org/blog Working America's Blog Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:04:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It’s not the bill many of us hoped and fought for, but nonetheless we may soon reach the end of years of inaction and a massive struggle for change. The bill is compromised, yes, but it’s still worth it. Though important parts of reform won’t go into effect for ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/19/2125/ Congress is about to enter the final stages of a legislative process that would allow it to pass both substantial health care reforms and fundamental improvements to the nation's student loan programs at the same time. Passing health care reform would make medical coverage available to more than 30 million more ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/19/win-win-vs-no-no/ There were 457,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance in the week ending March 13, according to the report released this morning by the Department of Labor. While those numbers are definitely lower than a year ago, they are still 43 percent higher than they were for the same period ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/18/sharks/ Given the slow pace of financial service reforms, some states are looking for ways to avoid the "too big to fail" syndrome. One approach being looked at is state owned banking. That's a question that a growing number of candidates and legislators across the country are answering with proposals to create ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/18/state-owned-banks/ As the Congress gets down to the business of enacting, at long last, the most significant reforms of health care and health insurance in the last forty-five years, the American people are looking for members of Congress to express their interests, based on the common good, with the seriousness and ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/18/deep-insights-on-health-care-reform/ The Senate passed a revised version (to match the House’s bill) of the jobs bill they already passed once. Two things stand out. One, as every report tells you right up front, this was a bipartisan vote. It passed with 68 votes to 29, 11 Republicans for it and one Democrat ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/17/jobs-bill-passes-senate-again/ Admittedly we haven’t been all over this one to date, but this is interesting. Lehman Brothers appears to have actually broken the law: [A] blockbuster 2,200 page report on Lehman Brothers by a court-appointed examiner shows Lehman Brothers executives moving $50 billion in toxic assets off-balance-sheet to deceive investors about ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/17/wheres-the-lehman-brothers-scandal/ Republican Congressman Paul Ryan continues to plug his budget plans. Taste the awesome: It’ll lose money while raising taxes on 90% of people. Oh, goody. When the Mayans envisioned the world coming to an end in 2012 — at least in the Hollywood telling — they didn’t count junk bonds ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/17/interesting-things-around-the-internet-59/ Real-life circumstances are yet again making the point: Public services are not free. One way or another, they have to be paid for. Now it’s water, not just in one state but in cities and towns across the country. You’d think people would want the water they drink to be ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/16/water-water-everywhere-but-is-it-safe-to-drink/ As health care reform finally comes to its final votes (we hope), AFSCME and Americans United for Change are running an ad reminding viewers why this issue is so important: http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/16/out-of-control/ The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently released a report on state budget cuts caused by decreasing tax revenues. Over 45 states have already made deep cuts, and in 2011, another round of cuts is expected: With tax revenue still declining as a result of the recession and budget reserves ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/15/states-facing-deeper-budget-cuts-in-2011/ An eventful week it should be, to say the least. I'm reminded of these famous lines by the great Walter Huston in the film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: "Hey, you fellas, how 'bout some beans?... Want some beans?... Goin' through some mighty rough country tomorrow – ya better have some ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/15/a-sneak-peek-at-the-week/ The Washington Post reports on what is expected to be a new round of home foreclosures: About 5 million to 7 million properties are potentially eligible for foreclosure but have not yet been repossessed and put up for sale. Some economists project it could take nearly three years before all ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/15/more-foreclosures-ahead/ Crossposted from the AFL-CIO Now blog. Working people have plenty to be angry with Wall Street about. A $700 billion bailout. Toxic assets and loan guarantees to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. A financial crisis and credit crunch. Billions of dollars in six- and seven-figure bonuses to the ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/12/i-am-not-your-atm/ Amanda Marcotte is even more cynical than I am about Bank of America’s motivations in dropping overdraft fees on debit cards. And, as a former bank branch manager, she is far more specific in her cynicism: I was immediately instructed to put most of my time and effort into ... http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/2010/03/12/banks-are-vampires/