September 17, 2009 at 1:27 pm by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Jim Himes sent supporters this letter:
Earlier this week, President Obama invited me to attend his speech on Wall Street. He spoke directly to industry leaders on the urgency of re-crafting our financial regulatory system. He pointedly reminded the gathered executives that many of their institutions survived, and are now on the road to recovery, thanks to resources provided by the American taxpayer. I think it’s fair to say that no one, inside the industry or out, ever wants to see that happen again. Hence the need for a smarter, more competent regulation. Developing that regulation is no easy task.
The financial world is radically more complicated and global than it was in the 1930s, when the U.S. government last rethought regulation after an economic calamity. For better or for worse (!), as one of the few Financial Services Committee members with substantial experience in finance, I find myself deep in the mix on these issues.
After the speech, I was invited to join the President on Air Force One for the return journey to Washington. I met with the President and with Chairman Barney Frank. I’m encouraged by the practical and thoughtful approach that the President and the leadership are taking on financial regulatory reform. Action has not been as fast as some would like, but we’re talking about incredibly complicated stuff, and I think it’s prudent to take the time to get it right.
Obviously, Jim Himes’ Wall Street experience is proving a plus in Washington.
September 17, 2009 at 12:19 pm by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Former Ron Paul economic adviser Peter Schiff anounced today that he is running for the U.S. Senate. Despite his groupie-like following, Schiff actually has few qualifications to run for the Senate and has publicly admitted that he can’t even remember the last time he voted. Schiff’s followers praise him for his predictions on the economy, but despite the fact that Schiff proudly advised investors to bet against the U.S., they still lost record sums of money.
Schiff Couldn’t Recall the Last Time He Voted and Said He Never Saw Much of a Reason To Vote.
In a recent interview with political columnist, Stuart Rothenberg, Schiff bragged that he couldn’t remember the last time he voted. “Schiff is the first candidate I’ve ever interviewed who proudly says he can’t recall the last time he voted. I’ve never seen a real reason to vote,‟ he says without hesitation, adding that he registered to vote only recently in Connecticut. Apparently, he’s never heard of the concept of civic duty or considered the meaning of 200 years of American history.” [Roll Call, Rothenberg Column, 6/15/09]
Schiff Said Recession Was The Cure
“The recession is not the problem, the recession is the cure. It’s not fun, just like heroin withdrawal is not fun . . . but it’s necessary.” [Hartford Courant, 8/23/09]
Schiff Opposed Bailout, Said Recession Should Run Its Course and Businesses Should Fail.
In May, Schiff told a Canadian audience, “What we should do is let the recession unfold and allow businesses to fail and asset prices to fall.” [New Brunswick Telegraph Journal, 5/13/09]
Fellow Investor Said Schiff Never Had Anything Good To Say About the U.S.
Mike Shedlock, a Illinois based investment advisor, recently told the Hartford Courant, “He never has anything good to say about the U.S. dollar or the U.S. political system…It’s almost as if the man hates the United States.” Shedlock, like others, questioned Schiff’s prediction that the U.S. economy would meltdown while the rest of the world’s economy remained unchanged. [Hartford Courant, 8/23/09]
Clients Who Invested With Schiff Saw Heavy Losses.
In January, the Wall Street Journal reported that clients who invested with Schiff say heavy losses. In Fact, according to the article, on average, Schiff’s clients experienced a higher average loss than the Standard and Poor’s index. “Most had one thing in common last year: heavy losses. A number of investors said their Euro Pacific portfolios lost 50% or more in 2008, worse than the 38% drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index last year. People familiar with the firm say that hardly any securities recommended by Euro Pacific brokers gained ground in 2008.” [Wall Street Journal, 1/30/09]
Schiff Said His Experience of Collecting Unemployment to Sit on the Beach Proved It Was a Bad Program.
On his Europac on April 8, 2009 weekly radio show broadcast, Schiff admitted to receiving unemployment while sitting on the beach during his early days after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley. Schiff proclaimed that this was a good example of unemployment compensation being ill-conceived because it encourages people to be lazy. [Peter Schiff, 4/8/09]
Republican Party Insiders Question Schiff’s Chances…
Connecticut GOP Chair Said Schiff Was Not Well Known In State.
Chris Healy, Connecticut Republican Party Chairman, said Schiff was not well known in Connecticut. “He has no political footprint at all in Connecticut; he hasn’t voted, contributed or participated in anything political in our state…He has written books and appeared on television and has a business of which we know little,” Healy said. [The Hill, 9/1/09]
Schiff Insider Said Schiff Didn’t Have a Chance.
A source close to Schiff’s campaign recently made critical comments to The Hill. The source “said the inmates are running the asylum.” The individual went on to say that Schiff was “too untraditional to have a chance.” [The Hill, 9/1/09]
Schiff Volunteers “Scare the Crap” Out of Regular Republicans.
A source close to the Schiff campaign recently complained to The Hill that the Schiff people refused to run a traditional campaign. “They refuse to run traditional races, meaning that they will rely on volunteers to conduct critically important campaign operations — much like the Ron Paul campaign did in 2008… “Every campaign needs volunteers, but unfortunately for Schiff and Paul, their volunteers scare the crap out of traditional Republicans.” [The Hill, 9/1/09]
September 12, 2009 at 9:15 am by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Red Yeast Rice
There’s a newly posted website that says red yeast rice, which I have written about before, and am now taking regularly, is dangerous, because it really is a statin, and can cause severe muscle pains and muscle weakness, just like a statin.
The adverse reaction, according to the website, is because statins deprive us of co-enzyme Q-10 (which I discontinued taking recently.)
The website also says there is no reason to take statins to lower cholesterol, because cholesterol is good for you!
Well. I’ve been taking to lower my cholesterol ( which really isn’t bad), but now that I think that it’s really a statin, I’m going to continue to take it for the reasons cited below, but add co-enzyme Q-10 back to my regimen.
I try to drink some orange juice with my tea – I had read that citric acid magnifies the positive effects of drinking green tea. Research reported this week supports the previous research, and gives me additional reasons to drink orange juice:
While Ann Coulter spoke at the Bridgeport Tea Party on 9/11/09, some patriots played a classic song by that great American, Ray Charles. Hilarity ensued.
September 11, 2009 at 4:09 pm by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Rising health care costs are the single biggest economic concern facing American businesses, according to a survey of business leaders released today by Business Forward.
Nearly 90% of those polled cite health care costs as a major concern, more than cite taxes, government regulation, labor costs or energy costs.
Without reform, 86% of those polled believe that health care costs will continue to rise in the next five years, and 55% believe it will go up “a lot.” If costs continue to rise as expected, nearly 9 out of 10 business leaders expect to raise their employees’ deductibles and copayments. Nearly 8 out of 10 expect to cut benefits. And nearly one in three expects to lay off employees.
The poll, conducted by Anzalone Liszt Research in advance of President Obama’s address to Congress, showed that 57% of business leaders believe health care reform should be an important government policy. They support key elements of a reform plan, including insurance exchange (78% favorable), efficiency reforms and an oversight commission (71%), requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions (79%) and a public health option (51%).
The survey also indicates that the surge in interest among business leaders during the 2008 campaigns is likely to continue — and it could have a big impact on Washington. One in three business leaders became more involved in the 2008 campaign than in previous campaigns, and nearly nine out of ten of those leaders expect to be even more involved in future campaigns.
September 11, 2009 at 12:45 pm by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman have sent a letter to President Barack Obama outlining their recommendations for the next U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
This spring, Dodd and Lieberman created an Advisory Panel to assist in the process of making recommendations for candidates for U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshal and other federal positions as appropriate for Connecticut. The Advisory Panel is composed of seven prominent, highly respected citizens of Connecticut and the state’s legal community, ranging from a former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court to attorneys and business and community leaders. Together with the Advisory Panel, Dodd and Lieberman solicited, screened and interviewed a number of highly qualified, accomplished individuals from Connecticut’s legal community. Their letter to the President recommends four candidates for the U.S. Attorney post.
The candidates recommended by Dodd and Lieberman, in alphabetical order, are:
· Nora Dannehy, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Ms. Dannehy has worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Connecticut since 1991. In addition to her role in Connecticut, she is currently in charge of investigating allegations of wrongdoing in the firing of U.S. Attorneys during the previous Administration.
· David Fein, Partner, Wiggin and Dana LLP. Mr. Fein served as Associate Counsel to President Clinton and as a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. In addition, he is a Visiting Lecturer in Law at the Yale Law School.
· Edgardo Ramos, Partner, Day Pitney LLP. Prior to joining Day Pitney, Mr. Ramos served as a supervisory federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
September 11, 2009 at 8:37 am by Jonathan Kantrowitz
2008 Health Insurance Data
The percentage of uninsured people remained unchanged at 15.4 percent, while the number of uninsured jumped by 682,000 to 46.3 million. The story was not worse because gains in public (that is, government) health insurance programs, especially for children, helped to offset continued declines in employer health coverage.
Consider two figures. First, the number of children without insurance actually fell by 801,000 in 2008, due to expansions in government health insurance programs for children. But the number of workers without coverage rose by 932,000, evidence of the continued erosion of employer-based coverage.
Figures Will Be Worse in 2009
All of these figures almost certainly will look considerably worse this year, since the economy has weakened further in 2009 and unemployment has risen sharply. The number of people in poverty will likely set a 50-year high, while the number of uninsured will likely climb toward the 50 million mark.
Moreover, the expected increases in 2009 in poverty and in the number and percentage of uninsured people would be substantially greater if not for the economic recovery law that the Administration and Congress enacted earlier this year. Just seven provisions of that law — including tax credits for working families, expansions of unemployment insurance and nutrition assistance, and one-time payments to senior citizens, veterans, and people with disabilities — will prevent an estimated 6.2 million Americans, including 2.4 million children, from falling into poverty, according to an analysis the Center issued yesterday (1). Moreover, these figures understate the poverty-preventing effects of the recovery act because they do not capture other provisions of the law, such as increases in housing, child care services, or the law’s effects on preserving or creating jobs. In addition, the law’s increases in medical assistance are preventing hundreds of thousands more from becoming uninsured.
Finally, today’s disquieting health insurance figures underscore the need for comprehensive health care reform. The decline in job-based health coverage is leaving millions of Americans uninsured or underinsured. As noted above, the new Census data show that last year’s economic decline did not fuel an even greater drop in overall insurance coverage only because of the expansion in coverage by public insurance programs.
Health reform bills that Congress is considering would help to address this problem by covering tens of millions of Americans who lack insurance. They would strengthen employer coverage and Medicaid, offer new health insurance choices for Americans, and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage or charging exorbitant amounts to people with medical conditions. The bills also seek to slow the growth of health care costs, which is essential to expanding coverage and sustaining progress in reducing the ranks of the uninsured over the long run
September 10, 2009 at 4:24 pm by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Annual data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that almost 40 million Americans now live in poverty, the highest number since 1997. This is an increase of 2.6 million Americans in 2008. This news comes at a time when the country is experiencing the highest rate of unemployment in over 25 years.
Data released by the government last week indicated that the unemployment rate has reached 9.7 percent, the highest since 1983 and two-and-a-half percent higher than in December of 2008. Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — formerly known as food stamps — has increased by almost 3.5 million in the first 6 months of this year, to reaching a total of 35 million or one out of every nine Americans.
Additional Census Bureau Report findings for 2008 include:
* For children younger than 18, the poverty rate increased from 18 percent in 2007 to 19 percent in 2008, bringing the number of children living in poverty to 14.1 million, an increase of almost 1 million children.
* In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic whites (8.6 percent in 2008, up from 8.2 percent in 2007), Asian-Americans (11.8 percent in 2008, up from 10.2 percent in 2007), and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008, up from 21.5 percent in 2007).
Real median household income in the United States fell 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303. This breaks a string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the recession that started in December 2007.
Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008, while the percentage remained unchanged at 15.4 percent.
