tagged w/ US capitalism
-
According to a new study released by independent think tank, the Justice Policy Institute, many people who have lost their jobs and homes in the United States due to the ongoing economic recession are ending up in jail. The report's findings on the relationship between poverty and the justice system suggests that more and more people from poor and low-income communities are being arrested and jailed, even though nationwide, crime rates have fallen.According to a new study released by independent think tank, the Justice Policy... more
-
-
American International Group has paid another round of employee bonuses, worth about $100 million, a year after similar payments at the bailed-out insurance giant infuriated many Americans. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs, another firm bailed out by US taxpayers, has just announced that its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, received a stock-based bonus of $9 million in 2009.American International Group has paid another round of employee bonuses, worth about... more
-
-
The Associated Press reports that President Obama's latest effort to reel in big banks may have more bark than bite. Obama has proposed a tax on banks to get back billions in bailout money that was handed out at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.
But analysts say that Obama's plan to limit banks' size and risky trading would have only a marginal effect on institutions like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup — and would be hard to enforce. And it's not clear the rules would reduce taxpayers' risk of having to bail out another big bank.The Associated Press reports that President Obama's latest effort to reel in big... more
-
-
According to the Washington Post, the recession's jobless toll is draining unemployment-compensation funds so fast that according to federal projections, 40 state programs will go broke within two years and need $90 billion in loans to keep issuing benefit checks.According to the Washington Post, the recession's jobless toll is draining... more
-
-
When word spread earlier this year that American International Group had paid more than $165 million in retention bonuses at the division that had precipitated the company's downfall, outrage erupted, with employees getting death threats and President Obama urging that every legal avenue be pursued to block the payments. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened to publicize the recipients' names, prompting executives at AIG Financial Products to hastily agree to return about $45 million in bonuses by the end of the year. But as the year 2009 came to a close, a majority of that money remained unpaid.When word spread earlier this year that American International Group had paid more... more
-
-
On Christmas Eve, the Obama administration pledged to provide unlimited financial assistance to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The eleventh-hour move allows the government to exceed the current $400 billion cap on emergency aid without seeking permission from a bailout-weary Congress. As the administration was making this open-ended financial commitment, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac disclosed that 12 top executives will receive $42 million in compensation packages. This includes up to $6 million each to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's chief executives.On Christmas Eve, the Obama administration pledged to provide unlimited financial... more
-
-
A brutal study issued last week by a government watchdog holds Timothy Geithner -- then the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and now the nation's Treasury Secretary -- responsible for over-payments that put billions of extra tax dollars in the coffers of major Wall Street firms, most notably Goldman Sachs.A brutal study issued last week by a government watchdog holds Timothy Geithner --... more
-
-
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revealed that nearly one in six U.S. households -- or some 49 million people -- went hungry at some time during 2008.The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revealed that nearly one in six U.S. households... more
-
-
A United Nations special investigator has accused the US government of pouring billions of dollars into rescuing banks and big business while treating a deepening homeless crisis as if it is "invisible."A United Nations special investigator has accused the US government of pouring... more
-
-
Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of African-American kids will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and researchers say fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher.Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of African-American kids will be on... more
-
-
Hundreds of union members and organizers hit the streets of downtown Chicago this past week to picket the offices of Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.Hundreds of union members and organizers hit the streets of downtown Chicago this past... more
-
