A small provision slipped into the stimulus (PDF) by Sen. Chris Dodd is making big waves in the banking and finance industries. The last-minute addition to the bill, which pretty much no one noticed until after the legislation passed both chambers, places sharp limits on bonuses available to top executives and other high-earners. How sharp? How about this: [Title VII, Section 7001] A prohibition on any compensation plan that would encourage manipulation of the reported earnings of such TARP recipient to enhance the compensation of any of its employees. So …
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Nuclear Energy Institute is calling on the Obama Administration to create a blue-ribbon commission to look at alternatives to the nation’s current approach to nuclear waste management. While blue-ribbon commissions are often excuses for doing nothing, a commission in this case has substantial merit. Nuclear energy is critical to meeting the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy objectives. Despite being affordable, safe, abundant and environmentally clean, significant obstacles stand in the way of a broad expansion of U.S. nuclear power. Central among them is …
The Wall Street Journal reports today: The Obama administration is betting that an extra $8 a week in most Americans’ paychecks will boost consumer spending and help pull the U.S. out of its downturn. … The $116 billion in tax credits for 95% of Americans will come largely through reduced tax withholding from paychecks, over two years, rather than one-time payments. The idea: let money trickle out to consumers so it feels like a permanent income boost. But its not!!! The tax cuts the Obama Administration put into this bill …
On February 15, the prospects for genuine democratic development and good governance in the Western Hemisphere took a serious step back as a majority of Venezuelans voted by a margin of 54% to 45% to lift terms limits for elected officials. Although worded in a way to give all potential office holders the opportunity to run repeatedly, the message of the referendum was clear: President Hugo Chávez, after 13 years in office, can run for another six years in presidential office in 2012. The vote removes the last constitutional restraint …
The “Economic Stimulus” bill, expected to be signed by President Obama today, will have yet another frightening long-term consequence. A report, issued by Moody’s Investors Service, said the increase in debt could have a negative impact on the country’s triple-A credit rating. An understatement to be sure. Steven Hess, a sovereign credit analyst at Moody’s, disclosed the unsettling news: “By the end of a two year period, the U.S. debt ratios will be higher and moving the country’s metrics to the lower end of the pack… this triple rating isn’t …
Both before California’s vote on Proposition 8 and after we warned about the threat same-sex marriage posed to religious liberty. Now in yet another example of how same-sex marriage threatens the First Amendment, a student is suing Los Angeles City College over free speech. The Los Angeles Times reports: Student Jonathan Lopez says his professor called him a “fascist bastard” and refused to let him finish his speech against same-sex marriage during a public speaking class last November, weeks after California voters approved the ban on such unions. When Lopez …
Latin American exporting powerhouse Brazil, one of the highly-touted “BRIC” nations, has indicted they will not wait for the ink to dry on President Obama’s signature of the trillion dollar debt plan before they challenge the controversial “Buy American” provisions within the bill to the World Trade Organization. Brazil may challenge the legality of a “Buy American” clause in the recently approved U.S. economic stimulus package at the World Trade Organization, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said on Monday. “It’s a complex legal analysis, but we’re doing it,” Amorim said. …
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) sponsored an amendment last week that would have exempted any project funded by the stimulus plan from costly, and mandatory National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) reviews. The amendment would have allowed any project whose NEPA review takes longer than 270 days to be exempt from the review requirement. Worried that one of their most powerful weapons for killing economic growth would be undermined, environmentalists rallied to gut the amendment. The stimulus bill now only requires: (a) Adequate resources within this bill must be devoted to ensuring …
When he signed executive orders which supposedly tightened federal ethics rules for White House officials, President Barack Obama said, “We need to make the White House the people’s house, and we need to close the revolving door that lets lobbyists come into government freely and lets them use their time in public service as a way to promote their own interests over the interests of the American people when they leave.” Already the Obama Administration has already signed dozens of waivers that completely undermine their executive orders by allowing lobbyists …
Just when you thought that you had seen everything, here come the World Bank and the United Nations to claim their slice of the government bailout pie. According to the Times Online, “The UN and the World Bank are lobbying for a portion of the billions of dollars allocated to bailing out the West’s banking systems to be diverted to prevent 400 million people sinking into poverty across Asia in the wake of the global economic crisis.” All the world has to do is allocate some 1 percent of their …
