Bank Of America Is Right

I wholeheartedly agree with the lawyers representing one of the biggest banks in America. Disclosing the bonuses of Merrill Lynch employees preceding BoA's acquisition will cause "grave and irreparable harm" if the information gets out to the public.

Guess what?

I can't wait to see all of those details disclosed, down to the very last penny.

Does that mean Bank of America will fail? No, I doubt that will happen at this date, the government Fed has invested too much money in them (like they have in AIG) to let the megalithic bank go down in flames.

The "harm" will come in other ways though. With Cuomo's help as New York's Attorney General, the insatiable and devastating greed of these Wall Street houses will continue to be in the news. While Main Street suffers, those living on it will be able to see the wealthy protest having their dirty laundry aired out in public. It will harm their reputations and deservedly so.

Whatever these people are guilty of, the more that we know about it, the better we'll be in the long run. Unless we get full accountability then nothing systemic will change. Without justice, there will just be another bubble down the line and this catastrophic economic environment will be recreated again.

There was a few minutes dedicated to this issue on Bill Maher's show last night. One of the panelists, I believe the CNBC anchor, was saying that the rich have suffered, with trillions in assets having vanished over the last few months. Maher, ever the brilliant debater, countered with the fact that the rich are not suffering, it is their bank statements that are hurting. Other Americans, the ones that are foregoing three meals a day to make ends meet, those are the people that are truly suffering in this fiscal crisis.

We need to get our priorities straight in this country. I think President Obama is trying to guide us out of the greed and self-serving behavior of the last eight thirty years since we heard how greed is good under Reagan. Though as Obama said, it can't be done by him alone. So by exposing these titans of Wall Street who pillaged their companies before they collapsed, we are serving the greater good for a change. And if that causes these people grave and irreperable harm....well, they did it to themselves.

Rachel Maddow And Sen. McCaskill Take Bank Of America To Task

Rachel Maddow knows how to expose ridiculous corporate behavior. Senator Claire McCaskill knows how to as well. And when the two got together on Maddow's show yesterday they went all out on Bank of America's egregious actions.

Corporate America Hates America

They do, they really do. The top executives, lobbyists and CEOs hate us, loathe us, despise us. Now, they love the America where they can get handouts in the billions of dollars for themselves but that isn't the, as Sarah Palin would not say, the real America. When it comes to helping out their workers, the people who actually produce and generate the wealth for the top, corporations will do whatever it takes to punch us in the gut while begging for financial mercy.

From The Huffington Post:

Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.

Participants on the October 17 call -- including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG -- were urged to persuade their clients to send "large contributions" to groups working against the Employee Free Trade Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.

Bernie Marcus, the charismatic co-founder of Home Depot, led the call along with Rick Berman, an aggressive EFCA opponent and founder of the Center for Union Facts. Over the course of an hour, the two framed the legislation as an existential threat to American capitalism, or worse.

"This is the demise of a civilization," said Marcus. "This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."

Donations of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to Republican senatorial campaigns were needed, they argued, to prevent America from turning "into France."

"If a retailer has not gotten involved in this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to [former Sen.] Norm Coleman and all these other guys, they should be shot. They should be thrown out their goddamn jobs," Marcus declared.

Bernie Marcus is the type of goon that is up against the American worker. To him, the pinnacle of civilization is the feudal system, where thousands of peons toil day and night to increase his bottom line and his bank account. If this guy is charismatic, he must have gotten those skills from the devil himself. His ego looks to be beyond all help, swollen to the point that the slightest touch of his forward would cause an earthquake felt from New York to Los Angeles.

He may fear America turning into France for good reason though. If this were France, and he made statements like that (especially if it were in the early 19th century) he'd be guillotined in an instant. Right after Louis and Marie Antoinette, Marcus would next on the chopping block. His callous disregard for the workers that put him where he's at is astounding. It should be a clear sign to our political leaders that our corporate-government dynamic is out of control, the question is, will they listen?

Bank of America's Bad Business Habits

BoA wants billions more from the government, meaning us, the taxpayers. Well SEIU has a message to anyone that thinks that could be a good idea.

From The SEIU:

Taxpayers have given Bank of America $25 billion in bailout funds to help jumpstart our economy, but instead the bank has misspent on executive salaries and corporate jets. Then Bank of America took even more money from cash-strapped states by not paying for workers healthcare.

Its time for Bank of America to use its taxpayer-funded windfall to support a real economic recovery and provide health care for its 247,000 workers—or give the money back.

Even Before Obama Takes Office, Chicago Workers Score A Victory!

The last eight years under Bush have been anything but hospitable to the plight of workers in our country. Regulation after regulation that was put into protect our nation's middle class has been swept away. With that and in bad economic times, Bank of America took away Republic Windows and Doors' credit line and the company shuttered their factory's doors. The workers were left with nothing, but they weren't ready to give up. That dedication didn't win them their jobs back, but they certainly won the day.

From MSNBC:

CHICAGO - With cheers and chants that echoed President-elect Barack Obama's campaign of change, jubilant workers agreed to a $1.75 million settlement that ends their six-day occupation of a shuttered Chicago factory that became a symbol of the plight of labor nationwide.

Republic Windows & Doors, union leaders and Bank of America reached the deal Wednesday evening. Each former Republic employee will get eight weeks' salary, all accrued vacation pay and two months' paid health care, said U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who helped broker the deal. He said it works out to about $7,000 apiece.[...]

About 200 of 240 laid-off workers began their sit-in last week after Republic gave them just three days' notice the plant was closing. The workers had argued that Republic violated federal law because employees were not given 60 days' notice. They vowed to stay until they received assurances they would get severance and accrued vacation pay.

Workers carrying sleeping bags left the factory late Wednesday amid cheers of "Yes We Can," a slogan that became part of Obama's campaign.

Yes We Can is certainly right. With the help and support of the President-Elect and others, the workers finally got something out of the situation that initially looked like a complete loss for them. They may not have been able to keep their jobs, but the banks involved (JPM Chase pledged $400K) made the loans available and will go to the people that need it, not the executives (such as those in the financial sector who got paid from the bailout) who can live without a larger bonus this year.

Some Good News Out Of Illinois Yesterday

Blagojevich is consuming nearly all the news coverage out of Chicago in the last twenty-four hours but the big story on Sunday concerning the Republic Windows & Doors workers has come to a successful conclusion. With enough presure, Bank of America has submitted and will continue to give credit to the company...and the workers will keep their jobs.

NRDC Scores A Victory Against Ravenous Coal Companies

Nearly since the new millenia began, the fossil fuel industries have won countless battles against the environment and those that fight for it. With the full force of a Republican Congress and the Bush White House, mining executives moved into the regulatory agencies to dismantle worker protection laws as well and legislation that was meant to protect the areas around where mining took place. The mountain-top removal method has destroyed thousands of acres of wilderness in our country, causing immense damage to any surrounding communities. Today however, was a new day.

From The NRDC Switchboard:

This summer, after months of conversations, some top executives from Bank of America agreed to accompany NRDC staff on a fact-finding trip to Appalachia. In July we flew them over moonscaped mine sites in West Virginia, took them to Kayford Mountain for a closer look at mountaintop mining, and introduced them to several local residents/activists who are fighting to save their beloved homeland from reckless coal mining companies.

Today, BofA released its revised coal policy, which will have the immediate effect of curtailing commercial lending to companies that mine coal by blowing off the top of mountains. The policy states, in part:

Bank of America is particularly concerned about surface mining conducted through mountain top removal in locations such as central Appalachia. We therefore will phase out financing of companies whose predominant method of extracting coal is through mountain top removal. While we acknowledge that surface mining is economically efficient and creates jobs, it can be conducted in a way that minimizes environmental impacts in certain geographies.

Why is this significant? Consider that Bank of America stands as a pillar of our country's shaky financial system. In fact, the trying economic crisis has only served to strengthen this behemoth bank while other once proud and stable institutions fall by the wayside. All the more reason to engage BofA in using its investment power and influence to affect positive environmental change.

The NRDC played a brilliant hand by going straight to the top here. Appealing to the big bad companies themselves can have a tremendous impact. Protesting and organizing at the grassroots level is still crucial to what we do in the progressive movement. Yett if an environmental group such as the Natural Resource Defense Council can simply fly some executives over Appalachia and from there have funding cut off for the mining companies wicked ways, more power to the them!